Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with me (Revelation 3:20). 

Earlier this month, my family took me to a special restaurant to celebrate my birthday.  There is nothing I enjoy more than an evening around the dinner table with family or friends.  I love the ambience of the place and the delight of great tasting food.  

However, nothing compares with just communing with those you love. There is a depth and richness of satisfaction in being together that little else can satisfy.  

And so it is with God.  Self sufficient as God is, He wants your love and will not be satisfied until He gets it.  The verse, “…I stand at the door and knock” is an invitation to open the door of your heart to the one Person who loves you most. 

He has let His heart be bound to you forever!  He, too, longs for the satisfaction of just spending time with you and assuring you of His love and goodness towards you. He wants to commune with you. 

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear (I John 4:18).

A right concept of God is basic to your life as a Christian and to your relationship with this one who seeks your love. 

Fear is a painful emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger, harm or hurt.

Fear comes when you feel you are subject to one who does not desire your well being.

But, when you come under the protection of good will……fear is cast out. 

God’s love for you is that kind of love and protection. 

• He loves you with an everlasting love 
• His thoughts towards you are of peace and not of evil 
• His desire is to give you a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11)
• His heart abounds in goodness towards you
• He desires your everlasting welfare.  

His love is perfect.  He is the one Person who loves you most!

We love Him because He first loved us.  I John 4:19

There is something written in the heart of man that yearns to be loved and to know that the deep things in our heart have been heard by the one we love.

Clearly, the whole gospel is built on relationships, first with God and then with others.

The Ten Commandments deals with relationships. The first four commandments speak to our relationship with God, the last six with one another. Marriage, parenting and friendships are all lived out in the context of relationship. The Body of Christ is relational in nature. We were made for love and relationship!

One of the most meaningful aspects of a relationship is the sharing of hearts and a key element in sharing hearts is the desire to be heard. There is something so satisfying about another person saying, “I have heard your heart and I understand.”

God hears the heart

In reading the Psalms we see that David often cried out to the Lord for understanding.  He was confident that God would hear and respond, bringing salvation, deliverance from his enemies, or restoration, as was his nature. 

David said in Psalm 17, “Hear a just cause, O Lord,

                                         Attend to my cry;

                                         Give ear to my prayer…

                                         …I have called upon You, for You will hear me, O God;

                                         Incline Your ear to me, and hear my speech.

To hear means:  to become aware of, to listen to and consider, to take notice of, to pay attention to.  David is asking God to “incline His ear” to him, to take notice of him and to pay attention to the cry of his heart.  Are you thinking, “Now that is bold!”? No, that is the nature of relationship!

It is in the hearing of one another that real relationship occurs and intimacy happens.  It begins with our knowing that God really hears us.  He wants to establish relationship with us.  He wants to have conversations with us.  He wants us to feel safe with Him.  He wants to establish intimacy with us.

David said, “I waited patiently for the Lord; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry (Psalm 40:1).

He expressed his love for the Lord “because He has heard my voice… because He has inclined His ear to me, therefore, I will call upon Him as long as I live.” (Psalm 116:1-2). When I think of David saying that God inclined His ear towards him, I can picture God bending down and leaning into the conversation in such a relational way. 

David encourages us to “Trust in Him at all times…  Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.” Pour means to give full expression to what is in your heart (Psalm 62:8).

Relationship is a two-way conversation

The Father speaks quite clearly and lovingly about our need to hear Him, as well.

“Blessed is the man who listens to Me, watching daily at My gates, waiting at the posts of My doors” (Proverbs 8:34).

“Whoever listens (hears and responds) to Me will dwell safely, and will be secure, without fear of evil” (Proverbs 1:33).

Negative voices are loud and persistent

We live in a world filled with negative voices – real or imagined. They are the voices that say, “You didn’t do it right, you are worthless, unlovable, no one really cares about you and what you have to say is not important.” The negative voices are so loud and persistent that they become easy to believe.

But our Father wants us to know how beloved we are, how important we are to Him:

He listens.

He hears!

He does not walk away before you are through speaking.

He doesn’t ignore you.

He isn’t preoccupied or disinterested.

He is not nervous or uncomfortable with your feelings and emotions.

He knows the sound of your voice.

His heart is moved by your words, and touched by your situation.

He is stirred, open and compassionate towards you.

Know, even as David knew, that when you speak, God is listening, hearing, inclining Himself towards you.

Let His voice silence all other voices.

In his 2008 conference message, Graham Cooke encouraged us with these words, “The Father has a dream…a dream, and a passion about people in the earth so radically affected by Him that they are totally vulnerable and susceptible to Heaven.

“He has a dream about a community of people in the earth that are just like Him: unchangeable, unshakeable, unstoppable. He has a dream that people are living in Ephesians 3:20:  Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us….”

Graham asked, “If God is doing abundantly beyond all we can think, what is beyond thinking?  Dreaming is beyond thinking!”
 
A Hunger for More
Do you ever allow yourself to take time out of your busy schedule to just sit and dream?  Do you dream about moving beyond the current confines of your life?
 
We all know how demanding life can be.  Sometimes, just trudging through the day-to-day can cause your strength to drain away. Days become weeks, and weeks months and before you know it another year has gone by and you feel captured by life’s demands.  But something in you says, God wants more for me than this.
 
God has put that yearning and a hunger in your heart for more, because He has more for you than you can ask or think!  I remember my father saying, “Appetite is a sign of health.”  For you to have an appetite and a hunger for more of what God intends is a wonderful sign of your spiritual health. 
 
There are greater revelations about God that He wants to give and often it will come through visions and dreams. Dreaming moves us into imagination. One of the many definitions of the word, dream, is “a strongly desired goal or purpose.” 
 
Naomi’s Dream
Naomi had a dream. She had a “strongly desired goal and purpose” for Ruth that would move her from widowhood and poverty to the place of provision and bridal love.  “My daughter, shall I not seek security for you that it may be well with you?” Naomi said to Ruth.

Ruth was instructed by Naomi to “…wash yourself and anoint yourself, put on your best garment and go down to the threshing floor,” (Ruth 3:3).  Ruth was being encouraged to wash away anything of the past that would affect where God wanted to take her. She was told to anoint herself, putting on a fresh attitude for her future.

Lastly, she was to have a garment change! “Put on your best garment,” were the instructions through Naomi. She was preparing outwardly for what was happening inwardly.

That is dreaming! 
 
Something New
Something new is forming in you. You are carrying something new in the Spirit. Just as the Holy Spirit brooded over creation, so He is brooding over the new creation in you. He is stirring up the depths within you. You are moving beyond where you have been to living according to the power that that works in you….more than you could ask or think.
 
It is time for you to wash away any restrictive thinking from your past, to anoint yourself and to put on a new garment. Change is in the atmosphere.
 
 
Dream Big
God is moving us from our current level of mediocrity up to our rightful level as the bride of His Son.  It is a place where the world will look at us with astonishment because that is the way they looked at Jesus.
 
This is a time to dream. Dream big. We will manifest a magnitude of the Kingdom, as yet unseen on earth. Let Him work exceedingly abundantly in you… more than you can ask or think!

The Lord is speaking. He is saying, “Get ready for increase!”

Blessing, increase, and prosperity are at the foundation of God’s heart for you as His child. The Apostle John prayed, “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things, and be in health, just as your soul prospers (3 John 3).

In his own words, John was repeating the blessing that God spoke from the very dawn of creation. It indicated His original intent towards mankind. It was to be a testimony of His kingdom coming to earth:

“Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth’” (Genesis 1:28).

Blessing means: increase, fruitfulness, multiplication, prosperity, and victory over your enemies.

The area of battle you are experiencing is pointing to the area of victory you will also experience! The battle that is raging over your finances, your health, your relationship, and your ministry is to be the very place where the enemy will stay on his belly eating dust, as God Himself prophesied over him in Genesis 3:14.

Our Portion from God: Favor, Increase, Prosperity

Joseph’s life is a powerful picture of the goodness and favor of God in the midst of very trying and sometimes confusing circumstances. He was taken to Egypt after being thrown into a pit and left to die by his jealous brothers. Taken from a father who loved and doted on him, Joseph was now serving  as a slave in the house of Potiphar, Pharaoh’s captain of the guard (Genesis 39:2). However, the word states that “the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man.”

His master saw that “the Lord was with him and made all he did to prosper in his hand.” So he made Joseph an overseer of his house and gave Joseph authority over all that he had. The Lord blessed the Egyptian leader’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had in the house and in the field.

Now, that’s favor!

However, the favor seemed threatened due to a lie spoken about Joseph by Potiphar’s wife which resulted in his prison sentence. Can you imagine Joseph’s confusion and discouragement as he is cast into prison? First, a pit, next, favor, and a place in the master’s house, and now branded a criminal!

Yet the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. Whatever Joseph did, the Lord made it prosper (Genesis 39:21, 23). Joseph went from being a successful slave to a prosperous prisoner.

Joseph Changed Garments

Joseph had now been in prison for two full years when God gave Pharaoh a dream regarding coming events that were about to unfold in the land of Egypt. He sent for Joseph to interpret the dream. They brought Joseph quickly out of the dungeon.

Joseph changed his clothing before appearing in front of Pharaoh. This man who had gone from wearing the prized coat of many colors to prison rags is now changing his garment once again, signifying a chance is coming in his life because of the favor of God.

Joseph’s interpretation of Pharaoh’s dream revealed that seven years of plenty and seven years of famine were coming. The famine would be so severe that the land would be depleted. Once again, Pharaoh realized he had no leader as discerning and wise as Joseph, and , in preparation for what was to come, Pharaoh set Joseph over all the land of Egypt (Genesis 41:41).

Pharaoh took his signet ring and put it on Joseph’s hand, and he clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck.

Joseph went from rags to riches in one day!

Each change of garment signified the ongoing work of God in his life, and the testimony of God’s favor in the midst of some very distressing situations.

The Favor of God is on You

Though you may not understand your current situation, the testimony of Joseph’s life is reason enough for you to take another step in believing the goodness of God. Shake off discouragement and disillusionment. Just as God made Joseph a successful and prosperous man, so He wants to show those around you His hand of favor on your life.

Psalm 1:3 speaks of the blessings of the righteous: “He shall be like a tree, planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither;  and whatever he does shall prosper.”

God meant it all for good in Joseph’s life. He is bringing good out of everything that has touched your life.

Get ready for a change of garment.

Get ready for favor and blessing.

Get ready for increase.

I believe that one of the most courageous things we can do in this new season is to say NO to the things of the last season.  

On several occasions I have been invited to be a part of something that, frankly speaking, feels old, feels like part of a past season. To say yes would be denying the strong sense in my spirit that it smacks of the old. 

If we – Aglow — have said yes to God for the new, then grace for the old has been lifted. The past season has the feeling of being lifeless and stale. We do not feel that resounding sense of it being filled with life like it used to be, which is why it feels more like death to us.  

Is it Me?

Our first reaction is…”is it me?” It can feel like, “you are the one not with it” anymore, that you are stale or worse yet, you have lost something of your anointing, when, in reality, it is God moving us away from what has been into what will be.  

The “will be” is not fully formed yet and that brings its own sense of frustration. Yet, we can feel that we are pregnant with something.  

The Big Risk

The big risk, the big step of faith, the big question is…will I wait for the new to be formed and not be turned aside to anything else that could be a distraction or a “time filler?” 

At the end of our 2003 worldwide conference, Aglow had a breakthrough into a new place.  If you were in attendance you will remember women spontaneously running forward to form battalion-like groups, and marching back and forth.  In those moments we realized that God was speaking clearly that He had brought Aglow forth to be a mighty, victorious army in the earth. The air was electric with excitement and expectancy.  

Words Pointing to New Direction

In 2004, Aglow began receiving a cluster of words that all pointed in a similar direction. Here is one of them from Barbara Yoder given at our U.S. National Conference in Phoenix, Arizona: 

“The Lord would declare, ‘I will deliver the prey into your mouth. But, the Lord would say to you….that for the prey to be delivered into your mouth…It will take a new sound. For I want to transition your sound into a new sound. For when the prey is about to be delivered into the lion’s mouth, the lion begins to roar. 

“’I want to transition Aglow into an army of virtuous women as warriors, for they are coming as an army into the nations.  No longer are you coming according to your individual needs, but you are coming under the Commander-In-Chief of the armed forces of heaven.  Let me transition your sound. For I will deliver the prey into your mouth.  For when the prey gets ready to go into the lion’s mouth, the lion roars with victory.’” 

22 is Your Number!

At the same conference another strong word from the Lord came through Pastor Dutch Sheets:  

“I release the Isaiah 22:22 anointing of government to these people. I release the revelation of level 12 [governmental].  God is going to clear out all of the cobwebs and all the wrong thinking.  He is going to show you how to go into that level of kingdom authority. You will take the key and open doors that cannot be shut and shut doors that cannot be opened.  I release it on you. Twenty-two is your number!”  

Our Intentional God

We know that God is very intentional.  He does not speak empty words into the atmosphere.  Every word He speaks He intends to fulfill. 

God has spoken over Aglow that the sound we are carrying is eternal, and it is for kingdom purposes. It is a sound for now. 

Stand strong and move into the new.  Let God form a new thing in you.  Indeed, He has been forming a company of Marys over these many years for His end time plan.

Be faithful to carry what He has given us all the way to our destiny.

Hamas, the group that the U.S. government labels a terrorist organization controls the Gaza Strip and is dedicated in their binding charter of 1988 to Israel’s eradication.* The flotilla’s leaders ignored repeated warnings from the Israel navy to turn back or to put into the Israeli port of Ashdod (the city that  borders Gaza) where the supplies could be off-loaded, inspected, and, if purely humanitarian, sent on to the Gaza Strip as has been done regularly with humanitarian aid.
 
The people of Gaza have regular access to food, medicine and other relief supplies provided by both Israel and Egypt.  Both countries have sought to limit the importation of military equipment that can be employed for military purposes by Hamas.

Let me express again Aglow’s compassion for the people in Gaza, and refugees elsewhere in the Middle East who have, through no fault of their own, been pawns in a game with global implications in the spiritual realm.
 
Please read the recent report (below) from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) for further information, and continue to pray for Israel’s security, and for the media to accurately and fairly report the facts of this event.

We will be reporting on our strategic prayer journey to Israel very soon!

* From Article 7 of the 1988 Binding Charter of the current government of the Palestinian Authority Islamic Resistance Movement – HAMAS:  “The Day of Judgment will not come about until Muslims fight the Jews (killing the Jews) when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say: ‘O Muslims  there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.’”

(AIPAC REPORT)

June 2, 2010

AIPAC Resources on the Gaza Flotilla Incident

Dear Friends:

In addition to the AIPAC memo Flotilla Sought Provocation, Not to Provide Assistance that you received yesterday evening, we want to provide you with additional resources as you continue to educate yourself and others about the Gaza flotilla incident and its aftermath.  Numerous members of Congress have already issued statements standing by Israel and supporting its right to self-defense, and we hope others will do the same.

As the world condemns Israel for its defensive steps — taken after Israel tried to avoid confrontation while still allowing the aid supplies to come in — we cannot forget the radical origins of many of the ship’s passengers and organizers.  Ultimately, the flotilla had extremist aims which center on supporting Hamas, designated a terrorist organization by the United States and others, sworn to destroying Israel, and a vocal opponent of the Palestinian Authority and the peace process.  We encourage you to take advantage of the following documents as you speak with your audiences.  You may post or share these documents freely. 

“Who was Behind the Gaza Flotilla?” — This backgrounder describes the role the Turkish Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH)—a group backed by the Turkish government—played in organizing the flotilla and details its relationships with Hamas and other terrorist organizations. IHH is a member of the “Union of Good,” which Israel outlawed in February 2002 and the United States designated as a global terrorist entity in November 2008.  The Treasury Department said the Union of Good was created by the Hamas leadership “in order to facilitate the transfer of funds to Hamas.”
 
“Timeline: The Gaza Flotilla” — This timeline details the series of events leading up to Israel’s interception of the flotilla. Video links demonstrate the true motivations of the flotilla participants and the extent to which Israel went to prevent such an incident from happening.
 
Background on Hamas – Read AIPAC backgrounders on the U.S.-designated terrorist group. Since Israel unilaterally withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005, the Iranian-backed Hamas—whose charter says that Israel will exist “until Islam eliminates it”—has turned the coastal area into a base for attacking the Jewish state. In the past five years, Hamas has fired more than 7,000 rockets and mortars at Israeli civilians. In 2006 Hamas kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, and still holds him captive to this day.

Stay on top of the latest news and analysis by visiting AIPAC’s web site, Twitter feed and Facebook page.

On May 23, Aglow International takes some 170 travelers from several nations to Israel for our 9th journey into the land since our first trip in 2000. 
 

God chose the people. 
God chose the city. 
God chose it as a reference point of His ultimate authority. 
That is the issue!

Called for Such a Time as This
Down through the years, Aglow has received prophetic words that this ministry was called “for such a time as this.”  As early as 1992, a word came likening Aglow to Esther, an ordinary Jewish girl who risked all to stand in the gap for her people. 

The plot to annihilate the Jewish people had come through Haman, an officer of the king’s court, and would have succeeded in destroying the Hebrew race had Esther not been obedient to the call of God to risk her life and go before the king.  Her people were ultimately redeemed from destruction and the enemy’s plan failed once again. 
 
I believe God is again calling many to “stand in the gap” on behalf of His people –  the Jews — at this critical time in history  when the voice of the enemy is being expressed in threatening ways.
 
Ancient Promises Called Forth
As believers, it is important that we understand and call forth the ancient prophecies related to God’s eternal purpose for the Jewish people. It is important that we keep our heart centered on the biblical perspective of Israel’s role.
 
God has said, “I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.” 
 
Isaiah 60 says, “…the sons [and daughters] of foreigners shall build up your walls…”  As we go to Israel with our love, with our support, with our gifts, with our strength, and with our willingness to stand with them, we are helping to build up the walls that surround Jerusalem.

The scripture goes on to say, “Therefore your gates shall be open continually;  they shall not be shut day or night, that men may bring to you the wealth of the Gentiles.” 

Verse 15 begins, “Whereas you have been forsaken and hated….I will make you an eternal excellence, a joy of many generations….You shall know that I, the Lord, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.”

“Violence shall no longer be heard in your land, neither wasting nor destruction within your borders; but you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise.”

“And the days of your mourning shall be ended.” 
 
We Must Never Again Remain Silent
We can never again casually listen to the news or read a news report concerning Israel and the ever rising tide of threats against the Jewish people.  We must not allow our Christian brothers and sisters to be persuaded by the terrorist propaganda that paints Israel as the aggressor. 
 
Look in Psalm 83. The Bible says, “Do not keep silent, Oh God!….For behold, your enemies make a tumult; and those who hate You have lifted up their head.  They have taken crafty counsel against Your people, and they have consulted together against Your sheltered ones.  They have said, ‘Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be remembered no more.’” 
 
In a speech given in 2002 at Yad Vashem, Nobel Peace Prize winner and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel said, “I cannot begin to tell you, how disturbed I am, how worried I am, how dismayed, that the world does not seem to realize the danger that is before us, the danger of suicide bombings.

 “These are people who have made death into a passion, death into a theology.  The world doesn’t realize that we have learned in history that whatever happens to us, the Jews, is usually a beginning.”

Today Israel and the Jewish people need our voice, our prayers as never before.
 
Israel, Focal Point of all the Earth
It is no mistake that God chose to place Israel in the most strategic geographical location on the face of the earth.  It stands at the crossroads of Africa, Asia and Europe; it is where the world’s attention is drawn repeatedly…to this tiny strip of land. And God chose it to be so!
 
Israel is in the midst of 22 Arab nations, sandwiched between an Arab population 55 times greater than the Jewish state, surrounded by Arab territories 800 times the geographic size of its land.

Many stand ready to carve up this small country again and again, to give it away to Israel’s enemies…one piece at a time.

Ezekiel 5:5 says, “This is Jerusalem.  I have set her in the midst of the nations and the countries all around her.” 
 
A Governmental Issue
This constitutes a test for all mankind:  The spiritual issue is a governmental one, an issue of God’s ultimate authority! God chose Israel as a reference point of His authority.

Psa 132:13  “For the Lord has chosen Zion;  He has desired it for His habitation: ‘This is My resting place forever; Here I will dwell for I have desired it.’”

Psalm 2:6  “Yet I have set My King on My holy hill of Zion.”

Zechariah 12:9  “It shall be in that day that I will destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.”

God chose the people. 
God chose the city. 
God chose it as a reference point of His ultimate authority. 
That is the issue!

To Hate the Jews is to Hate the God of the Jews
The Jewish people have given us the very foundations of our faith as Christians.
 
Think of the simple, yet astounding statement in John 4:22,  “…salvation is of the Jews!”  They were the first to hear the gospel and see the manifestation of the kingdom in their midst. They were the first preachers, teachers, and miracle workers.
 
Jews were the first to be persecuted for their faith in Jesus.  They were the first to show us the way of the Spirit and remove the “law” from us, showing us the way of Grace.  It was the Jews who were the first to be baptized with the Holy Spirit and the first to speak in tongues. Jews saw Jesus ascend into heaven and they were the first to be told that He would return again!

A Fact that Cannot be Challenged
“And who is like Your people Israel, the one nation on the earth whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people – to make for Yourself a name by great and awesome deeds, by driving out nations from before Your people whom You redeemed from Egypt?  For You have made Your people Israel Your very own people forever; and You, Lord, have become their God”  (I Chronicles 17:21).
 
Aglow – Called for Such a Time as This
As we go to Israel, knowing God has sent us in the spirit of Esther to stand against the spirit of Haman, we are in agreement with what He has said about His own people, the Jews.  They are His very own people forever.

Psalm 27:13 – “I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.”

This psalm makes a strong parallel between His goodness and the beliefs you hold in your heart.

Heart Health

Physically, we know the heart is one of the most vital organs in the human body.  If it ceases to function properly, the body will begin to shut down and a healthy life cannot be sustained. 

But the heart is also the place of our inmost thoughts and feelings and is of utmost importance to God.  Proverbs 4:23 states that “out of the heart flow the issues of life.”  It is what our hearts are convinced of that directs and guides our lives.

Don’t Lose Heart

The heart is the connecting place with God.  The greatest gift you can give God is an open, fully engaged heart. 

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind.”  Mt. 22:37-38

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.”  Proverbs 3:5

If we struggle with a divided or uncertain heart, that indecision will begin to shut down the fullness of spiritual life that God has purposed for us. Psalm 112: 6-7 indicates that a person whose heart is steadfast, fixed, and established in the Lord is a heart that will NEVER be shaken.

What your heart believes about God’s goodness is crucial.

Stay Grounded in His Goodness

Think about God’s answer to Moses when he asked God to reveal Himself to him. (Exodus 33):

Moses is not asking for God’s direction as much as he’s yearning for a greater revelation of who God is.  “I want to know YOU by name,” he says. 

The Lord responds by saying, “I will do this thing, for you have found grace in My sight.  I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you.”  Moses is instructed to meet Him on Mount Sinai, and the Lord descended in the cloud, passed before Moses and proclaimed the name of the Lord.  “The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, …”

God was saying to Moses, even as He is saying to you, This is My name.  This is what I am really like.  Goodness is who I really am. 

Unless our heart is fixed on the goodness of God we can be moved from that place of safety and lose heart, bringing defeat.  To be fixed means to be securely placed or fastened.  It means that we are established and therefore immoveable.

“Surely, goodness, mercy and unfailing love shall follow me all the days of my life.”  Psalm 23:6

“Oh taste and see that the Lord is good.”  Psalm 34:8

Let your heart be made whole and fully alive by experiencing the healing touch of His goodness!

Yesterday, as fellow staff member Kay Rogers and I were having lunch together, our conversation turned to the many tragic events taking place around the world in a short span of time. One of her adult children had even asked, “Is this the apocalypse?” 

Isn’t it interesting that the minds of believers and unbelievers alike turn immediately to what God has stated in His Word, realizing that it may be coming to pass? Everything that can be shaken is being shaken. 

And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.  See that you are not troubled;
For all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.
All these are the beginning of sorrows.  — Matthew 24:6-7

The most recent event, the towering burst of ash from a remote Icelandic volcano, has Europe at a standstill. In a few short hours, millions of human beings on 6 continents — from tourists and business travelers to politicians and royals – were suddenly sharing one basic experience: helplessness.

Just since the first of 2010, we have seen earthquakes in Haiti, Chile, Indonesia and most recently, Northwest China’s Qinghai province with each of these quakes registering more than 6.9 on the Richter scale.

 Everything that can be shaken is being shaken.

The devastation and death is unbelievable. Those who have gone to lend a hand in these nations come away saying, there is simply no way to describe what they have witnessed.

When I see mothers in Haiti gathering their families around them and trying to rebuild their lives in the midst of the rubble, when I see parents holding a child whose limb must be amputated, when I know that people are scrambling for the basic needs of water and food, my heart breaks.  How does one go on?

An Angry God?

Some would say that He is an angry God who wants to punish, therefore allows such devastation to occur.

I would say that the goodness and mercy of God is the very essence of His nature. Just as we see the nature of a Haitian mother  instinctively gather her family to her breast, so the nature of God is one of gathering, comforting, consoling and turning us from harmful ways.

My eyes have run down with tears as I watched the Haitian Christians lift their hands and voices in worship to God in the midst of turmoil.  They know the unshakeable kingdom within them. They know the God who cares for them and gives them a peace that passes all understanding.  They live from a different place, a different perspective.  It is a Kingdom perspective.

Aglow Brings His Comfort, Peace

We currently have a team of Kingdom-perspective, Aglow women on the ground in Haiti this week, bringing aid, comfort and encouragement.

Following the earthquake and tsunami in Chile, our leaders spoke of the needs at ground zero from that peaceful inner place resident in those who know the unshakeable kingdom that God has given.

Not Angry, But Full of Mercy 

Because God so loved the world, He had His only Son give His life for every human being that we might be saved and live eternally in peace with Him.  This same loving, merciful God is desperately wanting to turn all of mankind to Himself in these days to prepare us for that eternal place of peace with Him.

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom, which cannot be shaken
let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and
godly fear.   – Hebrews 12:28 

It is a time when everything that can be shaken is being shaken.  However, we have received an unshakeable kingdom in and through Him!

Yesterday, I called a friend and strong Aglow supporter who has been a rugby player for many years.   In the course of our conversation he used a rugby term:

“It is time for us all to ‘pack in.’”

Let me hasten to say, I was not familiar with the term or with any part of the game of rugby, so he went on to explain:

In rugby, “Pack in,” means to form a “scrum,” or tight group of players, like a face-off in hockey.  When one team wants to gain the offensive advantage, each player forms a solid wall with his teammates by grabbing the shoulder of the man next to him on the left and right.

As they grab shoulders they pull their teammates on either side closer to each other and crouch lower and lower. The “drop and push” effort pushes the enemy off the ball so the defensive line can gain the offensive advantage and move to victory.

It made me think that in this season of Easter, we are able to celebrate the ultimate victory of Resurrection, without any of our own efforts.

The resurrection had been opposed by all that stood arrayed against the purpose of God. Jesus alone faced the opposition. His team had left the field. Instead of locking arms left and right with teammates, He hung on the cross between two common thieves.

There – alone — He faced all rule, principalities and powers and might and dominion…..and EVERY NAME THAT IS NAMED, NOT ONLY IN THIS AGE BUT ALSO IN THAT WHICH IS TO COME!  (Ephesians 1:20-21).

He alone gained victory. He alone bought us assurance that we’re forever on His team! We are to abide in the place of His power where victory is assured. If we keep in the right place with God, He can do anything with us.  Only one thing is going to accomplish the purpose of God – that is, to be filled with the Spirit and then yield and submit to His Spirit until we are saturated with God.

As my rugby playing friend said, “It is time to unify as a team, to grab shoulders and ‘pack in,’” time to drop and push, and together gain the next offensive over the enemy.

Jesus paid for it all! He will reveal the glorious victory of the resurrection through you!

Grab the shoulders of those standing beside you and pull in. We are on the winning side.