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YEAR 5776

Posted on October 30, 2015 by Pastor BB

The Hebrew alphabet has word pictures associated with its letters. The word/picutres for this new year 2016-5776 on the Jewish calendar are 70 = “ayin = an eye” and 6 = “vav = a peg”.
That makes this year, the year to “see a peg”.

A peg, nail, or hook holds things together, and makes them secure. Last week’s word re God bringing new things into our lives, requires transitioning from old ways to new ones. How cool that in the midst of change, if we look, we will see God has made a way to connect it all and make things secure. The key is in our looking.

Sorry for the repeat, but until we learn to live in the spirit, we will only see with our natural eyes what is directly in our face. So we have to learn to look with our spiritual eyes and see the peg….the point where everything is secured. This is where all things work together for good…..
That isn’t how things usually look in the natural realm. But, this is the year God will give us an eye to see things from His perspective and where He has got us covered!

This is a time to step into the new assignments, relationships, strategies, locations, etc. Ask the Lord to open your eyes to see your destiny ….to see the divine connections and alignments that will bring you into a new season of increase and abundance.
When you do this, you will see Jesus, He is the One, Who holds it all together. He’s the Peg,the Nail, that held our opposition to the cross….and made the way for us to walk in victory!

The key words: I hear are “expansion and increase”. As the Israelites journeyed in the wilderness, tent pegs were used to secure the tabernacle.
“Clear lots of ground for your tents! Make your tents large. Spread out! Think big! Use plenty of rope, drive the tent pegs deep. You’re going to need lots of elbow room for your growing family. You’re going to take over whole nations; you’re going to resettle abandoned cities.
Don’t be afraid – you’re not going to be embarrassed. Don’t hold back – you’re not going to come up short.” (Isaiah 54:2-4, Message Bible)

Can you see it?! Grab the dream, the vision, that which seemed impossible and go for it!

Posted in WORDS | Tagged Encouragement, Prophetic, vision | 1 Comment

IMPATIENCE CAN BE COSTLY!

Posted on August 1, 2015 by Pastor BB

We live in a fast paced culture that fosters an expectancy for things
to happen quickly. A compulsion to hurry from one thing to the next leaves little
tolerance for delay. Unfortunately our hurriedness usually causes the very
delay we fear. My hallmark used to be tripping over or running into a
trailer hitch on the back of our van. Such an ugly (and painful) cycle.

Stage 2 (Spin Cycle). Driven by frustration, our emotions whack out, panic
sets in, and we do something incredibly foolish.
Wanting to avoid the “spin cycle”, it seemed good to track down why we are
such an impatient people.

To be impatient is defined as being restless and/or short tempered when
under delay or opposition; to be agitated.
Solomon warned us “Also it is not good for a soul to be without knowledge,
And he sins who hastens with his feet”. Prov 19:2
The Message Bible says it well: “Ignorant zeal is worthless; haste makes waste”.

Why do we hurry and act like we know what we’re doing when we don’t?
Why don’t we take time to find out the details?
Digging a bit deeper into the “why”, I remembered this how King Saul totally
missed it. 1 Samuel 13:8.9

Quick history: The Philistines had gathered together a massive, well-armed army to fight
against Israel. By comparison, the people of Israel were a small, unarmed, unskilled army.
They were fearful of the Philistines and looked expectantly to Saul, their king.
Saul, however, was nervously waiting for Samuel to come and offer the sacrifices and
ask God’s favor on the people as they went into battle.

It was the agreed meeting time of 7 days, yet Samuel had not come. The people were becoming increasingly fearful and began to scatter. Saul panicked and decided to offer the sacrifices himself. Samuel arrived just as Saul finished.

Saul’s impatience caused him to step outside the authority of his kingly office and
do something God only allowed the priests to do.
He defended his disobedience to Samuel saying because you were late, and the people were deserting me, I felt compelled to offer the sacrifice and ask for God’s help.

There it is. Saul acted compulsively, taking control of the situation. The alternative was
to trust God and wait for Samuel.

Impatience then can be driven by our emotions and a desire to control what is happening.
If we yield to the spirit, the flesh will be over-ruled.
Saul’s impatience cost him the Kingdom.
What will your unwillingness to slow down and wait cost you?

Posted in WORDS | Tagged discipline, Instruction, self denial, spiritual lessons, wisdom | 2 Comments

AMERICAN PHAROAH

Posted on June 24, 2015 by Pastor BB

It began in 2007.

The book of Joel speaks of the many events preceding the great
and awesome day of the Lord.

One verse in particular caught my attention.

Joel 2:29,30 “And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I
will pour out My Spirit in those days. And I will show wonders in the heavens
and in the earth: blood and fire and pillars of smoke.”

There’s been lots of wonders in the heavens recently…the blood moon, the
solar eclipse, new planets being discovered, etc.
But what about in the earth? Again, there has been more than wonder at the
unusual weather patterns, ongoing snow storms, flooding, earthquakes, etc.

Specifically, I was looking for events on earth that would prophetically point
to the soon coming day of the Lord.

For some people, the only reference they have for this is when Jesus first
went to Nazareth, into the synagogue, and read Isaiah 4:18 This speaks of
the Spirit of Lord being upon Him for specific purposes . . . He ended His
reading (v 19) with the words “To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord”,
closed the book and sat down.

The acceptable year of the Lord is not the same as the day of the Lord. Jesus
did not read the rest of v 19 which is….. “And the day of vengeance of
Our God.” Isaiah 61:2

Vengeance is defined as “payback, retaliation, or retribution for wrong or
harmful actions”. This is the age old “sowing and reaping” principle, also
defined as “karma”; and, as scripture points out: “..and be sure your sin will
find you out.” Numbers 32:23

Aside from the definition, the weight of this comes from the source. It is God
Himself Who says…”Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” Romans 12:19

So… I wanted to find events that would prophetically speak of God beginning
to turn the tables upside down. (Jesus did that in the temple to the money
changers who defiled the temple which was to be a house of prayer with their
marketing of animals for the sacrifice.)

Such a “God-event” on earth would be one that would attract hundreds of people…
Not the Sunday church crowd…The all flesh mix.

I found it at the Kentucky Derby!

On May 5, 2007, 156,635 people attended the Kentucky Derby.
The race was won by an 8 year old horse (8 = new beginnings) who appeared to be
a joke! Some thought he should not have even been allowed to enter the
Derby. There are 20 starting gates; this horse was in #19, which already spoke
of defeat.

Surprise, surprise…to the amazement of some, and distress of others, this horse
pulled it together, yah, at the last minute, and won the Derby! The name of
the horse was “Street Sense”.

Prophetic insight: The Spirit of the Lord would suddenly come upon those in the
street; they would sense His Presence /love and run right past the Church folks
and be empowered to be Winners – soul winners, filled w/ power, being in
themselves signs and wonders!

I was hooked. Every subsequent year, I’ve followed the Kentucky Derby, right
through to the Triple Crown. The Lord has been consistent to speak prophetically
through each one! This became one of the favorite messages in our church!

Overall, the content of these messages have been motivational, encouraging alerts.
But this year was totally different.

Beginning with the Kentucky Derby, through the Preakness Stakes (the 2nd race before
Belmont) the Lord spoke to me re the name of the horse which won both races: His name
is “American Pharoah”. His name was spelt incorrectly, so now that holds as his name.

Prophetic insight: (Remember these are prophetic possibilities than you can pray through
and ask the Lord to give you further revelation.)

American Pharoah is about our President. (There is also an interesting parallel here re
authenticity of the name and its miss spelling.)

In ancient Egypt, Pharaoh was a King, who ruled like a god over the land. It may be then
that American Pharoah means that America is under the rule of the spirit of Egypt.

Ancient Egypt was major in the occult. Magic, witchcraft, spells, sorceries, etc.
These same spirits are visible in America in much of our media, entertainment, and
current events.
It’s always interesting to know origins of words we hear. Like ISIS. In Egyptian mythology,
Isis is the first daughter of the god of the earth, and the source of Pharaoh’s power.

If America is under the ruler ship of a Pharaoh, would that align us as being like
Egypt? Pray that not be so.

Pharaoh, in his arrogance, claimed it was all his Kingdom; he had made it all. He also
failed Israel as they turned and leaned on Egypt on support. Hmmm…

Therefore, God set Himself against Pharaoh, and great destruction came upon him, the land, the rivers, the animals, birds, fish etc. Numerous reports re droughts, the death of hundreds of birds, fish, etc makes this sound too familiar.(Ezekiel 29; Daniel 11)
Through military invasion, Egypt is ultimately financially plundered and no longer a world power.

We can reject the possibility of being “another Egypt”, but it’s getting harder to ignore things which have been proven to provoke the vengeance of the Lord.

It’s a Biblical no brainer: If we love God and obey His commandments, we live safely in the
abundance of His blessings and provision. If we reject God and disregard His commandments, we are on our own. We become a man-made society, self centered, making our own laws, redefining moral standards etc. Israel did this, and when they regressed to the point of sacrificing their children to their idols and gods, they set themselves on a course of destruction. Hello abortion.

America is currently following the same course of defiance and rejecting God’s sovereignty. Such turning away from God has been proven to bring judgment.
The best example of this is the Biblical law of the Shemitah. (Read “The Mystery of the Shemitah”, by Johnathan Cahn).

The good news is that before judgment, God gives warnings! Hence the search for prophetic signs in current events.

Back to the races! The 3rd, and final race for the Triple Crown was the Belmont Stakes on
June 6, which was won by American Pharoah. For the first time in 37 years, the same horse won all three races.

By the way, American Pharoah is owned by an orthodox Jew from Egypt; the jockey was born in Mexico.

Is this a prophetic picture of our President being elected for a 3rd term, riding through
with additional support from other nationalities?

Much can happen between now and the election. How we pray and what we believe can shift the atmosphere and spirits ruling over our nation.
We are a nation of many beliefs. Whoever is most commitment to their cause may have the most influence.

One last thing. Many financial experts have predicted the economic collapse is eminent.
Some of the projected dates have already past. Quite simply, We can listen to man or look to God. He calling us back to Him. Refusal to do so will eventually bring great destruction, in every sphere of life as we know it.

Study this out…the last day of the year of the Shemitah (which 2015 is) is called Elul 29.
This day is Sunday, September 13, 2015. On this day, all possessions and lands are restored to owners, all debts are forgiven. A financial wipe out.

This will be a blessing or destruction, depending how America runs the race.

Posted in PROPHETIC | Tagged Prophetic, spiritual lessons | 1 Comment

INSIDE THE NEW COVENANT

Posted on April 16, 2015 by Pastor BB

This is a short audio of a vision I recently had
re the Last Supper and the New Covenant!

Posted in WORDS | Tagged challenge, discipline, love, Prophetic, self denial, vision | 1 Comment

DARE TO DREAM

Posted on March 7, 2015 by Pastor BB

DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE?

If you are like most people you have a dream (vision/goal) of something you want to have or achieve. Unfortunately, many people never reach their goal or see their dream become a reality.

One of the key obstacles may be in how you think and verbalize your goal to yourself and others. Using a car as an example goal, here are 3 common ways of how we think and express our goal.

“Wow! I wish I had a car like that!”
”I sure hope someday I’ll have a car like that
“I believe in 2 months I’ll be able to buy a car like that!”

Note 3 key words:

To WISH is “to have a desire for something”

To HOPE is “to be optimistic a desire will be fulfilled.”

To BELIEVE is “to be confident/have faith a desire is, or will be, fulfilled”

It’s an interesting progression. Nothing will happen if you stay stuck on the level of wishing. Instead, if you focus on ways your desire could begin to happen, hope will rise up. This is exciting because faith is the substance of things hoped for…the evidence of things unseen. (Hebrews 11:1) In other words, faith brings that invisible desire (which is hoped for) into reality!

Jesus said it this way…..” And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.” Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith let it be to you.” And their eyes were opened. Mt 9:28-30 NKJV

Another translation (The Message) makes it even clearer: “As Jesus left the house, He was followed by two blind men crying out, “Mercy, Son of David! Mercy on us!” When Jesus got home, the blind men went in with him. Jesus said to them, “Do you really believe I can do this?” They said, “Why, yes, Master!” He touched their eyes and said, “Become what you believe.” It happened. They saw.”

At this point, it is looking like it’s all on us .”According to our level of faith” what we believe will happen. What we believe, we will be. If we’ve still missed the power of our own thoughts, we are told again that as a man thinks in his heart, so is he. Prov 23:7

But wait….it’s not about believing in ourselves. Jesus didn’t ask the blind men if they thought they’d be able to see again. He asked if they believed that HE, Jesus, was able to make it happen.

So, the transition from a desired goal into reality is not so much what we can do. It’s really dependent upon the degree to which we really believe Jesus is able to make it happen. The big shift is trusting in God more than in ourselves.

We need to keep on desires, hopes, and faith in the One Who is “able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power (His) that works in us ” Eph 3:20

Jesus has the last word: “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Mt 19:26

So now, dream big…without any limitations!

Posted in Dreams, ENCOURAGEMENT, WORDS | Tagged dreams, vision, words | 1 Comment

LET IT GO!

Posted on December 27, 2014 by Pastor BB

LET IT GO!

One of my favorite services has always been at the end of the year. Freedom, ie deliverance, was the theme.
The intent was to set people free of all the wrongs of the current year. This was not a “shove it under the carpet” deal. In fact, it was just the opposite, and involved dragging things out from under the carpet! Once the hidden things were revealed, they needed to be dealt with.

The good news is once unresolved issues are exposed to the light, they lose their power of holding a person in shame. Given this service followed closely after Christmas, it was no surprise that each year, 2 main areas always emerged.

Christmas is the mega picture of God’s extravagant love for all creation. It is a mighty demonstration of His mercy, love, and reconciliation. Freely we have received, yet we are reluctant to do the same unto others. Jesus nailed it (no pun intended) in His parable of the unforgiving servant. Please read Matthew 18:21-35.

The essence of this parable is the master (God) mercifully forgives a servant (us) a huge debt (sin) he was unable to pay. Now this same guy finds a friend who owes him a small amount of money. Because he is unable to repay it, he now gets his friend thrown into prison. When the master hears about this injustice, he announces a judgment upon the unforgiving servant (verse 18:34,35)

“And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should
pay all that was due to him. So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each
of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”

That may not mean very much to you until you understand the significance of the word “torturers”. When a person was thrown in jail for not paying his debt, to motivate him to pay up, he was turned over to the torturers. There are several levels of understanding here, perhaps best seen as degrees of judgment. The first being the unmerciful servant is being mentally “tormented” in his thoughts because of his unwillingness to forgive. Secondly, the word also implies to be physically tormented by disease. Finally, depending upon the size of the debt, the imprisonment could be permanent. Yikes….

Applying this personally, it basically means God does not tolerate unforgiveness or pride in our lives. We need to settle up our account with Him. Forget who is at fault and stop believing you have a right not to forgive. My friend, that how we open the door to sickness, disease and spirits of torment and infirmity. Purpose in your heart to forgive and seek to be reconciled with others. Owe no one anything except the debt of love.

Refuse to drag all disobedience, unforgiveness, pride, self righteousness and such into the new year. Deal with it and then …
LET IT GO!

[BR1]

Posted in DISCIPLINE, ENCOURAGEMENT, WORDS | Tagged Forgiveness, Instruction, wisdom | 1 Comment

CONTENDING

Posted on December 12, 2014 by Pastor BB

There’s an amazing invitation in Isaiah 43, beginning in verse 26.
“Put Me in remembrance; Let us contend together; State your case,
that you may be acquitted.”

Is God really inviting us to come into His presence and debate our own righteousness? Selah ….ie time out!!

Before rushing into what appears to be a heavenly court
room, shouldn’t we consider scriptures such as…

Psalms 144:3 “Lord, what is man, that You take knowledge of him?
Or the son of man, that You are mindful of him?
Job 40:2 “Shall the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him?
He who rebukes God, let him answer it.”

Surely such scriptures cause us to be a bit apprehensive or hesitant in our
response to this divine invitation.
Then the question comes: are we to remind God of our own merits and good deeds;
or, only remind Him of His Word and the promises they contain?
With the decision to do both, we step forward, ready to contend with God.

Contend actually means to “debate, grabble, or engage as in a contest or fencing”.
The understanding here is that now, like Jacob, we get to wrestle with God!

State your case! Knowing the purpose of trial is judgment, we should hold nothing
back. Even so, all our self-vindication seems rather insufficient. So, turning aside from ourselves, now we plead our own defense based on His word, and boldly declare His promises before Him.

That you may be acquitted. Acquitted is a great word- it means “blameless, not guilty,
innocent”. Believing in His great grace, go for the grand finale. Remind God of His
mercy and the forgiveness He made available to us through His Son, Jesus Christ.

The truth is the purpose of God’s divine wrestling invitation is not to condemn
or shame us. It is to strengthen and build us up. Jacob contended with God
until He received a blessing, and was transformed. He had a new name; a new identity.

We have the same opportunity.

Contending as one before Your holy throne, reminding You of great things You’ve done. Believing Your promises with unshakeable faith, do them again, Lord, for Your name sake.

We state our cause, based on Your word, reminding You of what we’ve heard. We stand together as one, believing what You said is done! Your Word is true; You cannot lie; It’s up to us to live or die.

Remember Lord Your mercy and grace, as we stand before You, beholding Your face. We’ll wrestle like Jacob and contend as one man, until, by the power of Your hand we enter the promised land!

Posted in ENCOURAGEMENT, SELF WORTH, WORDS | Leave a comment

EXPECTATIONS!

Posted on November 12, 2014 by Pastor BB

I recently had a vision of standing in an elevator, facing the door, waiting for it to open. While I was standing there, suddenly a door behind me opened; people got out and people got in. Duh! I didn’t realize both the front and back of the elevator were doors, so I totally missed that one! As I was thinking about this, the Lord reminded me how Jerusalem missed the time of their visitation. The common denominator was we both had an expectation of how something would happen.

Israel had an expectation of a Messiah, a Mighty King, coming to save them and deliver them from Roman rule. Their expectation, was so restrictive, they were unable to recognize the One right in their midst that God had sent to them.

It seems we can be so locked into our vision/expectation of how something will happen we are blinded to optional possibilities.

One of my favorite examples of this is in the Old Testament, 2 Kings 5

Naaman, a commander of the Syrian army, was a mighty warrior; a man of great importance and honor. Unfortunately, he was also a leper. When word came of healing through a prophet in Samaria, Naaman sought out this prophet, by the name of Elijah. Imagine now how Naaman, arrayed in his best uniform, with great fanfare, went with his horses and chariots to meet Elijah. Surely his heart was filled with great expectation as he stood outside Elijah’s door! But Elijah didn’t acknowledge Naaman’s greatness; he didn’t come out to greet him nor even come to the door! Instead, he sent a messenger who gave Naaman instructions to go wash himself in the Jordan River 7 times. Naaman was furious. He had totally expected Elijah to come out and stand with him, call upon the Lord, and wave his hand over his leprosy. Even the healing directive seemed wrong. It was such a small, simple, ordinary thing to do. Besides, there were cleaner rivers in Damascus to bathe in. He went away in a rage. Naaman almost missed his miracle because things didn’t happen as he expected. His servants persuaded Naaman to do as Elijah had instructed him, and his flesh was restored, clean as that of a little child.

I wonder how many times we miss what God actually has for us because our expectation is so specific, we don’t even consider other ways He could move. We can believe in our mind, and say with our mouth that with God all things are possible. But then in reality, we only believe Him to move according to our expectation!

Quite simply, we have to believe the truth of God’s Word, regardless of our circumstances. When we live / abide, in Him….we base our expectations on what He says about our circumstances rather than what we see, think, and feel. This is the walk by faith, not by sight, mandate. We have a choice of whose report we’ll believe. God says who we are, what we have, and what we are capable of doing. His report says we are healed, we are rich, we are strong; we are born of the supernatural, filled with His Presence, power, and light. Circumstances have a voice that laugh/mock God’s Word….the Dr. says cancer; the bank says overdrawn, the landlord says evicted.

In the midst of this kind of hopelessness, we need to remember that God’s ways aren’t our ways. He is a radical God who can make a way, ie create a solution, where none exists! What we can’t see, He has already done!

I love that God says He’ll make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. He is able to surpass our expectations and to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we ask or think, If we put our trust/hope in Him! Isa 43:19, Eph 3:20

The elevator was also a prophetic picture of God opening new doors we didn’t even know existed. Don’t limited your expectations to the past….God is creating new things, releasing new technology, deeper revelations, all of which until now didn’t exist or had not been revealed!

When the elevator doors opened and closed, people got out and people got in. This speaks of changes in our relationship with others. Some unhealthy relationships should have been ended long ago. At the same time, we should be aware of new people coming into our lives. Be assured, as lovers of God, all of this works together to accomplish God’s good purpose in our lives.

Psalm 71:5 literally ties this all together. “For You are my hope, O Lord GOD; You are my trust from my youth.”

Hope here means “expectation…that which I long for”. Trust means “confidence”. The Hebrew root meaning of hope means “to be twisted or tied together, as by a cord”.

What a great picture! Like holding on to a balloon! Our hope, our expectations must be tied/ linked/ to God, to His Word. When we do this, we can have great confidence to believe what we have expected and hope for will happen….God purposes it!

Posted in ENCOURAGEMENT, PROPHETIC, WORDS | Tagged Instruction | 2 Comments

EXCELLENCE

Posted on July 29, 2014 by Pastor BB

In Mark 7:37 it is said of Jesus “He has done all things well.”

In this instance the people had brought a deaf-mute to Jesus. When they saw the man was healed, they were “astonished beyond measure”!

Although this is in reference to a specific event, it also reveals Jesus’ lifestyle. He consistently revealed the nature and character of God in all things, in everything He did. The “self righteous” refused Jesus; they had no need for this heavenly Physician. But the poor, the lame, the blind, the deaf, beggars, thieves and prostututes, all followed Jesus. For the deaf-mute to be healed in itself was extraordinary. But for such an undesirable, unacceptable person to be healed, caused the crowd to marvel and be utterly amazed. They were all eyewitnesses of the goodness and mercy of God.

While thinking about this, I remembered a saying: “the way you do anything, is the way you do everything”.

How we handle everyday tasks, from one thing to the next, reveals a lot about our character. Our culture daily challenges us to become indifferent. “Whatever” and “good enough” have replaced the pursuit of excellence. It becomes increasingly apparent that how we handle one thing is basically how we deal with everything. If you really stop and look at how you deal with any one thing in your life from day to day, you will see the common denominator underlying your behavior in all other areas. It’s like a carry over. This is great if you have a personal standard of doing things right the first time. Unfortunately, most people have adapted the quick and easy shortcut way that fosters sloppy, indifferent attitudes. For example, if you barely pay your bills on time, you may also rarely be on time for appointments, and, ”in general, have little regard for time sensitive issues.

It’s not just about what we do, but how we do it. Action begins with a thought; thoughts affect attitude and attitudes influence our behavior. Many people don’t like their job, or where they live, or their family etc. They have a “who cares attitude” and take little pride or care in anything they do.

Looking again to Jesus, we see He didn’t just do miracles, but first He was moved by compassion, then He fed the people, healed the sick, cast out demons, and raised the dead. More than a demonstration of power, Jesus revealed the compassionate love, mercy, and justice of God.

These were’t whimsical or arbitrary actions. Jesus lived with purpose, fulfilling God’s will. He only did what He saw His Father doing. Acts 10:38 tells how “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, Who went about doing good and healing all were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.”

Wow, would anyone say that about us? Looking at our own lives, what do we see?

Whatever we do and how ever we do it, is the witness we give others. Jesus went about doing good; His actions were fueled by the presence of God with Him. He did all things well as He yielded to His Father in all things!

How much of what we do is for ourself and useless in terms of eternal merit? What underlying attitude fuels how we interact with others and go about our daily activities?

Scripture tells us we have the mind of Chist (Phil. 2:5) . ..that it in Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28)….and it is Christ in us, the hope of glory. (Col 1:27)

Self inventory may help us become all that we were created to be. Be challenged to observe how you do one simple thing, but, be forewarned.

Once you realize it is the way you do everything, it will mess you up. The good news is it may be the key to necessary attitude changes and living a life of excellence!

In Mark 7:37 it is said of Jesus “He has done all things well.”

In this instance the people had brought a deaf-mute to Jesus. Wien they saw the man was healed, they were “astonished beyond measure”!

Although this is in reference to a specific event, it also reveals Jesus’ lifestyle. He consistently revealed the nature and character of God in all things, in everything He did. The “self righteous” refused Jesus; they had no need for this heavenly Physician. But, the poor, the lame, the blind, the deaf, beggars, thieves and prostututes, all followed Jesus. For the deaf-mute to be healed in itself was extraordinary. But for such an undesirable, unacceptable person to be healed, caused the crowd to marvel and be utterly amazed. They were all eyewitnesses of the goodness and mercy of God.

While thinking about this, I remembered a saying: “the way you do anything, is the way you do everything”.

Wow, would anyone say that about us? Looking at our own lives, what do we see?

How much of what we do is for ourself and useless in terms of eternal merit? What underlying attitude fuels how we interact with others and go about our daily activities?

Scripture tells us we have the mind of Chist (Phil. 2:5) . ..that it in Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28)….and it is Christ in us, the hope of glory. (Col 1:27)

Self inventory may help us become all that we were created to be. Be challenged to observe how you do one simple thing, but, be forewarned.

Once you realize it is the way you do everything, it will mess you up. The good news is it may be the key to necessary attitude changes and living a life of excellence!

Posted in WORDS | Leave a comment

GET READY CALIFORNIA!

Posted on June 1, 2014 by Pastor BB

There’s no doubt this year’s Kentucky Derby was spectacular! It was the second largest crowd ever to unite together and breathlessly watch the 2 minute race! Never mind the well known, high priced horses… the race went to a most unlikely winner, California Chrome.

I believe the Lord often uses such events to illustrate prophetically how He is moving in our lives. Here are some of the things I felt the Lord was highlighting for me.

It was exciting to learn one of the owners, Steve Coburn, actually had had a dream about a horse winning the Triple Crown three weeks before the horse was born. When he saw the foal right after he was born, he recognized this was the horse of his dream. He held onto that dream, and that dream was played out this year at the Kentucky Derby! Right here, I want to say if you’d had a dream, you have to hang on to it; you have to believe it; you have to pray it through. If the dream is from the Lord, He will watch over it; it will come to pass!

Another thing totally relevant for today is the fact the trainer, Art Sherman, is an older gentleman, 77 years old, and he too had a dream. He had been at the Kentucky Derby 59 years ago, watching the race from the barn where he worked exercising horses. Don’t you just know his heart was longing for that someday when he would be at the tract, training a horse that would win the Derby! Praise God, this is the year it happened for Him! Isn’t that amazing? Look again: what’s in your heart? Hold onto it…when it’s from God, He will grant you the desire of your heart! So here we are, 59 years later, Art is now California Chrome’s trainer, and in the winners’ circle watching the race! He’s no longer back in the barn area!

Where are you? Are you ready to be promoted? God wants to take you from the back and put you in the front! Remember, Art is 77 years old. There are many older spiritual moms and dads who have not yet seen the fruitfulness of their labor. Well, get ready…that will come to pass! The seeds that have been planted and the tears that have been shed, the time that has been spent to nurture, to grow, to discipline, to point the way, to train in the Word of God has not been in vain. There is a group of young people rising up and they’re going to suddenly take cities by storm – that’s what California Chrome did! He took that race!

Winning was also the fruit of an amazing relationship between the horse and the jockey, Victor Espinoza. All the elements: dedication, discipline, submission worked together in perfect harmony. The horse and his rider were as one. Such should our relationship be with the Lord. Just the slightest nudge from the Holy Spirit should cause us to respond immediately. With just the slightest nudge from his trainer, California Chrome was right on it.

They held back, maintaining a third-place position on the inside until almost the end. At the final turn, Victor maneuvered California Chrome to the outside and then let him do what he loves to do…He loves to RUN! Run he did…stretching out immediately with explosive energy, to take the lead by 5 lengths!

It was phenomenal! He won by 1 ½ lengths – it was spectacular display of power! God wants to do spectacular things through His people. Some things have been restrained, until their proper season, and I believe this is that season! The Lord is removing restraints but we have to run with Him …that running isn’t careless….it’s purposeful…we have to hear and respond quickly to move with the Holy Spirit, in the direction and ways He’s leading us to run in.

I love the name California Chrome. He is the first California bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby since 1962. Chrome speaks of things that shine with a brilliant radiance. There’s a brilliance of God’s glory – a shining – that He’s releasing in His people. Get ready, California, for a manifestation of the presence of the Lord… His glory being made visible, through signs and wonders!

The people at that at the Kentucky derby were so excited, on their feet, going crazy and shouting as California Chrome headed towards that finish line. California Chrome was a shining witness to the excellence of who he had been created to be. God wants to do the same thing with us; His glory is going to shine through His people and reveal Himself as we become who He created us to be.

This is such an exciting the time; we’re living in the unprecedented favor of the Lord! I want to encourage you; remember when the Lord chose Gideon? Gideon was like “Who am I? I’m from the weakest family and of least importance.” Judges 6:15

Such is the case with California Chrome. He isn’t the product of wealthy horse breeders. Instead, his pedigree is quite humble and so not quality; it was said anyone who bought him was dumb. His owners, Steve Coburn and Perry Martin, both work and raised California Chrome in their one horse stable.

God saw something in Gideon and called him forth. The owners saw something in California Chrome and held on to a dream. They poured everything they had into California Chrome, regardless of what others said, they saw the DNA of a winner.

Don’t let the enemy disqualify you: never mind your lowly background. Remember, “But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.” 1 Corinthians 6:17 You have the DNA of the King of Kings in you ….you are destined for great works!

I challenge you this day to run your race and run to win!

Posted in WORDS | Tagged California, Encouragement, Prophetic | 1 Comment