PRAYERS

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In this blog, I share what the Lord shares with me. I reference scripture a lot in support of what is being said. I realize that what is in each entry is NOT a complete 'word' on what is being said, but is rather enough information to stimulate our spirits to dig deeper (remember the Bereans Acts 17:10-11) thereby gaining a fuller understanding for ourselves.

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Saturday, December 23, 2017

12-23-2017         Unto Us a Child is Born                
    
                  Glory to God in the HIghest                                             Breath of God

Isaiah 7:14      The Lord, Himself shall give a sign ‘Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and you shall call His name Emmanuel.

Isaiah 9:6-7     A child is born to us, a child is given and the government shall be upon His shoulder.  His Name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.  There shall be no end to the growth of government and peace because He will sit upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgement and justice, now and forever more.  The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will perform this

Matt. 1:19-21 Joseph, a just man, was not willing to make her (Mary) a public example so he kept her in secret.  But, while he was thinking on these things, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said

“Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife for that which she bears is conceived of the Holy Ghost.  And she shall bring forth a Son and you shall call His name Jesus for He shall save His people from their sins.”           
Now all this was done so that what the Lord said through the prophet would be fulfilled “Behold, a virgin shall be with child and she shall bring forth a son and they shall call His name Emmanuel, which is interpreted ‘God is with us’.”

Luke 2:7-14     And she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger for there was no room at the inn.
                        And in the same area, shepherds were watching over their flock at night.
                        And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them and the glory of the Lord shined all around them and they were afraid.

                        But the angel said to them “Don’t be afraid for I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people.
                        For unto you this day, in the city of David, a Savior is born, who is Christ the Lord.
                        And this shall be a sign to you, you will find the baby, wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”

                        Suddenly, a multitude of the heavenly host joined the angel, praising God saying
                        “Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth and good will toward men.”

Luke 2:15-16   And, as it happened, when the angel had ascended back into heaven, the shepherds said among themselves” Let us now go to Bethlehem to this thing which has come to pass, which the Lord has shown us.
                       
                        And they hurried and found Mary, Joseph and the babe lying in a manger.

Can you imagine how awestruck the shepherds must have been at the sight of the angels in the skies?  
This announcement was not made to kings, but to common folk, like you and me.  The prophecy 
of the Christ, the fulfillment of his coming into this world and such a proclamation at His birth into 
this world.

This is the time we celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus into this world.  Jesus came to serve
(John 13:13-16) so He was not born in a castle so He could ‘lord’ over people, but in a manger so He 
could meet us at our Level and lead us in terms we could understand.  And yet His journey had just 
barely begun.

In Jesus, we have a new hope and a new life promised us through Him (John 10:10).  The hope of 
eternal fellowship with the Father (1 John 1:3) where, through the Holy Ghost, Jesus is with us, in us 
and guides us (as we listen, Luke 11:28) for He will never leave us nor forsake us (Heb. 13:5).

In Sept./Oct., the Jews celebrated the feasts of Trumpets, Atonement and Tabernacles.  This
is a time of proclamation, reconciliation and projection.  We proclaim our Lord, reconcile our differences then proclaim our intents for the future.

Oct./Nov. represents New Beginnings.  Even though we consider Jesus to have been born in
December, this is the time we can look forward to our life starting afresh in Jesus.

 The Festival of Lights comes with Chanukah in Nov./Dec.  Even though, in our tradition, Jesus
isn’t born yet, we dedicate our lives to our Messiah who is the Light of the world.

Of course, near the end of December, we do celebrate the birth of Jesus into this world,
receiving the power and the wisdom to stand against any evil that may come against us so we
may successfully enter the next phase of our life.

These four months, for us, is a time for cleansing, ordering our steps for the new year and to
plan in order to accomplish what is necessary for the coming year.  It is a time to start off with a 
fresh step.  It is a time to decide to stand fast in our Lord Jesus Christ and to determine to follow 
the leading of the Holy Ghost.

As we celebrate the birth of our Lord, Jesus, during this time, He represents a new life and a
new hope for us as we look forward to a new year, living in His love.

 This new phase of our current time?  Father is preparing the outpouring of the latter rain
 (Jer. 5:24) through which everyone will benefit (Zech. 10:1). 

The former, or early, rain prepares the ground for planting then nurtures the seeds and the
young plants so they can sprout and grow strong.

The latter rain helps the fruit to mature and be ripe for harvest.

Jesus is the vine (John 15:1-6) and we are the branches and it is ‘we’ who bear fruit (new converts),
bringing them into the body of Christ through our testimony and assuring that their growth is solid
in Jesus Christ.  But, for us to be effective, we need to be where Father wants us to be – in our
relationship with Him.  Should our relationship be weak, how can we help others to have a strong
relationship with our Lord?  So we  need to be doing our part to assure we are where Father wants
us to be.  Just, as the fourth time, the Lord came to Samuel calling his name.  Now, having been
prepared by Eli, Samuel responded “Speak, for Your servant hears.”  (1 Sam. 3:10)  Do we hear
what God is saying to us?  Are we truly listening?

You may have been hearing about the “Spiritual explosion” that’s coming.  It is!  And Father is
preparing His children for it, even now. 

We are in the midst of a seven year ‘preparation’ period where Father is bringing His church into a
deeper understanding of its (our) relationship with Him.  He’s been bringing His children into a
fuller, deeper relationship with Himself so we can be truly effective servants for Him.  He’s been
teaching us how to truly live for Him and to hear Him and understand what He asks and then be
obedient to His will.  As He sends us out, we will be ministering in the full concept of the Holy Ghost. 
Just as the apostles did.  After all, we are a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9), aren’t we?  To serve God
with all our energies (Col. 3:23-24)?

We have witness to the first outpouring, the early rain, in the book of Acts (Acts 2:1-21), then we
can read about the Impact of that outpouring throughout the book of Acts and the New Testament
epistles.  We see evidence of the power of the Holy Ghost operating in the lives of believers.  Not
‘just’ the apostles, but through various believers.  We see where Peter and John healed the lame
man in the name of Jesus (Acts 3:1-10).  We see at Peter’s preaching, five thousand believed (Acts
4:1-4).  Cornelius and his family are given as example that salvation is for all, as well as the receiving
of the Holy Ghost (Acts 10:34-46).  Paul (He was not one of the original twelve) cast out devils in
Philippi with the woman possessed with the spirit of divination (Acts 16:12-19).  Not only were
people saved, healed and delivered, but more believers received the baptism of the Holy Ghost as
exampled by the twelve on the road to Ephesus (Acts 19:1-7).  Oh, and by the way, as we serve God,
Father protects us as related in the shipwreck as Paul travelled to Rome.  Paul was bitten by an
unseen snake (Acts 28:1-6).  The natives knew that this snake was very poisonous and waited for
Paul’s quick death which didn’t come. After all, Jesus said He would protect us, didn’t He (Luke
10:19)?

Jesus told His disciples that they would do all the works that He did and more (John 14:12).  That
didn’t go away with the apostles and disciples of two thousand years ago.  It includes us, today.
Nothing passes away until the perfect is come, that which is in part shall be done away with (1
Corinth. 13:10).  Today, we see through a glass darkly, but when we are with the Lord, all things will
be very clear (1 Corinth.13:12).

Be patient for the coming of the Lord.  The husbandman waits for the precious fruit of the earth,
patiently he waits until the early and the latter rain.  We also should be patient, establishing our
hearts (in Jesus Christ) for the coming of the Lord draws near (James 5:7-8).

I’ve heard it said that Jesus can’t come back until Christians have made the world ready for Him.  I
differ with that slightly.  Something has to be ready But dare I say it’s the church and not the world. 
Father is preparing His church for Jesus’ return (Matt. 24:42-44).  Look at how the church is
reflecting world values and Paul tells the Thessalonians that there would first be a falling away (2
Thess. 2:1-3).  Father is drawing believers closer to Him so we can be like the five wise virgins who
were continually ready for whenever the bridegroom (Jesus) returns  (Matt. 25:1-13).

The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts. And in this
place I will give peace, declares the Lord of hosts.’” (Haggai 2:9).  In other words, when the latter
rains come, this fresh outpouring of the Holy Ghost, will surpass what the ‘early rains’ did.  I suggest
to you that the early rain was the initial outpouring of the Holy Ghost to the early disciples and now,
as the fruit is ready to ripen, we approach the harvest of the latter rain.  The latter rain is coming to
make the second outpouring of the Holy Ghost greater than the first.  Greater strength, greater
power, greater manifestation so the hearts of people may be solidified and that we may continue
steadfast and fellowshipping, in the doctrine of Jesus Christ which the apostles preached (Acts
2:42).  And a greater dose of God’s peace, which surpasses all understanding (Phil. 4:7) which will
probably rattle the world as they try to figure how we can keep our ‘cool’.

This Spiritual explosion is coming and just as we celebrate a time when Jesus brings new life and new hope into our presence, we need to grasp the outpouring of the Holy Ghost afresh, anew and abide in Christ Jesus so we can glorify the Father by keeping His commandments.  His commandments are to love (Luke 10:25-28).  There is no greater commandment and there is no greater expression of that love than to give our lives for a brother (John 15:7-13).  Jesus died on the cross to cleanse us from our sin.  We die to Him daily by yielding our bodies, souls and strength, our very lives to Him (1 Corinth. 9:27, Rom. 8:14) by living for Him daily.  So, we share that love with those around us as Father opens the doors for His love to flow.  We show our love for our brothers and neighbors by considering them no less than ourselves (Mark 12:31) and doing that which will edify them (1 Corinth. 14:26).

‘is the season to let the love of Jesus flow.


Amen 

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