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I saw a person in the hand of God and the rushing of the wind and the waves. I saw waves so large as if to drown the people, yet the people never left the hand of God. He continued to hold them in the palm of his hand in the midst of it all. Then I heard the words to the song “I Am – In the middle of the storm I am holding onto you.” (by Crowder).
I heard God say, “Do not fear my children, though the winds may blow and the waves may rise and it may look as though you will drown, I am holding onto you. Stand firm in my word, for I am a God of my word. I am your strength and your shield. Do not fear the things which the world perceives as deadly. I am your God and as you stand on my word without fear, the world will take notice for I have put my Holy Spirit within you that they may know me and be set free.” “I am separating the sheep from the goats, even now those who choose to live by fear will die by fear. Those who choose to live by faith in my word will live. My spirit does not thrive in fear nor in a fearful habitat.” What kind of habitat are you creating? “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” Isaiah 43:2 Walk in my glory, walk in my peace You can not accept or walk in defeat. Fear cannot take you, my grace will abound Stand firm in me ____________(place your name here) For you have a crown. A crown of my glory, will light up your face As you spend time with me in the quiet place. I’m holding you in the palm of my hand So you can fulfill my master plan. My plan for you is not for defeat where fear does abound and ravens will feast. My plan for you brings glory to me so rest in knowing who I called you to be. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. James 1:8 You can not live in fear and walk in grace. Kathleen VonSeggern
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Worrior Bride
I can hear the spirit of the Lord saying: Woman of God Arise! Arise, so that your enemies will scatter! Arise to the sound of my voice! For I am calling you to Stand. Stand, Do Not back down. I am calling a warrior Bride. A bride who will stand for me in the midst of adversity. I am calling a bride who has adorned herself for me in the quiet place with me. I have seen your anguish, I have heard your cry for your children, for your loved ones. I have not turned my face from you, nor have I removed my hand. My arm has never been to short to reach you. Each tear you have cried, each soul you have lifted up to me, I have been working in the heart of of man. Your prayers have been heard, your tears have been collected and now the time for weeping is no more. I am calling you to praise me for the outcome, declare and decree my word. I tell you this day to stand, do not back down nor waver. You are mine, I have found you faithful. Am I not a God of my word, for even as you praise me, even as you worship, the storm which has raged around you has not diminished my plan. Keep your eyes on me. Focus on me. Focus on my words to you this day. You are not forgotten. You are my bride. Now take your stand against adversity in the quiet place with me. So that I may present you publicly as the warrior bride you are.” (I see a mother standing up for her children against all odds. because of her love for that child, she will not back down. This is the kind of love and determination God desires from you for him.) Stand and declare that he is the Lord God, so that he will be glorified. “Arise with the sound of worship in your lungs. “For the battle is mine” says the Lord. “Let go and watch me move.” Kathleen VonSeggern I hear the Spirit of the Lord saying, “I have earmarked my people, my chosen ones for such a time as this. It is in the place of worship that you will hear my voice. It is in the place of worship that barriers will be broken down. It is the place of worship I will hear your cry, I wait for you there and long to hear you praise and worship my name. True Worship is about me and me alone. Let all your cares fall by the way side as you worship me and I will hear your cry, for my name is to be praised. My people perish for lack of knowledge, the knowledge of what true praise and worship is. For it is not a sound you make in the earth, but rather a sound you make in the heaven’s to the earth. Worship me my children, I call you to worship me. For it is in that place where you posture your heart in worship I will hear your cry for more of me and will move on your behalf. Worship me for I have earmarked my people for such a time and place as this. As you do, my hand will move upon the land, hearts will be touched and lives will be changed. The story of the good Samaritan is about the one who attended to the needs of the Father. I am the Jewish man who was attacked by bandits, stripped and beaten and left half dead beside the road. Those who claim to know me but attend to their own needs, those who appear righteous on the outside but their hearts are as stone, they do not hear my voice nor do they reverence me. They worship me with their mouth but their hearts are far from me. Beware of such people. If they do not have a true heart of worship in the quiet place with me when no one else is watching, they are not my sons and daughters. Only my sons and my daughters may come to the table which I have prepared for them. You will know them by their fruit. Watch, Listen and Wait. For I will reveal myself to my own. They are earmarked for such a time as this. Remember many are called but few are chosen. I choose, I lead and I guide. Man looks at the outward appearance, but I look at the heart. Listen and embrace my words this day for I would desire to turn the hearts of stone into a heart of flesh as you turn your worship to me.” Kathleen VonSeggern It all starts with a seed - A pumpkin seed, an apple seed, a flower seed. A seed of bitterness, rejection, discord, or anger. Most seeds are planted because of our thoughts. Our thoughts become our speech, our actions, and eventually our character. What you think you eventually will come to believe, unless you refuse to allow the seed to take root in your life. When a seed is planted in the ground it will produce one of its own kind. What kind of seed are you planting in others or allowing to take root in your life? What about the words we speak to ourselves and to others? Are they words of kindness, truth and love or of discord and ridicule? Rejection and unforgiveness can begin with a thought as tiny as a mustard seed and become deeply rooted within our being. What we allow to take root in our life will continue to grow unless it is uprooted and torn down. Many of us have allowed seeds of rejection and unforgiveness to dictate our life. We have allowed it to become a part of our character. We have continued to drag around and embrace who the world says we are, instead of who God our creator says we are. Does the one who created you not know who you are? Does an artist not know the work of His hands? He breathed His own breath into you. His breath does not speak ill of you but builds you up into who He formed you to be. There were scrolls written in heaven about you before you were born. You were predestined to be His child. A good loving parent will always want the best for their child. Do you not think your heavenly Father, your creator wants the best for you? Stop allowing seeds of rejection to dictate your life!! They have no place in you! You are the child of a King. It’s time you think like it, act like it and look like it.
The accuser of this world has no legal right to you! No right to your thoughts, words, actions or character. It’s time to uproot those things of the past and plant new seeds of acceptance, forgiveness and love. It’s time to begin with you. What does the word of God say about you? Let it become your thought, speech, actions and character and then let it flow out of you onto others. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Galations 6:8 (ESV) Ask yourself what kind of seed are you sowing? What kind of seed are you allowing to be planted and take root in your life? characterTo acquire wisdom is to love yourself, people who cherish understanding will prosper Proverbs 19: 8-9 (NLT)
We can not fully love ourselves until we know our full identity in Christ. We will never know our full identity in Christ until we know the fullness of his love for us. Jesus lives from a loved position with the father. God’s desire for us is to live from a loved position with him. He wants us to be free of us! Free of our own selfishness and pride. “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is equally important: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:37-39. (NLT) What we love, we will treasure. If we are to be like him, then we are to love because He is love. His greatest desire is for us to love, treasure, and become like Him. The more time you spend with someone the better you get to know them. Maybe even picking up some of their character traits. That is his desire for us, to pick up his character trait of love, everything else will flow from that place of intimacy with Him. We can not be spoon fed intimacy with the father by others. We must desire it enough to seek after it on our own. Loving Him enough to set aside that time for Him daily. Are we loving him fully? Are we loving ourselves (His Creation)? How can we love others as we love ourselves when many of us don’t even like ourselves? News Flash!! Charity begins at home and you can’t give what you don’t have. We need to stop putting down what God has created and says is his. When others attack someone or something very precious to you, it is as if they are attacking a part of you. God feels the same way, you are precious to Him, and when you attack yourself with words of abuse by putting yourself or others down God feels the pain. “God created human beings in His own image; in the image of God He created them; male and female.” Genesis 1:27 (NLT). You were made by the hand of God, created in His image and your value begins there. So....Who are you, a mere human being to argue with God? "Should the thing that was created say to the one who created it, “Why have you made me like this?” Romans 9:20 (NLT) "If I were to speak with eloquence in earth’s many languages, and in the heavenly tongues of angels, yet I didn’t express myself with love, my words would be reduced to the hollow sound of nothing more than a clanging cymbal. And if I were to have a gift of prophecy with a profound understanding of God’s hidden secrets, and if I possessed unending supernatural knowledge, and if I had the greatest gift of faith that could move mountains, but have never learned to love, then I am nothing. And if I were to be so generous as to give away everything I owned to feed the poor, and to offer my body to be burned as a martyr, without the pure motive of love, I would gain nothing of value. Love is large and incredibly patient. Love is gentle and consistently kind to all. It refuses to be jealous when blessing comes to someone else. Love does not brag about one’s achievements nor inflate its own importance. Love does not traffic in shame and disrespect, nor selfishly seek its own honor. Love is not easily irritated or quick to take offense. Love joyfully celebrates honesty and finds no delight in what is wrong. Love is a safe place of shelter, for it never stops believing the best for others. Love never takes failure as defeat, for it never gives up. 1 Corinthians 13:1-7 (TPT) Just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions. Not everyone who calls out to me, “Lord! Lord!” will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will cry “Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name. But I will reply, “I never knew you. Matthew 7:20-23 (NLT) I have to wonder will he also say, Yes, you did all these things but did you do them in love? Because if it wasn’t done in love then it was just a big waste of time! Jesus lived, taught and died by example, and that example was love. Immediately after feeding the 5,000 men and their families, Jesus insisted that His disciples get back into the boat and head across the lake to Bethsaida, while He sent the people home. After telling everyone good -bye, He went up into the hills by Himself to pray. Late that night, the disciples were in their boat in the middle of the lake, and Jesus was alone on the land. He saw that they were in serious trouble, rowing hard and struggling against the wind and waves. About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. He intended to go past them, but when they saw Him walking on the water, they cried out in terror, thinking He was a ghost. They were all terrified when they saw Him. But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” He said. “Take courage! I am here!” Then He climbed into the boat, and the wind stopped. They were totally amazed, for they still didn’t understand the significance of the miracle of the loaves. Their hearts were too hard to take it in. Mark 6: 45-52 (NLT)
He would have passed by them, except they cried out. I have thought of this verse many times through the years. How many times have we failed to recognize Him? How many times have we failed to call Him by name? How many times have our hearts become so callused and cold that we think nothing of His mercy and grace toward us?When I see the Sun in the sky, the birds in the air, the thunder and lightening that flashes across the sky, the trees waving in the wind, or the flowers that bloom, I see the presence of a magnificent God. When I see the smile of a loved one, hear the giggle of a child, or words of wisdom from the elderly I see God’s love, mercy and grace. It is easy to blame God when things don’t go as we think they should. It is easy to blame Him when the storms of life come in such a way that we don’t even recognize His presence in the midst of the storm and we fail to call out to Him for help and guidance. Instead of thanking Him for his loving care we call out to Him with accusation and ridicule, using His name in vain, knowing full well that His last name is not Dammit. And that Jesus last name is not Christ. But that He is the Christ the son of the living God. He has promised He will never leave us or forsake us. Deuteronomy 31:6 If one word of His promise is true, then every word of His promise is true. We don’t get to pick and choose. We don’t get to tell God how to do His job. Because He is God and we are not! To God, caring for us is not a job, it is compassion, love, mercy and grace. We should feel privileged that we get to seek His face, that we get to serve Him, we get to crawl upon His lap and lay our head upon His chest and hear His heart beat. When will we start seeking His face (loving and obeying Him for who He is), and not just His hand (what He can do for us). We are all about blaming Him for the crisis in our life, which most of the time, we have brought upon ourselves by the choices we have made. We may blame Him for an uncomfortable place that we are walking through, not realizing that it may be that very storm, where His character can be develop in us. I thank God for the mountains, and I thank him for the valleys, and I thank Him for the storms that he brought me through. For if I’d never had a problem, I wouldn’t know God could solve them, I’d never know what faith in God could do. (song Through it all by Andrae Crouch) When your feeling less than, put down, shoved down or taken down; when you’ve been told your not good enough, your to young, to old, or just plain unqualified; when you feel you’re all alone, and that no one cares about you or loves you, let me remind you.
Let me remind you of a boy named David. When others saw a giant, David saw an opportunity. The boy who appeared to have no armor, no weapon of magnitude, and no common sense, when the Israelite Army was shaking in their boots afraid of the Philistines, David stood before a giant and said “How dare you defile the army of the living God!!” When others saw a shepard boy, God saw a king!! Let me remind you of a young man named Joseph. When his brothers saw a nuisance, Joseph had a dream. Joseph was thrown in a pit, falsely accused of rape, and imprisoned for years. When others saw a prisoner, God saw an Ambassador. Let me remind you of a young man named Danial. When others saw hungry lions, Danial saw the hand of God. Let me remind you of a man called Moses. When others saw a sea of water, Moses saw dry ground and a promise land. When we see sickness, disease, misfortune, no hope, no potential, no future, God sees his child, well and whole, God sees a future and a hope. God sees a child of a king, which makes you Royalty. Let me remind you, who your creator is, and to whose kingdom you belong. He is the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords and the creator of the universe. His name is Abba, Prince of Peace, Everlasting Father, Son of God, Holy One, Jesus, His name is I AM. The spirit of the Lord would say:
If my people will make a sound of praise, true pure praise from the earth to the heavens, the dry bones will come back together in the body of Christ. It is time for the body of Christ to realize their true identity and step into it. It is time for the Dry Bones of the body of Christ to come together and function as they were created to function, before they were formed in their mothers womb. For too long they have walked around with blinders on, not knowing God’s purpose and plan for their life’s, not knowing their created value by the father and their purpose in the earth. For too long a deaf and dumb spirit has ruled the land and has filtrated into the churches. This time shall be no more! For I have caused a collision in the heavens, between darkness and light. Darkness shall no longer reign on the earth, because my light will no longer be snuffed out. My light shall shine through the darkness that all may see my glory. The blinders are about to come off! First off of my people so they may see and they may walk in my calling for their life and then and only then will the world began to truly see my glory in it’s fullness so they may come to me. There is a sound in the heavens proclaiming the name of the Lord. No longer shall his name be desecrated and spit upon. The Lord’s name shall be praised. For there is a rumbling in the heavens, a rumbling that will not be shut down by man. Have you ever heard someone say “I hurt from head to toe?” There are times in our life when we may all feel
that way. There was a man many years ago whom I can only imagine the intensity of the pain he must have felt throughout his entire body. He was severely beaten with a whip made of leather straps and embedded with metal. A crown made of thorns was placed on his head and driven deep into his brow as he was repeatedly hit on his head with a reed staff. He was spit on and ridiculed. His hands and feet where nailed to a cross where he hung for hours feeling as though God had abandoned him. Yet all the while feeling only compassion and forgiveness for those who had put him there. Mark 15:15-20 Sometimes when we are hurting or going through the storms of life, its easy to forget who it was that actually carried the most pain and the heaviest cross of all, His name was Jesus and He did it for you. He was despised and rejected-a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrow that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sin! But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. Isaiah 53:3-5 (NLT) For this is how much God loved the world-He gave His one and only, unique Son as a gift. So now everyone who believes in him will never perish but experience everlasting life. God did not send his Son into the world to judge and condemn the world, but to be its Savior and rescue it. John 3:16-18 (TPT) It is always exciting and fun to go on a vacation, some place you’ve never been before. We anticipate and prepare for the journey, with just the right clothes, and an agenda which will make our trip a wonderful experience. But what about the chapters in our life that we never really saw coming? What about the uncharted territory that life brings which we never really planned on? Life is full of surprises, some are pleasant and some are not so pleasant. Through it we learn and grow or we seem to stumble along aimlessly wondering what ever brought us to this place in our life, thus creating a vicious circle, where we are on a different path but the same journey.
The Lord said to Abram, “Go from your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.” Genesis 12:1-3 (NLT) Abram had to trust God to lead and guide him on the journey set before him. Although he could have chosen to stay with his family and friends in the land he had become accustomed to, he chose to obey God. Abram was seventy five years old when he left his homeland to step into a journey in which the only road map he had was instruction from God along the way. If you will notice, God said to Abram “go to the land I will show you.” Which leads me to believe that Abram did not know what was ahead of him on this new journey. He only knew that he had to listen for instruction along the way. There were times when Abram messed up, but God was always faithful. Even at the age of seventy five God still had an awesome plan for Abram’s life. I have found myself in uncharted territory more times than I can count in this journey called life. At times it can be stressful and I begin to feel anxious and worry because I can’t see the road map clearly. Then God in His mercy and grace gently reminds me to not seek his hand (what he can do for me) but seek his face (who he is). And it is in that place I begin to trust him again with his plan for my life, knowing that for Him there is no uncharted territory only plans for a future and a hope. “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.” Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT) Abram was seventy five years old when he packed up to set out on a journey with God’s voice as the only map in front of him. You may be sixteen or you may be eighty but whatever your age if you’re breathing then God still has a plan and a purpose for your life although it may be in uncharted territory.Will you trust Him? Changing our thought life can be challenging. Many of us go through life feeling unworthy or not good enough, because we have listened to and taken to heart what others may have said or may have thought about us. We base our feelings on the imagination of our own mind. But our worth is not measured by what others think, feel or say about us. Our worth is measured by what God thinks, says and feels about us. He valued you so much that he gave his son! That makes you priceless!
"For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone that believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16 When we come to know who we are in the heart of God, and his love for us, the way we think will change our destiny. "Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." Romans 12:2 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." Mark12:30 We can not love God with our whole heart if our heart is continually divided with the cares of the world. One of Satan's greatest tactics is distraction. If he can get us distracted and keep us in that place, then he can keep us from knowing our created value by the father. We have all been hurt or offended by someone. But taking offense is a choice we make and in many situations we would really like to give them a piece of our mind. When instead we should be giving them the love of Christ in us. "Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love." Ephesians 4:2 We sometimes wrap offense around our waist and carry it wherever we go. Even though sometimes it is heavy and can cause pain, we carry it as a form of protection. When we take offense, it is impossible to be humble or gentle. You can not produce what you don't have. Don’t let what you’ve been through become your way of life. Learn from it and grow. What is in you will come out of you. A house that is fully occupied has no room for offense. Stop letting all that is going on around you dictate what is going on within you. People are not our enemy. Our battle is not against flesh and blood but against the spirit of darkness. "Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world." Ephesians 6:11-12 There was a woman who was brought to Jesus, she had been caught in the act of adultery. But when Jesus saw her, he said “the one without sin, can be the first to cast a stone.” John 8:3-11. By saying that He not only disqualified them, but he qualified himself. Because He was and still is the only one without sin. Therefore He could have killed her. But he didn’t. Instead He said “I do not condemn you. Go and sin no more.” If we can’t find it in Jesus we shouldn’t want it in us. Don’t ever let the sin against you, produce sin in you. Stephen was an example of God’s grace. While he was being stoned to death for doing no wrong he said “Lord do not hold this sin against them.” Acts 7:54-60 When I see the nail scarred hands of Jesus, I think of the pain and suffering, I wonder how could a man that did no wrong, be beaten, abused, spit on, hung on a cross, have so much love that He would say to the Father, “forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Luke 23:34 (NLT) The Spirit of the Lord would say:
Before you were formed in your mothers womb, I knew you. I set you apart and appointed you. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. I breathed my life into you from the beginning of time. Nothing you can say or do will ever change my call on your life. What I have written in the books of heaven about you. I have written. You have a destiny. You have a future. Do not give up on me. Do not give up on my call for your life. Spend time with me. Get to know me. Allow me to fill you with the hopes and the dreams that I have prepared for you. You are not here by chance. For I have made a plan for your life. Praise me and I will break the chains that bind you. For I inhabit the praise of my people. I have seen you sitting among the coals. I have pulled you from the water and streams that long to overtake you. I have been with you every step of the way. I am calling your name. Do you not hear me calling? I am calling within the walls you have built around your heart. I am calling you to come closer to me. Allow me to lead you and guide you just as I did your ancestors in the days of old. “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.” Jeremiah 29:11-13 My love for you flows deep. My love for you is everlasting. I gave my son for you, that you might have life and have it more abundantly. For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. For he sent his son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world though him. John 3:16-17 I saw a bar that blocks the entrance to a parking garage, and I heard the spirit of the Lord say, I’m raising the bar. It is not only a bar off the limitations that have held you back, but he is raising the bar of acceleration in your spiritual life. There are those who have been running the race and you have not given up. You have continued to run and you have done well. You have not gone unnoticed by the Father. He has seen you, he has watched you, and he has been with you.
There are those of you who feel you have been digging ditches and trenches. But the father would have you to know that what you have been digging are deep wells. Not only wells within your own life’s but in the life’s of others. You have continued to dig and you have been faithful. You have now hit an artesian well. A well that continues to flow from the rivers of heaven within you, and is out pouring onto others who come in contact with you. The spirit of the lord would say that he is pleased and he is raising the bar. The limitation of things that have held you back is about to come to an end. The limitation of a slow paced process is coming off. For he has heard your prayers, he has seen your faithfulness to him and he says get ready my child for I’m Raising the Bar. I am drawing you closer to me, the closer you come to me the more the limitation which has held you back will be removed. There will be a place of rest, for I desire to teach you to rest in me. But after the rest, and after Holy Spirit has instructed and infiltrated your being, there will come a time of limitless activity in the heavens. The spirit of the Lord would say my people will walk by my spirit in the earth in a greater way. In the way it was intended to be. Hurting people hurt people. They say and do things that trigger negative reactions, therefore creating a vicious circle of hurt and rejection. In most cases their reactions stem from past experiences that led them to believe a lie which they accepted as truth. But when does it end?
We can not control how other people treat us, but we can control how we respond to their behavior. We can choose to walk around with arrows in our back or we can know that God’s got our back. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Then the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:8-9 As Paul gathered an armful of sticks, and was laying them on the fire, a poisonous viper, driven out by the heat, bit him on the hand. The people of the island saw it hanging from his hand and said to each other, “A murderer, no doubt!” But Paul shook off the viper into the fire and was unharmed. Acts 28:3-5 It’s not whether or not the viper bites but whether or not you allow it to kill you! The venom will not destroy you. Keep praying, keep praising, keep living. The gates of hell will not prevail against you. Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Romans 12:2 “You will continue to suffer if you have an emotional reaction to everything that is said to you. True power is sitting back and observing things with logic. True power is restraint. If words control you that means everyone else can control you. Breathe and allow things to pass.” Warren Buffett If God is for you, who can be against you? Romans 8:31 He will keep in perfect peace, whose thoughts are fixed on Him. Isaiah 26:3 Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8 There is a spirit of seduction which hides under the umbrella of religion desiring to seduce the church, into the worship of a false God. We the church have grown into a place of positioning ourselves, rather than posturing our hearts. In place of worship we perform. We recite in place of prayer. Rather than love and forgiveness we judge and condemn. Where are those who would take a stand against social standing in a fallen world? Where are those who will fall on their knees and pray with a heart of repentance for this land?
“For If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves, pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin and heal their land.” “It is time, to position your hearts, my sons and daughters. Come into my presence in the quiet place of my love, seek my face, turn from all that would distract your attention away from me. Consecrate yourself. Come to my throne. For I have called you to worship me and worship me alone. I am a jealous God. I desire your whole heart of worship to me. Hear my words for my spirit will not rest upon a position of power but upon a heart of praise.” "Paul was preaching into the night in an upstairs room and a young man named Eutychus who was sitting on the windowsill became drowsy and fell three stories to his death below. Paul went down and picked him up." "Don't worry" Paul said, "He is alive!" Acts 20:7-12
When will our mindsets shift so that the miraculous things of God become the normal and the normal become the abnormal? For if God is God then Nothing is impossible! Have you ever felt as if you were in a mud slide, with the cares of life falling down upon you?
I can’t help but think that: Elijah was feeling that way when he was trying to run away from it all, by hiding in a cave. There was a powerful wind, an earthquake and a fire but God was not speaking to Elijah from the things that surrounded him. God’s voice came in a whisper. When Danial was in the Lion’s den he wasn’t listening to the lions roar or the chatter of negative people who said he would surly be eaten by the lions. He was listening for the whisper of God’s voice which gave him peace. When Joseph was in prison, although he was well aware of his surroundings, he wasn’t listening to the other prisoners complain, he was listening for the voice of the God he served. When Ruth was gleaning in the fields of a foreign land, and others were talking about how she didn’t belong and looking down upon her as less than, she was listening for the whisper of the one true God. Through out his life, David was continually taken back to the silence of a shepherd’s field or a cave, where he was alone in a secluded place. It was there he could hear the whisper of God. When life’s challenges seem more than we can bear, we must go back to the place where we first heard the whisper of God and feel the peace of his presence. For me it is impossible to hear what God is saying among the chatter in a mass of people, if I am not first spending time in seclusion with Him in the quiet place, listening for the whisper of His voice. For it is only in that place that I find peace in the midst of the storms of life. Months ago I had a dream. In the dream a woman was passing out scrolls as she ran. She turned for a brief moment and looked at me and said, I live at 1532. Upon awakening, I began to ponder and ask the Father the meaning of the dream. I discovered that the number 15 means rest and the number 32 means covenant. Rest in the covenant. I must remember where I live, in the place of rest with Him. For it is then and only then I can distribute the scrolls (word of God) which He has put within me. When Jesus was in the boat, he was sleeping with his head on a pillow in the midst of a storm. He was not focused on the storm raging around him, or the busy chatter of those in fear. Did he care? Yes, he cared but he was resting in the covenant of his fathers peace and love. And when he was awakened to the screams and yelling of those around him, He stood and said. “Peace. Be still.” When we live in Christ, peace is all around us. We only need to command it to be still in Jesus mighty name. It may not change the situation, but it will change the storm within us which we have been focusing on, so we can hear the whisper of His voice and rest in the covenant of his love for us. Be Still and Know that He is God. Psalm 46:10 He will keep in perfect peace whose mind is fixed on Him. Isaiah 26:3 Rest in the covenant of His love for you. There is nothing in the heart of God for you, that you can not have. It needs to be birthed into us, before we can tap into it. We must see ourselves as God see us. Our vision must be from the inside out rather than from the outside in. The veil has already been torn. Ask God for a clear revelation of his love and purpose for you in the earth.
For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. Jeremiah 29:11-13 (NLT) I see two large banqueting tables spread. One on earth and one in heaven. The table on earth is beautiful in appearance, with the finest china and food galore. But on it and around it, are things of the world. Worry, grief and bitterness, sorrow, pain and jealousy, sickness, hatred and foolish pride. The love of the father does not abide.
The table in heaven is spread for a king. It’s simple but lovely and kindness resides. There’s baskets of blessings, baskets of grace, a platter of love that all may partake. All those around it are happy and free, no worries, no cares, only pleasing the King. I hear the Spirit of the Lord saying, dig in a little deeper. There is a breaking of ground. I see shovels digging, I see holes being dug and a dirt hill being formed behind. Children are playing on the dirt hill. I hear the spirit of the Lord say teach the children. For the children will rise higher than their teacher. Teach the children. Dig deep into the well that I have put within you, and teach the children. For out of their mouths will flow rivers of living water. Teach the children so they will know me. They will run with me. They will dig wells of their own and they will plant. They will bring to me a great harvest. My people perish for lack of knowledge, but within these children I have placed the seed of my loin, which is truth. They search for truth, they long for truth. Teach the children, so the truth of my love might grow in them. The parable of the seed is a parable about my children, they are the seed. Do not let them fall. They are the next generation of my out pouring. Teach the children, for in the children is the seed of life. Do not let the seed I have placed within them, which is their longing for truth fall on the footpath, on the rocky soil or among the thrones. For they are good soil and my desire is for them to cling to the truth of my word for they are the seed of life for generations to come.
Generation after generation has searched for truth since the beginning of time. It all started with the first lie, that was told in the garden. I believe when God created man he planted within man truth. But when the truth was lost, confusion began to set in, therefore producing a people who have lost their identity. An identity that only in Christ can once again be found. Teach the children, so they might know who they were created to be since the beginning of time, that they might walk in their true identity.  When everything in life seems to be going well, we see no need for change. But even if our life changes for the better, and we have no desire to go back to the way things were, we may find ourselves revisiting the familiar place, for lack of a better plan. One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” And they left their nets at once and followed him. Matthew 4:18-20 (NLT) Three years later: The disciples had been fishing all night but had caught nothing. At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, He called out “Have you caught any fish?” “No,” they replied. Then he said, “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get some!” So they did, and they couldn’t haul in the net because there were so many fish in it. When they got to shore they found breakfast waiting for them- fish cooking over a charcoal fire, and some bread. Then Jesus served them the bread and the fish. This was the third time Jesus had appeared to his disciples since he had been raised from the dead. After breakfast Jesus asked Peter, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.” “Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him. Jesus repeated the question: Peter, do you love me?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.” “Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said. A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord you know everything. You know that I love you.” John 21 (NLT) I believe what Jesus was saying is, “Now that you know me, and have spent time with me, things can not be as they have always been. You can not go back to your old way of life. What you have been doing isn’t working anymore. If you are finished doing things your way, try doing them my way. Follow my direction. Follow my lead. Allow me to guide you. Listen to my word. I have a bigger plan and purpose for your life. I will supply your needs. But from this moment on, you will be fishing for the hearts of men. If you really love me, consecrate yourself to me, so that you can teach others what you have learned from me. If you love me change your way of thinking. I have something new for you and you must find it for yourself, before you can teach it to others. Listen to me, really listen. Allow me to show you a new way.” What Jesus wanted is for Peter to position his heart where Jesus was. Many times we continue in the same way of life and in the same pattern of thinking because its comfortable. But after Jesus has touched your life, you will never be the same again. You will not want to go back to the way its always been. Your past is called the past because it is in the past. It brought you to where you are today, but you don’t live there anymore. Today is a gift and tomorrow is a mystery. Position your heart where Jesus is and see where He desires to take you. Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:18&19 (NLT) When God is Silent, Listen for the heartbeat. Be still and know that He is God. Psalm 46:10
You are God’s masterpiece. God watched you as you were being formed in utter seclusion, as you were woven together in the dark of the womb. Every day of your life was recorded in His book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. You are always on His mind. His thoughts about you are so precious, they cannot be counted for they out number the grains of sand. Psalms 139: 13-18 (NLT)
The bible tells us of a woman named Ruth who was born and raised in Moab. Ruth could have stayed in Moab, a place that was familiar and comfortable to her. But she made a decision, to leave everything she had ever known, to follow after a God her mother in law Naomi had taught her about. She made a decision to honor a mother in law that had nothing in this world to offer her. She made a decision to humble herself in a foreign land. In her heart I believe that Ruth knew her destiny was much larger than what she had been taught growing up in Moab. A destiny which God had written upon her life when she was being formed in her mothers womb. A destiny to become the great grandmother of a king named David (whom was in the lineage of Jesus). A destiny to have a whole book in the bible named after her and written about her. A destiny that would one day change the world. Ruth 1-4 Just like Ruth, God has a plan for your life. A plan to prosper you and not to harm you, a plan to give you a hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT) Before you were formed in your mothers womb, He knew all about you, your fingerprint was being designed by the hand of God. Out of more than 7 billion people who live on the earth not one fingerprint is alike. Even identical twins do not have an identical fingerprint, they too are uniquely made and set apart for a special purpose in the earth which God has already written in his book. Sometimes we need to make choices that are not the most popular. Sometimes we must leave the familiar ways we were taught and change our way of thinking. We may even need to move away from our homeland and embrace a new life style. We are to stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around us, and inwardly be transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how we think. This will empower us to discern God’s will as we live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in his eyes. Romans 12:2 (TPT) You were fearfully and wonderfully made by the hand of God. Psalms 139:14 (NIV) and an artist always signs their work, it signifies that the artwork is finished, and that the artist is satisfied. Could it be that your fingerprint is God’s signature on his masterpiece? God is raising up a company of Prophets for such a time as this, his voice must be heard in the land.
The people of God must take a stand, for just as in the days of Elijah the spirit of Jezebel would desire to kill and shut down the Spirit of God which lives within the prophetic voice of his people. There is an attack on those who walk and carry the anointing of the prophetic office like never before. We must lift our voice to the heavens, for God is uniting the prophetic voice of his people. The spirit of prophecy is coming together as never before. The prophets are raising their voice to be heard. No longer shall the voice of the Almighty God be silenced, no longer will his word within his people be hidden. The spirit of the Lord would say pray my people, pray like never before, intercede for one another because the attack is real. Pray that you might withstand the attack of the enemy. But know this, those who are for you in the heavens are more than those who are against you in the earth. Walk in faith, yet be aware that you are not alone. I am with you. Stand in undivided unity as you fight this battle together in prayer! Know your calling, your gifts, your identity. How will the world know who I am least they see me in you? For their identity has been stolen, they are searching and crying out, but you are in me and I am in you, you are mine. Let this be your witness of me, by showing them my love for them through you, my word for them through you, Speak up! Do not silence the voice within you with doubt and fear. Speak up! That my voice through you might be heard in the earth. I saw an army of prophets shoulder to shoulder, arm in arm, moving through out the land as a mighty army ready for battle. But an army like none that have gone before. There were fires raging out of control, sickness and death, famine, fear and anger, chaos everywhere just as in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah. Sin was running rampant through out the land. The prophets began to march to go forth in unison as the captains gave the commands. As the prophets of God would raise their hand, anger and violence would stop. As they began to speak, fire would come from their mouths and the raging fire of deceit would dissipate. As they would march the ground would tremble, and the sick and dying would rise up and sing praises to God. They continued to march forward not one looked back, but followed the instruction of the king. In unity they marched shoulder to shoulder, arm in arm, singing praises to the king, while angels encamped round about them and the glory of God shined brightly, for there was no veil. The face of God was over shadowing the earth, his presence made known to all. This is his call for unity, his desire for all. No jealousy, no questioning, no judgment on one another, only his acceptance and love for the time is near. Know your identity, walk in it, move in it, be confident in it. The time is near, do you not see the hour approaching? Prepare yourself for the battle is real. The time is near. The time is near. Be ready, go forth, speak out, warn the people. For behold I am coming quickly. Kathleen VonSeggern |
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