By Faith or By Sight?

Hebrews 11:30 NKJV

By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days.

The 2nd group of Israelites made it into the Promised Land after the first rebellious group died off in the wilderness. They had a chance to learn from the mistakes of their predecessors as Moses rehearsed their history with them before he departed. My husband once taught a message about flowing with the foolish things of God. In order to live by faith we must be prepared to do ”foolish” things. They will be foolish in the eyes of man but wisdom in the plan of God. What would walking around walls do to help an army enter a fortified city? How would shouting in the end cause the collapse of the walls in a manner that did not harm those walking around it? We cannot walk by faith if we have to figure out everything God is doing. So we must decide how we want to live. We can live a life like mere men where we understand everything we do and believe. On the other hand, if we are willing to trust and obey God even if we can make no sense of what He is doing we can live like supernatural men. To live the supernatural life we must pray in the spirit and stay in the spirit as much as possible so we can be more inclined to walk and live in the spirit instead of leaning to our own understanding. It’s the difference between walking by faith or by sight.

The Unseen Realm

Hebrews 1:14 NKJV

Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?

As you proceed through this year, stay encouraged that there is an unseen realm that is more real than the world you see. What we see came from what we cannot see.

Hebrews 1:14 lets us know that God has commissioned angels - heavenly beings to minister for us. Will we benefit from this? According to Hebrews 4:2 NKJV, Israelites did not benefit from what God had made available to them because they did not walk in faith to receive. “For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.” So despite the fact that there is a host of angels available to us, we cannot benefit the way God wants us to unless we accept that by faith. So, let us speak in line with the Word of God and declare, “God has dispatched angels to minister for me. I have angelic protection, provision and anything else God can use them for on my behalf. God’s angels are working for me!”

Keep the Air in Your Tire

Ephesians 6:18 AMPC

And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but ever be filled and stimulated with the [Holy] Spirit.

Recently I dreamt I was teaching a class and the first thing the students were learning was how to change a tire. Each one was busy working on their personal vehicle while I was trying to locate everything I needed to do a demonstration on my own. I could not find the jack that lifted up the car so the tire could be removed and replaced. I looked in every place I could think of. The dream ended without me finding the jack.

There were several things I got out of this dream, but I want to share one part of it with you today. Changing a tire represents getting rid of a hindrance to progress. As a driver makes progress toward his destination, a flat tire stops him. Before he can go any further, he needs to get the flat tire replaced with one that has air in it. The tire with no air can symbolize no spirit. Without the Holy Spirit, we cannot reach the destination God has for us. Driving on a flat tire will eventually bring destruction to the vehicle and make reaching the destination impossible. As soon as we realize our tire is flat, we need to address it. When we realize the Holy Spirit is not in our movement, we need to stop and correct that. We need to get with the process the Holy Spirit is in. It’s in Him we live, move and have our being. As the Followers of Christ used to sing, “We might as well not move at all if we don’t move in Him.”

After the Storm

Genesis 8:1-2 NKJV

Then God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the animals that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided. The fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were also stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained.

Genesis 9:1 NKJV

So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.”

Storms are unpleasant but sometimes they are necessary. The storm Noah and his sons experienced was necessary to cleanse the earth of all the filth and wickedness that permeated it due to the rebellion of mankind. There is another storm coming that will bring a cleansing. Just as Noah and his family experienced God’s blessing and enjoyed a new start, those who remain committed to God in our time will be blessed and enjoy a brand new beginning after this storm that has begun. It will be more glorious than what Noah experienced.

Just like God directed Noah to build a physical ark to keep his family safe during the natural storm, God has built a spiritual ark to keep us safe until the spiritual storm passes over. Noah could see the physical ark windows and doors and stay inside. We see the natural signs around us that are result of this current storm but we cannot see with our natural eyes the spiritual ark windows and doors. We must walk by faith and not by sight. So let us guard our hearts and minds and stay in the “Ark” so we will see the goodness of the Lord AFTER THE STORM.

The Narrow Way

Matthew 7:13-14 NKJV

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

Recently I dreamt that I was looking through some items in the trunk of a car. The owner of the car was trying to sell some things she wanted to get rid of. I saw a pair of shoes and checked the size. I wear a 7M. This shoe was a 7N (narrow) so I put it back. The dream continued and it was full of numbers so I took some time to research the numbers to find out the message of the dream. I almost left out this part of the dream. Later, as I thought about the shoe I realized it did have a message. Shoes represent a path, a journey or a life choice like a career or associations, etc. The shoe was reminding me that the perfect way (represented by the number 7) is not crowded. In order to stay in the right path God has designed for us, sometimes we have to be separated from others who are going the wrong way. The shoe was a 7N. Seven symbolizes perfection and the perfect way is “narrow.” So let us be slow to make decisions based on what everyone else is doing and listen carefully to the Holy Spirit as He leads us in the perfect narrow way.

Stay Cool with the Water of the Word and the Spirit

Ephesians 5:26 NKJV

that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,

John 7:38-39 NKJV

He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” 39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

Since I last posted, I dreamt I saw baby hippopotamuses playing and turning over in the water. I looked for information on these animals. I found out that these animals spend a lot of time in the water. They do it to keep cool. In the evening, they come out to eat. They are herbivores. As children of the Most High God, He has provided the water of the Word and the Spirit which will keep us cool in the middle of a heated world. We need to spend time all day in spiritual prayer and the Word so we can maintain our cool during heated political and spiritual times.