"The POWER of FORGIVENESS!"

In the Greek language the word "forgiveness" is translated, "aphesis" or "freedom" and represents the utmost of maturity and integrity in a Believer. I am by no means saying it is easy to forgive, but it is absolutely necessary to do so. Our ability to forgive is rooted and grounded in God's ability to forgive us (Psalms 103:12).

Carrying the anger and weight of unforgiveness will reduce the host to a shadow of him or herself replaying the video of the hurt over and over again in their minds. The mental images quicken our mortal bodies whereby we re-live the episodes that kindle and activate our most base instincts and responses to our transgressors. In short, the images make you mad as hell!

What would you do to the person who wronged you if you could get away with it? Would your retaliation involve physical harm, slander, defamation of character or worse? How did you feel after you "got even?" Was God pleased with your response? Did you or your transgressor feel the spirit of freedom after your encounter?

The course of action for the Believer is simply to forgive them (Luke 15:11-32). The Lord God even declares that we should LOVE them! Are you kidding? How do we do that? In order to be healed and delivered from the stench of your wrath, you must forgive AND forget. The ability to love them can only come from the love of Christ through the presence of the Holy Spirit. Your heart of stone is transformed into a heart of flesh.

As God forgave us our many transgressions, so to must we forgive others. Just think what we would look like without the ability and the desire to forgive one another.

The conclusion of the matter is this; true forgiveness must involve "forgetting" in order to be authentic and effective. If  you say to your transgressor, "I forgive you, but I won't forget what you have done," that is not true forgiveness. 

Forgiving someone starts the process of healing and forgetting what they did cancels their debt entirely! Selah...

"The Anatomy of DREAMS and VISIONS!"

"...Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more."                                                                                                       (Genesis 37:5)

Be very careful who you tell your dreams and visions to!

The story of Joseph and his brothers is one of the most compelling in the Word of God. It is the tale of generational favoritism that has plagued Israel even until this day (the Edomites = Esau and the Israelites = Jacob). Jacob favored Joseph over all of the rest of his sons. This favoritism kindled hatred among his siblings. It wasn't the coat of many colors or the dreams per se that made them hate their brother. It was the fact that their father esteemed him over the others.

A deeper investigation of this story reveals that Joseph's character was beyond reproach. In fact, only he and Daniel are the only OT patriarchs not to have been plagued with some manner of sin! Perhaps Joseph's impeccable character is what Jacob saw in him that created the favor; either way, favoring one child over another will create a hostile environment in the family structure.

But the point of this writing is dreams and visions. This tale might give you a snapshot as to why people could try to crush your dreams. Maybe it is because you have favor with God and man. Or it might be that you are a person of high character. Finally, it could be none of these reasons and it may reside in the fact that God trusts you and knows that you will execute His will in the earth without question.

"Dreams" were created for the man who wonders and examines the possibilities. Dreams are self-induced by life's experiences; our hopes and prayers. They are a succession of images, ideas, emotions and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. In many instances, dreams are never realized. They remain in dreamland, never to see the light of day because the Dreamer is rooted in "waiting for all conditions to be right before they move." Too often the "right time" never comes and the dream never becomes a reality.

"Visions" are those experiences in which a person, thing or event appears vividly and credibly in the mind, although not actually present, often under the influence of a divine agency (God). Visions are for those Believers God has chosen from the foundation of the world to walk out something significant in the marketplace. Visions most often come to an individual while they are wide awake. The Visionary is driven to complete his assignment. He has no choice because it is not his vision, it has been given to him by God! He must act or die trying! The vision will surely come to pass as God has ordained it (Habakkuk 2:2-3). The manifestation of the skyline in Dubai, UAE, for example, is no doubt a series of visions received by God! Why? because there is nothing else like it in the world!

Dreams can trigger a vision in the minds of others that they do not like. They may react to you like Joseph's brothers with indifference, jealousy, envy or rage. They might even act like they support you, but in reality despise the favor that God has given you (to make it plain, they might be unhappy that God picked you instead of them for a particular assignment). They could even resent your high character and personal integrity. Dreams can be dangerous in the wrong hands (mouths). Be careful who you share your dreams with; even those close to you (including your family). 

The visions that God has given to you are too big for you to take credit. You are merely a vessel for God to bring it to pass. Although you are important, you are not indispensable. 

Don't get it twisted; God will do it with or without you! Selah...

"NICODEMUS: ENCOUNTERS with JESUS!"

"Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, that unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."  (John 3:3)

In the Gospel of John 3, Jesus is speaking with Nicodemus regarding the concept and execution of eternal life. Nicodemus was a "night crawler" and a Pharisee. A night crawler is a person who acts holy and righteous during the day, but transforms into someone doing evil at night. Nicodemus was a real person, but in the Body of Christ, it is a "spirit." The spirit of Nicodemus is deaf, dumb and blind! Nicodemus, the spirit, can not comprehend things of the spirit. They are foolishness to him. He cannot hear from God, speak to Him or see his mighty hand at work in the natural or spirit realm.

He was also a Pharisee. A "Pharisee" was one who embraced all of the Old Testament; believed in spirits, angels, the soul and the resurrection; were sectarian purists (they were obsessed with "strict legalism" which is enforcement of the "letter" versus the "spirit" of the Law); and were artisans and merchants from the lower and middle class of Jewish society. The Body of Christ is overrun with legalistic arrogance disguised as religious authority. This widespread attitude has produced a Body on "life support!"

Nicodemus spent his day as a practicing Pharisee, but at night he tip-toed around to seek wisdom from encounters with Jesus on the things of the Kingdom of God. He was looking right at the Kingdom of God embodied in the person of Jesus, but could not see it, because he was already condemned. Nicodemus was condemned because he did not BELIEVE HIM! How many of you are bridled with bondage through unbelief?

Jesus said the condemnation would be that the non-Believers would not love the light (exposure), but would love darkness because their deeds were evil. And that everyone practicing evil would not come to the light and that others doing good would welcome the light so that people would know that the deeds they did were done in (for) God (and the advancement of His Kingdom).

Don't be like Nicodemus, coming around to see the King after He is gone, bringing gifts to appease your guilt for ignoring Him while He was right in front you and acting like you were one of His kids:

"...And Nicodemus, who first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about one hundred pounds." (John 19:39)

"CIRCUMCISION of the HEART!"

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." (Matthew 5:8)

The man or woman who is in hot pursuit of the things of God will encounter hardship, trouble, trials and tribulation. In short, they will face adversity. It is critical that they be in proper vertical alignment spiritually with God and that their hearts be pure (circumcised) with the Holy Spirit and with fire (adversity).

This circumcision of the heart is performed by the Chief Surgeon in the heavenlies in the person of the Holy Spirit. This entails much more than just memorizing the word of God, knowing the letter of the perfect Law of Liberty and posturing as a "super saint." The superficial hypocrisy of the person who "knows a lot of stuff" but doesn't "know God" is a peril to himself and others he engages. In contrast, the true sons of God have an intimate knowledge of the Spirit that leads and guides all Believers. This man is a force because his will can only be the will of God.

This circumcision (or cutting away the flesh) is necessary for the stony, wicked heart to be exposed to the light and love of the Holy Spirit. Most importantly, it is the "touch" of His grace and mercy that affords us the opportunity to receive a heart of flesh through His acceptance of our repentance, reconciliation and redemption. When this occurs, God now has something to work with!

"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." (Proverbs 4:23)

The new heart is carved out of honor, praise and worship for the Lord God. He is not affected by the designs of man for his life; only the designs God has transferred to and through his heart as a child of the Most High (Jeremiah 29:11-14).

At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is that the person whose heart has been circumcised wants to change! This is critical! The man has got to change; more so, he first must have the desire to change. Knowing what to do and actually doing it are two profoundly different things. One reflects the spirit of deception; the latter reflects the spirit of Christ which is manifested through demonstration.

"Too Many MARTHA'S and Not Enough MARY'S!"

The story of Mary and Martha of Bethany is the tale of two cities. It is the story of two sisters with two agendas. They were the two sisters of Lazarus; that's right, the same Lazarus that Jesus raised from the dead and they were very close friends with the Lord.

However, Jesus had a very different relationship with the sisters; and it was specifically based upon the way they attended to Him in His Presence. 

Martha was the gregarious hostess who was eager to serve Jesus and His disciples upon their arrival at their home. She was busy coordinating seating, meals and sleeping arrangements but Mary was fixated on Jesus; sitting at His feet and listening to His wisdom as He taught the Word (Luke 10:39-42). The lesson in this scripture is all about establishing your priorities. 

In short, Jesus was telling Martha that she needed to get her priorities straight. She was "busy" but she was not effective. She was distracted by the cares of the world like so many of us. You see, Mary had the spirit of recognition which needs no prompting from outside sources. Mary had supernatural discernment and without provocation knew she must tend to the Lord God; no matter what the cost (see the "alabaster box" in John 12:1-3).

We are witnessing this same problem today in the modern day church; we have too many Martha's (people preoccupied, too busy doing nothing and distracted by the enemy) and not enough Mary's (people fixated on Christ and serving Him first and then meeting the needs of His people in the marketplace). The spirit of Martha is NOT GENDER SPECIFIC. There are too many men burdened with the spirit of Martha as well and they need to be delivered from that spirit by spending more time at the feet of Jesus...

That is the place (at His feet) where the Believer will acquire the spirit of Mary! Selah...