When God Says No

What He opens no one can shut, and what He shuts no one can open. -Revelation 3:7 I was just thanking God for all the no’s that He’s spoken over my life. For all the times He’s held me back, for all the times He’s…

Consistency

I’m reflecting on the CONSISTENCY of Jesus. He’s the same “yesterday, today, and forever.” That consistency is a reflection of His INTEGRITY. I never have to worry that the Jesus I meet today is going to be somehow different when I encounter Him tomorrow. I…

Approaching The Throne Of God

…Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and confidence of access through our faith in him. -Ephesians 3:11 Just because I have the right to come before God with boldness and confident access by the blood of Jesus does not mean that I…

Living With Lies

A number of years ago I had somebody in my life who was constantly lying to me. Instead of confronting this person I allowed their behavior to continue. Eventually the Holy Spirit confronted me for not confronting them! He showed me that by failing to…

Building On Sandy Ground

And everyone who is hearing these words of mine and is not habitually doing them shall be likened to an imprudent man without forethought or wisdom who was of such a character that he built his house upon the sandy ground. -Matthew 7:26 Am I…

Can You Pass This Test?

Does what I’m looking at on YouTube and social media and the news pass this test? Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think on these things. -Philippians…

The Grave Of The World

I’m praying for salvation for someone that I have been close to, asking God to deliver them out of the “grave of the world”. The world may provide a very beautiful and well-appointed casket but it’s still a grave. I’m asking that the Lord would…

Not Everyone Gets The Miracle

“Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised, and the poor have good news announced to them. AND BY THE WAY, YOUR HEAD WILL…

Keep Yourself From Idols

Did you bring Me sacrifices and offerings forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? You have taken along the tabernacle of Molech and the star of your god Rephan, the idols you made to worship. -Acts 7:42 I was always under the impression…

Letting Go

One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. -Philippians 3:13 There’s an undeniable principle in Scripture that tells me that…

Our Body

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? -1 Corinthians 6:19 Our bodies matter to God. He could have just created us disembodied spirits, but He didn’t do that.…

Like Sheep Without a Shepherd

Seeing the crowds, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and downcast, like sheep without a shepherd. -Matthew 9:36 What makes this verse wonderful to me is that seeing the crowds, Jesus didn’t see a crowd, He saw individuals. He looked into their…

I Am The Vine

I am the vine and you are the branches. The one who remains in Me, and I in him, will bear much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing. -John 15:5 Jesus has to spell it out! He wants us to clearly understand…

The Holy Spirit In You

“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you.” -1 Corinthians 6:19 The Greek reads: “the ‘in you’ Holy Spirit.” I love this! Throughout the Old Testament there is the ‘upon you’ Holy Spirit. The…

Partakers Of The Divine Nature

Through these He has given us His precious and magnificent promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature. -2 Peter 1:4 To listen to some people teach you would think that since believers are partakers of the Divine nature, that somehow…

To Breathe After God

“If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land” -Isa 1:19 In the original Hebrew the word for “willing” in this verse means “to breathe after”. To breathe after something is to desire it with all your heart. h0014. אָבָה…

An Unaverted Gaze

“Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.” -Hebrews 12:2 The instruction is to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. Failure to follow this simple instruction is the root of more problems than we probably realise. My personal experience is that…

Love Covers

“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins.” -1 Peter 4:8 Love covers a multitude of sins, not in the sense of hiding them, but in the sense of not counting them against others. We’re not pretending that sin doesn’t…

Knowing The Terror Of The Lord

“Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether…

Visions From Their Own Minds

“Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD.” -Jeremiah 23:16 There seems to be a…

First Love Fire

“But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.” -Revelation 2:4 The saddest thing that can happen to a child of God is when we find it easy to talk all about Him but our hearts have ceased to burn for…

A Better Word

” And to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.” -Hebrews 12:24 I keep thinking how Jesus speaks a better word. Not just in the fact that His blood totally…

You Are Worthy

And they sang a new song: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. -Revelation 5:9 One of the…

The Nectar Of His Presence

“Your lips drip nectar, my bride; honey and milk are under your lips. “ -Song of Songs 4:11 What do we find on the lips of the bride of Christ? Nectar, milk and honey! Nectar is what bees collect to make honey. The sweetness of…

The Beauty Of Innocence

I think there’s nothing more beautiful than innocence, and nothing more able to restore innocence than the blood of Jesus Christ when it has been lost. The beauty of innocence is found in its transparency, its openness. Thus Jesus points to our need to be…

Relentless Pursuit And Pressing In

The last few years I’ve been in relentless pursuit of Jesus. I’ve written about it extensively on my blog because pursuing Him has been the passion of my heart. Recently, God began to speak to me in greater depth about  “pursuit” and “pressing in”. Both…

Water Bottles For Jesus

I’m praying often that God would fill me with the Holy Spirit. He’s the water of life and I’m pretty thirsty! One day I was praying and I asked the Lord to fill my “canister” with the Holy Spirit. Canister was a strange word for…

Obedience Unto Death

“Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom”. -1 Cor 1:22 The same is true of people today. There are certain segments of the church that are all about wisdom and teaching and there are certain segments of the church that are all about signs…

Teach Us To Number Our Days

“So teach us to number our days that we might get a heart of wisdom.” -Psalm 90:12 Only God knows the number of our days. He actually knows exactly how many we have left on this Earth! It only makes sense then, to ask Him,…

Repent

“From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”” -Matthew 4:17 Why are we afraid to tell people to repent? The entire Bible, from the beginning to the end, points out the importance and need of it.…

Loving Jesus and His Body

Have you ever been with somebody who doesn’t communicate their expectations? Well, Jesus isn’t like that. He totally spells out what it means to love Him, and what His expectations are! Here’s a couple things that Jesus said about our love for Him… “If you…

According To The Pattern

“Be sure that you make everything according to the pattern I have shown you here on the mountain.” -Exodus 25:40 As Moses was being instructed by God concerning the construction of the Tabernacle he was told to be sure to make it according to the…

Purchased By Jesus

“By your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe, language, people, and nation.” -Revelation 5:9 We only purchase that which we want to possess, and so it is with God. He purchased us from every tribe, language, people and nation with the goal…

Holiness And Joy

“You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.” -Hebrews 1:9 Jesus was the most joyful person who ever walked the face of the earth. He was supremely, gloriously,…

The Children Of The Kingdom

“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” -Romans 14:17 The Children of the Kingdom are Righteousness, Peace and Joy. Are you giving birth to these children? You should be!…

Jesus Had A Secret

Jesus had a secret, and He’s trying to teach it to me. Like everything about Him, it’s an Open Secret. He’s not trying to hide it from anyone. It’s as plain as can be in the Word of God. “So Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I…

This Is My Beloved, This Is My Friend

“His speech is most sweet, and He is altogether desirable. This is my beloved and this is my friend…” -Song of Songs 5:11 Many know the Jesus of religion. That’s not the Jesus I know. The Jesus I know is altogether desirable. His voice is…

The Spirit Of God Rushed Upon Him

“And the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied among them.” -1 Samuel 10:10 It started out like any other day. Perhaps even a bit more monotonous than usual. Saul’s father had lost some donkeys, so he told his son to get a…

The Jesus Romance

“You have captivated my heart, my sister, my bride; you have captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace.” -Song of Songs 4:9 Many years ago the Holy Spirit gave me some dating advice. He said, “It’s not…

Beautiful Surrender

God used brokenness as a catalyst to surrender, and surrender as the path that led straight to His heart. The most beautiful place in Jesus is the place of surrender. The day I was shattered was the day I started to live again. I walked…

In Total Pursuit Of Jesus

“He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” -Hebrews 11:6 I’m in total pursuit of Jesus! Here’s what I’m learning… God rewards those who diligently seek Him. It actually matters, that He matters to us! Jesus notices when we’re in relentless pursuit of Him,…

Sowing Prayer

This is something I shared with a friend from my journal and decided to share it publicly to encourage you in prayer. I had a very intense and prolonged season of prayer where I would go out to the Salmon Creek Greenway near where I…

Vulnerable In Wholeness

In my previous post I talk being vulnerable. It’s important to point out that Jesus didn’t leave me shattered and broken and vulnerable in woundedness. Jesus comes to heal the brokenhearted, He doesn’t leave us brokenhearted! There’s a vast difference between being “vulnerable in woundedness”…

Vulnerable

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, the most miraculous thing that has ever happened in my life occurred this year. Out of the worst pain and brokenness God brought emotional healing so deep that I have no scars to point to! He used brokenness as…

Pleasant Places

“The lines of my boundary have fallen in pleasant places; surely my inheritance is delightful.” -Psalm 16:6 One of the most beautiful things about surrender to God is that no matter what happens in life you’re guaranteed to end up in Pleasant Places! As I’ve reflected…

Imagine God Melting Mount Hood!

I was out praying and enjoying the view of Mt Hood when this verse came to mind: “The mountains melted like wax at the presence of the LORD, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.” -Psalm 97:5 Imagine if God melted Mt.…

Beauty For Ashes

“…to give them beauty for ashes.” -Isaiah 61:3 It wasn’t that long ago that I went through such painful devastation that about all I had left was a pile of ashes. Think about what ashes are… Ashes are what’s left after there’s NOTHING left. Ashes…

Choose The Place By His Presence

For the purpose of this post, when I speak about “THE PRESENCE” I am talking about the manifest presence of God where we are able to sense His pleasure, favor and blessing on us. Long before David had the palace, he had THE PRESENCE. As…