We Are Young But God is God

I've got nothing.That's a scary thought. When you feel like you have nothing to say. Like you can't explain how you feel. It's moments like these when we've got to inject ourselves with what God says. When we fill ourselves with truth suddenly our outlook on life changes. When we worship God on a daily basis with our song, with our dance, with our thoughts, with our bodies the God of all creativity begins to pour himself out on us. It's easy to get distracted and then just run with the motions of life even in our relationship with God but we can not forget that if we were created in His presence then it is only there with Him that we can come to life. For He is the God of the living. When you and I start to feel dry or like we have nothing more to offer it's time to draw near to our Lord, sit at the table and start talking. Invite The Holy Spirit to be with you no matter where you are. He's just waiting for your invite. Whatever darkness there is in us is like light to God and the more time we spend with Him the more He will invade. Wherever you go, invite the Holy Spirit and whether it is good or bad He will reveal these things to you, but you've got to let Him in to every detail of your life. Sometimes I feel like a broken record repeating myself but really the moment we realize that only a relationship with God will give us direction and the answers we need is the moment we will no longer depend on second-hand information. We can't depend on man to give us answers no matter how much revelation they have because God created us individually to have an individual relationship with each of us. 

I've learned something along my walk that I want to share with you. What The Holy Spirit has shown me is that when it comes to the children of God, He will never use a person to tell us something that He hasn't already been revealing to us first. Anything or anybody that gives us a word after that is only to serve as confirmation. So I encourage you to build your relationship with God deeper and deeper so that you become rooted in Him and won't be tossed back and forth like the wind by teachings and pretty words. Your spirit discerns what is of God and what isn't so we've got to listen carefully and be sensitive. I've walked away from so called "amazing opportunities" not because I'm crazy or scared but because God hasn't given me the green light. People of God have actually told me, "if you're waiting for an angel of God to descend from heaven and tell you to go, you're gonna be waiting all your life." I couldn't help but smile because I never thought...craziness, just craziness. You see I could have rationalized what they were saying and just gone along because these people in the natural sense are older, people of God, and dangling recordings and youth pastor titles for me in my face, but my spirit man was uneasy and rejecting this screaming no!!! in my heart. God has clearly spoken to me in the past and has confirmed things to me so for this to be said tells me this: there is no relationship with God or the relationship has grown cold. We have to learn that things aren't always what they seem and neither are people. Be on your guard always because in all reality it's not people we need to to guard ourselves from, it's the enemy who is standing right behind. For our battles are not against flesh and blood.The things of God are being done with the absence of His spirit and that right there is scary. His Word tells us that His people are destroyed because they lack knowledge. We can memorize scripture all we want because it's a powerful tool that we need but only the Spirit of God can reveal to us the exact word that we need for the present season. So while we're busy storing up we also need to listen and let God do the writing on the tablet of our heart.

*~*~*

(Luke 4:1-2) 

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by 

the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days 

he was tempted by the devil.

*~*~*

So, when you and I are full of the spirit we will be led by the spirit. The Holy Spirit was upon Jesus in overflow mode. Full of the Spirit Jesus entered a different kind of season where all that His father had revealed to Him was about to be put to the test. For 40 days Jesus had to put up with Satan's lies. I imagine Satan taunting Him during the day and trying to scare Him during the hours of the night. I had a dream once about a year ago that I want to share. There was a spiritual battle going on in my room that I couldn't see with my eyes but I could clearly feel and discern with my spirit. I felt a heavy presence in my room surrounding me that would not let me sleep. I got a sudden urge to cover up my feet and I knew this feeling from a few years back when a battled with this because I was not right with God. This time I knew that me and God were together and I was right with Him so I had no explanation for it. I literally began to think I had done something wrong but I shut that lie out quick. A few years back I would have run to my mom's room and asked her to pray and sleep with me but I had matured in the faith since then and I knew this was something I had to take before the Lord because I had to learn to depend on Him. I must have been 18 or close to 19 years old when this happened so remember we are not defined by our age but by our walk with God. I wasn't fully baptized with the Holy Spirit yet so I couldn't begin to battle in the spirit and talk in tongues like my parents so I did what I had always seen my mom do and rebuked the devil out loud and declared that I was covered by the blood of Jesus. A peace instantly filled my heart and I was convinced that God was right there with me. I'm pretty sure before I closed my eyes I had to have asked God to reveal the unknown to me because I drifted off into a dream. In this dream I could see myself sleeping on my bed but suddenly I felt uneasy because surrounding my bed was this huge lion, roaring and pacing back and forth at the edge of my bed. I was so scared and freaking out inside but all of a sudden, and I just can't forget this: all of a sudden I heard a peaceful, deep, resounding voice that spoke to me, "It's okay, go back to sleep. The enemy can do all he wants to try to scare you but he can't get on your bed and he can't touch you." In my dream I fell asleep after hearing God's voice. I knew it was my Jesus reassuring me that He was watching over me. That's the best picture that I can use to describe having peace in the middle of a storm.

We see later three examples of how the enemy tried to tempt Jesus' flesh but because Jesus submitted His flesh to God through fasting and prayer He rejected the lies. How He rejected the lies is what excites me the most! I'm giddy literally! Seriously that's the first time I've used that word. I get a lot a bit passionate about Jesus. Anyway...He just smacked the smirk off Satan's face! The difference between the devil and Jesus is not found in knowing the Word because Jesus is the Word and Satan knows the Word because He used to worship Him. Satan threw out scriptures but Jesus threw out revealed scriptures. Full of the Holy Spirit Jesus spoke the Word that God wanted Him to know for the exact moment. There will always be times when we are bombarded by verses but only through a relationship with God can we come to know which applies when. Spirit revealed knowledge of God's Word is what will silence the noise around us that tries to drag us back and forth. The same God of yesterday is today and what He did then He continues to do today. The amazing miracles that Jesus did are being done today through His Holy Spirit and I've seen it. Never forget:

*~*~*

(1 Timothy 4:12) 

Don’t let anyone look down on you because 

you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, 

in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.

*~*~*

Do you know what God is saying to us all right here?! Look, it doesn't matter how literally old or young you are or how little or how much spiritual maturity you have at this point in time...here and now I have called you to be an example! I have called you to be a light and shine bright on a stand regardless of whether others think you're worthy or not. They didn't call you, I did. They didn't anoint you, I did! Your God, your Creator, your savior, and redeemer. I'm here with you, walking along the same narrow road by your side shaping you along the way. So be an example to everyone who's watching, especially to your brothers and sisters in the faith. Let me change the way you talk, act around others, the way you love, the way you believe in me, and let me help you stay pure and be my holy bride here on earth. You just have to let me. Because I want to kill those old habits that hinder you from walking straight with me. I want to show you real freedom that doesn't come from a tattoo or from walking around YOLO ing everything. Just come to me I am your way, your truth, and your light. Don't forget why I saved you! There are lost souls and weary believers who need you to wake up and depend on my strength. You are young but I am who I am. So if I am who I am let all that I am change you. Let all that I am be enough for you. I desire with all my heart for people to be encouraged by your words and not tripped up. Stop trying to just get by and see how much you can get away with before it's considered a sin. Let me show you freedom. You don't need to talk like everyone else does to be heard, mu authority is enough and will get it done for you. A half truth won't change anybody because it's a lie. I want to put the whole truth that I am in you. Give out that truth and people will never be the same and will forever be changed. I desire for others to see the way you act when you're at church, at school, at work, or anywhere else and say I can see God! That will change lives! I want to show you what love really means so that you make no exceptions or preferences and so that even those who dub themselves unlovable come to know me through you. They will know forgiveness because I will give you a supernatural measure that will leave people baffled and knowing that it could only be Me in you. I'm going to show you that you can trust Me so that your faith will increase and like a child you will believe everything I tell you so that you won't be quick to run after the voice of the other. As your faith pleases Me My glory will invade and my kingdom will be established in you and through out the earth. I want to use you! Lastly, I know you can't stay pure without me in a world that promotes impurity and that is why you need to be fully baptized in my Holy Spirit. I did not bring you this far so that you could run away or give in, be bold! My Holy Spirit will teach you what is right and true so that those around you will not stumble by looking at your life but will look and be inspired to keep moving forward. You may be young but I am still God.

*~*~*

(Luke 10:18-21) 

He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 

I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions 

and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. 

However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice 

that your names are written in heaven.” At that time Jesus, full of joy 

through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven 

and earth, because you have hidden these things from the 

wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. 

Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.

*~*~*

Worship Freely Tunes {21}

I love Hillsong's new album Young & Free. I mean, really. If you wanna dance for The Lord put this album on replay keep it on loop and you won't be able to contain yourself. It's not about following some movement, it's about embracing who the Lord created us to be and the fact that in Jesus we truly are young and free through His sacrifice, love, and grace. We are free because Jesus took our place, so let's walk in His freedom. Here's one of my favorite songs off the album, hope you guys enjoy!

"Wake"- Hillsong Young & Free

I Promise. Don't Look Back Anymore.

 Me: But Lord what about—?

God: Shh shh...

Me: But God I don't get—?

God: Shh... It's ok. I get it.

Me: So how is this gonna work out?

God: It just will. Just love me.

Me: God I do love you...but it's so confusing!!!

God: I'm not confusing beloved...I'm what you need. I'm what you've always needed, really.

Me: You are God. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry. I've let my questions come between us. Forgive me.

Jesus: I already did baby 2,000 years ago. I took care of your doubts, insecurities, and rebellions. Be free!

Me: Aww, my sweet Jesus please don't even start with that because you know I'm gonna start balling out. I love you! I love you! I love you!!!

Jesus: I love you more! I promise. Everything will come together so beautifully. We've planned it since before your birth in the secret place when you laughed and sang with us. We looked at you, smiled and wrote with true love in mind. You don't remember those things but it's all been taken care of. Don't look back anymore.

Holy Spirit: Didn't I tell you that you were dearly loved? Girl, we're crazy about you! Face it. Your heart is ours and we aren't letting go. We love you! Just remember who loved you first.

Me: I feel better. You guys always know how to make me feel better. The truth is, what's behind me is both good and bad so I find myself thinking about the good things. But then I think about the fact that You said in Your word not to look back and desire to return to the good old days. Lord I want to go from glory to glory. Why? Why do I sometimes feel like what's behind and past is as good as it's gonna get? How do I tackle that Lord?

Holy Spirit: The Spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. Keep feeding your spirit the way you have and every doubt and fear will flee. If you find yourself traveling back in your thoughts: Stop, think about my love, declare what I've promised you. Talk to me. When you're silent because you feel overwhelmed just talk to me. We've got this battle won. I know this world tries to pull you away from trusting me but don't let it! Remember I love you. Never forget. How can you, right? I will always keep reminding you.

Me: My heart is Yours. Lead the way...Oh, wait! Can we have breakfast first?

Holy Spirit: Oh yeah you eat! Sure let's go!

Me: Ha! I love you...

*~*~*

(Luke 1:37) 

"For no word from God will ever fail.”

(Luke 1:45) 

"Blessed is she who has believed that 

the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

*~*~*

Bringing My Lamp & My Oil

(Matthew 25:1-4)

“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins 

who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 

Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones 

took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise ones, 

however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 

The Lord has really been pressing in my spirit the story of the ten virgins toward the end of the Book of Matthew. Even though I continued to read ahead I always seemed to make my way back to that small passage in the 25th chapter. This is one of my favorite parables that Jesus taught just because it mirrors the church as His bride, Jesus as the bridegroom, and He gives us another little glimpse of what bringing His kingdom down to earth looks like. I got some info about the tradition of Jewish weddings online because I really wanted to understand the context of what Jesus was talking about: "In Jewish society, the parents of the betrothed generally drew up the marriage contract. The bride and groom would meet, perhaps for the first time, when this contract was signed. The couple was considered married at this point, but they would separate until the actual time of the ceremony. The bride would remain with her parents, and the groom would leave to prepare their home. This could take quite a while. When the home was all ready, the groom would return for his bride without notice. The marriage ceremony would then take place, and the wedding banquet would follow."

When I started to read, a picture was painted in my head of these ten young ladies, half careless and the other half expectantly waiting for the groom to arrive. I imagined their talks of what he looked like standing at the altar, of where they would live together, and when he was coming. I imagined them pacing back and forth looking out of the windows to be the first ones to run to His side. At this point he could be right around the corner or far off in the distance: It was a total surprise visit waiting to happen. For any girl it's hard to wait, can I get an amen? I can picture joy turning into expectancy, expectancy turning into impatience, and impatience turning into boredom. The young women became so tired of waiting that they fell asleep. When the bridegroom arrived at midnight to take the ladies to the banquet to celebrate, the ones that were prepared followed with their well-oiled lamps while the one's that weren't were left behind and denied entrance into the feast.

The details of this parable are so important. What the Spirit pressed in my heart was that the wise virgins that were prepared with their lamps and oil are a symbol of God's church being ready through the filling of His Word and His Holy Spirit. Psalm 119:105 automatically popped up into my head word by word and I was like yes Lord, I understand. But right after He revealed that the lamp was talking about God's Word He then spoke this strongly into my spirit: The ladies that were left out had their lamps but lacked the oil...that oil is my Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit to breathe a new revelation of God's Word into our lives we the church will not see the glory of Jesus manifested here on earth. This is like supplementing His signs and wonders for a Bible study. We need the combination. We can't have one without the other. It is His desire for all of His children to move in the power of the Holy Spirit. These ten women, symbolizing the church, knew that without the oil eventually the fire was going to burn out and they would not be able to see their bridegroom coming and would either miss Him or get lost trying to go out to meet Him.

(Psalm 119:105)

Your word is a lamp for my feet,
    a light on my path.

The Bible is the instrument that The Lord provides us with so that we can follow the path that He's marked out before us and His Holy Spirit is the source of power that is needed to turn keep the fire burning. His anointing in our lives is his seal of ownership because knowing the word alone won't do it, this just opens the door for religion. We need His Word + His Holy Spirit anointing in order to produce fire (power) in our lives.

(2 Corinthians 1:21-22)

Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. 

He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit 

in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

.

We have one of those antique oil lamps at home on top of our fridge that we've conserved for years for those stormy nights when the power goes out. I want to talk a little bit about the maintenance of an oil lamp. Humor me guys I promise it's important. After you've filled the bottom glass end with oil the wick (rectangular thick stringy thingy) has to be trimmed if it's been previously used because it's all burned up. In the the parable of the ten virgins I noticed that the moment the ladies heard that the bridegroom was coming they woke up and the first thing they did was trim their lamps. They had left their lamps burning the whole time that now the time came for them to re-fuel them with some oil and a clean wick. You know that moment when you read through something but then stop, make a curious face, and then read back again? That was my aha moment. I knew that this portion of was important somehow so I said, "Holy Spirit show me, explain why this is important." He likes to flood me and that's exactly what happened and continues to happen. Just like that "wick" our spiritual lives reach points of burn out when we're stuck on old revelations and past experiences when the Holy Spirit wants to give us something fresh and new. I've been there and gosh I'm sure we all have but what He spoke into my spirit was that we need to trim off the old burned up wick. We need to throw away what we think we know about God through what we've learned so far, to make room for Him to show up in our lives a new way. We need to throw out the window what we've heard of God and prepare ourselves for daily encounters. And I'm not talking about shutting out readings or men and women of God, not at all. But I am saying that living off of second hand information is scary and not enough. We need to have a personal relationship with God and then let second hand information serve as a compliment and as confirmation for what the Holy Spirit has already revealed to us first. Let's just let our bridegroom pay us a surprise visit. Let's be ready for that visit. I'm excited!

It's Not A Religion, It's A Relationship

If there's one thing God cannot stand it's religion. God is God and His Son walked our walk and took our place so that we could freely enter His presence. Jesus did it so that we would no longer need any other intercessor but Him. He flung the gate wide open for those willing to approach. I just can't downgrade that at all. It was such a huge and hurtful price to pay but Jesus loved us. He hated the idols, and the unfaithful hearts were just too much for His heart to bear, and the sin was all too opposite of His holy nature but He loved us enough. Where sin resided His grace over abounded. He denied His own nature to come after us. Jesus with one glance could look past our mess and just see who our Father made us to be. Because He loved and continues to love us for us His message is so clear: Will we let His perfect love really transform us and break every wall? Trespass all obstacles we've set up? Will we dare let our Savior get close enough? You see it doesn't matter if you can't look at Him because He's looking right at you loving you at this moment knowing that when you let Him have His way in you you'll begin to love who He created you to be also. It's about setting aside who we think He is and just giving Him that chance to show us and reveal Himself to us, regardless of whether He comes the way we were expecting Him to or not. We've just got to let His Holy Spirit show up in our lives the way He desires to. 

As I read the Book of Amos a week back one thing really just stood out to me. God was addressing His people with pain that turned into anger because of the way they were living, because of the sin that was all too undeniable to ignore. One day they bowed down and worshipped other man-made gods and idols and the next day they were in the temple praising the living God in their fancy robes. God couldn't stand watching how they played both cards generation after generation and how they participated in such a masquerade. It was just a strong feeling of I love you so much, but why don't you truly love me back? If we pay close enough attention is this not happening today? I was this person at one point in my teenage years, showing up to church forcefully and putting on a pretty face only waiting for that last prayer in the afternoon to storm off and get back to what I called "reality". My idols weren't wood or painted plastic the way some are today but they had names: unfaithfulness, shame, and insecurity to say the least. Clapping my hands one morning and then singing anything but christian music the rest of the day. One day His love was just so big and so in my face, shining through that it woke me up to not just sort of live for Him but to live in the day to day to know His heart. If He was willing to inundate my life that night in such a powerful manner then I knew right then and there that I wanted this every single day of my life. 

God said to His people:

*~*~*

(Amos 5:21-23) 

“I hate, I despise your religious festivals; your assemblies are a stench to me. 

Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, 

I will not accept them. Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, 

I will have no regard for them. Away with the noise of your songs! 

I will not listen to the music of your harps.

(Amos 6:5) 

You sing trivial songs to the sound of the harp and fancy 

yourselves to be great musicians like David. 

*~*~*

God wasn't saying that He didn't love music or fellowship but He was saying that He hated the fact that these things were being done out of religion, not because of true love for God, out of tradition and man-made regulation. Their lips were praising because they had to but there hearts were piled up sky high with idols. The music delighted the ear but the person playing the music, which is what God truly cared about, was so far from knowing God. Religion comes in all colors, sometimes it's so obvious and other times it's very neatly tucked away. The fact that God can just see right through us is why I think we feel the need to hide and why man-kind has always felt the need to hide. I think it's hard for us to fathom how holiness can look straight at us, touch us, and love on us. We don't need to hide anymore. This is to worship in truth. Let your heart be true so that He can begin to work. He loves you and I more than any song we could ever sing. In fact, he loves our music simply because we're the ones who are singing it. Without our hearts being in His hand it's just noise. You see, God offered us His Innocent Son so that through His amazing sacrifice we could have direct access to the Father once again. Since before time existed and we were in the heart of God He wanted to bring us into existence to be in relation with Him, to simply be with us and that was worship. To this day mankind has strayed. What causes us to hide from our creator, our Father, our friend? Sin. After sin crept in and we gave the enemy a foothold in our lives out came religion to invent rules so that we could earn enough merit to maybe have eternal life. maybe. Religion puts a price tag on us that Jesus already paid. God hates religion because it is only through His Son Jesus that we have access to Him. Access that isn't just offered after death, but every day of our lives. 

Religion in all it's splendor and glorious tradition didn't humble itself to die on a cross for us, it does not have life to give. Jesus bled until His very last breathe with you and I on His mind. The same eyes that saw our unformed body came to give us His body in exchange so that we could have the option to live forever by His side. Even after all that, He's not forcing us to be with Him...Jesus died to give us the choice.  Every day we have the opportunity to accept the grace of Jesus so that we can boldly approach the thrown of God. Job cried out for this when he was sick wishing and praying that if only there was someone who could plead his case before God for him. Jesus came to give us this. We don't need any other mediators (people, saints, idols). We just need Jesus. We just need His presence. I thank God that we've been given that option every day, to walk in His presence through the Holy Spirit. I thank God for such a love. I invite you to invite the Holy Spirit into your life, not just because you should or because He's just great company, but because your life will just never be the same after He invades every detail of it. I challenge you if you're a part of a worship team to think about this when you find yourself there leading, playing, or maybe in the crowd. Talk to God and let Him know that you desire Him to show up the way He wants to. As you drive He wants to talk to you just like a friend. When you're at work or at school He delights to be with you if you'll let Him. God wants to be with you and I. Beautiful, and honorable thought.

Bringing To You A Sunday Sound

So as most of you know, I lead worship in Spanish at my church on Sunday afternoons. It was a total surprise to me when I got home after the service, half way into my mango, that my Dad said that he had recorded me singing so that I could hear. He hadn't thought about it, but once he was sitting down he just left his phone recording to later show me. I was really curious so he played it for me while I had dinner. The last time I had heard myself recorded was probably a year ago and honestly God has just been molding my voice one day at a time. It's been a long, beautiful, and painful process that I am so grateful for. For the pain too? Yes. I rejoice for those heart-breaking times because with them has come anointing and passion for the things of God. I guess you could just skip all my ramblings and go straight to hearing the song down below, but I do hope that you'll stick around long enough to hear my little stories. I grew up in a small church where it seemed like if you had any God-given talent you might as well hide it under the table because one must be "humble". I lived with these lies, believed them, and saw life through this lense. Jesus has a way of setting us free from those though, doesn't He? You see I saw two complete polar opposites as I began to serve during worship: those that were reserved and sang quietly as if to stop others from judging them and those who wanted to shine and through their singing they just screamed look at me. Can you guess which one I was? For a long time my voice almost resembled a caged bird, I just wasn't free. I sang almost all the time but something blocked me. My insecurities and the scary thought that people would think that I wanted the attention were a huge part of why I felt stuck. If I got a compliment I had a horrible fear of taking the attention away from God and the first thing I would say was, "thank you, all glory to God." That is still true today but the false humility is broken. I guess I thought that if I'd say it every time, somehow it would be enough to protect me and make God happy. But what does God's Word say again? Oh yeah. 

(1 John 4:18) There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

When God saved me He cleansed a completely prideful girl who thought all she needed was herself to be successful in life, so that girl became so grateful to her God and never wanted to go there again. She thought the best way to thank God was to be the total opposite of who she was. God's voice wasn't all too clear for her yet so she did the best she could with an honest heart knowing that her only truth was the genuine feeling of wholeness she encountered as she closed her eyes and sang. God began to work with that and now this girl knows that true humbleness isn't something one has to try hard to reflect because when your heart is placed in the right place it just flows out. The sound is different and that atmosphere of true worship is created. This is why God became frustrated with the Israelites when He told them how was it that by now they didn't understand that He did not desire sacrifices: it was their hearts He was after. If you've read a lot of my blog posts you'll read a lot about the heart and how it's the beginning of true worship because my journey has been devoted to knowing my Father's heart and that's what He's revealed to me. So I share. Through my spiritual process I've learned what true humility looks and smells like and that lesson is one of the greatest ones yet. It set me free. I say this because I have been wanting to share some of my music but the timing just hasn't been right...I love God's timing though. He loves doing things behind my back to bring about a touching surprise. We do life like that and I wouldn't have it any other way. So I share this "sound" with you as I did on my facebook page with an honestly stripped heart just hoping it makes you smile up at God. I even told my Dad Sunday night, is it weird that I'm here worshiping with myself...so weird lol. It's one thing being up there but stepping down to really hear myself I thought for the first time...I like this person. And again I'm not one to share such super intimate things but I strongly feel to. The process is worth it. Not because of the sound itself but because of the person behind the sound. We are the vessels who can either carry His anointing or just make noise. I live to worship in a way that doesn't make noise but that rather, brings my intimate worship into a public setting. I hope anyone who hears my music can hear and feel that. My life's calling in the worship area is to show people that it's more than okay to draw near, to come as we are, to flow in the Spirit...

This song is called "Te Doy Gloria" and in English it's "I Give You Glory."

Translation:

Oh, how beautiful
Are You, Lord
It's Your words
It's Your love

Oh, how glorious
Are You, Lord
It's Your power
It was Your cross

That saved me
And rescued me
Just a moment there
Set me free

//I give You glory, glory
I give You glory, glory
I give You glory, glory
Jesus//

////With a crown of thorns
You became my King forever///

The Beginning Of True Worship: A Circumsized Heart

My Bible reading time is getting so good. I'm so close to The New Testament that I can taste it but the journey has been astonishing, slow paced but full of meditation. As I read through the books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel there was one similar focal point that I tuned into: God was telling these anointed men that what He most desired was the heart. The Lord went on to pour out prophecies about how He planned to recapture Israel's hearts, how He desired for His people to circumcise their hearts. God gave them so many literal examples and symbols for what true worship really was but they (with an exception of a few) never got it. The prophet Samuel understood this when he reprimanded King Saul for choosing sacrifices over obedience. David got it when he sang in one of his Psalms about how he finally realized that The Lord takes no pleasure in sacrifices and offerings, but instead, delights in a broken and contrite heart. For a while God used these literal expressions as a shadow of the true meaning of the beginnings of worship. Before anything else, God desires to have our hearts in His hand, because to give someone your heart is to give them all of you. Change came and God was behind this transformation, ready to reveal to all that what He was trying to do this whole time was win over their hearts. The few men that understood this did life with God: walked with Him daily, invited The Lord to be where they were, and followed The Lord wherever He wanted them to go. It's so easy to recognize a move of God when you spend intimate and public time with God. In your secret place as well as the grocery store, church, between classes, at work, and during lunch conversations. This is a picture of what doing life with God is and it all begins with a rendered, devoted, circumcised heart. You see, a circumcision removes the natural protective covering and what God was saying was this: for a while guys I asked you to circumcise your children because I was giving you a picture of what I really wanted and that was for that wall in your heart that you use to keep me out to be removed so that I could come in. God wants to come in to our hearts and dwell there. Worship first involves us giving our hearts over so that His Spirit may dwell there. When Jesus came He later gave the next revelation and that was this: guys, the temple was a symbol for a long time but now I've been sent by my Father to tell you that when I leave His Spirit will now not just be with you and in you...now He's gonna be upon you because your bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. The Lord tells us in The Book of Daniel that God is the revealer of mysteries and that He is.

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(Ezekiel 11:19-20) I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God.

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My favorite example so far in The Old Testament of what a circumcised heart looks like would have to be in the life story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego when they're put on the spot and about to be thrown into a burning furnace because they refused to worship anybody/anything else but their God. I mean, I felt empowered as I was reading this.

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(Daniel 3:17-18) "If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” 

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God loves and honors that heart that has let Him completely come in to the point of living a life that screams: My God is the living God and He can do anything for me but even if things don't work out the way I envision I will still love Him and keep my heart open to Him. God just can't resist this genuine heart because we were all created the same fierce and bold potential to love. This is the beginning of true worship that is born from doing life with God.

///Will You Still Worship When Your Usual Way of Connecting With God is Cut Off?///

The key that opens the door into God's presence is intimacy; It's a singular action that later turns into a plural activity. To have an intimate relationship of any kind there first has to be a connection, that bridge that allows communication between two Spirits. (John 4:24) tells us that "God is Spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth." When we feed our Spirit then our flesh, weak or strong, has to submit under the authority of Jesus. The case for me this week was weak flesh and a strong Spirit. I know when you first read that last sentence it sounds a bit bizarre or maybe a bit uppity but the Lord knows the details of my week and these days have truly stripped my flesh off to only reveal my Spirit. In past seasons I've had to battle through my flesh getting in the way of my Spirit's purpose and I continue to struggle with this of course but God had something new to teach me this week. The battle that I had to face required me to solely depend on the strength of my Spirit Man: I had been feeding Him with word, music, preachings...etc. and now came the time to see the fruit of that. I have seen the fruit and the words that were declared did not return void.

Sunday night, the Lord gave me a dream: I saw myself at a party of some kind. For some reason I was there helping out and I went outside and started walking toward my Mom's SUV. When I was about to open the door I felt someone following me so I turned around and saw a young man walking up behind me. I locked the car and asked the guy if I could help him with anything and before I knew it he pulled out a gun and shot me. He just walked away after this and disappeared behind a wall. I felt myself fall to the ground and land on grass but I didn't feel the bullet penetrate me. I was shocked by this but instead of panicking I began to declare, "I cover myself with the blood of Jesus...The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want He makes me lie down by green pastures and leads me beside still waters..." And then the guy comes back, pulls out his gun, and shoots me over and over again. The more I declared The Word the angrier he got and the angrier he got the more he shot. The bullets couldn't touch me. There was like a force field blocking the bullets. The word of God became my faithful shield. I didn't know it then but God was preparing me for what was going to come and clearly He showed me that I was going to have to declare His Word through this spiritual warfare.

My voice was just gone for almost the whole week and if you express your worship to God through singing like I do then you know how horrible, horrible, that really feels. How impotent I felt when the guitar was being played. Every chord made my heart leap and my lips quiver with anxiousness. Day after day I drove in my car with only my hand raised up and my mouth tightly sealed. The Holy Spirit was there in that moment and saw my heart. It even began to drizzle so all I could do was smile. I felt in my Spirit so strongly that the enemy was not going to hear one complaint, nor one reproach, and he especially was not going to cause confusion as to why this was happening to me. My worship was not going to be defined by what I lacked, but rather, what I had. God loves it when I sing to Him but He loves me so much more. That's it right there! He wants us so so so much more than anything else we can offer Him. The way I was approaching and confronting this situation wasn't something I was doing with the intention of just receiving healing...it was about all my love being offered in the palm of my hand to my good and faithful God in the midst of difficult circumstances. I desperately wanted Him to know that I would worship and love Him no matter what I was going through...I wanted Him to just love my heart...I wanted to make Him smile.

 I didn't even have to memorize this scripture because once I read it, it was engraved in my Spirit. Spending the night on the couch far from my room could have provoked my frustration but instead I took my pillow, blanket, my Declaration Scriptures Notebook, and Bible and read until my eyes couldn't read another word. I declared (Jeremiah 17:14) after The Lord showed me this scripture as I was reading my Bible. What is used to harm us God can use to benefit us. It will work for your good if you're called to God's purposes. Will you still worship?

Make another connection and if that one is taken away make another and then another. If your voice is gone use your hands and if your hands are gone get down on your knees. If you can't dance pray and if you can't pray then converse in your mind with your God. Make a connection. In the natural you may not be able to sing so let your life be your song or maybe you can't physically bow down so let your every step be in full surrender to God. Don't let anything steal your worship because while you see it's tangible form, God see's its spiritual form. Will you still worship?

His Rain Falls When We Prepare Our Hearts

 I want to talk about those times when we lead or participate in a praise and worship service in which we feel that God's presence just didn't move. We compare one service to another or one season to another and find ourselves playing the blame game: Yup it was that out of tune guitar, those loud drums, the tired vocalists, and definitely those new songs. It's easy sometimes for us to concoct some crazy-wild explanation for something so simple. I've even found myself saying, "Lord, why? These people needed You to show up...I was dying for You to show up." I don't know if any of you can relate but this is a horrible feeling. You come home and think that you just wasted your time and even worse that you just wasted God's time and probably made Him tear up a bit from how awful that whole service turned out. I've been there and it's because I've been there that I've sought out my Lord's council. I love how he speaks into my heart so clearly. There are specific moments when I've just felt God laugh and I'm pretty sure when I've talked to Him about these things He's been just balling out, shaking His head, ready to just cradle me because the answer is so simple.

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(Song of Solomon 1:6) 

Do not stare at me because I am dark,

    because I am darkened by the sun.

My mother’s sons were angry with me

    and made me take care of the vineyards;

    my own vineyard I had to neglect.

(Song of Solomon 2:10)

My beloved spoke and said to me,
    “Arise, my darling,
    my beautiful one, come with me.

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What The Lord revealed to me was that we, His children, are the ones who carry His presence and He confirmed this with His Word that says that we are the Temple of The Holy Spirit, His church. We're suppose to be putting the "C', "H", "U", "R", "C", "H" in "church". The only way to do this is through our relationship with God. He is always able to move but we also have the calling to release what He has freely given us. His Spirit is waiting to be releases but if we don't feed our spirit's how can we accomplish this? It's about talking to our Father because His Holy Spirit is with us and longs to be upon all of us, it's about getting into His Word for a fresh and new revelation, and it's about intimate prayer and worship behind closed doors when no one is looking. God is tired of His unfaithful bride who is ravished by many lovers. In Jeremiah 3 The Lord tells His people that "the showers have been withheld, and no spring rains have fallen" because of their unfaithfulness. God uses the words prostitution and unfaithfulness to describe our desire to seek another's council and even our own;He refers to anything that occupies the first place in our hearts. 

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(Jeremiah 2:13)

“My people have committed two sins:
They have forsaken me,
    the spring of living water,
and have dug their own cisterns,
    broken cisterns that cannot hold water.

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Do we not do this today? We lean on our own past understanding and at some point stop overflowing because we've traded fountains. We think we can survive with what we know but those moments are when we need The Lord the most. Only He can see a heart naked as it is. When He says He wants a worshiper in spirit and in truth, this is what He's referring to. He longs for His worshiper to lay beside Him and hear His heartbeat and the only way for us to do this is to cultivate that relationship. Sometimes we reach moments where we hide our faces from The Lord and sink back. He's calling out. Talk to Him. He just wants to talk to us. He just wants to love us. Our wells can't hold water but His can. He doesn't want us to struggle or get frustrated anymore. When you prepare your heart's garden He will walk in and spend time with you. Because you know Him He will listen and because He knows You His Spirit will be upon you ready to be released.

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(Psalm 132:7-8)

“Let us go to his dwelling place,
    let us worship at his footstool, saying,
 ‘Arise, Lord, and come to your resting place,
    you and the ark of your might.

//We are that resting place that 

The Holy Spirit longs to dwell in.//

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 "Learn to steward God's presence in stillness, not just in corporate worship." 

                                                                                           

                                                                                            —Steffany Gretzinger

When we do this through intimate time with The Lord our services and corporate gatherings will be in continuous overflow. His signs and wonders will be there. The fullness of His Spirit is the key and that key can only be given to us through spirit taught knowledge that comes from the secret place. My secret place sometimes looks like a locked room with soft Bethel or Ihop music playing in the background, or a locked bathroom with me kneeling at the foot of the tub, a car ride, or gardening time outside. The one thing that all these locations have in common is that I am alone with God in order to seek Him. You don't need anything fancy just a place where you can cultivate that relationship with God behind closed doors so that when you do life in the open you will be walking in the fullness of His Spirit and that rain will fall no matter where you find yourself.

Top 10 Favorite Quotes From "When Heaven Invades Earth"

I finished the book! The quotes that I want to share have provoked me, stirred me up, and have also served as confirmation for me in this season. I really LOVED reading this book, in fact, my highlighter agrees. Neon pink, green, and yellow cover up almost every sentence of every page. I definitely recommend this read especially for those of you who have a hunger for more of God and who have a passion for seeing His kingdom displayed all over the earth. 

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Bill Johnson's "When Heaven Invades Earth"

1. "Resistance to change is a resistance to the nature of God. Because the winds of change are blowing, it will be easy to distinguish between those who are satisfied and those who are hungry. Change brings to light the secrets of the heart."
2. "We lack understanding of who we are because we have little revelation of who He is."
3. "Being involved in the supernatural through spiritual gifts is what makes the invasion effective. The kingdom of God is a kingdom of power! We must be in pursuit of a fuller demonstration of the Spirit of God."
4. "Daniel discovered early on the power of holiness. He was unwilling to eat the king's delicacies. Separation to God is demonstrated in personal lifestyle, not associations. He could not control his surroundings...Many Christians prefer to work in a Christian business, attend Christian meetings, and isolate themselves from the very people we are left on the planet to touch in His name."
5. "The Bible is not a book of lists that confine or corral God. The Word does not contain God—it reveals Him."
6. "I was not left on planet earth to be in hiding waiting for Jesus' return. I am here on a military representative of heaven."
7. "Intimacy with God is our strong suit. Never allow anything to distract you from this point of strength."
8. "If the Father filled the Old Testament houses with His glory, though they were built by human hands, how much more will He fill the place that He builds with His own hands! He is building us into His eternal dwelling place."
9. "My hunger for His power is only surpassed by my desire for Him. It's been my pursuit of Him that has led me to this passion for an authentic gospel. Something happened in me that won't let me accept a gospel that isn't backed with signs and wonders."
10. "A glass is only full when it overflows. Fullness can only be measured by overflow."

A Season Of Seeking Out The Hidden Things

When we find ourselves secluded theses are the seasons where one on one with The Holy Spirit we grow and mature. There is always a lesson to be taught and learned. I find myself in this season right now and The Lord is who He says He is. Faithful and true, holding my hand and walking me through. After some adjustments in my life The Lord revealed to my heart and placed this scenario before me: "There is a bus that is taking you and others to the next season and you got on early. Better to be the first one on than the last because the last ones to get on I had to push and force so they come hurt, scared, and confused. This is a season of seeking out the hidden things." I've been hearing this in my Spirit and then came God's word to confirm His spirit taught words to me:

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(Isaiah 26:20) 

Go, my people, enter your rooms 

and shut the doors behind you; 

hide yourselves for a little while 

until his wrath has passed by.

(Isaiah 45:3) 

I will give you hidden treasures, 

riches stored in secret places, 

so that you may know that 

I am the Lord, the God of Israel, 

who summons you by name.

(Isaiah 48:6-7) 

You have heard these things; 

look at them all. Will you not admit them? 

“From now on I will tell you of new things, 

of hidden things unknown to you. 

They are created now, and not long ago; 

you have not heard of them 

before today. So you cannot say, 

‘Yes, I knew of them.’ 

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I've been what feels like the last one on the bus and it is not pretty...it hurts. I thought my wounds were going to kill me but my Lord healed me and only the scars remain. I never understood the scripture that reads that God wounded us but now He would heal us until I encountered these seasons. God raises a banner and calls out to us but sometimes we hesitate for too long and enter a zone of false comfortability. And then He is forced to drag us because He loves us and can not sit there and watch us miss the prepared table that He has set before us. The confusion and pain won't last forever because our God is faithful and will bind our wounds and wipe our tears. There is rest in knowing who we are in Christ and what God wants us to really do. We will never be able to fit a man-made mold. That yoke is too heavy and only brings us neverending burdens. They are burdens disguised as servanthood obedience and kingdom obligations but God will not permit His loved ones to be fooled. 

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(Psalm 127:1-2) 

Unless the Lord builds the house,

    the builders labor in vain.

Unless the Lord watches over the city,

    the guards stand watch in vain.

2 

In vain you rise early and stay up late,

toiling for food to eat—

    for he grants sleep to those he loves.

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Just two Sundays ago I had this vision during the service while the team and I were worshiping in song and what I saw was a beautiful treasure box. I felt my Lord's excitement. He wanted His people to open it. He desired for us to open it. I say "us" because He longs for all of His children to want more of Him. To be curious and child-like in our Daddy's spiritual matters. This makes Him happy. The treasures of our Father's heart are found through communion and relationship with prayer, worship, and reading scripture in spirit and in truth. 

There are things that I've had to step away from because God is dealing in His way with those things and desires to keep me on His track. Those "things" in the natural seem good and should have God's stamp of approval because they are ministry related and done in His name but God's ways are higher and so much sweeter. Can anybody say amen?! Some people won't agree but that's OK, the murmurs just have to roll off your back. In the secret place with The Lord and with the support of those around you who can truly perceive the move of God this period of time will bring a new revelation of who God says you are. In this season, unlike other past seasons, it was easy for me to let go and move with the Spirit of God because I know He's going to teach me something good. I've tasted this very fruit in the past and I've seen God's goodness and the joy that overflows from His dwelling place.

On another note, My Summer II Mexican American Lit class officially starts tomorrow and I couldn't be any more excited. My best friend is also teaching me to play piano, something a few seasons past I thought would be impossible. My excuse was that I'm not a good multi-tasker but God just laughs at my excuses and hugs me before sending me on my way. I've been reading through The Bible so much to the point where it's been a day long thing sometimes. I know I won't always have that kind of time so this season is so important to and for me. It's a step back in order to step in. A hungry heart The Lord cannot resist and that's my purpose in this time...to love on my God and to rest in the fact that my Beloved's desire is for me.