The Time for Figs

I was listening recently to a podcast by Justin Abraham of Company of Burning Hearts out of Wales. In it he was talking about time, and how we are not meant to be subject to time, but rather reign over it. I have given this subject some thought over the past number of years as I have explored what I refer to as time and space alteration miracles, but have had minimal success duplicating results. In addition to the revelation contained in the message, it sparked a number of thoughts in me as I listened.

Romans 8:19-21 says: ” For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.” This is a key verse in understanding our intended dominion over time–that time itself, as part of creation, is under bondage to decay, and that as the children of God it is our responsibility to bring time out of the domain of decay and under our dominion, where we will rule and reign over it and steward and direct time as we see fit. It is only from that place that we can understand our purpose over time, and then get an understanding of Jesus’ perspective on the same matter.

There is a story of Jesus and his encounter with a fig tree that always struck me as strange, because it did not appear to demonstrate his heart toward creation in any way. In fact, his attitude toward the fig tree seemed downright heartless, but in looking deeper I believe it illustrates an important lesson about who we are meant to be and how creation is meant to respond to us as the sons and daughters of God.

“The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it.”
“In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!”
“Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins. (Mark 11: 12-14, 20-25)”

I always had trouble with this passage because Jesus cursed the tree for not bearing fruit when it wasn’t even the season for bearing fruit, and I can safely assume that Jesus knew that. I also don’t think he was just in a bad mood and releasing his temper on the tree. No, this is about time and seasons. As a son of God, Jesus lived (and still lives) in a realm where all creation can respond to him according to his desires. He passed this legacy on to his disciples in John 15 when he said “ask whatever you desire and it will be done for you.” (Verse reference here). What was really happening is that Jesus desired figs, but the tree did not respond and give him figs in spite of his ability to change the flow of time and to live out of a different realm of time than the creation. When Jesus is around, time can go forward, backwards, skip around, or even stay still–it doesn’t matter because the sons of God reign over creation–they are not subject to it.

time travel path 2

I confess to not understanding why the tree didn’t produce fruit under those circumstances, but the scriptures have many references to time not working how we always have assumed it does. Joshua fought a battle where the sun stood still. Hezekiah prayed and time turned backwards by hours. Jesus was slain before the moment of conception of time and space–he was the slain lamb outside of time! Time has no dominion over Jesus nor does it have dominion over what he purchased on our behalf. We have been brought into the inheritance of the sons of God–those who live outside of the constructs of space-time, outside of the finite rules of mass and conservation, energy and motion. All things are possible with God because we are now born from above–from heaven, from the eternal outside-of-time-and-space realm where there is no law. As He is NOW, so are we in this world.

Related posts:

Time Warping

Translocation: Shifting Space and Time

Translocating Under The Tuscan Sun

Honor in the Midst of Conflict

Honor can be a tricky topic–especially in context of those we don’t like. It is easy to honor those we like and love, and much more difficult to honor people we would prefer to never be around. Honor deals with treating people with integrity and respect, and while some measure of honor is earned, there is a level of innate honor due another, and a measure to which we honor people because of who WE are, not because of who THEY are.

What I mean by innate honor is that we all are God’s creations–his children whom He loves. Regardless of one’s belief system, if He created us and we therefore have innate value, then we ought to honor that worth that God gives each of us. In regards to honoring others because of who we are, it is that we are to be people who live honoring lives in the things we do and say. Regardless of whether people have earned a measure of honor or not, we should automatically extend it to them out of love. This doesn’t necessarily mean that we must bend over backwards and jump through hoops that someone else sets before us in the name of honor, but that we afford them the same level of respect that we might to someone we value highly, and treat them the way we would want to be treated.

In my own life I have had conflicts with other people that I kept silent about and didn’t publicize to our mutual friends out of a desire to honor, even if I was angry with the individual for their poor conduct toward me. I do not believe that how others treat us is a clear barometer for how much honor we extend toward them, but rather that how we choose to conduct ourselves as a general whole will dictate that we honor everyone to a certain extent, and cultivate behaviors in our lives that afford us doing this automatically.

When honoring those we are in conflict with, it doesn’t mean that we will agree, or even that the conflict will necessarily be resolved. One issue I have had has remained a thorn in my side in spite of my repeated attempts to resolve it through love, honor, and kindness over the course of a few years. Even now I have the choice to divulge more information while writing this article in the name of “transparency,” and while many would find it extremely relevant and could relate, this is the type of situation where I believe we are to put transparency on hold. We gain nothing in conflict by spreading gossip and slandering other people, no matter how much we feel they deserve it. Honor means that we say nothing, or that when we do speak that our words are seasoned liberally with grace.

thorn in my sideIn a recent Youtube, one charismatic minister spoke about another, and he didn’t really have good things to say about this other minister. However, I was extremely impressed with the way this man conducted himself and the way he spoke. Instead of slandering and accusing, he gave succinct reasoning for his concerns, stated quite gracefully that their paths “are not compatible”, and expressed his sorrow over the situation. While it is often preferable to say nothing, in this situation the minister had previously vocally and publicly supported their collegial relationship, and felt a need to communicate a shift in their relationship. What struck me was the love and kindness he extended toward the other party in such a difficult circumstance.

I do not often think about honor, but I believe if we live as people of love and prefer one another over ourselves that we honestly won’t have to–it will be the natural outflow of our lives. I personally hope to emulate the love and respect that I have seen, and demonstrate it in my interactions with others. Whether I agree or disagree, or regardless of how conflict turns, when I operate in honor it leaves a door for divine grace to flood the situation, and sometimes that grace is all that is needed to turn things around. When it doesn’t, I can know that I have done my best to live at peace with everyone.

The Key that Unlocks Doors

The more I go through life the more I am convinced that while we have been given a lot of spiritual tools in this life, the most important and influential one we have is our faith. With enough faith applied correctly we can accomplish anything. One evening as I was pondering about faith I suddenly had an awareness of the entire nursing unit I was on–a vague awareness for just a few moments. With that brief moment of awareness came a realization that all of it was within a domain that I could control–down to the very atoms themselves. If I wanted to I could literally reshape the fabric of the universe around me. I understood in that moment that I was only aware of what was possible, but that I lacked the ability at that moment to actually effect that kind of change on any kind of noticeable level because I lacked the faith necessary to accomplish it even though I have the right of access as a son of God.

 

Faith is the key that unlocks doors, and I believe that we as sons and daughters of God must learn to live in high levels of faith if we want to see even a fraction of the things God has promised us. The truth is that living in this level of faith is going to take sacrifice that I believe few have made to date, and it’s not because we are earning faith by our good works, but because faith is always in flux. Faith is like the ocean–constantly undulating up and down, occasionally hitting a high peak or a low trough, but usually staying in a relatively constant set of bounds. I think of those bounds as normal life.

 

In normal life we have a measure of things we are used to, and we get comfortable in that place. Sure, things in our house may break and we may have to get them fixed or replace them from time to time. An occasional trip to the doctor and a rare trip to the hospital is within reason–after all, we live in a fallen world. Sure, God blesses us in many ways, but the enemy also steals from time to time, and we live in a tension between blessing and attack. It happens. And unfortunately, that seems to be the normal life many of us get used to. I know I am guilty of it myself.

 

The problem with this is that we get so used to the level we are living at that we forget there are much higher levels that we COULD be living at. What if anytime something in our house broke we waved our hand at it and it was made whole? What if any sickness and disease was fixed in five minutes–or better yet, never graced the threshold of our doors? What if attacks from the enemy were highly uncommon because we were simply such a difficult target to attack? All of these things are possible and much more, but it starts with building faith. Faith-building starts with changing expectations. When we start to expect something different we make a requirement from our beliefs. Instead of just knowing God CAN do something, we start to expect it to happen, and then go from expectancy to outright commanding reality to change.

 

Changing our expectations has a lot to do with changing our external input–the things we allow into our minds. If we want to have crazy miracles happen, we need to turn off the news, sometimes even turn off social media, my iphone, and all of the other distractions, and we need to pray. We need to feed ourselves with miracle stories of God’s glory and goodness and meditate on God’s nature of love. We need to get healed of inner hurts that hold us back and take fierce captivity of our thoughts–our daydreams and ideas, that we only let those things that are fruitful take hold within our minds. None of these things are easy; all of them take time. They take a shift of focus that is not small. Movies may go out the window. Various other forms of entertainment may soon follow–not that entertainment is bad, but everything we look at, think upon, hear, see, all forms of contact play a part in our faith level. I am not saying we must shun the world, but on some level I am saying we must start to shun the systems of this world’s way of doing things. I have heard stories of such men of God as Smith Wigglesworth who wouldn’t even let a newspaper cross the threshold of their door, as they didn’t want to be tainted by the negativity and bad news contained therein.

electric brain

We don’t need to put our heads in the sand and hide; rather we must put our heads in the clouds–in heavenly places where Christ is seated and where we can rule and reign with him to administrate justice and mercy into the earth. There is a reason that we are transformed and metamorphosed when we renew our minds–because only mind-renewal and a birthing of new faith will bring about the transformation we truly desire–the Kingdom of God manifesting on the earth. Let us set our sights on a higher way of life and in so doing transform our world.

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.key to time

 

 

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.

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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.”

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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!

Related Posts:
Translocation: Shifting Space and Time

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!

 

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
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)

pouring-olive-oil-over-olive-sprig-with-green-olives

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!

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!

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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.

To Live is Christ

“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21 NIV)

I have always found the above verse to be confusing, because I always felt Paul mixed up the order of importance–namely that to live should be gain and to die be Christ, as the goal in the end is heaven when we die, isn’t it? Well, over the past year or two I have come to a deeper understanding of many things, including what this verse is actually saying: that it is Jesus’ will for us to be alive, but that even IF we die that there are benefits to be had as well. Yes, I said “if” we die, because to live is Christ. In other words, it is Jesus’ will, purchased by the breaking of his body on the cross and the shedding of his blood, and through his death then resurrection, that we can live in a new life that is no longer bound to the law of sin and death, making it so we can now live forever, on earth, in human bodies that will be transformed, without ever dying and going to heaven for that to occur.

I think Paul actually knew a bit more than he let on about this subject, as he said something else to the Philippians that is a real head-scratcher if we look at it a little deeper. Philippians 3:10-14 says “I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

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Paul freely acknowledges that he wants to be like Jesus — who died and then rose again three days later to live in a newer, better, everlasting body and was walking around here on the earth! Paul says that he does not believe he has already obtained everlasting life here-and-now-on-earth, but that he is pressing on toward the goal to win that prize. Paul knew what the goal was and he knew what the prize was — living forever. Jesus said it to his disciples in John 6 and a bunch of them stopped following him after that. Is it really that hard to believe that God doesn’t want us to die? In 2 Timothy 1:9b-11 Paul states “This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher.” What? Has brought life and immortality to light? Paul flat-out states in this passage that God made him an apostle and teacher of the gospel of life and immortality.

Friends, I want to encourage you that the Good News of the gospel of Jesus Christ is a whole lot better than we have been taught. You don’t have to die anymore! Death has been defeated, which is why death no longer has any sting–it is powerless! If this has tagged your interest, I encourage you to read through the gospel of John and see how many times and how many places Jesus told his disciples that they would never die and would live forever if they believed in him. It’s there–go see for yourself!

Join us Live Tonight! – UCC Show

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Hello Friends,

I will be a guest on the UnCommon Christianity Radio Show tonight, July 28, 2015,  and want to invite you to join us at 11pm EST/8pm PST.  We will be talking about my recent blog post “The End of Revival” (found here:  http://wp.me/p4nENC-5n )  and discussing the question “CAN God move in these United States?”

There are instructions on how to listen in  as well as a chat function to ask questions while the show is live found on the website.  If you missed the broadcast you can catch a replay of it at the link above as well.  I hope you can join us tonight!!

 

Blessings to you all,

-Michael King-

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