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in Hope

Centered On

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While the world is captured by more and more chaos, it is a strategic time when the church of Jesus Christ should be praying more earnestly for the Lord’s return. He is coming….the time of His arrival has been set in the Father’s heart. The time frame may be debated on the earth, but His return is not. Jesus told us that wars and rumors of wars would happen. We should not be surprised or shaken because of them. Peace is the kingdom of God we hold within. Jesus is our Peace.

I want to encourage you to remember to stay centered on these: 

  1. The Way
  2. The Sound
  3. The Spirit
  4. The Light

The Way - make your hearts straight, open, before Him. In humility remove all interference that would keep you from intimacy with Him. We are not called to fix or perfect ourselves, however, we are called to make the adjustments Holy Spirit is asking us to. Our obedience to His leading is crucial in making our heart straight and open before Him. Remember, even if you fail, keep trying. Ask for His grace to be poured out upon you and rejoice that new mercies are new today, and every morning. 

The Sound - keep your spiritual ears open to hear what the Spirit is saying
Matthew 4:4 Amplified -
But He replied, It has been written, Man shall not live and be upheld and sustained by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.

Jesus said we “live on every SPEAKING Word from the Father.” He used the term “rhema.” It is important that we hear the sound, the spoken word, that is being released over us. As we “confess” the Rhema He speaks, we are “saying the same as.” I see this as entering in to the same sound. There is power released when we are in agreement with what the Spirit is saying.

The Spirit - cultivate, and keep cultivating communion with Holy Spirit. Fight for your time of intimacy with Him. As we partake daily of the written scriptures, prayer, communion, and even assembling with the body, we are ensuring that we are remaining vitally united with Holy Spirit. Paul writes in Romans 12:2, “surrender yourselves to God to be His sacred, living sacrifices.” (Passion Translation).Because of all that Jesus has done to redeem and restore us back to the Father, there can be no other response but to give all of our lives to Him in total surrender.
John 15:4 (Passion Translation)
So you must remain in life-union with me, for I remain in life-union with you. For as a branch severed from the vine will not bear fruit, so your life will be fruitless unless you live your life intimately joined to mine.

The Light - it is my whole-hearted belief that if we live in “life-union” with Jesus that He will completely, and perfectly, transform us. Transformation means Light! As Jesus was transfigured on the mountain He became a Light-being. So much so, that even His garments returned to their original matter…Light
Paul tells us in Romans 12:2, “but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think.” That word “transformed” is the same word as transfigured when referring to Jesus on the mount.

If we will fully live “in the way,” with our ears open to hearing “the sound” He is releasing, while remaining in surrender and union with Holy Spirit, we will be transformed into the image of Jesus and become the Light, or we can say, “the glory” of the Lord. What is glory? It is the manifestation of the presence of God!
So in the midst of confusion, chaos, war, terror, etc, what the world needs is Jesus. The reality of Him and His love and His power. And beloved, He is shown through us, His church, His body, His Bride.

 

Posted by Annette Donaldson with
in Faith

Hiding & Hiddenness

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HIDING & HIDDENNESS
Hiding yourself in the Lord and being hidden by the Lord are two vast extremes. Each has its warfare and overflow of emotions. But in both you are given the grace and favor of the Lord to abide.
 
In your pursuit to hide yourself you are filled with the war of emotions that are internal against yourself. Thoughts about your own unworthiness; the greatness of your own sin, etc. All of these thoughts want to stop us from abiding in His hiding place. We are given a grace to hunger after Him and pursue Him regardless of the thoughts that want to interfere and stop us.
 
When we find ourselves in the season of hiddenness that has been prescribed by the Lord, the warfare shifts. Now all the thoughts that war against us are coming from without. Thoughts like, “they don’t want me,” “they overlooked me,” ”how could they abandon me,” and more. When we are hidden by Him, it is just that. We are hidden. The Lord has purposed for you to not be seen…He wants you. We are then given a grace to shift our focus from what others are doing to just keep looking at Him. We have to learn to be satisfied with just Him.
 
Hiding yourself and being hidden are necessary seasons for every heart that longs for more of Him.
Posted by Annette Donaldson with

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