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Be Encouraged but Do Not Faint

Posted on by Melissa Lynne
One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. Luke 18:1(NLT)

I thank God we don’t have to press on without any encouragement. I believe we have seen some supernatural intervention in our midst in these last two days of Revival and even in this last month. I believe that more is to come as our Revival continues and God changes lives and hearts…even our own. I think we should rejoice in that with all that is within us but also recognize that to change our posture of persevering prayer would be a mistake. What God can do through persevering, importunate prayer has yet to be seen in it’s full scope. I remind myself again and again and again and again…this is not about me or about Life Church or even about two churches coming together as wonderful as it all is…but the Kingdom of God and where we stand in relation to God’s Eternal Purpose.

I have been encouraged and I admit I really needed it but I also know in my heart this encouragement is given because this is only the beginning and not the end to the call to press on to see that full scope. This call is not just my call. It is for all of us- everyone, everywhere that calls himself a believer. Be encouraged, but do not faint…your prayers have never been as important or as needed as they are every minute and right this very minute!!!!

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“the only thing I’d really like to be”

Posted on by Melissa Lynne
hmmm….some things I will just always remember.

“Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody’s around – nobody big, I mean – except me. And I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff – I mean if they’re running and they don’t look where they’re going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That’s all I do all day. I’d just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it’s crazy, but that’s the only thing I’d really like to be.” ~~J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye, Chapter 22

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Sometimes God Still Speaks Through Dreams

Posted on by Melissa Lynne

Last night I had this very sobering one-

I was in the hospital because I had just had a baby. It was a boy. I was so happy but I was very unprepared and when it was time to go home I didn’t have a car seat or any baby supplies. Nothing. I didn’t even have anyone to drive me home. So I laid the baby on the seat and drove home myself even though I knew that it was illegal to do so. When I got home I ran inside to grab a few things so that I could go to the store and so I left the baby in the car. When I returned he was gone. I was frantic and went around the neighborhood asking if anyone had seen my baby. I looked all over the house but no baby. I became very distraught and then suddenly the doorbell rang. It was a gentleman holding my baby. No explanation of where he had been but he was unharmed. I grabbed him and began thanking God that He had returned the baby in seemingly perfect condition and that everything was okay despite what I had done. I was so relieved. Then the doorbell rang again. It was the police and I was arrested and taken to jail- charged with neglect.

Yikes! When I woke up I felt that God was speaking to me about what will be a new season and to make sure I am prepared and stay prepared for the responsibilities of what He is birthing. I don’t know if my understanding of it is even correct- that was just my initial feelings.

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I’m Willing!

Posted on by Melissa Lynne

I’m willing to change this world

I’m willing to make a lasting impact

I’m willing to lay my life down

I’m willing to serve others

I’m willing to follow your lead Lord

I’m willing to deny myself

I’m willing to do the unthinkable

I’m willing to be challenged and challenge others

I’m willing, I’m willing to take risks and adventures

 

I’m willing to go where i can’t see

I’m willing to be a revolutionary

to be ridiculed and criticized

I’m willing to be strange and to be different

I’m willing to be misunderstood

I’m willing to spread this passion

I’m willing to ignite the fires

I’m willing, I’m willing to be uncontrollably in pursuit of you

to make tough statements and make hard choices

 

I’m willing to stir people up for you Lord

I’m willing, I’m willing to be a part of this new movement

I’m willing to refuse mediocrity

deny the status quo

rebel against complacency

revolt against religion

uprise against “the way it’s always been”

 

I’m willing to be the Acts church

whatever the cost, wherever the destination

to be on this journey of unknowns

this quest of uncertainties

this adventure called radical revolutionary faith

To be the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ on the earth

and forcefully violently blazingly passionately

advance the kingdom of heaven!

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My Dreams

Posted on by Melissa Lynne

I dream of Isaiah 61.
I dream of God using me as a vessel of healing and restoration.
Of putting God-given words onto a page in a new way and that through them someone will be instantly, miraculously healed.
Or a bound person will be set free.
I dream of sharing my most precious treasures with the poorest of the poor.
I dream of wielding a word that changes governments to righteousness.
I dream of God touching people in a radical way and causing them to run to Him.
I dream of God’s Word being spoken over the lost and the harvest being brought in.
Of His Words bringing great joy and freedom in the Lord.
I dream of delighting the Lord and seeing His glory through my worship.
I dream of a great army terrible with banners and love.
I dream of putting the enemy to flight.

My dreams are too small.

 

Isaiah 61:1-3
1 “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me,
Because the LORD has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,

And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD,
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
3 To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;”

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IF you do this, THEN…

Posted on by Melissa Lynne

I found an interesting thing in reading the Word this morning. In Exodus 34 Moses asks God for favor and to be His inheritance (This caught my eye because part of Pastor Sammy’s teaching last night at Bible study was that we were His inheritance). He also asks for God to go with them and for the glory for all even though the people are wicked. Then God makes a promise to Moses but tells Moses to obey everything that He commands. The next three chapters are filled with tasks and I usually just run through them as unimportant but when I really looked at it every job had a purpose for preparing for a place for God in their lives and for what God was going to do. It involved men and women pulling together their abilities and resources…but only the men and women who had their hearts stirred…not everyone was onboard. In Exodus 40 toward the end (pasted below and highlighted) it says Moses finished the work assigned. The next verse starts with the word “then”….THEN (implies to me they the two passages are connected) THEN THE GLORY OF THE LORD FILLED THE TABERNACLE. Hallelujah! Does that stir anyone else? God made a promise. Conditions for the Israelites were few considering that promise.

God really spoke to me through these passages and so today I feel called to pray for our people, that all of their hearts are stirred. He spoke to me to pray for the workers behind the scenes that may be overlooked by many of us as even I overlooked the importance of the tasks in these passages. He spoke to me to pray for people to complete the tasks assigned as preparation and to take their assignments seriously.

This really struck me and something I don’t think of very often… Moses didn’t do all the work. He did his part and he heard from God and told all the people what God had commanded and then the work was completed by those that had their hearts stirred and wanted to be a part of what God was going to do. Moses called the people and the people used their God-given gifts and talents and anointing to carry it out. When they all (those with stirred hearts) had worked in unity and done their part to obey all the commands THEN THE GLORY OF THE LORD FILLED THE TABERNACLE.

This just excited me!!! Revival is probably many things. It speaks to me through these verses that living in the glory of God night and day, day in and day out definitely involves unity but not to get too hung up on those that are not onboard (YET) and it involves obedience in preparation based on God’s commands. While everyone may not be onboard because everyone’s hearts have not been stirred…it can still come for the benefit of all. Charles Finney said that, “A revival is nothing else than a new beginning of obedience to God.” Maybe he’s right. Maybe it starts with obedience or is revival to bring people to obedience. Maybe it is both. IF you do this, THEN…

Have more to say on this but some of it is still just stirring my soul, like an invention trying to bubble up or something, and I can’t get the word for it yet…if that makes sense.

Exodus 40:33-37

33 Then Moses set up the courtyard around the tabernacle and altar and put up the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard. And so Moses finished the work.

The Glory of the LORD
34 Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. 35 Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled upon it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

36 In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out; 37 but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out—until the day it lifted. 38 So the cloud of the LORD was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel during all their travels

Posted in He Shall Teach Me All Things

The Path to a Satisfied Life – Iverna Tompkins (1/1/2010)

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Psalm 16

1Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in You.
2I said to the LORD, “You are my Lord;
I have no good besides You.”
3As for the saints who are in the earth,
They are the majestic ones in whom is all my delight.
4The sorrows of those who have bartered for another god will be multiplied;
I shall not pour out their drink offerings of blood,
Nor will I take their names upon my lips.
5The LORD is the portion of my inheritance and my cup;
You support my lot.
6The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;
Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me.
7I will bless the LORD who has counseled me;
Indeed, my mind instructs me in the night.
8 I have set the LORD continually before me;
Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
9Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices;
My flesh also will dwell securely.
10For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol;
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.
11You will make known to me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.

Steps to the path of Life
-Allegiance to divine authority – you are Lord of ME. The Lord shall choose for me my way. “this is the way, walk ye in it” nothing like obedience to make you feel like you stepped out of a warm shower and it makes you feel holy.

-Rejection of self righteousness – destroy first step of obedience if we mess this one up.

-Do good to the saints.

-Appreciation of saintly excellence. Not enough interaction between generations and appreciation of one another. Appreciate that they are like us b/c Christ is in them and He is in us. We have levels of acceptance and it is hard to get rid of—gender, race, social and economic status, education. If you ask the Lord to take that out of you he will surround you will people higher than you and lower than you b/c He is the divine balancer. Have to learn to delight in one another. Find Jesus in everyone. EVERYONE! If you do you will delight in Him. “for by this all men will know…look at the love they have for one another”

-Delight in their fellowship

-Fear of the Lord without compromise, that I may please Him. Vs. 8

-Worship and praise. Needs to come to new level. It will not come through instruments or choir. When every person participates. Power of unity. Salvations occur/Baptisms of the Spirit/deliverance/healing occur just in the presence of unified worship. Revival is UNITY. Blessing of the Lord is in
UNITY. Psalm 133.

-Faith in God. God so loved the world that he gave His Son…He still gives. Gives it all through Jesus.

-Satisfaction with your heritage. Why do we care so much about the things that are not eternal? We have been resurrected.

Other Notes:

Every stage of growth has its own pain. Growth always causes trouble b/c it causes a need that we didn’t have before we grew.

I have been created to be a son of God. I am not like the world. I was created to be a vessel of light. What does that mean? It means I am a reflections. A demonstrator of what God purposed when He sent Jesus to earth. When Jesus was crucified I was crucified with Him. He took me into Himself and He said He wanted me to be crucified with Him b/c He did not want me to be crucified without Him.

Some people stay there though and never get off the cross. Get off the cross.
Glory is not new. The church of today acts like it is new but it has always been there- the church of today has just not walked in it. Christ is the glory. Christ lives in you. You are the experience of Christ. Therefore you are the glory.

Open your eyes and see Christ in yourself and in others. Get up from your past. I don’t want hear about it if it is under the blood of Christ. You don’t want to hear or talk about it if it is under the blood of Christ. Do not write a book on it. (haha I am reminded of the one I was writing that AOL deleted and I think now oh how the Father preserves me. Thank you Lord!)

Psalm 16

Never been a day when so many gods were being made/praised as there are today. We have read about these types of days in the Old Testament but today we are living them.

Oh God preserve me for in YOU I trust. Why is it that I have such a difficult time in trusting the Lord in every phase of all my lives? Sometimes I have to talk to myself and remind myself that I said God could do whatever He wanted with me…that I trusted Him. Do I still trust? For better or worse. That is a marriage vow but is that not what we are in. Would be good if maybe we held a church marriage to the Lord. Those vows are strong.

Sometimes loose our witness because of dissatisfaction. I testify of dissatisfaction and that is my one job – to witness. If my words don’t speak them, my face and mannerisms do. You can tell a satisfied person. Satisfied individuals walk in truth. They don’t have to clarify that God is good. They are honest about what they are going through and they are real. They ask for prayer when needed. No matter what is going on they know in their spirit that He is worthy to be trusted. Is there Life in me? There is light and life in the Word. Is it in me? I have to learn to take off that weight of heaviness. If the heaviness is the burden of the Lord do it in the prayer closet and not in public. Babies are beautiful but they born in private for a reason.

We are at the end of the age and if we are the HOPE! If I am the HOPE of men and women seeing Christ I need to take another look and come up a few steps. I have to learn to stop emphasizing one gift and ignoring the rest. I will say as Jesus walked I walk and whatever is needed I will bring forth.

Iverna- I believe in “praying through”…these days they call that an “open heaven” but in old days they called it praying through. Prayed until you got a breakthrough. Getting to a place where YOU left. It is the will of God to put an open heaven over every believer so that we walk in the light as he is in the light. How is He in the light? He never leaves the presence of the Father. Will of God that there be open heaven over me all the time…but if I don’t learn to get through ME then I can’t push through with authority as a son of God.
Have to have recognition that I was crucified on that cross with Christ, I rose from that grave with Christ, and I live on this earth with Christ. Believe that and walk in that fellowship all day long. Can’t pattern after the world and find the path of life (Proverbs 5:6). One big problem in this world- we want to walk the path of the world with His blessing. We should never try to copy the world although we should not get hung up if there are overlaps.

The path of life He is talking of in Psalm 16 is a path that is only one step at a time. That is the catch. God isn’t surprised about what is going on in your life. He is prepared. Lazarus example. Why was Jesus not worried about Lazarus dying? He was prepared. Have you thought that it is too late for something to happen in your life. It is never too late for the person that is prepared. He does not always tell you that what you are going through or have gone through is b/c He has something better around the corner… but HE IS ALWAYS PREPARED. He said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. You will never be ashamed or fail. You can’t fail…even if it looks and feels like failure but it is not. In the end you get the double portion.

What leads us to the path of light is instruction and correction. Prob 10:17, 15:24

Psalm 16 says to be content with your heritage…stop looking at the path laid out for others. We say is this IT Lord? Isn’t there more? Maybe there is not more until your are satisfied with what He has given you so far. Be content with your heritage – THAT CAME AS A HARD BUT GOOD WORD FOR ME. I STRUGGLE SO MUCH WITH MY EARTHLY HERITAGE.

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Don’t throw in the towel…STAND ON THE PROMISES

Posted on by Melissa Lynne

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. Matthew 28:18-20

Hear that! Jesus gave us His vision and it is an exciting and challenging one but to me the really exciting part is this…He also gave us His promises regarding His vision. Jesus prefaced the vision with the promise of power, and He ended the vision with the promise of His presence. So what I feel this Word is saying to me is if we have a God-given vision and you can tell if it is God-given if it embraces the vision of Jesus set forth in these scriptures…then it is no different for us. So as Jesus is always present in the ministries of the churches that embrace His vision, we also have the same promises.

He was saying, in effect, to all nations and to us not just I will be with you but I AM WITH YOU. His promise is that if we are doing His will, and if we are pursuing the vision He has for His church then we can count on this, We will never walk alone! He didn’t say that He would send an angel to be with us, even though we know that they encamp around us. He didn’t say that He would send another man or woman, though we do have the body of Christ. But Jesus said that if we will pursue the vision, He Himself would personally be with us.

No great move of God will go unchallenged. It won’t. So stand. Prepare yourself to stand and be prepared to stand. There will be attacks from the enemy as we pursue the vision, but Jesus is with us. There will scoffers and nay-sayers but Jesus is with us. There will be those that abandon the fight and that abandonment may feel at times personal, but Jesus is with us. There may be times when the resources don’t look adequate to meet the needs required by the vision, but Jesus is with us. There will be times when we want to throw in the towel but if you saw Jesus standing right there with you, would you? Could you? HE IS STANDING THERE!!!! HE IS…If I could scream it louder here I would…JESUS IS WITH US! He alone has the power that will give victory but we must stand with Him! He will help us but we must stand with Him and against the enemy. Those are His promises, not mine, so stand on them just like the old hymn that we used to sing by R. Kelso Carter- Standing on the Promises. I have put it below because I am just liking it a lot today.

Standing on the promises of Christ my King,
Through eternal ages let His praises ring,
Glory in the highest, I will shout and sing,
Standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises that cannot fail,
When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,
By the living Word of God I shall prevail,
Standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises I now can see
Perfect, present cleansing in the blood for me;
Standing in the liberty where Christ makes free,
Standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises of Christ the Lord,
Bound to Him eternally by love’s strong cord,
Overcoming daily with the Spirit’s sword,
Standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises I cannot fall,
Listening every moment to the Spirit’s call
Resting in my Savior as my all in all,
Standing on the promises of God.

Standing, standing,
Standing on the promises of God my Savior;
Standing, standing,
I’m standing on the promises of God.

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“How long are you going to continue this praying thing?”

Posted on by Melissa Lynne

JESUS CHRIST said: “Men ought always to pray, and not to faint” or in another translation, “Pray all the time and don’t quit.” (Luke 18:1) and Paul said this: “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thess 5:17)

“How long are you going to continue this praying thing?” That is the question someone just asked me. Wow…how do I answer that? My life is very much a developing life of prayer. I take these verses literally and so I have purposed in my heart to try to figure how to live this life on earth while also living a life of prayer. To me ending my prayer life would kill the person that I am as much as someone killing me physically. I am not ashamed of my life of prayer but I really don’t discuss my daily schedule unless I am asked. Most don’t understand this life and many are frankly offended by it. The longer I pray and the more I pray the smaller my circle gets. Maybe some don’t understand my heart or maybe they don’t understand theirs. The flesh part of me would like nothing more than to be accepted and understood and liked by people. The part of me that was forgiven of so much and changed so radically and quickly by such a merciful God can never ignore nor do I want to ignore the debt paid for me. I feel nothing but absolute total love to the one that set me free. God changed me and showed me through His Word that I was to know Him in ways that I had never considered.

I asked for it all…this change. I said I would give Him whatever He wanted. He asked me into a life of prayer. Nothing has changed me more or continues to change and then sustain me than knowing my Lord the way that I do through prayer and the Word…they go hand in hand for me. It is glaring to me in these days as I watch and as I study, how little we all pray…even me. I am nowhere near the “without ceasing.” I have heard some try to explain and justify my actions as a calling. Was I “called” to this life? No. I may be assigned to certain ministries but I believe we are all to pray and so there is no waiting to be called for prayer any more than I would be called to something like obedience. Both are expected of me and demanded of me… but in the end I do it because I love God. I love Him. When I said whatever I did mean it. Love gives whatever is needed and to me it is so obvious that what God needs most is PRAYER PRAYER PRAYER.

There is this great saying: “Find out what God most wants done and do it!” Sounds simple.

You want to see the world evangelized? So does Jesus. In fact Luke 10:2 says: Then He said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

I have heard sermons on that verse saying GO and I have to tell you most everything in me wants to GO. But I want my definition of go, my will. Jesus didn’t say go, He said PRAY. If you GO, only ONE of you will go. What will that do to a huge harvest? But if you PRAY, hundreds can go. PRAYER ENABLES GOD TO CALL AND EQUIP AND SEND WORKERS INTO HIS HARVEST FIELD. I have found myself saying… but God, I want to win souls in Africa! And God says, “Do you know their language?” I say no and He says, “Do you know their customs?” I say no and He says “You pray and I will send someone who already knows the language and the customs.” His Will be done…not mine. So I pray. Does that mean I don’t take care of a need in front of me? Witness to the person across the street? Go into the mission field of my own town? Get outside the prayer room? Absolutely not, but in addition to a life of prayer, not as a substitute for. You want to see the world evangelized? Prayer may be the greatest act of evangelism.

Why are the harvest fields unreaped? I believe it is not because we didn’t GO, but because we didn’t PRAY. I pray because God loves me; I pray because I love God. And you know what? When you think about it, I pray because God loves you. Oh, and I don’t intend to ever stop.