Reese's Pieces

Some of you may have heard me talking about following the Reese's Pieces trail that God lays out for us and how much fun it is to walk out the adventure with Him. This article does an excellent job at explaining it and encouraging us to engage in it. It is a fundamental approach that we take in the House of Prayer pretty regularly and I look forward to exploring the mysteries with you. Found a Reese's Piece just the other day in Brooklyn after representing Long Island at the House of Prayer meeting there. Check out www.thestorefront.cc and let me know what you think.

Also, on another note, there is an interesting worship gathering taking place in Kansas next month called Paradise08. love, t



Steve Witt: ""Moving from Mystery to Clarity
--Learning the Language of Heaven"
(Playing Hide and Seek with God)

"It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the honor of kings is to search out a matter." Proverbs 25:2

Nature's Mysteries

There has been an urban legend that states that bees shouldn't be able to fly. Scientists are puzzled at the unique aerodynamic aspect of the wings of insects, in general. Obviously, the bees fly anyway! It is somewhat of a mystery.

I have hundreds of ducks and geese that live in my back yard. Some of them are domestic ducks that I purchased to populate our small pond. Several years ago, I wanted to move one of them to another pond about a mile away. I captured one of my large, white ducks and placed it in a closed box in my car and drove him to his new home.

After being released from the box, the white duck was surprised and puzzled at his new home, but he seemed to adjust fine. I had some work to do and periodically looked across the field to check on my new tenant. After an hour of work, I glanced to check on his progress. I couldn't see him and became alarmed, thinking a fox or large turtle might have consumed him. I investigated closer, but the duck had disappeared. I searched all over the property, lamenting over the loss of my duck...and the $15 it cost me!

I finished my work and returned home. I shared the mystery with my wife, poured a large glass of iced tea, and headed to my back deck to relax. The prodigal white duck was sitting by my lawn chair! It appeared angry at me. He had walked (he's too fat to fly) across roads, over a stream, and through fields for one mile and found his way back home. I've heard stories like this before, but I have never personally experienced it. It's a mystery.

Beer Parable

Last summer, I began to crave beer. I am not a beer drinker, nor do I even like it. Strange enough, I was craving a certain beer: Guinness. Can you crave something that you've never tasted? Apparently so! It became a joke around our house. Although I had no intentions of buying a Guinness, the strange connection continued for several weeks.

Then on a Friday morning, at 7:15, my prophetic friend, Marc Dupont, called. He began to give me a word about 2008 and, at the conclusion, recommended a book for me to read. I wrote the title of the book down, "Prophetic Untimeliness." In order to purchase the recommended book, I inquired regarding the author's name. Marc responded saying, "Guinness...Os Guinness." It was one of those odd moments. It's another mystery.

Several days later, I devoured the book, and it was life changing. Does God speak through such mysterious language? Bees that can't fly do anyway. Ducks find their way home without maps, and cravings are codes for upcoming books. He hides, we seek. He conceals, we search.

There are many mysteries in life. God is the greatest mystery, with our own destiny running a close second. The challenge of life is solving the mystery of God's communication. Is it meant to be difficult? I suppose that depends on your view of God as a Father.



Easy to Find

My children are all grown now, but I remember when they wanted to play "hide and seek" as a child. They would put their little hands over their eyes and begin counting. Quickly, I made my way to a place that would be easy to discover. Typically, I hid behind the window curtains with my feet sticking out at the bottom. In mere moments, the little kids would scream with glee and hug the daddy-shaped image in the curtain. Loving fathers hide...but not real well. We want to be found! It's a mystery, but not a difficult one. Anyone can play, and everyone can win! God is a loving Father and does the same thing.

Consider this following Scriptural passage in Deuteronomy 30:11-14:

"For this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off. It is not in Heaven, that you should say, 'Who will ascend into Heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?' Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, 'Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?' But the Word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it."


God's mysteries are meant to be solved. They are unto something. They are meant to reveal destinies, plans, strategies, and tactics. He does not hide them far, and invites us to participate. He loves to use terms like seek, ask, and knock.

Trusting the Father


My father used to play a similar game with me. He had a large, old-fashioned, jug sitting inside our front door. When he came home from work each day, he would empty the change out of his pocket into the jug. When vacation time would come, we would empty it, count it, and use it for something fun.

I worked my first real job when I was about sixteen. I came home one day with my first payday. My father must have tuned into my excitement about having cash in my wallet. He looked at me and said, "How much money do you have in your wallet?" I wasn't totally sure, but said, "About thirty dollars." He then said, "I'll give you everything in that jug for everything in your wallet."

This was not uncommon. It was his way of training me to take risks and make quick decisions. I asked him if I could lift the jug, because I couldn't remember when we had emptied it last and how much money it might contain. He declined. I had to take a risk, and I had to make the decision quickly. He told me that the offer was running out fast. I looked at the jug and into his eyes...back to the jug and responded, "You've got a deal." I handed him the thirty dollars and ran to empty the jug. A quick estimate was later confirmed...I had made a good deal. There was over one hundred and twenty five dollars in the jug. Do you know why I made the deal? My father loved me and I knew it! I knew that he would never make an offer to me that wouldn't work for my benefit. A loving God will not tease or trick a son or daughter. That was one of many deals we made over the years. His love empowered me to take risks. He made it easy for me to solve the dilemma, because He loved me.

"...but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits." Daniel 11:32b


It is essential for every believer to enroll in the school of interpretation. Questions need to be answered about God and about each human purpose. It is easy to back off in discouragement at dreams or circumstances that do not make sense. God is inviting us into a life of discovery...solving the mystery. To those that enroll, a life of epiphanies and glorious revelation will occur. Many marriages end today due to a lazy approach to relationship. Mysteries are replete in marriage and need to be sought out. It takes time and energy, but after all, doesn't anything of value require an investment?

Fear runs deep in our culture today. Thoughts of terrorism, sub-prime mortgage issues, and the teetering economy in general, as well as the diluting of our cultural values, leaves many living in a prison of worry. One of the fastest growing medical industries in the United States is geared toward sleep disorders. Movie star Heath Ledger's recent tragic accidental blending of medications to bring rest is a metaphor for our times. People are without rest. They have questions. They need a pioneering people that know the way and are willing to help others find it.

The Winter '08 issue of Leadership Journal had an interesting article regarding why Muslims convert to Christianity. The article had a thread of common theme throughout it. Muslims are intrigued by the lifestyle of Christians. The "pro-woman, loving God, love-filled, supernatural" lifestyle was magnetic to those that are searching and seeking. They are finding something that has previously been a mystery. They are finding that the Christian experience seems to emphasize a loving God versus the Muslim view of a punishing God. God is revealing what has previously been a mystery to many. They are discovering what many Christians have uncovered...that Jesus came to declare a "year of favor," versus a "day of judgment." The favor ratio is 365 to one. He is more favorable than judgmental.

Tricks of Heaven

God apparently loves puzzles. Why does He use mystery? I search this out in my recent book, "Voices: Understanding and Responding to the Language of Heaven." In chapter one, I tell the story of my son at the age of two. He was a typical toddler, full of energy and eager to play. Many times, I'd come home from work, just wanting to relax. He though, was eager to play, but wanted to get me off of the sofa. I'd lay there and call to him to come and give me a hug. He coyly replied, "No!" Being the lazy man I am, I developed ways to draw him to come to me. I called across the room and said, "Josh...come seg moy yum." I continued to repeat a version of this nonsensical statement over and over again. He was curious. He moved slowly closer, studying my lips, trying to understand what his Dad was saying. Eventually, he was standing right in front of me! Unaware that he had been lured into my trap through a mystery, I reached out and began to tickle him. He would go screaming to his mother. Mystery has the power to draw you in. God uses it to draw us closer to Him and reveal His purposes. Have you ever heard a sound from Heaven that said something like, "Come seg moy yum?" Many of us are unwilling to take the time...pay the price...seek the voice.

Desire is Needed

Moses had been living in the wilderness for forty years. His life was quickly turned upside down by a voice coming from a burning bush. The Bible says that he, "Turned aside to see the great sight." The text then says, "When the Lord saw that he turned aside to look...God called to him" (Exodus 3:3-4). In this case, a simple "turning aside" provided a doorway to revelation. The mystery of a burning bush was solved by simply taking a moment and reflecting. God saw it, and responded. Could it be possible that "intentionality" is needed to solve many mysteries? If we just stop and desire to understand, we might solve the mysteries of life? Many of us are frustrated and say, "If God really wanted me to do this, He would be clear." A simple look at the Gospels clearly shows that much of the time the disciples were confused as to Jesus' intentions. Phrases like, "And they knew not what He meant," occur often.

Jesus began to build curiosity regarding the next phase of God's unfolding plan by cryptic communication regarding His leaving and the Holy Spirit's coming (Luke 24:49). By the time that Acts 2 has appeared, Jesus is gone and they are waiting patiently for...a mystery. One hundred and twenty people are spiritually sequestered in an upper room, excited, unified, and probably very curious! The Holy Spirit came in power with unusual accompanying of manifestations. The followers of Christ had experienced tongues of fire and apparent drunkenness, with a new ability to communicate in seventeen different languages! The mystery of the new age of His Kingdom was unfolding.

Questions Needing Answers

This historic day brought up two major questions in the early Church, "What does this mean?" and "What must we do?" These will always be the two mysteries for the Church to solve. These are the same questions that people have today about every mystery in life. To the degree that the Church is able to answer these questions is the degree of influence it will have in today's culture. The questions demand wisdom, but at a deeper level, they call for a prophetic people. The people that hear from God will rule the day. They will be the lights. They will be the guides.

Many dilemmas face our society today. The challenging battle between traditional medicine and alternative medicine is flaring up, with record amounts of organic foods and alternative treatments being unveiled. Ecological and business concerns are starting to come together. These former enemies are finding common ground and solving the mysteries by finding symbiotic ways of forming alliances. Evangelicals and Charismatics have worn down walls and distinguishing between them is becoming more difficult.

Mysteries have been solved with record pace over the past twenty years. The Church needs to be at the forefront of the revolution of discovery. Where are the people who will hear the voice of Heaven? God has called us to solve the puzzles of life. Nehemiah had a plan to rebuild Jerusalem. Daniel received revelation regarding his King and the future of the kingdom. Joseph saved Egypt and secured the Jewish people during a time of famine. The recent movie, "Evan Almighty," brings this ancient challenge into the contemporary times. It's the story of a recently elected congressman that is given a Noah-like call for the 21st century. It is humorous, yet prophetic. An unfolding clarity came to Evan as he was challenged deeper into God's will for his life. Will we implement the interpretation of God's communication into our current lives? Will we take the time to listen...turn aside...and respond to the voice of Heaven? Our futures may be determined by how we answer this question.

Some mysteries will take greater time. The challenges today can be very complex, demanding a solomonic level of wisdom. How will we cope with extreme mysteries? I believe that 1 Corinthians holds the answer. When you encounter something that comes as a foreign language, what do you do? Consider this passage that speaks to a common mystery in the church of Corinth:

"For he who speaks in a tongue do not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries...There are, it may be, so many kinds of languages in the world, and none of them is without significance. Therefore, if I do not know the meaning of the language, I shall be a foreigner to him who speaks, and he who speaks will be a foreigner to me...Therefore let him who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret." 1 Corinthians 14:2, 10-11, 13

Mysteries come in many ways. Mysteries are to be interpreted. The onus is upon us. We are learning to be interpreters. Like a foreign language, conundrums of the day will need interpretation. Paul challenges us that when we face a mystery, "Pray that you may interpret." A life of intimacy will begin to unveil the mysteries of the ages. Enter God's language school. Give yourself to understanding His voice.

Learning a Language

There are basic components to learning any language. Learning the language of Heaven is similar. Here are the five paths to successful learning of any mystery...including language:

1. Motivation--Whether it's French, Spanish or Heaven, you must desire deeply to understand.

2. Equipping--The Bible is God's language book. Study it and know how He communicates. You'll be amazed at what you will discover about Heaven's language through the Bible.

3. Environment--Create a church culture that celebrates Heaven's voice and communication.

4. Humility--Every language will humble you as you begin to speak its sounds. Don't be afraid to fail. Find an environment that encourages and celebrates risk.

5. Time--Crash courses will leave you anemic regarding understanding. There are few shortcuts. Take the time to get it right. Learn the voice of God!

Where is the Church heading? How will leadership shift in the future? What is the right model for building a true Kingdom culture? Are tragic situations going to radically change how we live? What is my true destiny? What are the futures of my children?

These are all mysteries...are you up for solving it? We may never understand about the ducks and the bees, but God is willing to help us solve some of life's greatest mysteries. Are you willing to turn aside, be curious, move close and hear the heartbeat of God?



Steve Witt
Email: admin@istevewitt.com



Steve Witt has been a church planter for 30 years. He has been a leader in the Vineyard in Canada and former apostolic team member for Partners in Harvest (Toronto). He served as a business coach for nine years and has done training in over 25 nations. He is currently pastor for Metro Church South in the Cleveland, Ohio, area. Steve is married to Cindy and they have four grown children.




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