Planted to Flourish and Grow 1

Psalm 92:12-15 NKJ  
    ¹² The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree,

He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
¹³ Those who are planted in the house of the Lord
Shall flourish in the courts of our God.
¹⁴ They shall still bear fruit in old age;
They shall be fresh and flourishing,
¹⁵ To declare that the Lord is upright;

He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.      

Some people seem to think that there is no value in joining a Church and being planted in the house of the Lord, but this is not so. There are many benefits to going to Church. First, we must go to the place where God instructs us to go. The reason for this is that we all have different calls within God's body, and even in our calls, we have different flavors or personalities given by Him. This means that because God is a very specific God and He gives attention to details, even where we go to Church has to be done under His guidance and instruction. This also explains that He has anointed people to give us the right kind of spiritual meal that will nourish us and help us grow and develop into what God has planned and purposed for our lives as they teach us to walk in intimate communion with Him and always direct us to find our answers in Him: the Author and Finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2) and Giver of every good thing (Matthew 7:11). When we obey this mandate, God  calls us righteous (in right standing with Him).

After we have asked Jesus to be our Lord and Savior and take control of every area of our lives so we can be transformed into His image and likeness (Genesis 1:26), the first thing to do is to ask Him to direct us to the Church where we are to be planted. Deuteronomy 12:11 says, “then there will be the place where the Lord your God chooses to make His name abide. There you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the heave offerings of your hand, and all your choice offerings which you vow to the Lord.”

The Lord commands this because in this place we will also help fulfill the vision of God for the leaders of the house by bringing our tithes and offerings so they can be taken care of and dedicate to seeking God for more spiritual food that will help us stay nourished an continue to grow as it is explained in Malachi 3:10 which says, 

“Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,
That there may be food in My house,
And try Me now in this,”
Says the Lord of hosts,
“If I will not open for you the windows of heaven
And pour out for you such blessing
That there will not be room enough to receive it.”

The scripture says that when we obey this Kingdom principle, the Lord opens for us the windows of heaven upon our lives to pour out His blessings. Walking with the windows of heaven open over our lives turns us into godly people that flourish like palm trees and grow like cedars of Lebanon. Characteristics of a healthy palm tree that is deeply rooted and planted in the right soil are: 1) A palm tree grows to be 80 to 90 feet tall--This means that we reach extraordinary dimensional heights with God as we seek Him to have communion and spend time worshiping Him in the midst of our circumstances. Doing this also causes us to grow in wisdom, stature, and favor with God and man like Samuel and Jesus did (1 Samuel 2:26; Luke 2:52).

2) Their thickness do not change no matter how tall they grow--this means that as we continue to “go to the mountain of the Lord” to seek Him so we can follow the path that takes us to fulfill His plan and purpose for our lives and as we submit to our leaders, we develop the anointing that will cause us to win the battles and influence others for His Kingdom so they too can have life in abundance and walk as citizens of heaven on earth.

3) They are very strong and can withstand severe weather with flexibility and without breaking—no matter the circumstances, when God is first in our lives and submission to His authority as the King of our lives as we partner with our established leaders is effected, there is protection for us and our loved ones and our victories are guaranteed (Luke 7:7-10).

4) No palm tree is known to have been uprooted by a storm—being planted in the house of the Lord, submitting to those in authority over us, and being strengthened through the relationships He has made available to us in other Church members (especially mature ones) will give us deep roots that will cause us to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might (Ephesians 6:10) as we advance to fulfill our destinies in Him. I shall also warn that the enemy will tempt us at times to be removed from where God has planted us through offense, but we need to remember that our protection and blessings come from staying where He has planted us and not move unless He directs us to do so (1 Corinthians 15:58).

5) Finally, Palm trees flourish in the driest deserts and in tropical climates—no matter the condition and environment we are placed under, we can thrive and grow when God is first in our lives and we are planted in the soil that is serving as the means for us to be developed as vessels of unity in our ranks to fight strong and victorious, walk in favor, and influence others for Christ in the Church or outside in the marketplace so they too can walk in victories.

More on the next post.To Him alone all be the glory.

        

Who May Climb the Mountain of the Lord? 3

Exodus 24:12-13, Then the Lord said to Moses, "Come up to Me on the mountain and be there; and I will give you tablets of stone, and the law and commandments which I have written, that you may teach them." So Moses arose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up to the mountain of God. NKJV

Before I continue this week's posting, I would like to note that in case this may have not been so obvious, whenever climbing the mountain of the Lord is mentioned in these postings, it refers to going to the place where we commune with the Lord in worship, prayer, and His word to hear His voice and know what is in His heart, receive instructions and sometimes rebukes, so we can walk in other levels of righteousness and holiness (He does this with love as He exposes the areas that do not glorify Him in our hearts, nor show Christ in us to others). In this place He also puts other people in our hearts to intercede for in prayer, and best of all, gives us revelations that will help us advance in the path He is leading us to fulfill His plan and purpose for our lives.

But fear can hinder all that. As mentioned in the last posting, the Lord repeatedly spoke to Joshua what He saw in him--a strong and courageous man--in order to help him overcome the fear that had gripped him. Perhaps many thoughts were going through his mind such as: Moses' leadership and walk with God is a tough act to follow, so how am I supposed to lead this sea of people to the promised land? or, I feel so helpless and don't know where to begin this great attempt to advance God's Kingdom!

But he had forgotten that he had been trained by Moses, and had experienced going to the mountain of the Lord many times before. In fact, he was there when God was getting ready to hand the tablets of the ten commandments to Moses as mentioned in the passage above, so he was well able to go and get to know what was on God's heart at any moment he felt the need for more of Him. Besides, it seemed like fear had brought two companions: feelings of inferiority and of insecurity. Also, at this time it was best that no one was around him because he might have found a reason to lash out at them as he accepted the lies of the enemy, and the helplessness that came with it because fear is the root of unforgiveness, pride, jealousy, resentment, bitterness, strife, and insecurity and inferiority are its constant companions. Fear is also the main tactic used of the enemy to attack people, from there he ads other things if allowed.

But God in His faithfulness took Joshua by the hand, and with His breath removed the darkness as He commanded him to be "strong and courageous," making Joshua remember where he had been with Him, and His promise to be with him as He was with Moses (Joshua 1:5). This also means that everything God had made available to Moses to fulfill his calling was also at Joshua's disposal. So the mountain is the place where he could go anytime he chose to because God the Father is only a thought, prayer and praise away when His Son, Jesus, is our Lord and Savior, and we have invited Him in every aspect of our lives to lead us to life in abundance, to the fullest, and till it overflows (John 10:10 AMP). To Him alone be all the glory.

Who May Climb the Mountain of the Lord? 2

Philippians 4:8 Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. The Message

Continuing with the message of the last posting, our beliefs and things we lift as idols start in our thoughts. As Joyce Meyer has taught for many years, the battle starts in our minds. But one thing worth noting is that whenever there are wounds in our souls from hurts, broken hearts and offenses (things that others have done or said against us that have caused hurt in our hearts), especially when the enemy has sent people to repeat his lies to us, thinking of things highlighted in the Scripture is easier said than done.

For this reason, the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:1-2) is important because this way we are allowing the Lord to wash us clean (Ezekiel 36:25) from the mindsets adopted from our cultures,  traditions, upbringings, different types of influences, and even things that were passed down to us generationally  that have trained us to think in certain ways. The word of God also helps us heal from our wounds (Isaiah 53:5), and when this happens, it becomes easier to fight to keep every lofty thing that wants to exalt itself against the Lord and His word in our minds (2 Corinthians 10:5).

A biblical example of the command to meditate on the word of God, His promises, and the ways of His Kingdom is found in Joshua 1:6-9. In this passage the Lord told Joshua three times to be strong and courageous. He spoke this sternly, but He wanted to help Joshua meditate on being strong and courageous to override the fear he might have been feeling because of what he was about to embark to do in order to fulfill God's commands for him. This passage implies that Joshua could have been a person easily fearful, and perhaps he had made fear an idol. But God, like He always does, shone His light in the darkness that enveloped Joshua through the fear, and told him what was going to take for him to be successful in his endeavors as he obeyed the word of the Lord spoken to him.

So in essence, in order for us to climb the mountain of the Lord to receive His blessings, we need to get rid of idols of all kinds as He shows us what they are when we read His Word and allow Him to wash us clean as we meditate and speak the Word that has shone the light on the darkness that kept us in bondage. This way we can pull strongholds of the enemy down and walk in freedom to love and worship God, love and learn to see ourselves the way He sees us, and extend that love to others even in our thoughts because what we meditate on eventually will come out of our mouths and will be shown through our actions for as a man thinks so is he (Proverbs 23:7). To God alone be all the glory!

Who May Climb the Mountain of the Lord? 1

^{Psalm 24:3-6 NLT.
3}Who may climb the mountain of the LORD?
      Who may stand in his holy place?
 ⁴ Only those whose hands and hearts are pure,
      who do not worship idols
      and never tell lies.
 ⁵ They will receive the LORD’s blessing
      and have a right relationship with God their savior.
 ⁶ Such people may seek you
      and worship in your presence, O God of Jacob.

One day, as I was on my way to pick up my son from school, the Lord downloaded these verses to me. He then went on to tell me to give the following word to a lady because she needed to know what was stopping her from seeing a promise from Him fulfilled. The lady, a beautiful and successful business owner, had some weight issues that were a mountain in her sight, but it was not the mountain of the Lord.

Through her story, I learned that when she was a young girl, she was criticized for eating a lot and was told she was fat. At her young and inexperienced age, she didn't know that those people were used of the enemy to plant a lie in her mind. From that time on, she made the issue of her weight an idol by focusing on the fluctuations of her weight, and by not allowing God to guide her in her process of losing the weight and learning to see herself the way He sees her.

At the direction of the Lord and after learning this, I told her that even though God had made her the beautiful promise of being seeing by many people wearing beautiful clothes in a televised setting, God could not fulfill this promise until she learned who the true God was and who was the idol. She had made her weight her god (idol), and kept telling herself subconsciously that she was fat and would never be able to lose the weight (the lie that she believed to the point of tears).

But once the light shone in the darkness she was able to take action by learning what the word of God says about her (that she is fearfully and wonderfully made. Psalm 139:14), and by seeking the Lord for wisdom to lose the weight, see a doctor, a trainer, and a nutritionist.

I have not seen her in several years, and don't know if she did lose the weight, but I wanted to relate this story to help you identify any idols you may have raised through the lies of the enemy be it in the area of finances, relationships, health, children, etc. Let God tell  you through His word His perspective on the situation, and take the action He leads you to take without neglecting prayer, praise, fasting (according to what you are able to do), and seeking His wisdom from above to be able to receive His promises to you. To Him alone be all the glory.

Making Room for the Lover of your Soul as you Evict the Enemy

Hello, my name is Martha, and I want to tell you about my zeal to see unity in the body of Christ ever since I was taken up to heaven in the Summer of 2001. During this experience I was able to see how the Most High God is worshiped by the cloud of witnesses and heavenly beings. All attention was on Him, and Him alone to worship and adore. There was a sea of people but this did not distract them from putting their attention solely on God. After that experience, the Lord has been guiding me and giving me revelations of what the people need to know in order for all of us to experience what I saw in heaven.

For this reason, this blog is going to be dedicated to enlightening and encouraging you to let the Lover of your soul shine His light in the areas where the enemy has used your human spirit for his own purposes. One of those purposes has been to turn many in the body of Christ against each other and even against ourselves. This is contrary to unity- even unity with Him so we can be available to fulfill His plans and purposes that will advance His kingdom on the earth.

At one time I was dealing with an offense, and before it used to be difficult for me to let go of offenses quickly. Then the Lord showed me through a prayer that I heard by Dr. Cindy Trimm, that the enemy has been long using people's human spirits as homes, hotels, or hosts. The Lord went on to explain this to me in a deeper way: a home (to make a more permanent use of our weaknesses), hotels (as demons come and go to attack us and use us to attack others in cycles), and as hosts (to use us at a given moment to hurt others and to torment  us through our own hurts). 

After I learned this, I asked the Lord to show me how to stop the enemy from using my human spirit against myself and others through the offenses that were keeping me from staying focused on Him. He told me it was just a matter of presenting the enemy with eviction papers and cast him out. It was that easy! I did that and then asked the Holy Spirit to take hold of the space that the enemy had used in my inner being, and have seen the amazing breakthrough. More joy is in my heart, and I am able to identify the enemy when he tries to attack me in the same manner he used to. Also, I can now forgive easier, and pray for others that have offended me instead of keeping the offense inside of me. This also helps me keep my eyes on Him instead of my circumstances.

I pray this helps you evict the enemy of your soul and make room to receive the Lover of your soul that is waiting for a yes from you, and will give you amazing experiences in His presence. To Him alone be all the glory!