God the Chess Master

This morning as I was sitting with the Lord (as my friend, Richard, used to say) the Lord showed me a colossal chessboard before His Throne. The enormous board represents the earth and the pieces are the kings, rulers, nations, and peoples—even the devil. God was playing both sides of the board. Even though God was moving the piece around, each piece thought it was in control. I watched as some pawns became kings.

These can be fear-filled times. I know many people, even some of God’s people, awaken in the night with a sense of dread. Earth’s newsrooms are only the natural perspective of a very spiritual dynamic on the earth. And when we look at the earth’s stage naturally, yes it looks dreadful. But the proper vantage point is from a spiritual/Heavenly position. “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.”

The Book of Revelation is the finale of this age. Chess pieces are moving around the board. Nations and leaders and peoples are rising and falling. Chaos and darkness ensue. But, let us not miss the name of the book: The Revelation of Jesus Christ! The Bible clearly shows that God is in absolute control of Earth’s events and the Book of Revelation is no different. Many people when reading Revelation focus on the End-time events and completely miss the backdrop of the whole book—Jesus Christ is Lord, ruler over the kings of the earth.

Daniel puts it this way, “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever…” “He removes kings and raises up kings.” And Isaiah, “He brings the princes to nothing; He makes the judges of the earth useless. Scarcely shall they be planted, Scarcely shall they be sown, Scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth, When He will also blow on them, And they will wither, And the whirlwind will take them away like stubble.” This is the story of Pharaoh too. Romans 9 says, “For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.”” Pharaoh was a chess piece. An evil tyrant that God used for His purpose—a type of the anti-christ, the man of sin, the son of perdition (2 Thessalonians 2).

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The pawns who became kings are like King David. He started out as a nobody. Nothing about his family would have made him king. Except God found in David a man after His own heart. David spent his pre-king days, unbeknownst to him, in preparation for the throne. He did what did to protect his sheep…and he worshiped; he engaged with God. How many times I wonder, when he was ruling Israel did he wish he was out there…in the pasture…alone with God? His worship—his whole-hearted devotion—prepared him for kingship. The pawn became king.

God can and will move the progression of the End-time events without us, but that isn’t what He wants to do. He wants us to be engaged. He will always have those who will partner with Him. However, the stirring you feel, even the fear, is an invitation to be a part of what He is doing. Do not think God is even for a second out of control or at a loss as what to do next. Take heart! He is the chess Master and He controls both sides of the board.

Isaiah 24:21-26 “Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. He brings the princes to nothing; He makes the judges of the earth useless. Scarcely shall they be planted, Scarcely shall they be sown, Scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth, When He will also blow on them, And they will wither, And the whirlwind will take them away like stubble. “To whom then will you liken Me, Or to whom shall I be equal?” says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, And see who has created these things, Who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, By the greatness of His might And the strength of His power; Not one is missing.”

Self-Control

Self-Control 

Self-control is a fruit that the Holy Spirit produces in us. But does anyone else think that self-control is kind of bizarre? Think about it—self is controlling self. Self, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, is being controlled by self that is not under His influence. That is, self, influenced by the world, the flesh, and the devil is at war with self that wants to yield to the control of the Holy Spirit. That yielding to the Holy Spirit is self-control.

Lately I have listened to a few messages that have rocked my world. I highly recommend you listen to them!

One is by my good friend, Chris Hoff, while preaching at Jesus Pursuit Church, Albany, Oregon:

http://www.jesuspursuit.org/podcast//1-25-15%20Chris%20Hoff.mp3

The others are from Mike Bickle’s series: The Millennium: Heaven on Earth:

http://mikebickle.org/resources/series/the-millennium-heaven-on-earth

And the One Thing Conference: 2014:

http://mikebickle.org/resources/series/onething-conference-2014

All these messages emphasize the eternal rewards of God’s people in view of how they lived while on the earth. (See Luke 19:11-27.)

My blog could take a turn here; I could write on many subjects relating to these teachings. Listening to messages like the ones above move us to do great things: conquer worlds, slay demons, invent things, run for office, be the next Mother Theresa or Reinhard Bonnke, etc. But, I want to point to one aspect of ruling and reigning with Christ: Ruling and reigning your own self—self-control.

Proverbs 16:32 says, “He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.”

What God is after are people who know and love Jesus Christ and are yielded to His Spirit. These people will be strong, and carry out great exploits (Daniel 11:32 “Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.”) Great exploits are not necessarily outward visible taking of cities; maybe, but not necessarily. An example of this is also from Daniel. Daniel 10 tells of how Daniel spent 3 full weeks in mourning and fasting pleasant foods. (I’d say fasting takes self-control.) At the end of the 3 weeks a “man” came to Daniel revealing the warfare taking place while Daniel was fasting. The “man” called Daniel “highly esteemed” twice! Daniel didn’t conquer cities, but he did serve the Lord with whole-hearted devotion right where he was.

I know there is a lot more to Daniel than this one testimony of his fasting experience. Daniel served under 4 kings, was over the sorcerers in Babylon, interpreted dreams, and advised kings. But without self-control and whole-hearted devotion to the Lord Daniel’s story would read much differently. We read of King David—a man after God’s own heart—whose mighty devotion to God woos us all. However, it is hard to read about King David without remembering the tragedy of his lack of self-control. (“...he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.”) Moses too. Moses’ lack of self-control cost him entrance into the Promise Land. (“He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty…”)

Again, self-control is a product of living under the rule of the Holy Spirit in your life. Anyone who has the Holy Spirit living within them can live in self-control. All it takes is saying “No” to self and “Yes” to the Holy Spirit—very simple, and yet very difficult. The Holy Spirit has empowered us to live under His rule. He has already given us all things that pertain to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3), but we must apprehend them and take them by force.

Titus 2, “It [the grace of God] teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age…”

True riches and rewards belong to those who have lived their lives by the leading of the Holy Spirit. Those who have followed the Lamb wherever He goes. To those who have made themselves ready. If you are called to the nations, go to the nations. If you are called to raise godly kids and fold clothes, then do it with all your might serving the Lord!

My point is that we call all please the Lord right where we are. Have a dynamic prayer life! Read your Bible! Love the Lord! Love those around you! And if God calls to somewhere else or to something else, then do that with all your heart too.

We can all live in such a way that we hear,“Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord.”

Living in the Filter of His Presence

This morning I got my cup of coffee and routinely sat down to sip, read, and commune with the Lord. However, I opened my computer and began to read the news. And as I did this is what I saw.

I saw the Lord as a big screen. Not as a TV or movie screen, but as a filter-screen. He said that it is best not read the news until I first encounter Him. He will filter what is true and what is not true through His abiding anointing that lives inside me. (See 1 John 2) He will bring even what is true into proper focus—He will be a filter-wall for me [and you].

We live in days of great deception and open doors to fear—dread. The Middle East, parts of Europe, and large parts of Africa are swarming with the locust of ISIS. I went to sleep last night praying for my kids wondering if we could be on the brink of WWIII. Have I trained them to be led by His Spirit and to trust Jesus no matter what?

Yesterday I was prompted by the Lord to count it a privilege to live in these days, whether or not they are the End-Times. To live every day in the steps He preordained for us to walk in. No matter what we can live in victory if we are in Him.

We hear about the economy on the verge of bust. Others say great incredible financial blessings await us in 2015. People who are known as prophets prophesy both extremes. What are we supposed to believe?

Here is a truth encounter from Psalm 91

“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.” Surely He shall deliver you from the snare [trap] of the fowler And from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day, Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you look, And see the reward of the wicked.”

“Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place, No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone. You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot. “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation.””

This promise is not for the casual believer in Jesus. This psalm is written to those who dwell in His secret place—under His shadow. It is a promise of living without fear, living under His protection. If we do not live close to Him we will not have the confidence we need to live victoriously in this life. We know God does not cast a shadow (James 1:17); the point of Psalm 91 is that God’s Presence is always covering us, standing between us and danger. Nothing passes by Him unnoticed. Remember Jeremiah, the prophet, was given complete freedom to roam about the land while the rest of the nation was led into Babylonian captivity. (Jeremiah 40:4) Even while the sun is setting for some, it is rising for others.

I am not saying God is promising freedom from pain or freedom from heartache—or even death. But, we can be assured that in the midst of severe times we can trust the Lord that nothing comes near us without it being filtered through Him first. If we die, we are received into glory with a “Well done.” I don’t think that sounds so bad.

While we are alive, let’s live close to His heart. 

Let’s make a difference in the lives around us. 

Let’s impact the world for Jesus Christ.

The Reclamation

The Reclamation

The Lord began speaking “Reclamation” to me a few weeks ago. What I write will speak to some of you. Not all of us are in the same place, so if this is for you, allow the Holy Spirit to do His reclamation process in you. Furthermore, let Him take you beyond reclaiming what has been lost into claiming new lands and new territory inhabited by your enemies—the world, the flesh, or the devil.

To begin, think about your walk with the Lord right now. Pause. Reflect. Take as long as needed. Get understanding on where you are overall. We all have highs and lows, but overall, where are you? Have you lost ground or are you walking where you have attained?

As I said, the Lord began speaking “Reclamation” to me a few weeks ago. Reclamation is defined as: 

(Free Dictionary)

·      The act or process of reclaiming.

·      A restoration, as to productivity, usefulness, or morality.

(Merriam-Webster)

Ø  the act or process of reclaiming [relating to]

·      reformation, rehabilitation

·      restoration to use: recovery

Ø  reclaim

·      to get back (something that was lost or taken away)

·      to make (land) available for use by changing its condition

·      to get (a usable material) from materials that have been used before

·      the act or process of improving something or someone by removing or correcting faults, problems, etc.

I think we get the picture.

Here in Idaho it is a bright sunny [cold] day. I can see clearly out my windows. Everything looks crisp and beautiful. It’s like having on the right prescription of glasses—everything looks sharp and lovely. However, if my windows were covered in the toils of storms with wind thrown dirt and dust on them, outside would be a blur at best. Everything I saw would be tainted with the ugliness of my filter.

1 Corinthians 13 says that we see through a glass darkly. But we should see more clearly as we mature in the Lord. Proverbs 4:18, “The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.” Jesus put it this way, “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad [the Greek is: full of labors, annoyances, hardships; diseased, blind; evil, wicked…], your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”

Getting back to, “Where are we now?” First of all, the Holy Spirit is in the business of Reclamation. He delights in reclaiming and restoring things that have been lost or stolen. Whether that is man who needs to be restored to God or whether it is in our own lives where we have lost ground. The Holy Spirit’s reclamation also takes things that were once unusable and worthless and gives them value and purpose. He does this even with the tragedies of our lives—He can and does cause all things work together for our good. And the Holy Spirit, as we allow Him to, takes every part of our person and wholly purifies and sanctifies us to God.

The flip-side, we have to work with Him. We have to repent. We have to change what we are doing, what we are thinking, what we are loving. We must change.

The Holy Spirit loves to takes us further and deeper in our walk with Him. He loves to reveal the deep things of God to us, bringing the light of revelation to our hearts. He delights in revealing Jesus to the human, and to all of creation. He leads us into new lands, arms us for victory, and puts to flight our adversaries. And, the Holy Spirit also loves to reconcile man to God, whether unbeliever or believer.

If you have lost ground—if your windows are a bit hard to see out of—ask Him for help. He is close. He is an ever present help. We must be honest with Him, though. It could be something such as losing ground in your battle with anger or weight control. The children of Israel were continuously fighting the inhabitants of Canaan, even though God had already given the land to Abraham and his descendants. If He is calling you to new victories, to conquer your Canaan—He goes before you to route your enemies. Follow His lead. Move when He moves, stop when He stops, and camp when He camps.

If there has been tragedy, heartache, bruises, or things you cannot even imagine God could redeem, He can. He is asking you to trust Him with even your very darkest places. God called the harlot, Rahab, into His linage of Jesus Christ. Her name is linked to Egypt, a sea-dragon monster, and evil. Yet, when she trusted God look what He did. He made her beautiful. He reclaimed her.

It is time to retake our land and move forward.

“See, I have set the land before you; go in and possess the land which the LORD swore to your fathers — to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — to give to them and their descendants after them.” Deuteronomy 1:8 

A New Season

Think about how you felt the day after Thanksgiving. One holiday just passed and another is right around the corner. For some people the boxes of Christmas decorations are already scattered all over the living room. Strings of lights winding and wrapping bushes and shrubs. For others, their Christmas décor sprinkles throughout their home in spurts right up until Christmas Day. The excitement of the seasons can be seen everywhere: throughout neighborhood, up and down store isles, downtown, shopping malls – everywhere.

But then, inevitably, December 26^th comes too. Christmas is now behind us. Yes, the festivities may last until January 1^st with the rolling in of the New Year, but sooner or later the decorations start to be a reminder that the season is over. They start to, beautiful as they are, look out of place. Left up too long and we start to make our neighbors wonder.

Christmas was different for me this year. My beloved dad went to see the Face of God back in June and my brother-in-law passed in late November. Both my Mom and George’s sister, Sue, were with us for Christmas. We had great times and some tears. Sue went back to Nevada soon after Christmas and my mom left yesterday. I hadn’t concerned myself with taking my decorations down, since my mom was still here. But this morning something changed. As I came out into the living room and turned on the Christmas lights, the appeal was gone; the season was gone. It was beyond time to take down and put away what once was fresh and beautiful and that perfectly decorated a season.

Our seasons with God are reflected in the way I felt this morning. What begins fresh and beautiful—and appropriate for the season—often ends knowing we must pack it up and put it away.  Our seasons with the Lord do come to pass.

It takes a hearing ear to understand the times and seasons of the Lord. In order to embrace Christmas, Thanksgiving had to pass. We have all been guilty of holding on to things that really should be donated to charity or the dump. What season are you in with the Lord? Have you taken down the decorations from your last season? Are you planting bulbs in May when it is actually time for annuals?

I don’t know how this translates for you or how the Holy Spirit is speaking to you about your seasons, but be courageous. Put away the former things and see the new thing the Lord is doing. Even as I write I am seeing a young child walking into an English Garden full of beautiful flowers—roses, vines, bushes and trees. The aromatics, the warmth, the sounds—all so summer. But looking out my living room window, it is not summer. It is cold and snowy. But, I purpose in my heart to make the most of this season, frigid as it is. I will plunge my heart and time into the things God has purposed for me now. Summer will come. The snow will melt, a new season will come. For now though, I will live wholeheartedly in this season. And when it is over, I will pack up the decorations, put them away, and move on. 

And With My Song...

The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, And with my song I will praise Him. Psalm 28

Such a little phrase, "with my song I will praise Him," but oh the wealth that lies behind those seven words. Behind them is a God so full of Majesty that the expanse was created with a "Let there be" and there was. And yet, with our song we can praise Him.

Just think about that for a while. We can praise this King with our song? So simple. So full of wonder. So kind is this God. I am in awe that a God so big would accept praise from my song.

Some Insights on Prayer

As I set my heart towards prayer this morning, this is what the Lord showed me. No wonder there is so much to hinder us from prayer. If we really understood…

Prayer takes courage. He who prays engages a world unseen. For angels and demons alike come, listening to the praying saint. God encounters this one who prays. They engage in battles and wars; they experience victory, they experience some defeat—though never defeated. If one could hear this world there would be the sounding of clashing swords, breaking chains, fearful demons, opening of prison doors. There would be cheers and encouragement from those who have gone before. These saints on their knees—these champions of God—most likely will never be seen as heroes this side of eternity, but they are God’s champions nonetheless.

What's Next?

What's Next?

Is God silent?

I have often heard people counsel others that when God is silent, for whatever reason, to just go back and do the last thing they heard from Him. But, this may not, and probably is not, the best advice.

Think of road detours. Detours never take you back to where you began. Detours take you around something and then you re-enter the road at another point further up the road.

Numbers 13 and 14 is the account of the 12 Israelites spies going in to spy out the Land of Canaan. There are many angles of discussion that apply to these two chapters. The angle from which I will draw upon has to do with the Israelites’ response after they realize they have sinned against God. Instead of doing what God was currently saying, they went back to do what God had initially told them to do. The time, however, for that word had passed. It was no longer what God was saying.

Though this is a very sad part of Jewish history, it was still written so that “we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” God says through Paul in Romans 15:4, “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” They were written to lead us into HOPE.

Another example from scriptures is in 1 Kings 17. Elijah had been told by God to go to the Brook Cherith; there ravens brought him food. After some time the brook dried up.

freebibleimages.org

Then the Lord again speaks to Elijah giving him direction. This time to go to a widow in Zarephath. There was a widow there who was to take care of Elijah.

What if Elijah had not gone to the brook when the Lord told him to? But then later, after the brook dried up, he went instead? Elijah would have ended up at a dried up brook. He would also have missed the timing of the widow; she would have been dead, actually. See, the widow was to provide for Elijah, but first a miracle through Elijah was to come to the widow. Had Elijah missed the timing with the brook, then acted upon it after the time had passed, he would also have missed the widow. But, let’s say he missed the brook, but obeyed what the Lord said about the widow from Zarephath—he would be right on track. I think it’s pretty much like that for us.

God wants relationship with us. He is not a formula or an algorithm where input = output. Jesus said in Matthew 4:4, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word (rhema) that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” The Greek bears out “but by every currently proceeding word…” 

So, if God is being silent, either because you have been away from Him for awhile or for some unknown reason, take some time to just pray. Re-establish your relationship with Him. I don’t mean calluses on your knees type prayer. I mean get back into relationship with Him. Whatever that relationship means between you and God. Ask Him where His wind is blowing in your life. Ask Him for fresh direction. Then do the best you can to obey His leading.

Today my personal studying took me into Psalm 23. Verse 3 “He restores my soul,” melted me pretty thoroughly as I read it. I encountered God in those four little words. I looked up the Hebrew on “restores.” “Restores” means to turn back (hence, away) transitively or intransitively, literally or figuratively (not necessarily with the idea of return to the starting point). Barnes commentary says this phrase literally means, “He causes my life to return.”

So, God causes our life to return, but not necessarily to the starting point or the point of detour. It is comforting to know that God can get us back on His road to a place—as if we had never left to begin with. Yep, He is that Awesome.

The Procession

Yesterday at a prayer meeting the Lord gave me a revelation of Jesus walking in a procession with His people. As I was watching He said, “If you want Me then you must take My people too, for I am with My people.” He then spoke this scripture in 1 Peter, “Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love [philadelphia] for your brothers, love [agape] one another deeply, from the heart.”

 

I admit I was pretty floored. I was stunned. See, loving Jesus is easy. He is perfect and always acts in perfect love. He always has all our best interest at heart, even when He doesn’t act the way we think He should. But, His people—sometimes not so easy to love.

Don’t get me wrong. Affection for the people of God is pretty easy for me. The part that’s hard is believing they really have the best interests of Jesus in mind and heart, and therefore, my best interest, as well. Before you get too critical with me please understand that I have seen a lot of abuse in Jesus’ beloved church. Many times at the hand of those who maybe thought they were doing things Jesus’ way, but then again, maybe not.

So, when confronted by the Holy Spirit with this revelation, my response was, “Oh no!” because I knew what He was getting at. I know it is biblical to love the body of Christ, it's just the people that we sometimes have a hard time with, right? To have the appropriate doctrine is relatively easy, too. To live it out isn’t as easy. Jesus is looking for believers who will actually, through loving God with all their capacity, live in community with each other and love one another deeply from the heart. Even when that means overlooking an offense and believing the best. Part of Love's definition from 1 Corinthians 13. 

As I was relaying to my husband, George, the events of the prayer meeting, I shared with him the above revelation. As I did I added more detail that, to me, didn’t seem significant at the time. The procession was shaped like a “V” with Jesus at the vertex. Then His people were following behind Him. George reiterated what I had described asking if that was what I saw. I responded that it looked like geese flying in a “V.” George said, “Berta, you realize that means it’s aerodynamic.”

I had missed a huge meaning to what the Lord was saying. When we are in proper relationship with the Lord and with each other, then we are able to accomplish so much more, so much easier. It is as if He gives us wind under our wings, lifting us up higher to soar. Sure this is a metaphor, but there is a reason why geese, as they migrate, fly instead of walk.

None of us are perfect and yet, Jesus is delighted to hang out with us anyway. I want a community. I want a family of believers that I can do life with and do Kingdom with. I'm ready. I'm hoping. I'm believing. 

John 16:33

John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

Do you abide in Christ? One way to know is if you have peace in the midst of tribulation. Jesus’ promise here of tribulation in the world is countered with, “In Me you may have peace.” That is, “may have peace.” This peace Jesus provides is for those who are “in Him.” Not for all who have received Him, but for those who are abiding in Him. Jesus says, “In the world you will have tribulation,” but you are not of this world even as I am not of this world. If you will abide in Me then you too will walk in the peace that I Myself walked in and purchased for you.”

“This peace is not an absence of circumstances, whether fierce or foe. This peace is in Me. If you would have My peace, abide in Me. And what is the victory that has overcome the world? Yes, it is your faith. Your faith in what I have spoken. My words, which draw you into that place where I am. Where My victory has overcome on your behalf. Have faith in what I have said. That faith is a shield, quenching all the fiery darts of the evil one. It brings you into that secret place of the Most High where you abide under the shadow of My wing.”

“For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock.” Psalm 27:5