pastorbb

Something almost indescribable happened recently in a women’s conference at our church
(The Father’s House, Sutherlin).
Pastor Kami invited us all to “Grit, Grace, and Gratitude”. It was amazing to watch and
be part of what God did. He moved powerfully through and upon all the worship leaders, speakers, and each one of us.

We learned how God often used women to shift or change times and seasons. (Deborah & Esther to name two). We caught the vision of being pioneers, like women of the old west, who bravely rode in covered wagons into new, dangerous territory. They birthed new life and new things: children, schools, churches, songs and more.

In Zachariah, 1:8-11 we find the Angel of the Lord standing among themyrtle trees. These are hardy evergreen trees, with fragrant blossoms, that flourish in waste lands.
Once we learned that Esther, whose given name of “Hadassah” meant Myrtle, we all became Myrtle. We quickly caught the vision. God transplanted Esther, from a lowly habitat to the palace. She was chosen to be Queen Esther and saved the Jewish nation from extinction,

Suddenly, it came together. Each one of us, like Esther. has been chosen by God and transplanted to a place where His destiny for us can be fulfilled.
“Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
God had His way. The worship, the words, the sounds all became stronger and stronger, louder and louder, angels joined the chorus and then it happened!

The presence and power of God came in like a bolt of lightning.
Over 150 ladies went into labor. Myrtles began birthing new life into their homes, finances, relationships, jobs, marriages……the spirit of revival was loosed.

The wise woman reads this and immediately knows her name is Myrtle.
Her heart is moved to trust God and yield her will to His for such a time as this!

It happened again. It was obvious from the soulful sound that one of the goats got her
head stuck in the wire fence. This was notthe first time.
Even though this repeatedly happens, the goat continues to poke her head through the
fence. She is convinced what she sees on the other side of the fence is far better
than where she is.
A perfect picture of how what we see can direct our actions. That poor goat was
enticed in the same way as Eve way back in the garden of Eden.
No matter God singled out one tree that was off limits. When Eve looked at that tree, she
saw how beautiful it was. Its fruit looked delicious, and, the promise it would make
her wise, all made it totally irresistible.
Our present day world has been shaped by fear, discontent, and dissatisfaction. People
are hungry, looking for something better…reaching out, like the goat, through the fence.
Advertising promotes products with enticing promises. Real butter has been outvoted by
“better than butter”. We are surrounded by substitutes.
We sing…”Nothing is better than God”. But, again, like butter, there are many substitutes.
Things that appear to be better than God. Here’s the challenge. What do we substitute
for God…for spending time seeking to know Him and experience His presence?
Is it quicker to play the lottery than wait for God to show us His plan to prosper us?
Are drugs and alcohol better solutions than working things out God’s way?
God has foreordained great works for each one of us, but we can choose to walk in our
own way, like the goat, trying to reach what ooks better.
BTW, that goat couldn’t free herself.
Someone needed wire clippers to set her free.

Walking with God isn’t easy. Adam walked with God in the garden, until Adam thought he could get a better deal by being his own god.
It didn’t turn out well, and changed the path we must walk on today.

Amazingly, God still wants us to walk with Him. His requirements
haven’t changed. He continues to look for a pure heart; one completely sold out to Him in everything. We sing songs about God being our Everything; our All in All.

One look at our calendar, check book, or credit card
statement quickly reveals what holds our time and money. Rarely is it God.

Typically, in a crisis or the midst of some storm we suddenly realize how
much or little genuine relationship we have with the Lord. The worse scenario
would be to call out “Lord, Lord” and He replies: “Who are you? I don’t
recognize your voice.”

When His will truly is our will, we see things about ourselves and others we
had never noticed. This is when our heart is broken for the things we know
have touched God’s heart. A new level or depth of compassion awakens our
heart to do something about what we see that is wrong. Unfortunately, the
injustice, unfairness, unforgiveness etc mount up against weak structures of
peoples faith and beliefs which, eventually, fall to the ground, victims of doubt
and unbelief.

This is when I saw a “bone junk yard”.  Right out of Ezekiel (37:4) there came
the command “Oh dry bones, hear the Word of the Lord.” Wow! I knew I was
to prophesy life to these bones, but wondered whose bones they were. This
wasn’t the army rising up as in Ezekiel.

Then the Lord revealed this was a bone yard of dried up finances, forgotten
prayers, broken relationships, failed jobs, abandoned hopes and discarded
dreams. Death seemingly had won the victory.
Yet, these bones had been commanded to hear the Word of the Lord.

Several scriptures immediately came to mind. “A  merry heart does good like
medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones.” Proverbs 15:13  ”The spirit of a man
will sustain him in sickness, but who can bear a broken spirit?” Proverbs 18:14

Yah…this is about a broken spirit! “Broken” here, in Hebrew, means to be
wrecked; shattered”. This is a spirit that is so overwhelmed with sorrow, it has
become weak and fragile. At this point, all pride and self-righteousness are gone,
and God’s mercy and compassion begin flow into the dry places.

Hear the Word of the Lord, my dear friends. If your bones have become dry,
know the power of God’s word to bring life. There is resurrection power in
every Word that God speaks. The rhema Word, the perfect Word, for every
circumstances releases an explosion of energy and life! The voice of His Word
releases inner strength, joy, and the ability to hope again!

“Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to
the bones.´ Proverbs 16:24

(July 22, 2017)