Action

Me: Good morning Lord. Thank you for waking me this morning and for this new day. I love you Lord.

Lord: Good morning son. Your welcome. As you know, I love walking with you in the mornings. We love you very much.

I was with you in your broken shoe this morning. It was a parable. Read again Ephesians 6:10 -17 especially verse 15.

Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

I spoke yesterday about HRA. The last being "Action", and it is this I want to focus on today.

Action
There is a great deal of difference between rushing in and doing what you think, or even know, I want you to be doing, and being ready! Being ready for action is to be like a well trained soldier, who knows his equipment and weapons, and, more importantly, knows how to use them. I want my front-line solders in the cause of the gospel, to be well equipped and well trained and ready for action. Just as you received training, through those years spent working alongside Dawson in "The Group", so I want my new and young soldiers to have the opportunity of being alongside others in the Church, who are experienced and wise in the my ways.

Of course I shall also give them my own form of training, and others will watch in both wonder and horror, as they rush into situations that the more cautious would not dream of engaging!  But the important thing to learn is that I am the supplier of the Spiritual Gifts, which is the equipment, and I also wrote the manual and determine the terms of engagement. So the most important rule is to look to me for instruction each day in prayer, and to remain in contact throughout the day and listen all the time for my word of instruction. The Gospel stands on its own and doesn't need defending, only proclaiming. My command to the Church is to proclaim the Gospel wherever you go. I want you to do it with boldness and clarity. Many of the places you go to will require every piece of the armour I provide to dress well, and for you to be ready with my word and my gifts to do the work and fulfil the mission I send you on. I love you.

The Shield of Faith

Me:    Good morning Lord. Thank you for waking me this morning and for this new day you have made. I love you Lord.

Lord:   The Shield of Faith
One of the great pieces of equipment for the Christian walk that comes from love, is faith. Faith is a greatly misused word. It has come to mean 'religion'. Mankind talks about people of 'different faiths', but what he really means is different religions. It would be more accurate to say, 'people who put their faith in different things'. I said that faith comes out of love, and that is what I mean. Faith comes through knowing me and beginning to trust me. It is one of the gifts I gave at Pentecost to equip the church for the mission ahead. Faith is the ability to believe in me and hold on to me even though the final outcome is not visible to human eyes. I highly prize faith in a believer and will honour the faithful.

Faith is not blind as some would have you believe! Faith many not yet have seen with physical eyes the outcome, but it is very much a part of using your spiritual eyes and seeing the thing I show you, so it has to do with living prophecy in your life. I speak the word and you hold on to the word until you see it fulfilled.

Faith is like the shield carried by a soldier. Just as a shield is a very practical tool used to protect and deflect, so faith is far from passive. Faith turns to counter the darts of doubt and scorn. Faith grows strong when when it is covered with trust in me. Faith also grows strong with spiritual understanding, so it is reinforced by a good relationship with me.

Many see faith as an individual thing and say, 'my faith is personal'. That is true only as far as faith is built upon your love and encounter with me. However faith is also a corporate thing. Sharing your faith, 'telling your story', why you believe, how you came to know me, and what I have done for you, encourages others who also tell their story. Combine these stories and you have a community of faith. To continue the soldier and his shield analogy, Roman soldiers would stand together in a tight group. Those on the edge of the group would stand with their shields together on the ground forming a wall of protection all round. Those in the middle raise their shields above their heads to form a roof. Thus the protection is complete against missiles arrows and even javelins.

I want my Church to be a community of faith, actively using their faith as shields to protect themselves and each other from the darts and arrows of doubt, unbelief and lies. Do not let you faith be aimless and 'blind', but rooted and grounded in love and trust in me. Be a faithful people for me. I love you.

Dreams and Visions

2010
Friday, 22 January
05:00:36

Lord: Have you noticed, as you read the scriptures, even the hard passages, how I put pictures into your mind. All scripture is pictures, and your speaking and teaching is most effective when you use pictures. Visions or pictures bring light and colour to your mind as well as understanding. There are several things I want to say about visions.

Wait with them. Expect my word to conjure up pictures for you. As you read the Word or as you listen to me speak, let the pictures form in your mind and be displayed on the screen of your inner eye. Gaze on it, study it and recall it, so that its meaning can dawn on you. Vision and pictures are a common part of the learning process for children, but for some reason it is not thought appropriate for adults, who are encouraged to think in abstract thoughts and words. Adults also think using pictures, and behind every great writing is a picture. Make pictures in your mind's eye part of everyday life. Learn to read the picture, in the same way you take in any scene in life. Ask yourself what is happening in this picture, who is there and what are they doing. Draw your first conclusion from the obvious, then look at the detail, and see if that changes the meaning. If the meaning or the reason for the picture is unclear, then prayerfully ask for clearer vision or clarification. I give visions because I want you to understand something, or to hear what I am saying. If you don't see what it means, I will give you another vision. Those who focus on me and see their visions as coming from me, will learn to read them and understand them.

As you look at the pictures and begin to see what they are about, ask yourself two questions:

Does this picture apply to me? And if so how?

Does this picture apply to others or more generally? If so,to whom, and how?

Visions and pictures are, at some point, to share. When others hear about your vision their mind's eye also catches the light and sees the detail. It is good to share visions and pictures with other believers, so that they, prayerfully, can test out your interpretation and perhaps add to it. When others share their pictures with you, do not dismiss them but treat them as from me, and wait on the meaning until it is fully understood. Write them down or record them in some way.

In the coming months and years I am going to use the visual gifts more and more in revealing truth to my people. It will be both an encouragement to the believer, and a sign for the unbeliever.

The visionary and the dreamer of dreams are as important to the church as any other ministry, and should be prayerfully encouraged and listened to. I am already speaking to others about dreams and visions, as I am speaking to you about prophecy and preaching.

This sort of inspired sight should not be watered down or confused with people who are full of good ideas. Those gifts are good also, but are more a natural gift of seeing possibilities, and are the product of an active alert mind, not necessarily me speaking to the Church.

Where I give vision, I also give understanding. Sometimes it is important that the interpretation and understanding comes from another person, as with the gift of tongues, where one speaks and another interprets. This is not however a rule! Many of my visionaries understand and interpret themselves.

Be always open for the many ways I am speaking and teaching my people in these days, for I am doing a new work in your land. I am mobilising a might army and equipping them for action. Prayer warriors awake, Soldiers of Christ arise, Prophets listen and speak as the Lord leads, Visionaries and Dreamers open the eyes of your spirit and let me show you. My church must be ready to move when they hear My battle cry, Jesus is Lord!