Dear Passion and Fire family,
Happy June! Our life just seems to be getting better every year. We just had our third great grandchild born on Brian’s birthday. We just take this as another sign of double blessing on our lives. And we’re praying that back on each one of you. May you be doubly blessed as well as you read this letter!
As I meditated this month the Lord kept taking me back to last month’s word. In case you’ve forgotten here’s how it started out:
May 2019 – Brian and I are so excited for the days ahead of us! We feel as though we’re in the days of transformation! But as with everything, before the world can be transformed, we must be transformed first!
Just recently Doris Day, a very famous actress from the 50’s passed away. And one of the songs she made famous was Que Sera Sera, which means whatever will be will be. And the song goes on to say, “The future’s not ours to see”. I felt the Lord say, “We are no longer living in the era of Que Sera Sera, whatever will be will be. That passed away with Doris.” Not to be disrespectful to Doris in any way except to say that that time has passed.
We’ve now in a time of kingdom pullers. We must determine in our hearts to move into the grand plan set before us. Transition time is over and we can’t afford to let time get away from us. Our decisions right now affect what lies ahead of us. If we give ourselves over to the Father as His loving partners and put Him and His directions for our lives first, we’ll step into our future; the perfect plan that He’s mapped out for us.
Lately I’ve had several say, “I hear you, but what are some concrete things that I can do to partner with Holy Spirit in this new day?” And so, as I was sitting in the Creative Conference at Bethel Redding, I began to hear the Lord speak to me about what that looks like and how to move toward our own personal transformation.
How to move out of the old and into this new era of transformation
We have the power to postpone our destiny or to step into it. Like the children of Israel wandering in the wilderness, the decisions we make today will affect whether we take an eleven-day journey (Deuteronomy 1:2) or whether we wander in the wilderness for forty years because we fail to implement the Word in our lives. You get to make that decision.
It’s time to enter in through the power of almighty God. It’s time that we don’t allow our fear to keep us hanging on to the old things that no longer work and are not God’s plans for this season. Quit propping it up and shift into God’s purpose and destiny for you. Don’t hang on to something that He’s no longer doing. The old era is over, and a new day is now here. We’re moving into the new & fresh move of God on the earth. Our daily movement must be by revelation from the Word and Holy Spirit, not just information or our we’ll be stuck wandering!
So, I’m declaring that we’re moving in!
(These are the eight points the Lord gave me sitting in a creative conference)
1.You’re moving into the supernatural and out of the natural.
This is numero uno; number one. When you face a difficulty where do you go for help? Where do you turn? Do you seek God solutions, or do you seek your own natural solutions first?
“As God is exalted to the right place in our lives, a thousand problems are solved all at once.” – A.W. Tozer
Matt. 6:33 “So above all, constantly chase after the realm of God’s kingdom and the righteousness that proceeds from Him. Then all these less important things will be given to you abundantly.”
When you seek God first in your daily pursuits, He promises to add unto you those things which you were pursuing. Do you seek His wisdom first or do you run to the medicine cabinet of your own solutions? (Not that the medicine is wrong.) But what I’m asking you is where or who do you turn to first? That should tell you something.
When we have a concern about anything, our first response should always be to seek God and His wisdom, for He has promised that He would give it to us in James 1:5. I don’t know whether you ever stopped to think about it or not, but when we seek God and His answers for the dilemmas we face that’s super natural. It’s called trusting Him in prayer to answer. He’s the first one we should turn to. He will lead you through. But worry will take you nowhere fast. Worry is the place where our imaginations run wild.
So, instead of worrying we must pray back to the Father all the positive promises that He’s given us concerning the situation. Then we listen as He speaks revelation to us about those promises and what He plans to do about the situation (or what he wants us to do about the situation). It’s time to seek the Lord in all things and to make prayer and the supernatural our primary habit! It’s time to encounter God in our daily lives.
Phil. 4:6 “Be saturated in prayer throughout each day, offering your faith-filled requests before God with overflowing gratitude.”
Tell him every detail of your life.
2nd Cor. 4:18 “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
2. You’re moving into joy filled with glory living and out of grumpy-filled living.
Grumpy cat has died and it’s time to live in the blessing! People seem to major on worrying about curses. Why not focus on the blessings. Blessing go back 1,000 generations, cursing only go three. Our blessings outweigh anything the enemy tries to stick to us. We’re free and we’re blessed! Ro. 12:12 “Let this hope burst forth within you, releasing a continual joy. Don’t give up in a time of trouble, but commune with God at all times.”
Learn to celebrate so that the joy of the Lord continually envelopes you. Joy is one of the great blessings that we received when Holy Spirit filled our lives! And that same joy is still resident in you as one of the fruits of Holy Spirit. Joy should be flooding your souls each day. May you walk in its fruit and may it not be kept stuffed deep down in your heart, but may it begin to rise up and overtake you!
Dream:
I dreamed of a closet so full of balloons (which represents joy and celebration). When I opened the door, I couldn’t fit anything else in because it was so full that the balloons came tumbling out. What’s your heart full of today? What’s spilling out of you?
3. You’re moving into sacrificial love for others and out of self-centered-ville.
Time to move from me, my, mine to us & ours. You’re moving out of your little bitty world to a great big glorious kingdom world.
Ro. 12:13 “Take a constant interest in the needs of God’s beloved people and respond by helping them.”
Helping others is one of the best ways to come out of yourself and to move kingdom purposes forward in your own life. Begin thinking of ways to bless others. This is a real and tangible way to pull the kingdom into now.
Here’s three simple ways to show sacrificial love for others: recognize and esteem the gift or gifts of Holy Spirit that they carry, recognize their special achievements and advancements to kingdom, Ro. 12:12, “Celebrate with those who celebrate!” And thirdly listen to their heart as they communicate with you. You’ll be surprised at how these three acts of esteeming others will affect the kingdom and your own life as well. You’ll move out of me, my, mine-ville and into us and our-ville. It’s an on-ramp to unity and community.
4. Moving into overflow and out of lack-ville, never enough-land and a poverty mindset.
What exactly is a poverty mindset anyway? It’s a belief system that says that life is full of scarcity. Also, for some it’s a mindset that things are hard to get, that money is hard to earn, and that there isn’t enough out there for you. It keeps you from moving out and into the land of opportunity. Living with a poverty mindset is a very poor way to live (pun intended). 2nd Cor.9:8 “Yes, God is more than ready to overwhelm you with every form of grace, so that you will have more than enough of everything—every moment and in every way. He will make you overflow with abundance in every good thing you do.”
Get yourself into a group of big thinkers; a faith-filled community. Rubbing shoulders with real believers will make a significant impact on the way you think. When you live in a community of faith filled people the poverty spirit will have to go because a poverty-spirit and faith cannot mix. You’ll find yourself moving out of small-ville before you know it and fear will have to take a hike!
Phil 4:12-13 Paul said, “I know what it means to lack, and I know what it means to experience overwhelming abundance. For I’m trained in the secret of overcoming all things, whether in fullness or in hunger. And I find that the strength of Christ’s explosive power infuses me to conquer every difficulty.”
Our God is a faithful extravagant giver of good gifts. You can no longer allow a poverty-spirit to keep you in a fear of lack so that you’re held back. It’s time to let go of that fear so that you can move into overflow. It doesn’t matter what you’re holding in your hands right now, for Christ will come and make it much more as you trust Him with it. He’s not just a God who adds, but He’s a multiplier!
5. Moving into the land of wonder and discovery and leaving the land of stalemate and ho-hum living!
Who said an old dog can’t do new tricks. Come on! You can learn something new today. Learning keeps you young and alive, as opposed to old and stale. Experience something new! You could even do an old thing a new way. Take a different road, try a new food, sit in a different place at church. Begin to let God break your boxes. Just keep it all within Holy Spirit & the Word paradigm and it’s all good. After all God doesn’t say, “Behold I do an old thing.” “I make everything old!” “Sing to me an old song.”
God is the God of the new, the God of creativity. Isaiah 49:13 “Stop dwelling on the past. Don’t even remember these former things. I am doing something brand new, something unheard of. Even now it sprouts and grows and matures. Don’t you perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and open up flowing streams in the desert.”
6. Moving into the land of miracles and out of a demon behind ever bush-ville.
Like Abraham you’re about to see some incredible miracles in and for you. Hang on and don’t give up on God. Whatever He does, it’s good & even if your promises aren’t fulfilled exactly like you thought. Believe me when I tell you that you’ll see that He had a better plan than yours all along.
Who could have thought up God’s plan for Joshua and Jericho, or Moses and the crossing of the Red Sea or Joshua and the crossing of the Jordan? Who would have believed that our God would have used my mother’s passing to bring my 90-year-old father to salvation? Yes, he has a plan to do miracles for you. Only don’t try to dictate how he’ll do it or what he’ll use to perform it. Only believe and you will see the salvation of the Lord. Keep the faith for without faith it is impossible to please Him (Hebrews 11) and watch Him move in miracles, signs and wonders.
7. Moving into the simplistic and out of complicated.
Faith is simplistic. We try to figure it out, but we can’t wrap our minds around it. Just believe! Only believe!
Matt. 6:25-34 “This is why I tell you to never be worried about your life, for all that you need will be provided, such as food, water, clothing—everything your body needs. Isn’t there more to your life than a meal? Isn’t your body more than clothing?
“Look at all the birds—do you think they worry about their existence? They don’t plant or reap or store up food, yet your heaven burned, won’t he provide for you the clothes you need—even though you live with such little faith?
“So then, forsake your worries! Why would you say, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For that is what the unbelievers chase after. Doesn’t your heavenly Father already know the things your bodies require?
“So above all, constantly chase after the realm of God’s kingdom and the right that proceeds from him. Then all these less important things will be given to you abundantly. Refuse to worry about tomorrow, but deal with each challenge that comes your way, one day at a time. Tomorrow will take care of itself.”
When we were missionaries, I still remember the day that our canoe turned over in a flooding river and we nearly lost our lives and all of our supplies to sustain us for three months in the jungle. We were miraculously rescued by people watching us from the banks of the river. They risked their own lives and came out in small canoes and saved us. (We think that they had to be angels.) And once we were safe on the bank of the river (my husband, our two daughters 5 & 7, our 5-month-old baby, myself and another missionary friend), I remember saying to my husband, “If only we had dry clothes for our children.” Lo and behold, here came an indigenous person carrying our old blue plastic suitcase. And when we opened it, we found that it was the suitcase that contained all our children’s clothes and they were all dry. Not one thing was wet. The Lord rescued that suitcase even before I could get the words out of my mouth.
I also remember one specific time during our missionary training when we had no food. As a family we got down on our knees and our family of four prayed. We still remember our daughter Charity praying, “God please, I would like some crackers, cereal and cookies. She was very specific, even naming the brand of the cereal. And a short time later we had a knock on our door and friends that lived an hour away decided to come for a visit. On their way they had felt prompted to stop by a grocery store to surprise us with a few things. They had no idea! They had purchased crackers, cereal (the brand our daughter prayed for), cookies and a lot of other items as well. What a wonderful Father!
Oh, how He loves you and wants to show you! We need a straightforward faith that trusts like a child trusts their parents. Most children know that their parents will provide everything that they need; protection, comfort, food, clothes, everything. That’s what the Father asks of us; that we trust Him. Even when we don’t understand, even when we can’t immediately see what He’s doing. Yes, even when it doesn’t make sense sometimes, He wants us to trust His character. We can simply and completely trust Him! And as we do, we can be assured that He will come through. To simply believe is to trust God’s character; to trust who He is and what He says is true. It’s time to move into the simplicity of the gospel,
2nd Corinthians 11:3 “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”
I remember one day when we were back in the states on furlough from our missionary work in Panama. A woman in our congregation said to me, “I often look at your children and see the beautiful clothes they wear. Why doesn’t God give me free clothes for my children like he does yours? I have to buy my children clothes. No one gives me clothes for my children.” I replied as kindly as I could, “I believe it’s because He’s actually providing clothes for both of our children. The Father has provided a nice job for your husband and you’re able to buy your children their clothes. But because we’re missionaries and live on the funds and means that others provide, we’re given a lot of clothes. If you needed free clothes, the Father would give them to you. He’s able.”
One way or the other the Father provides. He’s a good God to all! As you trust Him, you’ll watch as He provides for your smallest needs. And He doesn’t stop there, but He goes on to fulfill the dreams that He has for us, over and above what you we’re able to dream and even imagine!
8. Moving into the land of awe and wonder and out of Ho hum-vile & a fear of the unknown.
We have three beautiful children and when they were children, they always looked at the world through rose-colored glasses. They were always ready to learn about the world around them. And they would see animals and creatures the way I believe God has intended us to see them. They were always in awe and in love with every creature they saw. And they would ask me about each animal’s contribution to the world and the purpose for which God had created them. They were always seeing things through eyes of awe and wonder. I can still remember them bringing in a mouse, a snake, bugs and frogs to show me. I believe we need to go back to that time of looking through eyes of wonder, finding God’s purpose and silver lining in all things.
It’s time to look to see and then keep looking. Look beyond & find what you’ve overlooked. Time to get new eyesight, bigger glasses, rosier ones! Time to proclaim, Romans 8:28, “So we are convinced that every detail of our lives is continually woven into our lives, for we are His lovers who have been called to fulfill His destined purpose.
We are entering a whole new world of wonder; from mediocrity to amazing discoveries. It’s time to look to see and then keep looking. Look beyond & find what you’ve overlooked. Go beyond where you think your limitations are. We are in that time! A time of creativity! I hear the song, “It’s a whole new world.”
Risk for the gospel. Ask and see if the door won’t be opened. Go deeper in the Word. Read the footnotes of the TPT. It’s time to wake up and realize that it’s a new day. Another day of new opportunities. A day to go past the old limitations of yesterday! A time to move out of the old and into the new day before us! Time to move into this new era that we’ve crossed over into!
Romans 12:2 “Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit though a total reformation of how you think. This will empower you to discern God’s will as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in His eyes.”
A few weeks ago I woke up singing the song from Aladdin, “A Whole New World!” Read the words with me. I think they’re prophetic for the season that we’re in.
A dazzling place I never knew
But when I’m way up here
It’s crystal clear
That now I’m in a whole new world
With you.
A whole new world (Don’t you dare close your eyes)
A hundred thousand things to see (Hold your breath, it
Gets better)
I’m like a shooting star
I’ve come so far
I can’t go back to where I used to be.
A whole new world (Every turn a surprise)
With new horizons to pursue (Every moment)
Let me share this whole new world with you.
A whole new world (A whole new world)
That’s where we’ll be (That’s where we’ll be)
A thrilling chase
A wondrous place
For you and me.
I read the lyrics to my husband and he told me that there’s a new Aladdin movie out, a brand new one. I took this as a confirmation from God that He’s speaking though this song. Time to move into a whole new era of wonder and adventures in God in a whole new way!
