The Kindness of Jesus

This past week I have been repeatedly struck by the kindness of Jesus. A friend returned from a mission trip to India and had some great stories to share. My wife and I had sent money with them and my wife had a word of wisdom that the money was to be kept in reserve and that there would come a time during the trip that they were to take it out and use it. There was indeed an occasion like that on the trip, covering a small portion of the costs to drill a well, while most of the money was used to buy sewing machines for widows to support themselves, as their husbands had all been killed by tigers. When I heard what God had set up and how the money was used, I was in tears.

Yet again, another friend who holds online ministry sessions every few weeks, received a testimony the other day from a woman who took part in a recent session. This woman had a stroke three years prior, and had been confined to a wheelchair from the stroke deficits, as well as poor circulation that made her constantly cold. After prayer, she felt immediate warmth flowing through her body as her circulatory system was being healed. She has regained some sensation on the affected side, and has started to be able to walk again, albeit slowly. The moment I read this, I began to cry; Jesus is so incredibly kind.

On the way to work tonight I began praying for a friend who has been under attack from warlocks, and I began to pray for my family and for my own health and life. I was struck with a sense of the love of Jesus, and as I began to focus on Him, I sensed him wanting to come into the cab of my truck. I cleared my bag off my passenger seat, and for the second time in my life I had the knowing that Jesus was sitting to my right. The love that was pouring out of him was sensational, and I yet again began to cry. I had a vision of myself covered with layers of chains and many locks, and I saw a top layer of chains and locks all come loose and fall right off. What looked like a hard metal vest then got unlocked and fell off me, and beneath were a bunch of slimy black demonic beings that were washed off of me. Right after I had this vision, I began to get suddenly nauseous, and while gagging I had a major burp that felt like it was ripping my stomach out as the demons left my body. I have no idea what Jesus set me free from–and it doesn’t even matter. What struck me again was his kindness–that in his love he came into my space and did something so incredibly kind for me just because he loves me.

Those of you who know me well know I absolutely love the supernatural, and I enjoy greatly when God manifests His goodness in our lives, but when I see these types of acts of God’s kindness it often brings me to tears. There is a short segment in the beginning of the Finger of God movie where this woman is in a meeting and she supernaturally receives gold fillings. She goes on to explain that her teeth badly needed work but she didn’t have the money to get the dental work done. Instead, Jesus fixed her teeth himself.

We all face struggles and difficulties in life, and for some it can seem like the defeats are more frequent than the victories. In the midsts of life’s trials, I find it helpful to refocus on the good things. Jesus is the kindest person we will ever meet. It is impossible to outdo his goodness because he demonstrates his love in so many ways. The ones I have shared here were all moments of His kindness that brought me to tears, but there are so many other ways that Jesus is kind in my life and yours. As we focus on his kindness there is a shift that happens in our hearts and we cannot help but be even more consumed by His love.

How has Jesus demonstrated His kindness to you and those you know this week? And how will you let His kindness to you shape your treatment of others?

Jesus in the Clouds

When I was a boy and would ride in the car, I would sometimes stare at the clouds in the sky at watch Jesus following us, watching over me. I used to not think much about it, and while I always enjoyed seeing Him on the clouds, I didn’t really connect it with the fact that He was actually there in the clouds. What I mean is that I think part of me recognized I was imagining it, but another part of me still enjoyed seeing him there.

*As a side note, while I am in no way saying this was the “2nd Coming,” I find it quite apropos that I saw Jesus in the clouds (see Mark 13:26, Revelation 1:7)

Likewise, when I was young I also used to see vampires outside the windows of our house–even up on the second and third stories, and especially at night. I always thought I was imagining them, even though I never watched vampire-related shows or movies–even while I was in high school! I never gave it much thought, although I was always creeped out when it would happen.

It took me until I was 22 before I discovered that when I saw Jesus and the vampires, they were both actually there. You see, growing up in the Episcopal church I didn’t know that I was having visions because I didn’t know that’s what visions were–and the Bible always made them sound so much more spooky, like there should be this “mystical feeling” associated with them. I suppose most fantasy books didn’t help because they always suggested the same thing–that supernatural experiences would be accompanied with some sort of significant fanfare. The truth is that’s simply not how it is.

Most visions and prophetic experiences are so mundane that they can go unnoticed if one is not paying attention, or does not realize what is happening. Little did I know, but the imagination is the backdrop God uses to give us visions, and if you don’t know that it will see to you (and others) like you have an overactive imagination. When I discovered that I was having visions of Jesus, I was in a church-based ministry school in Pennsylvania. One of the other students and I were talking about some of our life experiences and she began to talk about how she would always imagine Jesus flying in the clouds overhead. I was like “Me too!” We both discovered at that time we had been seeing Him for real, and were encouraged. Another time I was talking to the accountant on staff and I was telling her about the vampires I used to imagine–when I suddenly realized and said aloud, “Oh my god, they were real!”

It’s a bit of a shocker when you realized that imaginary creatures you used to see as a teen were actually REALLY there outside your window–and in some ways it makes it all the creepier. What were they doing there? What did they do that I don’t know about? The Lord was very kind to me because He used that revelation to help me go through some pretty intense inner healing and deliverance a few weeks later relating to that very subject, but to this day when I think about them it still creeps me out, so I suppose I have a little room yet to go. Not to mention that now I am better at seeing in the spirit than I used to, it can get pretty ugly when looking outside at night, so I often keep the curtains to our bedroom closed when we sleep.

The one major lesson I learned from this is that “real” and “reality” are sometimes a bit more unclear than we think. Visions are real–the experiences we have within them are reality. They aren’t made up or fabricated by our minds, but are the same as if we physically experienced them–and truth be told, our subconscious mind treats both the same way! If you have difficulty with the idea that visions are real, or aren’t sure if what you think you see is your mind making it up, I will be honest in saying that it is unlikely you are making them up. To this day I still see fairies, vampires, animals, angels, gnomes, elves, and all other manner of strange things in the spirit, and most people would think that I am making it up–unless they understand how visions work. And if you see that sort of stuff too, even as a Christian, you aren’t alone. I have spent a lot of time honing my ability to see in the spirit, and I have learned to tell when I am making something up versus when I am having a vision.

If you want to learn more about spiritual sight, I encourage you to find a friend who can perceive in the spirit along with you, and practice what you see. Get a copy of Praying Medic’s book Seeing in the Spirit Made Simple or Michael Van Vlymen’s book How to See in the Spirit. Blake Healy has a book The Veil that is particularly good and is really encouraging. Gary Oates’ book Open My Eyes, Lord has practical, down-to-earth advice on seeing angels and engaging the spiritual realms. And who knows? Maybe one of these days you will write your own to help people like you and me who didn’t know what they didn’t know, so they too will know that they see. Be blessed.

Windows of Time

We have a small izu persimmon tree outside the front of our house. We transplanted it a few years back and only this year did it start producing a significant amount of fruit. I am not very clear on what one actually does with a persimmon, but i do know that this year the branches were absolutely laden with fruit. I kept telling myself I needed to pick some of the fruit because the branches were getting heavier and heavier. Eventually one of the branches broke off from the weight of the fruit, and we ended up losing a lot of the fruit that was there.

I was walking up our driveway a few weeks ago and glanced at the injured tree that is noticeably missing a limb. I couldn’t help but think that there was a prophetic message about that tree. I pondered it for a bit but didn’t come up with anything. The next day my wife and I were talking about her unemployment benefits running out, and how if we had acted sooner we could have had an extension that we now missed out on. I had a flash of inspiration and realized the message of the persimmon tree: windows of time.

There is a time and a season for most everything in life, and some seasons have much greater importance than others. If we actively engage those seasons we can get the most out of whatever that season holds for us, whereas we can also be inactive and let the blessings slip by. The persimmon tree operates in seasons, and there is a window of time where the fruit is ripe and ready to pick. If you procrastinate, as I did, the fruit is lost, and in this case the procrastination actually caused damage to the tree and may impact its productivity next year, as less branches equals less space to grow fruit. Likewise, since we didn’t engage the season of unemployment benefits properly, the season ended sooner than it could have.

I realized that the message of the persimmon tree wasn’t just applying to unemployment, as we would have had no time to implement it and the message was too little too late. Thus, I surmised it was about other things–things yet to come, as well as things in the lives of others. In meditating on this message, I believe this is a now-word that God wants all of us to hear and take heed.

There are windows of time that God opens in each of our lives–kairos moments where the favor is present, the doors are wide open, and even if it requires some effort we must make every effort to step through the doors. Only then will we obtain the blessings on the other side. Failure to do so will not only result in loss, but possibly will cause further loss as the ripple effects of our choices spread out. If we don’t engage those opportunities when they arise, we will invariably pass into a new season where we are no longer able to engage those blessings. In John 9:4 Jesus said it like this: “As long as it is day, I must do the works of Him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.”

In my personal life, I can see multiple areas where this applies: school, writing, house maintenance, friendships, and work. On a national level I believe the United States has times and seasons where we have opportunity for blessing, and if we don’t pray the nation through those doors we will reap the results of our national failures.

Now is the time to acknowledge windows of time. Now is the time to engage the opportunities laid out before us. We must go forward through the open doors, put the work in, the time in, the effort in, and do whatever we need to do, because there is coming a time where we will no longer be able to work, and when that time comes, the results will speak for themselves. Let us be a people who receive blessings as a return for timely labor.

Time Warping

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Today we feature a guest blog on Time-warping written by a friend. For various reasons she prefers to leave her name off the post, but there is follow-up information at the end if you want to get in touch. Enjoy!

“This all started a few years ago when I was praying in tongues a lot. By a lot I mean 1, 2, 3 hours a day. Speaking in tongues during drive time, and singing elsewhere in case somebody could hear me. At some point during that intense spiritual activity, I started making really good time.

It was like time would stand still and I’d keep going.

At my job, there are logs of where I was at what time, for accountability purposes. There is plenty on record of me being in two places, not at the same time, but a minute or so apart. There were very few days where I wasn’t going home hours ahead of schedule.

I worried about this in the beginning, and decided that since I wasn’t entirely in control, I wasn’t going to worry about it and I wasn’t going to falsify data, even if I could figure out how to. I would run around and let the chips fall. This has resulted in shiny-shoed government officials following me around with stop watches and later, GPS tracking my whereabouts and speed.

I was out walking one day when a guy came flying out of his house yelling at me. “How are you faster than me when I’m faster than you?” I walked back puzzled. He elaborated that I can be out for a casual stroll while he power walks or runs and I always beat him. I hadn’t realized I was in a race. Things like that make me a little nervous that I’m being noticed. Evidently I don’t look like The Flash, since he was commenting on how slow I seem.

Is This Supernatural Transport?

This is the first thing people assume. I don’t think so. I don’t believe I’ve ever had that happen, although I’m certainly wanting that. I don’t think it’s that, because I’m cognizant of everywhere I go. I don’t have the “skip” that transporters have. It doesn’t feel any different as far as speed, the only thing I notice is that it goes smooth for me. I seriously think the time just changes. I also know how to function efficiently in the natural realm, and that factors in as well.

So why was this happening? That’s still the big question. At the time, I was writing my book, and running a business and I’ve since added a second business, so in some ways it made that possible, but there were also some drawbacks in what a friend referred to as “spiritual jet-lag.” There would be this period afterward where I wasn’t being tremendously effective with all my new found time.

For lack of a better way to explain, I was having a hard time functioning in the here and now. Not that I couldn’t, I just didn’t want to. I was a bit sullen and resistant coming out of it. I didn’t want to have a “normal” conversation with someone, I didn’t want to go home and sit on the couch with my husband and watch tv. I felt like I had been ruined for “normal.” The problem was, everybody I love still lived in “normal.” It broke my heart.

There were lots of nights where I would go up on the mountain and grieve and pray before I felt like I could go be around people again without being crushed. Not exactly a time saver at that point, and I felt responsibility to do “important” things with my gift of time. Yet I did get past that stage, and I find that I’m fine and functional anywhere, anytime now. I also understand that sometimes the gift of time is just that; a gift, with no strings attached.

How To Bend Time

I teach a business class for spiritual entrepreneurs and the following is excerpted from the module on time management.

While I can somewhat lean into this and get it to happen, this is far from a formulaic promise that you’ll have the same results. I’m still figuring it all out. I will say that following these steps will lead to good fruit, even if it’s not the same as mine.

1. Pray in the Spirit

As I said earlier, I really believe this is where it started for me. While I think it was more of a catalyst to get me into a proper mind frame than the actual activity itself, it did the job. I’m not going to tell you that you need to pit in the time I did, because this is certainly not a “works” thing, but for me the 2 hours a day blew the lid off in several ways.

2. Mind Frame.

You can’t step out of time in anything less than a full peace. Being at rest even in the midst of activity is key. Having scarcity mentality in the area of time will stop you up. So will offense or any other negative dwelling place.

3. No Time Excuses

“I don’t have time” can no longer be a valid reason. This doesn’t mean you say yes to everything, it means it can’t be your go-to excuse for why you say no to someone.

4. One With God

Get a revelation that you are one with a God who is outside of time, therefore you are too. He’s in you, you’re in Him, head knowledge doesn’t cut it. Ask Him to show you this personally.

5. Ask That You Would Walk in Wisdom.

Something I have been turning over in my head for a couple years, is the verse “walk in wisdom towards those outside, redeeming the time.” It continues, “Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt that you may know how to answer every man.” Then in Ephesians 5 we have “redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” That chapter is all about having your act together on an inner level and walking in wisdom. I’d recommend a review of that whole chapter since it does address being filled with the Spirit, and speaking and singing in tongues.

So if you’re going to redeem time, wisdom is the common denominator. Wisdom, we are told, is available to anyone who asks.

Kairos Vs Chronos

Redeem means to take the power from another. Kellie, a student in my business class gave us a good lesson on Kairos vs Chronos. The gist is Chronos is the Greek god of time. This is where we get “Father Time” and chronological time. We need to not empower that dude. So we’re clear, other gods = demons. Kairos of course by the New Testament is an appointed time in the purpose of God.

Wikipedia says Kairos “signifies a time lapse, a moment of indeterminate time in which everything happens.” I quite like that definition. Kairos is smack dab in the middle of where we want go be. Redeeming the time, I believe is stepping out of chronological time and into Kairos.

Note: I don’t believe that chronological time in and of itself is evil, only that we aren’t to be subject to it. God uses it, and so should we. It should serve us, not the other way around.

Here’s your Einstein on the matter. He of course said that time is relative. “The perception of past, present and future is a stubbornly persistent illusion.” Take that Chronos. We are made to have eternity in our hearts.

If you’re in Him and He’s in you, then you’re outside of time. Actually, it’s a dual thing according to what you choose to engage. When you prophesy, you are pulling from the future. When you observe something in the past, you change it. Google the observer effect in quantum physics. You are always moving in and out of chronos time.

Time Change is Linked to the Battle Between Good and Evil

Time changed at the fall in Eden, again in the days of Noah, then again at the cross where the curse became null and void. This verse from Daniel’s end times vision is interesting. 7:25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.”

This “wearing out the Saints” thing gives validity to my thinking that a posture of rest is crucial. It’s yet another Kingdom paradox, to go faster, you get out of your hurry and rest. To be clear, rest in this case does not mean inactivity, rather finding your rhythm and being at peace in your work.

I found it useful at one point to draft myself up a prayer. I tend to think better on paper, and I’m not a verbal processor whatsoever. Here’s mine to borrow.

I repent of any areas I have not been walking in wisdom. I repent of animosity towards others for taking my time. I forgive those who have been careless with time; mine, theirs, those that I care about… I ask forgiveness for judgements about time; mine, theirs… I repent for wasting time, not understanding time or my relationship with it. I repent of every time I have used it as an excuse, or believed that I don’t have enough. I repent of coming into agreement with Chronos, and toiling under the sun. I declare that I am free from their influence! Show me a better way! I repent of clock watching and schedule sticking. I declare those things serve me rather than me serving them. I am not a victim of a 24 hour day.

I want unlimited time, not just at work, but in relationships, at home, in the garden/secret place. I want enough to go around. I ask for a repayment of time that’s been lost. That it would be supernaturally made up.

No more running out of time, I declare that I am one with a God who is outside of time and space, therefore I am too. I am not under the sun, or any other natural cycles but the Son. I have all the time I need. Show me what to do with my time, teach me to steward it well, but also set my mind at ease when I warp so that I’m not worried that I’m doing the wrong thing with my gift of time. I repent of thinking that I have to do big things with the surplus, and may there always be a surplus.”

Please share any time warping adventures you have here in the comments, and add any insight you have as well. If we all pool our knowledge, we’ll be that much more effective!

You can get in touch with my friend at my Yourdreamventure.com, as well as Freedom-flowers.com. If you are interested in business, you can join us, as well as a bunch of other cool people in her Facebook group titled “Dream Ventures: Prophetic Profits for the Business of Your Dreams.” Thanks again for joining us!

The Time For Figs

Translocating Under The Tuscan Sun

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The “Q” Word

On most nursing units the “q” word is never uttered, lest mayhem and chaos soon follow: quiet. Just the other night I mentioned that my patients were doing well and it should be a quiet night, when another nurse said “you just jinxed yourself.” My response was simply “I don’t believe in that.” As a believer I find it frustrating at times that this Q-taboo seems to be so prevalent in the industry, as though that one simple word by itself carries so much overarching power that all other circumstances will fall under the weight of its mighty domain.

Little with gesturing with finger for keeping quiet — Little girl gesturing with finger to keep quiet

The word “jinx” originates from the latin word jynx, describing a wryneck bird. It is found in Africa, Asia, and Europe, and in addition to being used in spells and divination, it has the unique ability to turn its head 180 degrees. Interestingly enough, most common uses of the word “jinx” refer to a situation being turned 180 degrees on its head, although I don’t believe this has anything to do with the etymology of the word. Basically, a “jinx” is a mental construct describing a spell or curse, and has come to hold meaning over time.

Fast forward to the present, I find it quite strange that speaking positively over my night is somehow construed by others as a negative. Proverbs 18:21 says “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.“ The words we speak carry power, and we have the ability to choose outcomes in life situations based on the things we choose to speak and believe. I find it fascinating that believers and nonbelievers alike recognize this truth. For example, some believe that saying the q-word will bring calamity on their life, and so they avoid “speaking death” over their situation. On the contrary, I recognize that my words carry the power of life, so I choose to speak positive, lifegiving statements over my workplace, such as the night being quiet, which means there are no major problems or emergencies that will come up.

I encourage you to pay more attention to the things you speak in this coming week. Are the words you use lifegiving, or do they tear down, uproot, and destroy? While words themselves carry far less power than words spoken with emotion behind them, the things we say still carry a measure of our God-given authority and power when we speak them forth. Let this be a reminder to us all to choose wisely the things we speak, that we would constantly engage the Kingdom of Light in all that we say! Blessings to you!

Living an Eternal Life – Podcast on Touched By Prayer

Hello Friends of Eden,

Come join us on Touched By Prayer as Lisa Palieri Perna and I discuss Immortality. Is it for today? Is it even scriptural? Do we have to die? Who wants to live forever? To answer these questions and more, listen in!

Click here to hear the broadcast.

Practical Miracles

Mark 6:30- 44 NIV – The Feeding of the Five Thousand

“The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, ‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.’

So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.

By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. ‘This is a remote place,’ they said, ‘and it’s already very late. Send the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.’

But he answered, ‘You give them something to eat.’

They said to him, ‘That would take more than half a year’s wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?’

‘How many loaves do you have?’ he asked. ‘Go and see.’

When they found out, they said, ‘Five—and two fish.’

Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand.

Wine, loaves of bread and fresh fish in an old basket

In my opinion, the Feeding of the Five Thousand was one of Jesus more notable miracles due to the sheer quantity of food that was multiplied. If you think about it, the magnitude is impressive– the equivalent of one or two peoples’ meal managed to feed five thousand men, and if historical records are accurate this means he actually fed more than ten-thousand when counting the women and children present. While impressive all its own, the magnitude was not what caught my attention when I recently reviewed this miracle. No, what grabbed me was the practicality.

If you read in verse 37 the disciple basically said “That’s really expensive — are you sure you want us to spend that much?” You see, Jesus was loaded. He got tons of offerings from people and had really rich women who supported him AND the disciples. All of their needs were met. People treated them to lunch, gave them places to stay, and overall Jesus lived quite well. Even his clothing that they gambled for at the crucifixion was high-level production. As best as I can tell, and from the statement the disciples made, they actually had enough money to buy bread for everyone there. At no point did Jesus say “Man, we really don’t have the cash.” He easily could have said “Yes, go take Judas and buy wagonfuls of food.” Face it — Jesus had tons of options. Jesus could have multiplied money instead of the food, and sent them with enough money to buy everything. But that would have been silly and a ton of work. He could have let them starve too, but that wasn’t his way of doing things, even though fasting for a day wouldn’t have killed anyone. Remember when he turned water to wine at the wedding in Cana? That wine would have been expensive if he had bought it all, based on both the quantity and quality that he made, but that was an issue he completely evaded as well. No, Jesus chose the most practical option when he multiplied the food.

Jesus is just as practical now as he was then. There are teachings floating around that state miracles are to prove God to the unbeliever. That miracles are only for spiritual purposes to draw people closer to God. That miracles are given to confirm the good news of Christ when it is preached. I disagree. They can and do accomplish those things but those are by no means limitations we should place on them.

The miraculous is that it is designed to solve real-life problems. Supernatural manifestations can be tons of fun, but more often than not they have a practical component to them as well. Miracles are meant to change reality. They infect us with Heaven’s solutions and Heaven’s thought patterns. We would be wise to learn from Jesus’ example and engage Heaven for practical miracles.

What Do You Have in Your House?

A few years back my wife and I started looking at ways to make more money. We had no income to speak of outside our two jobs, and from a financial-stability perspective it is wise to have multiple sources of income, thereby reducing risk if any of those income sources dries up. We had discussed trying to buy and rent or flip houses, but the amount of startup capital we needed for even a down payment was at the limit of what we could afford, leaving no money to do repairs and no cushion to account for risk. In other words, there was no safe way to start out in real estate. Getting another job for either of us didn’t seem practical, as no one ever got rich off of working multiple jobs, and we were looking to add extra streams of income, not temporary extra employment. We had a couple of potential business ideas, any of which might have worked, but as I prayed about it I felt God bring my remembrance back to a passage in 2 Kings.

The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the Lord. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.”

Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?”

“Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a small jar of olive oil.”

Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.”

She left him and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another one.”

But he replied, “There is not a jar left.” Then the oil stopped flowing.

She went and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.” 2 Kings 4:1-7 (NIV)

God gave me a window into His wisdom to solve financial problems, not just for my wife and I, but for people as a whole. In this story, when the woman went to the prophet, in that culture it was the equivalent of talking directly to God, as the prophet was God’s oracle. God’s response in that situation was “What is at hand? What is currently available to you? What skills and resources do you currently have at your disposal, because that is what I plan to use to solve your problem.”

In Matthew 15:29-29 Jesus is on a mountainside near the Sea of Galilee and speaks to 4,000 men and their families. When it comes time to eat Jesus doesn’t send them away, fearing for their health. Instead he turned to the disciples and asked, “How many loaves do you have?” The question Jesus asked here is much the same as the question God was asking through Elisha in 2 Kings. God wanted to know what they had on-hand so He could fix it! Not only that, but God isn’t interested in just solving your problem–he wants to do one better and solve your future problems!

This is how God has done things all along. He said something similar to the Israelites too. In Deuteronomy 8:18 it says “But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so it confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today. [emphasis mine]” God wants to give us the ability to produce wealth, not just the ability to pray for a solution to the current problem. One of a few determining factors in me deciding to become an author was financial–a book serves as a source of ongoing residual income via royalties that according to copyright laws lasts a lifetime–and seventy years beyond. In other words, by writing books I wouldn’t just be creating income for myself, but potential income for my grandchildren!

Finances weren’t the only deciding factor, as I have planned to publish books since I was 14, and I have a great many things to say I believe the world needs to hear. However, finances did play a part in the decision to begin with writing and move to other income streams later. I figured with the money obtained from book sales I could invest in real estate and pay a management company to run the rentals, thereby freeing my time to continue writing and doing other things. The long-term plan is to take the profit from the above sources and invest further for Kingdom pursuits. I believe God is opening up a new ministry model which involves us doing the things we feel led to do because God has given us the resources, not because we are beholden to everyone else to meet the need. To do this, we have to start somewhere.

I recently had a conversation with a mom who wants to stay at home with her kids but also needs to make money. I suggested a few things but one was something she had on-hand, which in this case was also book-writing. I’m not saying everyone should be an author, but some people have an ability to communicate in written form and it can be both a ministry and a business. I have friends who are fantastic at construction, and they would be fantastic with rentals and house-flipping. I know someone else who is gifted with music and has produced CDs, but isn’t currently trying to market and sell them. While in each case it looks different, the common theme is that they each have something God has given them, and I believe this is a means to an end–the power to get wealth.

For those who struggle financially, or who work a job and aren’t seeing the long-term payoff they desire, who want to reduce financial risk, or just want to provide something for their children or grandchildren, be encouraged–God is 100% behind you on this! Take some time to think and pray about it. As yourself questions: What are your life goals and dreams? How much money will it take to accomplish them? What financial goals do you need to set to make that possible? What abilities has God given you? How can those skills be turned into a product or service that will produce income? How plausible are those ideas? How do they compare with the other abilities and options God has given you? What do you sense God is blessing the most right now?

Once you answer the above questions, I believe you will have a clearer picture of how God wants to bless you financially through the abilities He has already given you. Keep in mind that at the end of the day any product or service of quality is ultimately going to help other people. It doesn’t have to look spiritual, but according to the passages I shared earlier, making money is very spiritual, and there are a myriad of benefits from taking God up on His advice. I encourage you to set aside some time, whether now or in the future, to ponder your life goals and dreams, and how you plan to accomplish them. God may just surprise you with ideas when you start to look at things from His perspective. Have a blessed day!

Feeding Faith

Life is filled with tension, and my job as a nurse is no different. On the one hand I have sick and sometimes terminally ill patients, and on the other hand a strong belief in God’s desire to heal everyone, no matter the problem. I have been noticing my own responses recently to various terminal conditions from a nursing perspective, and in a world where there is no solution and no divine hope, those responses make perfect sense. On the other hand, I have this part of me in the back of my brain that is saying “there is always a solution, but it’s not going to happen in this case, so what does it matter?”

Tonight, I started thinking a bit more about this perspective, and realized I needed to look at it deeper, as it’s both incongruent and in my opinion an unhealthy belief. I started by considering what I believe the ideal to be–where everyone is healed. Knowing that doesn’t usually happen, I considered further–that a lack of an ideal situation shouldn’t really change my end-goal where all are healed. If the end-goal isn’t changing, then my expectations shouldn’t change regardless of the situation. Previously I have generally done this internal analysis on the likelihood of someone getting healed in that situation, and then engaging my faith after I decided it was likely to occur, but God is reminding me that’s a silly perspective to have, as well as a fruitless one.

When we start to decide what we are willing to believe for based on the likelihood of it happening, while there is a measure to which that can be wisdom, I think most of the time it actually engenders more doubt than it does faith because it starts with the question “Will this happen?” If the answer is no, then faith has no home. However, if we start with the question “What is God’s will?” then we don’t really need to consider whether something is going to happen or not–we simply need to release faith. Whether it will happen will depend on a variety of factors–their level of inner healing, what and how many and how powerful the demons blocking the healing are, the atmosphere in the area, my faith, their faith, the influence of angels, the influence of those around us, and even certain planetary and solar cosmic energies based on where in the universe the planet is that that moment in time. In other words, it may be a crap shoot after all is said and done, but the fact is I can’t manage most of those things. Out of the eight items I mentioned above (and I’m sure there are more involved that I’m simply not aware of), only ONE of them is something I can directly influence–my faith.

My faith is the only thing I am responsible for when it comes to making healing or miracles happen, and in reality it is the only thing I have any control over. I can’t make someone else have faith for healing. I can’t always make the atmosphere be just-so and help me out, or at least not always at a moment’s notice. I can, however, cultivate a lifestyle of faith so it doesn’t matter what else is happening around me. Faith is not simply obtained, but it is cultivated. In the parable of the mustard seed Jesus spoke about faith as something that grows and produces fruit–more than anything else in the garden! Faith may not start out big and strong, but it will grow if we feed it properly. I came to the realization that I was feeding doubt more than anything else, and if I want ANYONE to be healed then I must stop feeding doubt and feed faith.

I want to end with a story I believe expresses this idea, and where the two wolves can be likened to faith and doubt. There is an old Cherokee tale about a grandfather teaching his grandson about life, and he told the boy a story about two wolves fighting — one who is good and kind and only fights when attacked, and who always seeks the best in everyone. The second wolf is angry and mean and evil, who fights everyone all the time. He is angry for no reason and will attack without provocation. As the story goes, the grandfather explained that these wolves are alive inside of him fighting every day. “Who wins?” the young boy asks? The grandfather answered, “The one I feed.”

She Had a Good Life

“She had a good life.” This is what I recently heard a coworker say about an actress who had purportedly passed away recently at age 93. When I heard this I couldn’t help but think that this woman’s life couldn’t have been that good, in that her life was so short. Short? She was 93 and lived longer than most, but I’ve stopped using the same standard as most people when I measure lifespan. Consider Isaiah 65:20-22:

“Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; the one who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere child; the one who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed. They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat. For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the work of their hands.” (NIV)

God actually has a much different picture of long life than we do, and one-hundred years of age is akin to what we consider a child–someone not usually more than ten years old. In other words, if you want to get a picture of how God views how long we should be living, add a zero to each year of life. Scripturally speaking, God expects us to live at least ten times what we consider a normal lifespan! Why, then, are we dying so young?

I suggest a significant part of our problem is consciousness. We believe we are designed to die. It is ingrained in our understanding of how the world works. In fact, the thing I hear the most frequently when I say we are not designed to die is the question “How many people do you know who are over 200 years old?” People who as me this are not only completely missing the point, but they demonstrate part of the root problem–unbelief.

I don’t think there are many people, if any, who will live hundreds or thousands of years that do not believe it is possible. There is a much-needed shift that is taking place in the Body of Christ where a few are starting to realize Jesus purchased much more for us than we were previously taught. Jesus didn’t just die to fix sin so we could go to heaven when we died. No, he died on our behalf once for all so that in him we could die in baptism and be raised with Him in newness of life, never to die again! We are designed for immortality!

If we want to live forever as God designed we have to make some not-so-subtle shifts in how we think. First, we have to rid ourselves of such silly notions as there being a “time to die.” Yes, I am familiar with the verse in Ecclesiastes. No, I do not think Solomon had a clear revelation of Jesus’ finished work on the cross. Moving on. We need to rid ourselves of language that says “when I get old I am . . .” I cannot tell you how many nurses I have worked with who have already decided what kind of dementia patient they will be like when they grow old. I fail to understand why they are planning to get dementia in the first place, but they take it a step further. Not only are they expecting to get it, but they actively decree over their lives that they will grow senile as they age. Speaking death over ourselves will never help, but speaking life can!

We must learn to speak life to our bodies. We have to discover new ways of looking at things, even to the point of overcoming long-held and deeply ingrained beliefs. We have to catch ourselves when we speak and stop saying things like “This is what a sixty-year old body feels like” even if we find our joints aching. No, we need to start decreeing that rivers of living water flow through our veins out of the temple of our heart, straight from the heart of Jesus. That even as His temple is set up inside our hearts and the river flows from that temple, that Jesus’ life-blood from heaven transforms our blood into a river of life that courses through our body and constantly feeds each cell with glory-light from heaven. We need to start decreeing that we will live and not die, that long life is ours and that God will show us his salvation. That we who eat his flesh and drink his blood will have life within us and whoever lives and believes in him will never die.

Unlike common past-belief, I do not believe the Isaiah passage above is a far-off reality that will exist in a future someday-kingdom that Jesus will come and set up in person on the earth. Maybe he will come someday and do that, but the Bible actually says that Jesus will return when all things have been placed in submission to him, and it also says the last enemy to be destroyed is death. In order for this to occur, we must take authority over death and stop dying! Want to see Jesus return? Get a revelation of immortality. Discover what it means that God loved the world so much that he sent his son so that we would not die, but have everlasting life. Don’t sit and wait for death to come knocking on your door–hunt it down! Put it on the defensive and take you rightful place as an heir of the Father–one of the many who He promised he would raise up in the last days, those who will walk in everlasting life and who will never die.