WHAT YOU PLANT IS WHAT YOU GROW

Every plant on earth really does have  specific role to play in bringing balance to earth. 

Guess what?


We too are the planting of the Lord and every child of God has a role to play in the balance of the church! 

I just finished reading Larry Randolph's book "BREATHE"  It is about expressing our individuality!   If we were to ever lose our uniqueness we would not be able to fulfill our part. We all have gifts in diverse areas.


Diversity brings balance. Diversity actually CREATES LIFE in the Church!  We are after a church that is diverse; a church that celebrates everyone's differences and embraces them. We need to cheer each other on! Satan wants to destroy the harmony on earth. The plants/vegetation/global warming/toxic waste etc.  That is why we say 'GO GREEN' to heal the Earth and have her working in harmony with nature.  We need to say to the church "GO GREEN" and start taking precaution and due diligence in keeping the church healthy.  Satan wants to destroy the church.  He wants to prevent the plants working together and helping each other out.

Some of us share the same calling but with different flavors or expressions. Others are very unique. We are all part of the garden, and together we enhance each other!

Recently we had someone give us a word; "Dont be an echo, don't try to be like someone else, or some other ministry, or anointing but stay true to YOU and who God has called YOU to be!"  


Celebrate your uniqueness!  

We need to bear fruit in our uniqueness.  


If we are unique, and we bear fruit, it will be unique fruit.  Whatever seed we carry, whatever fruit we bear we will eat of it.  What we plant is what we grow. If we plant religion we will grow religion. If we plant free expression of our faith we will reap free expression of our faith. If I recieve the seed, I will get the seed's reward.  [The fruit  hat comes from it.]

Don't be afraid to sow the seeds of freedom~ 
Galatians 6:9 (Amplified Bible)And let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint.

Searan~

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FEELING SAPPY

The trees of the Lord are full of sap."



Without sap the tree cannot flourish or even exist.


Psalm 104:16 (Amplified Bible) The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly and are filled with sap, the cedars of Lebanon which He has planted.

Energy and strength are vital to the Christian life. That energy can only come from the Holy Spirit. He is the Sap in our tree! As Christians we cannot appear to the world as dead trees with no foliage, no leaves, no fruit because the most alive creative force lives within us. Our roots go deep searching for water and nourishment. We are planted by the lord and our roots and life are in him. We are not always bearing fruit but there are always something going on inwardly -things others can't see.
It is because of the sap the tree can produce foliage and fruit.



How do we get sappy! We need the juice.. Juice of the Holy Spirit!


Be careful and take care that you do not easily take offence.


In contending for revival we should be seeking an anointing like that which was on Jesus. One of the things that will stop the flow of the anointing is 'offence'. Even Jesus, anointed as he was, could not do miracles in another when offence blocked the flow. Unforgiveness also blocks the flow of the anointing. We need to live daily in repentance and forgiveness. We need to keep short accounts. In order to get that sap running again we need to start praying for it; and while you praying for it, deny yourself by fasting! Suddenly you will experience the flowing of the sap, the anointing, it will be flowing again! ~ powerful!


Make me sappy Lord! And the Lord says,” Bring me your sacrifice and come to the Laver and wash"




He desires to fill us at the Cross!

EVER BEEN TO SEA?

IN THE BIBLE THE WORD, 'SEAS' IS USED PROPHETICALLY TO REPRESENT THE NATIONS. 

Isaiah 17:12: “Alas, the uproar of many peoples who roar like the roaring of the seas, and the rumbling of nations who rush on like the rumbling of mighty waters!”

 

Revelation 17:15: “And he said to me, ‘The waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.”

God finished creating the heavens and right after

He completed the seas. 

1 Corinthians 15:46-49:However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven. As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly. And just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

Right after we understand we are complete in Christ and sit with Him in heavenly places; from that perspective He then shows us a vision where He is calling us to.

He gives us a visual and places the desire in our hearts to go and take the land!

Psalms 2:8: “Ask of me, and I will surely give the nations as Thine inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as Thy possession.”

The Great Commission was--- “GO”

Matthew 28:19-20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age”

We were not saved just so we can sit in the heavens.  Although I like that and love heavenly experiences but after we have spend that time with Him, in His presence, He sends us on an assignment.  Your neighbourhood, your family, your workplace, the government, your country, another nation, a specific people group, a gender group, an age group...   He knows our personalities and our giftings and He uses us where we are at!  How awesome.

Loving Jesus induces with desire to ensure that He gets his reward for His sacrifice—the nations.
Canada is such a multicultural country that we have the nations right here!  Toronto is exceptional for diversity in people groups.  We don't have to go too far to reach them!  

However-----Spending yourself by paying the cost to literally go to the third world countries (or underprivelged) is the most richest experience you could ever have.  Speaking from experience: I have been to Nicaragua on a mission trip and I fell in love with that culture and people group.  I went to Ghana, Africa last year and I fell in love with the people there too!  We have been invited to come back to Ghana and recently received as new invitation to go to Brazil. 

Some spend their finances on resorts and holidays in places where they don't have to see or be touched by the lives of the less fortunate.  (I believe we all deserve a holiday to refresh ourselves, don't get me wrong.)  But I do think we need to at least, "once" spend ourselves reaching humanity, in one form or another - You won't regret it, and you will find it to be the richest experience in your entire life!   Get out on the waters!  Jesus said to get off the shores and go into the deep, get out there!  He will meet you there.

I can't wait to see where He is taking us next ~   in season and out of season- be ready!

For pictures of my Ghana trip go to http://www.ezekielministries.ca/ and click on gallery

~*~HEAVENLY PLACES~*~ Give your head a shake!

First heaven, second heaven, third heaven, and all the

heavenly places. 

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Heaven is not some far off, far away place.  It is actually a realm in our very midst!    We can experience heaven now.    Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 1:3)

We are seated with Christ, here and now because of the work done at the Cross.  To be earthly minded or carnal minded is when my mind is stayed on the world, and the things of the world, and my carnal thought can knock me right off my heavenly seat. [not really, but we soon forget where we are seated]   I forget too quickly the authority that I have been given in that heavenly position. I must shake the worldly thoughts out of my head, worldly thinking, worldly reasoning, and climb back up in my heavenly seat right beside Christ. This is the realm that I am called to live in - ruling and reigning with Christ so I can be more effective here on earth    -  On earth as it is in Heaven...  

I want to be saturated with heaven so I can make a difference on earth.   I love to travel and discover earthly places but I crave to know the heavenly places that I have been reading about .  I want to have the same passion in discovering heavenly places and all it holds for me.  It is a part of my Christian walk. The book of Ephesians says that  I am seated in heavenly places.  Not that I could be, or that I should work at it, but rather I am there positionally already! 

OUR DAY BEGINS AT MIDNIGHT

AND THERE WAS EVENING AND THEN THERE WAS MORNING; ONE DAY.(see Genesis 1:5).

So I am learning that the day begins with the evening and darkness come before the dawn.  The word says, "Joy comes in the morning." meaning that joy comes after the darkness.  It's getting through to the morning that is the hard part. Some night seasons are long indeed!

The dark-night-of-the-soul is a term used when we go through the greatest darkness and testing of our lives.
I remember my mother saying, "It gets the darkest just before the sun comes up".  I had no idea what on earth she was talking about. It sounded pretty dumb to me when I was young, but now that I have gone through a dark season in my life and suddenly it made sense to me.  It did get extremely dark before I saw a glimer of hope.  We had lost everything, from a home to belongings and now I was evicted from an old farm house we were renting.  Now I had to move again. My husband [now ex] walked out on me, my sister suddenly died; my mother got alzhiemers and she had no idea I was her daughter. I lost my job and had to part my way with some dear friends.  Everything was messed up in my life and it really was a dark time.  I had never felt so lost, abandoned and I felt all alone. This began in December 1996 and ended about the end of March 1997- It was a rough three or four months and it felt like a lifetime. When I came out of that season it was like a new start in my life; everything was different and it took some getting use to.  It was like getting use to light after being in a dark dungeon for months.  I felt so tested and tried in all my core values and beliefs.  I was surprised and relieved I did not walk away from my faith in the Lord  - there were days when I thought I would.  Everything was just too hard and too much to handle.  Now, everything was new.  A new day, a new life, a new vision, new hope and even my faith was made new and alive.  I made it through!

Our Day Starts At Midnight!

God gave me a word and spoke to me this week in my devotions that 'I' was now in a NEW DAY and that is was TIME to go forth into my destiny.

Time is what was needed in order to test my faith and purify my heart.  It could not happen easy or quickly. There was lots I had to understand and process in the midst of all that darkness.

 

The darkness needed to be sorted out and I had to assess what was important in life. I had some major decisions to make.  I was desperate for the light. I have had enough darkness. The wilderness that I came out of seemed so void of His presence but looking back now I realize He was with me the whole time. I remember the days where it felt I was groping in the darkness - feeling my way through and looking for meaning and purpose in everything in my life; so much had changed.  Now I needed meaning as I was so dry and baren.  I needed refreshment and water - the wilderness is a dry place.  The wilderness I learned was to keep me thirsty for Him.  I had pain that I had never experienced  before in my life. The emotional pain left a huge hole in me and it was like a void waiting to be filled.  Yes, it was dark - a very, very dark place that I was in and I had never felt so abandoned, rejected and lonely as I did then. The soul pain was great. God birthed a lot of compassion and wisdom in me during those years; I didn't know it then, but I see it now, and see it manifested in my life. My faith was indeed tested and tried. I had a friend, a spiritual mother, who prayed me through it as she was so concerned that I would return to Egypt, it was that painful.  The trial was producing 'endurance' in me to finish the course and lean on Him and not my flesh and my understanding.  Only He could get
me through the wilderness.  I didn't find my way out, but I found HIM in right in the middle of the darkness!  I collapsed in His arms and He led me out of the deep wilderness that I was lost in. 

The trials in my life are used to conform me to the image of Christ and to produce the fruit of His spirit.  What you like about me is what the Lord has done in my life; what you don't like about me?  --- well--- God is still working on me!  The trials in my life also bring me into a place of maturity where He can trust me with more authority to do the works that He did. That authority is to be used along with the Gifts of the Spirit.  Trust was another trial.  The testing of my own authority was another test to take.  And the  Dark-Night-Of-My-Soul?  Well, it led me to the Dawn's Light. 

1 Corinthians 10:13


Carried out of the Darkness



He comes into the darkness and carries us through!

It doesn't matter how dark it gets, the light will come.

it's a new day and it begins at midnight!

WHAT NEEDS TO BE SEPARATED ?

And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.

(Genesis 1:4-5).

God is separating me from the darkness so I can truly walk in the light.  We cannot abide in Him and in darkness too!  What does darkness have to do with light! They won't blend, mix or mingle.  Light wins everytime.   When I am counselling a person, the Holy Spirit will separate the light from the darkness in their life. The light represents truth and darkness the lies.  

God shed light on the dark areas and reveals the truth.  Jesus is the light and God begins to separate the light from the darkness in our lives. The light will manifest everything that is hiding in the dark places.  The light reveals sin in our hearts.  We are changed from light to light..  truth to truth.. glory to glory. If we want more of God we need to allow God to separate light and darkness in us.

Corinthians 3:18:But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror, the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

We must see our sin - see the darkness in order to repent but when we see His love for us we want to repent... We want to please Him because we love Him. The dark areas can be the critical thoughts in my mind- dark thoughts.  The mind is a powerful thing just as powerful as that little tongue of ours.  Darkness can be in the words that come from ours tongues, or the darkness that sometimes comes up from my heart.  It does not have to be the blatent ten commandments but even finer things like attitudes.  When I spend time with Jesus-the-light, it chases the darkness way.  When I don't spent that time with Jesus-the-light, darkness creeps in.. slowly at first and then.. there it is fully manifested in one of those areas.

When I see my wrongs/faults I can't change myself into Ms Perfection, nor can I strive to be better and try harder like 'work' on it.. I will fail every time. I can, however run and spend time with Him and get in His Word and then Light enters back in to chases all that dark junk out..  It really does!  It works!  I dive in His word and find out He loves me and wants to shed His light in my heart. The more I understand how loved I am the less that darkness creeps in..  So we must abide in that love.. just stay there!

We are not changed by seeing our sin, but by turning to the Lord and by experiencing His glory. Our goal is not to become perfect people, but to abide in the One who is perfect.

Our goal must always be to keep our attention on the light, and let the light expose whatever darkness is in our lives.

As we follow the light, much of the darkness will separate from us automatically and as we grow in the light of God's love, the darkness will be exposed and separate from us.

Follow the light .. and be separated from all dark thoughts, deeds and actions.

Shine you light in me Lord - I want your glory to be found in me.

GOD SHED SOME LIGHT!

Early one morning, (this week) I was doing my devotions, in my hotel room, while we were attending a conference- a study on creation and my morning began this way ...

Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light (Genesis 1:3)  Okay,  I remember that scripture but I always wondered what it meant.  God had not yet created the sun or the moon so what light is that He is talking about I kept wondering.  We have the sun to light our day, the moon to light our night, but God created that light on the fourth day BEFORE He created the sun, moon and planets..  huh?  Help me to understand this Lord!! 

Light was created before the sun that was to manifest light.  Light was created before light. I had to wrap my head around this or I was not leaving my room!!
And then...God give me understanding!

Yes, all things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the LIGHT of men.   Hmmmmm
There can be no manifestation without that light.  We don't even know things are in the darkness, hiding, until the light sheds upon it.  Light represents truth.  He is the light right?


"The light was created before the sun, moon, and stars as an eternal testimony that He must be given first place in everything." Rick Joyner
 The Light--Jesus is the Light of God..  Jesus is the Glory of God!


Now, 1 John 1:7 reminds us to walk in the light because He is the light then we can have fellowship with each other in truth. When we remove ourselves from hanging out with others who have the light we fade and grow dim.  Together we impart and charge each other to stay bright as we know we can't get to our destination in Christ all by ourselves.

As I was studying the account of Creation - specifically day four - You know, when God created light before He created light ... and I pondered.. and I pondered until a scripture was dropped into my spirit and GOD shed some light on it! 

(Hang on a minute, I have heard this somewhere before where was that now..  hmmm) 

Revelation 21:23

New American Standard Bible

Glory -- it was his Glory!

wow .. that is all can say.. wow

And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the GLORY of God has illumined it,

and its lamp is the Lamb!