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 Transformed Heart Transforms Worship

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(Deuteronomy 30:6) “The Lord your God will change your heart and the hearts of all your descendants, so that you will love him with all your heart and soul and so you may live!

Like my grandma always says," No matter how many times other people try to make my recipes they will never taste the same because I make my food with love, special for my family." Nothing beats making something or doing anything out of love. In the same way, all that we do to bring honor and glory to God should be done out of love. Christ paid a huge dept for us that we could never repay but the only way we can say, "thank you," is by doing what we do for Him out of love. If we have to wash the car or sweep the floor, let us do it out of love; If we are given the privilege to worship God up on an altar, then let us do it out of love; If we are going to preach, then let it be out of pure gratitude and passionate love for the One who saved us and gave us the ability to do so. If we don't know how to do this then let God change our hearts and our generation's hearts so that we may learn to truly love and really live. Now that God has transformed your heart, let Him transform the way you worship Him.

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(Deuteronomy 12:8-9) “Your pattern of worship will change. Today all of you are doing as you please, because you have not yet arrived at the place of rest, the land the Lord your God is giving you as your special possession.

When we don't have direction from God, we do what we do. By this process we come to make mistakes and end up doing as we please. God doesn't want us to wander aimlessly, He wants us to hear His voice of truth so that it can be like a lamp unto our feet, showing us the path ahead. Being able to believe in what is not yet seen (faith) comes from hearing the word of God. When we read His word we learn what His voice sounds like. Then  from this comes conviction, the hunger to know more about Him who loves us so deeply, and the strength to live for Christ who chose to live for us. Like I always say, anybody can die for another person but only those who are in Christ die and like Him, choose to live. I don't want to do as i please...I want to make God smile. I want to touch His deserving heart. Something tells me that you do to. I challenge you to cling to Him and seek Him so that He can change your pattern of worship. He wants to be our rest: Not our calm before the storm, but our calm during the storm. God has something special in store for you and for me that we will receive when we arrive at His place of rest. A relationship with God will keep us near to Him so that we can hear Him and know His plans for us. In this way, He is our one and only rest.

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(Deuteronomy 12:30-31) do not fall into the trap of following their customs and worshiping their gods. Do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How do these nations worship their gods? I want to follow their example.’ You must not worship the Lord your God the way the other nations worship their gods, for they perform for their gods every detestable act that the Lord hates. They even burn their sons and daughters as sacrifices to their gods.

Like I had said on my past post, God wants to give us something new. We don't have to watch music videos on T.V to get ideas because our God is the creator. I mean He put "create" in creative. Nothing that this world gives for their audience could ever compare to what we can do to worship God.  We don't need their customs, traditions, or words because we are the children of the God who created the stars and calls them by name. We worship the God who designed and runs the human body: He makes a heart beat, blood flow, and formed each nerve and cell. If we were to uncover Hollywood's actors and singers what would we find? If we were to truly let the "glass masquerade" fade what would we uncover? Let us be inspired by God and live to make Him known. If my God is creative then so am I and He has given me the ability to create marvelous things. Let's get closer to Him so that He can reveal to us that which we do not know. But let us never loose focus on what truly matters. Who cares how the Beatles sing and play or how Katy Perry dresses? God wants to give us something new. Like my Mom said, "It's time to stop eating from the old bread." If you are going to do something for God then let it be Him who inspires you. Let it be the Holy Spirit who places in your heart new and fresh ideas. God has placed all the creative genius from His heart and mind into you, but all you have to do is delight yourself in Him. If we must be passionate or mesmerized, let it be by God.

A New Sound Resonance

Resonance- A quality of richness or significance, especially in evoking a response or strong emotion; the intensification and enriching of a musical tone by supplementary vibration (vibration of something beyond the original sound source).

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Recently I've been meditating on how God wants us to worship Him. What makes Him happy? What touches His heart? This was and continues to be my personal prayer with him. Sitting down and talking with my dad after dinner we both agreed upon one thought: The Lord reveals to each person how He wants them to worship Him. It's not about watching T.V, however much of a great invention it might be, and getting ideas and then copying them. It's not about flipping through the next cover of teen vogue and picking the image we want to carry out. Just because God isn't verbally telling us direct instructions doesn't mean we should pick what we see and like without consulting Him. God wants to give us a new image, a new look, and a new sound. I will never judge a fellow believer for taking a worldly song and turning it into a spiritual one because I don't know what kind of personal revelation or calling they have received from the Lord. I can only speak for myself and for those that have a similar revelation. God has spoken into my heart that He wants a new sound from me. Like I have been taught, all music belongs to God and was invented by Him but the devil has distorted the sound. God has shared with me how much He wants me to flow out of a new sound, something never heard before. I feel these words--captivating, powerful, breath-taking, holy, resonance. Focusing on worshiping God through my music I strongly hold tight to the fact that the Lord is breathing life into this generation, into me, to produce a never-before heard sound. How to live, how to sing, how to dress, these are all inspirations that the Holy Spirit wants to provide us with. We don't need to copy or add onto someone's hand-me-down sound, we need to know the secrets that lie in God's heart and ask Him for them.

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(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.

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(Romans 12:2) Don't copy the behavior and customs

of this world, but let God transform you

into a new person by changing the way you think.

Then you will learn to know God's will for you,

which is good and pleasing and perfect.

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This world needs to be shaken up by more than an album, it's crying out for a generation ready to give off what the Lord has personally placed in their hands. When we display a new song, a new image, then we truly transform what is around us because what we have from God is meant to be more intensely profound. It's time to let His new sound resonance shine because God is not a God to stay in one place or in one dimension...He breaks barriers and pushes us toward the plans He has set for us. May you and I give life and show others His new revelation, His heart's true desires.

Inspiration

Hello readers! This will officially be my first post of the year and...I know, shame shame, but I thank the Lord for providing me with time for blogging. What have you been doing Deya, you might ask? Well friends...I have just been worshiping, reading the word of God, and spending time with my family and boyfriend. I started the first day of the new year not just worshipping in one church for God's glory but in two! The Lord is faithful! So faithful that let me share this one tiny bit of advice with you: whenever the Lord takes you out of one place or allows us to go through the fire...it's always because something extremely better is waiting for us on the other side. If the Lord is guiding you toward something then I don't care how hard it is for you to let go and run without looking back, just dash off! Don't be like Lot's wife, just trust the Lord and walk away. Oh trust me when I say that God has something far greater for you. The greater the sacrifice...the greater the blessing!

In other news, God has placed in my heart to read the bible from beginning to end and to fast. I mean I just can't outrun the Lord...I have to and yearn to do this. While it is great to toss open the bible and read the scripture that I first see when the random page is opened, I know that as God's daughter I have to know the very words that my Father has left me with before He returns. I mean, what accounts will I give to Him when He asks me why I did not know how to minister to someone because I didn't know scriptures about healing or salvation? Thank you God. I know some of you reading this can relate and hopefully by the end of this post you also become inspired to take on this beautiful task.

When you read a book, how annoying is it if you start from the middle or end? You miss the big idea and you don't even know why this girl is happy or why that family is torn, and you might be wondering: "Who's this guy? um...hello does anyone know who Bob is?" Yup, this is why I have taken on the lovely work of reading the Lord's Word from start to finish, principio a fin, beginning to end. And let me tell you...you might think you know everything about the book of Genesis, the beginning, but my friends the Lord always has a new revelation to give each and everyone of us. What He shows you might not be what He reveals to me and visa versa. So from now on I am going to dedicate my time to reading God's word and spending more time with Him so that I can share with you guys what the Lord is showing me from Genesis to the Book of Revelations. I am so excited!! Yes I will still be telling you of my personal life because as you all know the Lord has a mysterious way of tying things together. I will always share the word, my experiences, and helpful tips and advice with you.

 The revelation that the Lord gave me for the beginning of the year and the rest of my life is that to the Lord, our lives are a song. In prayer, I told the Lord that I wanted to be that beautiful and catchy song that He wants to always listen to. The melody that touches His heart! That is my desire for all the days of my life. Because He is my song, I want to be His.

So friends here's to reading the word of God together and sharing those beautiful moments in our daily spiritual and personal lives! All I have to toast with is a plastic cup of water but yay! Congrats and Cheers!