October 6, 2007
Paulette Reed:
"Pressure, Pressure, Pressure--The Birth Canal of God is About to Deliver Multiple Births"
"For those who have believed, labored and loved in the midst of persecution like our Savior, He is about to deliver--MULTIPLE BIRTHS."
To Everything There is a Season
"All these are the beginning of birth pains." Matthew 24:8
You're doing well friends! Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, and breathe out. Focus now and don't forget those years of coaching from the Master Teacher. Push, push...rest a bit. Okay, press through, you can do it. Remember--you are overcomers. Keep your eyes on the focal point of life...Jesus. He is the only way.
Honestly, I cannot begin to count the number of Christians who have shared about the tremendous spiritual warfare they're experiencing; the pressure and the intensity of their walk with Christ these days. Can you sense it?
The processes of God sometimes reminds me of the pressure cooker my mother used in preparing or preserving food. Pressure-cooking is a method using a sealed vessel that does not permit air or liquids to escape below preset pressure. The intensity and the high temperature completes the task quickly and purifies the precious commodities. This process is extremely efficient, but a bit dangerous. There is just one tiny hole on the lid of the cooker to release enough steam to prevent an explosion. Now, it's as if we're the precious ones in the cooker. Hold on, beloved! You're nearly ready to serve!
There is one absolute in learning to live under pressure while giving birth--we can't change our minds in the middle of labor (the battle). Oh, we'd like to, but the Holy Ghost has set us up and there's no turning back.
Liken it to a woman in intense labor during natural childbirth. As the force of the contractions increase, she'd love to say, "Excuse me, doctor, I've changed my mind. I'd really like to quit now. Things have just gotten too intense. No one told me it would be this messy, difficult and painful. Gotta run!" However, in reality, we know we must press through. Remember, dear ones, nothing can be delivered without that final push.
Of course, sometimes, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. We're fatigued from the battle. We feel like we'll die if we push, but we'll die if we don't push. We must remember there is always labor before birth. One secret of bringing forth life is to not focus on the labor, as we'll just magnify the pain. We must stay focused on being a co-laborer with Christ. What an honor! He gave us His life, and we give Him ours. I don't know about you, but my life is all I have to offer Jesus as a sacrifice of my eternal love. Everything else is temporal.
I've heard many believers say the pressure is becoming so great it's almost debilitating. I submit to you that prior to birth, a baby is silent and still for 24 hours. If you're feeling a bit paralyzed, perhaps it's almost time for delivery and multiple births for some. Go ahead, be still, and know that He is God (Psalm 46:10). Congratulations! The Lord is preparing a place for you, as you prepare a place for Him.
To Resist the Pain is to Resist the Gain
As the "body" groans with the onset of birth pains, it seems to reject all that was. Everything that was comfortable, felt safe and warm and seems to be ending, and rightly so. There is massive change all around and the inevitably of this brings tension, perhaps even suffering. In fact, the rejection may seem so great it's comparable to stage three of transitional labor in natural childbirth, causing extreme pressure and nausea. But, alleluia! In birthing, it's the rejection and the pressure that actually pushes out new life as we labor in love.
Yes, it's tough. It's as if life is trying to cling to life when the Lord is saying, "Let go! Let God! I want to multiply. I want to bear fruit. Life must beget life. Don't cling to something that's not even yours." Dear friends, we're stewards of everything, and owners of nothing.
The long, dark birth canal of God's purposes seems to never end and the resistance is great. The enemy mocks, "You can't get in here!" (II Samuel 5:6), trying to throw confusion into the camp and abort God-ordained assignments. However, we must also remember it's God who comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comfortable. He loves us too much to allow us to be complacent, and He will not leave us as we are, where we are.
Birthing involves squeezing through a small, narrow space in order to launch us into a large, expanded place. As we're squeezed and pressured, we must examine what comes forth. Is it love, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control? Oh, we say we have the fruit of the spirit and when it's time, we'll use it to reach the world. But, how do we really know if fruit is ripe until it's squeezed? Tested?
Beloved, if we can't survive in the birth canal of God, we'll never make it when we're thrust out into the world. Perhaps we must remain in the dark, pressurized conduit a bit longer as we're shaped into Christlikeness. It's here we're transformed into conduits ourselves to carry the Lord's glory. As mentioned above, perhaps we must stay in the pressure cooker until we're tenderized with the meekness of Jesus.
The secrets to survival during the pressure process are to trust the Almighty and stay in peace and stay in love. Yes, even when you don't have a clue what's at the end of the tunnel, your Father does. Beloved, it is not just what we say, but what we do that reveals the character of Christ in us. What seems like rejection from the body is actually what the Father uses to deliver His creations. We naturally draw near to Him as we suffer birthing pangs and it's in this intimacy that all fear is cast out.
I'm always so disappointed when I hear of women giving birth (in the natural) who swear during the process. I'm thinking to myself, "Wow, you need all the help you can get right now. Not a good time to curse God." I've read that birthing is actually the closest experience there is to dying. Everything in us is intense, fighting, laboring, struggling to hold onto something that's become a part of us. But, all the while, God is saying, "I am about to make all things new! Push, push into the future."
Let's refuse to go from drama to drama, crisis to crisis, my friends. Rather, we shall go from peace to peace and glory to glory, believing all things work together for the good for those who love Christ Jesus and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).
Are You Expectant?
As we are celebrating Rosh Hashanah and are entering into a seven-year cycle of blessing, let's reflect for a moment on the seeds we've sown and the labor we've experienced. How can we help but smile at the goodness of God? We've counted the cost, we've tilled the fields, and the Lord has made dreams grow. We've been as farmers preparing for the harvest. They begin with fertile seed, the Creator gives living water, and the "Son" brings forth fruition. Dear friends, the Church is entering into a season of fertility, a season of harvest. Consequently, she groans with birth pains. For those who have believed, labored and loved in the midst of persecution like our Savior, He is about to deliver--multiple births.
As we anticipate the future of a glorious Church again, we can liken it to natural childbirth, knowing that we will not remember the pain, once we are overcome with joy unspeakable. For the Lord declares, "Behold, I create new Heavens and a new earth, and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind." Isaiah 65:17
I enjoy the way The Message Bible describes it: "That's why I don't think there's any comparison between the present hard times and the coming good times. The created world itself can hardly wait for what's coming next. Everything in creation is being more or less held back. God reins it in until both creation and all the creatures are ready and can be released at the same moment into the glorious times ahead. Meanwhile, the joyful anticipation deepens" Romans 8:18-21
Press through beloved, push, push! It will all be worth it.
Groans for Future Glory
The whole earth groans under the pain of its iniquity. The lawlessness, evil, and darkness seem overwhelming at times. I don't think we can even imagine what it takes to usher in the new Heaven and new earth and that's why we co-labor with Christ--He knows. That's why the Spirit Himself intercedes for us and builds us up, even as we sleep. Very recently, I dreamt that Jesus, Himself, came to me and kept saying, "Faint not, I'm coming soon, faint not, I'm coming soon!" Fear not, dear ones, for Christ is not overwhelmed, but rather has overcome the world.
Can you feel the pressure? How can man comprehend the weight of the glory of God in the womb of God? We cannot. We must simply believe, anticipate and rejoice.
"Around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it's not only around us; it's within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We're also feeling the birth pangs. These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance. That is why waiting does not diminish us; any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don't see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy." Romans 8:22-25 (The Message Bible)
Keep laboring for the harvest, beloved. It will all be gloriously worth it! At the end of a dark tunnel is the light, a rainbow covenant of love.
"Wake up. Put your face in the sunlight. God's bright glory has risen for you. The whole earth is wrapped in darkness, all people sunk in deep darkness, But God rises on you, and His sunrise glory breaks over you. Nations will come to your light, kings to your sunburst brightness. Look up! Look around! Watch as they gather, watch as they approach you: Your sons coming from great distances, your daughters carried by their nannies. When you see them coming you'll smile--big smiles! Your heart will swell and, yes, burst! All those people returning by sea for the reunion, a rich harvest of exiles gathered in from the nations!" Isaiah 60:1-3 (The Message Bible)
Let's Pray: Dear Heavenly Father, what an honor to be used as Your deliverers. You are ours, and we are Yours. May You strip us of anything that is not of Jesus, as we squeeze down the birth canal to reach our destinies in Christ. As we groan, Your Church groans and the whole earth groans. May you uphold us with Your mighty right hand. As we leave what's familiar and secure, entering into a place we've never been before, we trust You, our King. Help us to stay in peace and love under the pressure, and not be moved as You jettison us from darkness into light, to the glorious wonder of Your precious name. Amen
Paulette Reed
Extreme Prophetic Ministries
Email: Paulette@extremeprophetic.com
Permission is granted (and you are also encouraged) to reprint these articles in hard copy form, as well as sending them to your own email lists and posting them on your own websites. We ask only that you keep ElijahList website, email contact info, and author contact information intact.
ElijahList Publications
310 2nd Ave SE,
Albany, OR 97321
www.elijahlist.com
email: info@elijahlist.net
Phone 1-541-926-3250
Saturday, October 06, 2007
Spurgeon's Devotional - Just loved these two
Morning Devotional
"Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never
thirst."
- John 4:14
He who is a believer in Jesus finds enough in his Lord to satisfy him now,
and to content him for evermore. The believer is not the man whose days
are weary for want of comfort, and whose nights are long from absence of
heart-cheering thought, for he finds in religion such a spring of joy,
such a fountain of consolation, that he is content and happy. Put him in a
dungeon and he will find good company; place him in a barren wilderness,
he will eat the bread of heaven; drive him away from friendship, he will
meet the "friend that sticketh closer than a brother." Blast all his
gourds, and he will find shadow beneath the Rock of Ages; sap the
foundation of his earthly hopes, but his heart will still be fixed,
trusting in the Lord. The heart is as insatiable as the grave till Jesus
enters it, and then it is a cup full to overflowing. There is such a
fulness in Christ that he alone is the believer's all. The true saint is
so completely satisfied with the all-sufficiency of Jesus that he thirsts
no more-except it be for deeper draughts of the living fountain. In that
sweet manner, believer, shalt thou thirst; it shall not be a thirst of
pain, but of loving desire; thou wilt find it a sweet thing to be panting
after a fuller enjoyment of Jesus' love. One in days of yore said, "I have
been sinking my bucket down into the well full often, but now my thirst
after Jesus has become so insatiable, that I long to put the well itself
to my lips, and drink right on.
" Is this the feeling of thine heart now, believer? Dost thou feel that
all thy desires are satisfied in Jesus, and that thou hast no want now,
but to know more of him, and to have closer fellowship with him? Then come
continually to the fountain, and take of the water of life freely.
Jesus will never think you take too much, but will ever welcome you,
saying, "Drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.
"
--------------------------------
Evening Devotional
"He had married an Ethiopian woman."
- Numbers 12:1
Strange choice of Moses, but how much more strange the choice of him who
is a prophet like unto Moses, and greater than he! Our Lord, who is fair
as the lily, has entered into marriage union with one who confesses
herself to be black, because the sun has looked upon her. It is the wonder
of angels that the love of Jesus should be set upon poor, lost, guilty
men. Each believer must, when filled with a sense of Jesus' love, be also
overwhelmed with astonishment that such love should be lavished on an
object so utterly unworthy of it. Knowing as we do our secret guiltiness,
unfaithfulness, and black-heartedness, we are dissolved in grateful
admiration of the matchless freeness and sovereignty of grace. Jesus must
have found the cause of his love in his own heart, he could not have found
it in us, for it is not there. Even since our conversion we have been
black, though grace has made us comely. Holy Rutherford said of himself
what we must each subscribe to-"His relation to me is, that I am sick, and
he is the Physician of whom I stand in need. Alas! how often I play fast
and loose with Christ! He bindeth, I loose; he buildeth, I cast down; I
quarrel with Christ, and he agreeth with me twenty times a day!" Most
tender and faithful Husband of our souls, pursue thy gracious work of
conforming us to thine image, till thou shalt present even us poor
Ethiopians unto thyself, without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing.
Moses met with opposition because of his marriage, and both himself and
his spouse were the subjects of an evil eye.
Can we wonder if this vain world opposes Jesus and his spouse, and
especially when great sinners are converted? for this is ever the
Pharisee's ground of objection, "This man receiveth sinners.
" Still is the old cause of quarrel revived, "Because he had married an
Ethiopian woman.
"
"Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never
thirst."
- John 4:14
He who is a believer in Jesus finds enough in his Lord to satisfy him now,
and to content him for evermore. The believer is not the man whose days
are weary for want of comfort, and whose nights are long from absence of
heart-cheering thought, for he finds in religion such a spring of joy,
such a fountain of consolation, that he is content and happy. Put him in a
dungeon and he will find good company; place him in a barren wilderness,
he will eat the bread of heaven; drive him away from friendship, he will
meet the "friend that sticketh closer than a brother." Blast all his
gourds, and he will find shadow beneath the Rock of Ages; sap the
foundation of his earthly hopes, but his heart will still be fixed,
trusting in the Lord. The heart is as insatiable as the grave till Jesus
enters it, and then it is a cup full to overflowing. There is such a
fulness in Christ that he alone is the believer's all. The true saint is
so completely satisfied with the all-sufficiency of Jesus that he thirsts
no more-except it be for deeper draughts of the living fountain. In that
sweet manner, believer, shalt thou thirst; it shall not be a thirst of
pain, but of loving desire; thou wilt find it a sweet thing to be panting
after a fuller enjoyment of Jesus' love. One in days of yore said, "I have
been sinking my bucket down into the well full often, but now my thirst
after Jesus has become so insatiable, that I long to put the well itself
to my lips, and drink right on.
" Is this the feeling of thine heart now, believer? Dost thou feel that
all thy desires are satisfied in Jesus, and that thou hast no want now,
but to know more of him, and to have closer fellowship with him? Then come
continually to the fountain, and take of the water of life freely.
Jesus will never think you take too much, but will ever welcome you,
saying, "Drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.
"
--------------------------------
Evening Devotional
"He had married an Ethiopian woman."
- Numbers 12:1
Strange choice of Moses, but how much more strange the choice of him who
is a prophet like unto Moses, and greater than he! Our Lord, who is fair
as the lily, has entered into marriage union with one who confesses
herself to be black, because the sun has looked upon her. It is the wonder
of angels that the love of Jesus should be set upon poor, lost, guilty
men. Each believer must, when filled with a sense of Jesus' love, be also
overwhelmed with astonishment that such love should be lavished on an
object so utterly unworthy of it. Knowing as we do our secret guiltiness,
unfaithfulness, and black-heartedness, we are dissolved in grateful
admiration of the matchless freeness and sovereignty of grace. Jesus must
have found the cause of his love in his own heart, he could not have found
it in us, for it is not there. Even since our conversion we have been
black, though grace has made us comely. Holy Rutherford said of himself
what we must each subscribe to-"His relation to me is, that I am sick, and
he is the Physician of whom I stand in need. Alas! how often I play fast
and loose with Christ! He bindeth, I loose; he buildeth, I cast down; I
quarrel with Christ, and he agreeth with me twenty times a day!" Most
tender and faithful Husband of our souls, pursue thy gracious work of
conforming us to thine image, till thou shalt present even us poor
Ethiopians unto thyself, without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing.
Moses met with opposition because of his marriage, and both himself and
his spouse were the subjects of an evil eye.
Can we wonder if this vain world opposes Jesus and his spouse, and
especially when great sinners are converted? for this is ever the
Pharisee's ground of objection, "This man receiveth sinners.
" Still is the old cause of quarrel revived, "Because he had married an
Ethiopian woman.
"
Monday, October 01, 2007
"BURNING BEFORE HIS THRONE MEANS STANDING IN THE ALL-CONSUMING FIRE"
September 30, 2007
Bob Sorge:
"BURNING BEFORE HIS THRONE MEANS STANDING IN THE ALL-CONSUMING FIRE"
"His 'consuming fire' will burn away all from your life, until all that's left is love itself."
My prayer life was transformed when I discovered that prayer is the glorious adventure of an unfolding, growing, reciprocating relationship with the living God of the universe. Nothing excels the glory of burning with holy longing before a burning God who blazes with fiery passions for weak but lovesick worshipers.
I didn't stumble or wander accidentally into this discovery; it was a divine set-up. I was ambushed. In my case, a personal trial has been used by God to totally rewrite my spiritual DNA, redirect the course of my life, and bring me to the threshold of a relationship that I always longed for but didn't know how to find. The calamity made me absolutely desperate for God. I began to scour God's Word like a starving man trying to stay alive. It wasn't the fiery trial that changed me; it was the desperate pursuit of God in the trial that changed me.
There are two Scriptures that define my place before God in my present season. The first is Deuteronomy 10:8, "At that time the LORD separated the tribe of Levi to bear the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to minister to Him and to bless in His name, to this day." I now see my primary calling as being that of standing before God and ministering to Him. No great agenda, no mighty ambitions, no rush to move on to the next thing. I just stand before Him and love Him.
The second Scripture is Revelation 4:5, "Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God." When I saw the phrase, "burning before the throne," my heart cried out, "Lord, I want those same words to characterize my life. I too want to stand before You and burn before Your throne!"
I have discovered who I am. I am a holy one (not because of who I am, but because of where I am) who stands before the throne of The Holy One, gazes upon His beauty and majesty, the fire that flows from His throne (see Daniel 7:10) flowing into my heart, setting me ablaze with the same fiery passions that kindle God's heart, and now my love flows back to Him like a volcanic eruption as my heart responds to the love He is now igniting in my heart (see Romans 5:5).
I will burn before Him for eternity. I will always stand here. By His grace, I shall never be moved. May nothing of this world or of hell's assault ever deter me from this holy stand before His throne. I've tasted of the ultimate privilege of burning before His throne, and I'm ruined for anything less.
Simply Stand
There are seasons when God calls us to simply stand. We might prefer the adrenalin of chasing down a great cause, but sometimes God calls us to stop all activity and just stand. Sometimes He gives us no choice. Occasionally, circumstances will constrain us beyond our ability to steer a different course, and we become prisoners to the chains that bind us to God's will. Incapable of extricating ourselves and moving on to the next thing, all we can do is stand and burn in holy love for our King.
It is commonly said, "Don't just stand there, do something!" When circumstances in our lives are careening out of control, the great temptation--when you don't know what to do--is to do something. "God can't steer a stationary vehicle," they say, "So start moving out on something, and let God direct your course."
That may be the way to go in some situations, but the Lord has been leading me in a different path. He inverted that common saying and gave it to me this way, "Don't just do something, stand there!" It came like this: "When you don't know what to do, don't just do something! Wait on Me, stand before Me, minister to Me, until. Until I speak. When I speak to you, then you can move out in response. But until I speak, just stand there."
I've been gripped recently by the phrase, "the fire never says, 'Enough!'" (Proverbs 30:16). There is a fire in God that is never satisfied; and there's a fire in me, placed there by God, that is never satisfied. The fire in me is constantly reaching out for more of God; and the fire in Him responds by desiring more of me in return. Eternity will be the unending adventure of ever giving more of our hearts in fiery love to Him, as He eternally unfolds more of His glorious beauty to us.
Do something dangerous. Get alone with God! His "consuming fire" will burn away all from your life, until all that's left is love itself. This is our God, "Who makes...His ministers a flame of fire" (Hebrews 1:7).
He'll make you one, too, if you'll let Him.
Bob Sorge
Oasis House Ministries
Email: oasisdesk@aol.com
Permission is granted (and you are also encouraged) to reprint these articles in hard copy form, as well as sending them to your own email lists and posting them on your own websites. We ask only that you keep ElijahList website, email contact info, and author contact information intact.
ElijahList Publications
310 2nd Ave SE,
Albany, OR 97321
www.elijahlist.com
email: info@elijahlist.net
Phone 1-541-926-3250
Bob Sorge:
"BURNING BEFORE HIS THRONE MEANS STANDING IN THE ALL-CONSUMING FIRE"
"His 'consuming fire' will burn away all from your life, until all that's left is love itself."
My prayer life was transformed when I discovered that prayer is the glorious adventure of an unfolding, growing, reciprocating relationship with the living God of the universe. Nothing excels the glory of burning with holy longing before a burning God who blazes with fiery passions for weak but lovesick worshipers.
I didn't stumble or wander accidentally into this discovery; it was a divine set-up. I was ambushed. In my case, a personal trial has been used by God to totally rewrite my spiritual DNA, redirect the course of my life, and bring me to the threshold of a relationship that I always longed for but didn't know how to find. The calamity made me absolutely desperate for God. I began to scour God's Word like a starving man trying to stay alive. It wasn't the fiery trial that changed me; it was the desperate pursuit of God in the trial that changed me.
There are two Scriptures that define my place before God in my present season. The first is Deuteronomy 10:8, "At that time the LORD separated the tribe of Levi to bear the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to minister to Him and to bless in His name, to this day." I now see my primary calling as being that of standing before God and ministering to Him. No great agenda, no mighty ambitions, no rush to move on to the next thing. I just stand before Him and love Him.
The second Scripture is Revelation 4:5, "Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God." When I saw the phrase, "burning before the throne," my heart cried out, "Lord, I want those same words to characterize my life. I too want to stand before You and burn before Your throne!"
I have discovered who I am. I am a holy one (not because of who I am, but because of where I am) who stands before the throne of The Holy One, gazes upon His beauty and majesty, the fire that flows from His throne (see Daniel 7:10) flowing into my heart, setting me ablaze with the same fiery passions that kindle God's heart, and now my love flows back to Him like a volcanic eruption as my heart responds to the love He is now igniting in my heart (see Romans 5:5).
I will burn before Him for eternity. I will always stand here. By His grace, I shall never be moved. May nothing of this world or of hell's assault ever deter me from this holy stand before His throne. I've tasted of the ultimate privilege of burning before His throne, and I'm ruined for anything less.
Simply Stand
There are seasons when God calls us to simply stand. We might prefer the adrenalin of chasing down a great cause, but sometimes God calls us to stop all activity and just stand. Sometimes He gives us no choice. Occasionally, circumstances will constrain us beyond our ability to steer a different course, and we become prisoners to the chains that bind us to God's will. Incapable of extricating ourselves and moving on to the next thing, all we can do is stand and burn in holy love for our King.
It is commonly said, "Don't just stand there, do something!" When circumstances in our lives are careening out of control, the great temptation--when you don't know what to do--is to do something. "God can't steer a stationary vehicle," they say, "So start moving out on something, and let God direct your course."
That may be the way to go in some situations, but the Lord has been leading me in a different path. He inverted that common saying and gave it to me this way, "Don't just do something, stand there!" It came like this: "When you don't know what to do, don't just do something! Wait on Me, stand before Me, minister to Me, until. Until I speak. When I speak to you, then you can move out in response. But until I speak, just stand there."
I've been gripped recently by the phrase, "the fire never says, 'Enough!'" (Proverbs 30:16). There is a fire in God that is never satisfied; and there's a fire in me, placed there by God, that is never satisfied. The fire in me is constantly reaching out for more of God; and the fire in Him responds by desiring more of me in return. Eternity will be the unending adventure of ever giving more of our hearts in fiery love to Him, as He eternally unfolds more of His glorious beauty to us.
Do something dangerous. Get alone with God! His "consuming fire" will burn away all from your life, until all that's left is love itself. This is our God, "Who makes...His ministers a flame of fire" (Hebrews 1:7).
He'll make you one, too, if you'll let Him.
Bob Sorge
Oasis House Ministries
Email: oasisdesk@aol.com
Permission is granted (and you are also encouraged) to reprint these articles in hard copy form, as well as sending them to your own email lists and posting them on your own websites. We ask only that you keep ElijahList website, email contact info, and author contact information intact.
ElijahList Publications
310 2nd Ave SE,
Albany, OR 97321
www.elijahlist.com
email: info@elijahlist.net
Phone 1-541-926-3250
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