The Greatest of These

James 1:27 (Amplified)

External religious worship [religion as it is expressed in outward acts]
that is pure & unblemished in the sight of God the Father is this:
to visit & help & care for the orphans & widows in their affliction & need,
& to keep oneself unspotted & uncontaminated from the world.

About four years ago, God gave me a reeally cool vision of Chris & I ministering to orphans...I remember sitting with many of them crowding all around in a small room, singing with them (but they didnt seem to notice the fact I'm no Julie Andrews, lol) & Chris was bringing some food in the room...I knew that this was something of the future...my heart was blessed & touched & committed to serving these children, to look into their emptiness & shower them with love they so much needed/lacked, to pray for their healing, & eventually hear them laugh louder & longer...to hold them till they fell asleep. Without orphanages in Canada, I presume this is meant for somewhere much farther, maybe Romania, or central America, who knows at this point.
So my eyes & ears are open for opportunities in this way...esp. in our own city where so many are in distress & alone, children w/o parents or mentors, incl. those 'stuck' in the system. And women/men alone with broken hearts who cry day & night for their deceased.
This scripture brings another to the forefront for me...that once again it's about treating/loving others as WE would want to be loved. If we all really did that, no one would HAVE to tell us they're saved; we would already know!

Mark 12:29-31 (the Message) "Jesus said, "The first in importance is, 'Listen, Israel: The Lord your God is one; so love the Lord your God with all your passion, & prayer & intelligence & energy.' And here is the second: 'Love others as well as you love yourself.' There is no other commandment that ranks with these."

Restitution

And then before you know it, without you having anything to do with it,
Wasted Lebanon will be transformed into lush gardens,
& Mount Carmel reforested.
At that time the deaf will hear word-for-word what's been written.
After a lifetime in the dark, the blind will see.
The castoffs of society will be
Laughing & Dancing in God,
the down-and-outs shouting praise
to the Holy One of Israel.

For there'll be no more gangs on the street.
Cynical scoffers will be an extinct species.
Those who never missed a chance to hurt or demean
will never be heard of again:
Gone the people who corrupted the courts,
Gone the people who cheated the poor,
Gone the people who victimized the innocent.

That is why the LORD, who redeemed Abraham, says to the people
of Israel, "My people will NO longer be ashamed
or turn pale with fear..."
~Isaiah 29:18-22

Thats MY God:) Full of love, mercy & Justice...as I read these promises, peace rolls in & my heart shouts with praise...Hosanna!!!

More Listening, More Fruit...

This past week has been interesting...eye-opening to say the least. Spiritually speaking, the gates of radical awareness & specific prophetic knowledge from the holy of holies just blasted wide open.

So I'll start backwards with yesterday & my pastor's words about 'receiving' what is ours...that he declares we are all prophetic at Freedom House b/c of the prophetic mantle over that ministry...
I thought about my own 'wow' encounters recently with the prophetic (& how ppl over the years have so annoyingly labelled it as psychic>:? ...no, Psychic=Stupid! & Prophetic=Perfect Peace)...And how much I long to be as fruitful & productive as I can in this way, so others will be encouraged, healed, blessed, even saved!

On the other side of it, there are some in my family who are involved with the occult, to what extent I dont know, but God does, & I get the what if's thinking about "what if"...the lies the enemy has them believing are blown out of the water when the Holy Spirit starts to minister to them through HIS specific knowledge, HIS peace, leading them into HIS truth!! Almost every day I think about this. And then I think...God is calling us...you and me, to speak these words of life into those who can't hear His voice, so he can then touch their hearts & accomplish his will for them & us...


This past month I have heard from God is so many ways, SO specifically, before actual events had occured. He told me that a friend wouldn't in fact be showing up at a festival we were going to...I shared this with my husband, which is what I do now, to encourage him in his walk with God too:) I tell my daughter too, that we ALL can hear from God...we just have to listen, it will happen if we're patient.
So there were thousands of ppl...& I just knew she hadnt shown although she said she was going for sure. She told me the next day they didn't go (b/c her friend couldnt find the baby car seat.)
Same friend...her family was gone away camping for 10 days without her, b/c she just started working as a PSW & didnt want to skip off work.
After the first wknd together, she was enjoying the break from the very busy life of 3 young kids & loud husband (did I just say that? hehe)
I sensed God told me they were coming home early, but didnt say anything to her, b/c she prob. would've been bummed out, lol. So once again, i told my husband & GOD was right again! So, they came home a day early & my friend had to cancel our plans. (Little did she know I had a 'heads up' about our plans that night, lol)

And Again, after my daughter had gone to a sleepover, God told me to gather the family the next day & pray...first asking forgiveness of sins...& reminding my daughter that we need to do this every day. I shared this with my husband, he said ok, we then find out the next day that while God had told us to pray, our daughter & her friend had 3 frightening demonic encounters that night. God is so awesome, what a father, protector, counsellor, teacher & friend!
These last weeks my family, friends & I have been surprised & amazed at the things God has been revealing...& HOW MUCH MORE I want to hear from him, & know his voice with certainty so I can pray/encourage others in confidence that any specific knowledge I share with them is directly from the Holy Spirit, without diluting any part of it.

As Pastor Brian spoke, I kept hearing the word "receive" & I could see several strings dangling from above our heads with a tag attached to the bottom of each. Each tag would read a different word, one said 'salvation' , another, 'victory', another, 'healing' , 'ministry'...& so on.
The holy spirit was saying, if you Really want something, what do you do? Do you not reach out for it?
I then saw a little boy in a store with his dad, pleading nonstop for his dad to get him a super cool candy. ANd This particular time, b/c he was so persistent, the dad was happy to buy his son the treat. Then I saw Jesus standing next to me in the same way, saying; "And it's the same with you...if you want something, why not ask your heavenly Father for it?" Ask & you will receive...
I then saw Jesus riding on a wave, & lined up along each side were several angels...he said there's a tidal wave coming, & its going to wash over us...though I didnt sense any fear.
>A little later, Steve got up to share what God had shown him. It was a river with a wave & an undertow...some ppl were swimming frantically while others were calm & just went with it. The ppl in the water were those at Freedom House. He said the reaction of those of us in the water was dependant on our trust in Him.
So i dont know what Gods about to do, but I kinda hope it doesnt involve water literally, cause I am not a strong swimmer! Guess I'll just have to trust him; afterall He's the best lifeguard ever! LOL