I've been in the habit of asking the Lord for a word for someone when I'm out and about in public.  I'm just trying to tune my ear to the voice of God and be willing to deliver His heart for the people He may put across my path.

I had written out a prophetic word on a 3X5 card some weeks ago and when I got ready for the Jesus Walk, the Lord prompted me to bring the card with me and to be on the look out for "Waldo."

On the front of my card were the words: "Where's Waldo?" So I knew I'd be looking for a tall, slender man with glasses wearing a black and white striped shirt.  I encountered him on Ojai Ave in front of the coffee house.

I introduced myself and said the Lord had highlighted him to me and wanted me to share a word from his heart. I read him the back of the card which went something like,

"You've been hiding in the background, unseen and obscure. But the Lord is calling you out. People have been waiting,  looking and searching for you to take your stand. When you do, you will have an immediate platform because people have anticipated your coming. God has given you everything you need for this calling. Only, be true to yourself; don't try to be anyone else. God will equip you for the task at hand. He calls you a 'Reformer being birthed'."

Mark didn't respond particularly enthusiastically, but I knew I had been obedient to God's prompting.

When we turned around on Ojai Ave, Mark was still standing there, so I asked him if anything I shared resonated with him.  He then informed me he has stage 4 cancer and was basically getting things in order to say goodbye to his family. I prayed for his healing in Jesus name and then encouraged him with another word I had written on his card. Under "Where's Waldo" I had written "jailbird."  I told him I felt the Lord wanted to set him free from his sentence of death and that God wanted to heal him because he still had a destiny to fulfill.

And then we moved on. I'm believing Mark felt the love of God and that seeds were planted with the hope he comes to the saving knowledge of God..

Caught Red Handed

In the eighth chapter of John’s gospel, the apostle whom Jesus loved, he records a brief but especially important interaction Jesus had with a woman caught in adultery which the religious leaders of that time brought to Him while He was teaching to the people. Let us read through the story and explore the different perspectives of all involved.

John 8:1-11 - An Adulteress Forgiven
Jesus walked up the Mount of Olives near the city where he spent the night. Then at dawn Jesus appeared in the temple courts again, and soon all the people gathered around to listen to his words, so he sat down and taught them. Then in the middle of his teaching, the religious scholars and the Pharisees broke through the crowd and brought a woman who had been caught in the act of committing adultery and made her stand in the middle of everyone.

A source of great fear for us is being found out. It is why dirty deeds are done when we think no one is watching. Imagine feeling like you are getting away with something you know you should not be doing, only to get caught in the act. I am sure we have all been there at some point in our lives! The shame we immediately feel is terrible and the fear which consumes us is very real. Those feelings alone are punishment enough for most people, now imagine you are then publicly brought forward in front of everyone you know and care about. Family, friends, coworkers, your pastor, etc. It is almost enough to wish you were dead, right?

This woman must have never been more afraid in her life! In fact, she feared for her very life. She had been caught and her life as she knew it was as good as over. The ridicule and pointing of fingers she probably experienced on her way to meeting Jesus served as salt to her already broken heart. Perhaps she fought at first, but at some point, our wills accept our fate and what remains of our perspectives is all just a blur. Our steps leading to the end of ourselves are filled with lead and what is left of our hearts are overcome with dread.

Then they said to Jesus, “Teacher, we caught this woman in the very act of adultery. Doesn’t Moses’ law command us to stone to death a woman like this? Tell us, what do you say we should do with her?” They were only testing Jesus because they hoped to trap him with his own words and accuse him of breaking the laws of Moses.

But Jesus did not answer them. Instead he simply bent down and wrote in the dust with his finger. Angry, they kept insisting that he answer their question, so Jesus stood up and looked at them and said, “Let’s have the man who has never had a sinful desire throw the first stone at her.” And then he bent over again and wrote some more words in the dust.

A couple things to note here are the hidden agenda of the religious leaders and the contrasted wisdom of Jesus. These men did not actually care about this woman nor what she had done. They only saw her as a means to an end, tripping Jesus up and proving a point. Here this woman is terrified believing her life is about to end and it really is not even about her sin so much. Thankfully for her, Jesus still sees her and sees through the charade. He understands there are ulterior motives at play and chooses to remain silent.

Silence is a great skill to learn, as speaking from reaction most often gets us in more trouble. As we see, people do not like when their questions are left unanswered and they become quite flustered. Attitudes quickly shifted from being smug thinking they had it all figured out, to hot tempers demanding an answer. When Jesus did give them their answer, they quickly learned they too were caught red handed, and the mood appropriately shifted to a somber humility.
Upon hearing that, her accusers slowly left the crowd one at a time, beginning with the oldest to the youngest, with a convicted conscience. Until finally, Jesus was left alone with the woman still standing there in front of him. So, he stood back up and said to her, “Dear woman, where are your accusers? Is there no one here to condemn you?”

Looking around, she replied, “I see no one, Lord.”
Jesus said, “Then I certainly don’t condemn you either. Go, and from now on, be free from a life of sin.”

Oh, the relief this woman must have felt to have been condemned to death, only to end up with her life spared!

Fear is a powerful motivator, but much more powerful is unmerited favor. Fear drives us to behave because we must or else there is punishment. Grace completely changes the stance of our hearts. It becomes a joy to do what is right because though we were guilty, we were spared. Just as the woman at the well went and told anyone who would listen about Jesus after her encounter with Him, this woman must have been driven to do the same. When we truly encounter grace and the real unconditional love God has for us, our natural inclination is to go tell others of the incredible gift we have found in Him.

It is easy to forget, Jesus and this woman already had a crowd of witnesses; all the people who had gathered to learn from Jesus that day. What a powerful lesson they must have learned! Here they were thinking they were about to witness, and possibly participate in, what they believed to be a just death of this woman. Instead, they all got a deep heart check, for none of those people there were without their own sins. None of them had the right to condemn her. The only one who did have that right chose to forgive her instead, just as He has chosen to forgive us all.

This should make us think twice about writing others off so quickly. We never know what Jesus has in store for them! In fact, He will most likely use their open brokenness to display His glory more brightly. There is little more beautiful to behold than when God restores a broken person! May we always strive to bring about restoration and be willing participants in the Love that changes lives.

Fear and Love

In my second life I am a filmmaker. For the past 30 years, I have either been studying films, planning films, producing films, or stuck in my editing bay for hours and days editing them. In the midst of all that, I made a movie once that I am justifiably proud of, titled Fear, Love, and Agoraphobia. Do any of those concepts strike a chord? I think the elements of this title truly fit our current situation.

We are experiencing fear: fear of sickness, fear of a collapsing economy, and now fear of isolation. In my movie, the main character was agoraphobic which means he was deathly terrified of going outside. As a result, he was trapped in his mom’s house and it became his whole world. Honestly, I felt like that yesterday. I felt my whole world becoming so small, bounded by the walls of my house and my back yard. I felt that if I went outside, the bigger world would harm me. I could truly relate to the character we wrote for our movie. Fear likes to overtake us; it likes to control us and wants to be in charge of our lives. The enemy uses fear. He uses it to shut us down, to make us paralyzed, to deceive us. He wants to separate us from GOD’s LOVE.

Don’t get me wrong, it is not wrong to feel fear. Sometimes fear protects us; however, if it takes over our lives we stop trusting God. God’s love is the thing that keeps me going. I learned through this isolation (I am naturally an extrovert) how much I cherish what he gives me inside and outside my home. I look at my wife and my kids and I am thankful that he lets me have this special time with them. I look at a picture of my friends and me and it makes me miss hanging out with them (I work with them and usually see them every day). But I am thankful that I have these brothers and I am thankful that God has surrounded me with them. I realized how special all this is.

These are challenging times and we don’t really know where we will end up, but one element of being a Christian is the excitement of seeing God working and providing. Throughout time He has always taken care of His people and come through. Am I scared? YES, but I also know He loves us and this love is bigger that my anxiety. I cannot control others or much of our circumstances, but I can control how I react to it. I have to repeatedly remind myself that God is in control and it is my job to react accordingly to Him so His plan will be fulfilled. God says in the Bible 365 times, “DO NOT FEAR!” That is literally like one time for every day of the year. It is obviously really important to Him to tell us that He will be with us and that we should trust Him over all other things, including our circumstances. Especially our circumstances. This alone helps me to conquer my fear and face whatever is coming.

I have no idea how long this situation will last. I have no idea how our world will look after this, and I will continue to struggle with the agoraphobic instincts that come with uncertainty. But I know that God will always be the same: His love will never change, regardless of the situation we are in. With him Fear turns to Love, and His love is everlasting. It is the one thing you CAN count on.

The Long Way Home (Josiah Lair)

When I think about redemption, I personally relate to the parable of the Prodigal Son the most, so I thought it would be beneficial to take a fresh look at that story.

We will be taking an inside look into what the son may have been thinking during his travel back home, as well as how he may have felt upon his return.

For those unaware of the story it is found here in the Bible: Luke 15:11-32. It is a longer passage, so I will paraphrase a bit and quote specific parts of it as needed.

The story begins with a son coming to his father asking for his inheritance in advance (before his father was dead) in order to leave home and live a life he decided would be better to live. The father grants his son’s request and lets him go, even though it was difficult.

The son then leaves with his inheritance, goes far away from home (it is easier to misbehave away from your loved ones after all!), and then proceeds to squander his newly acquired wealth until he is left with nothing. He becomes homeless, works as a slave, and eats the leftovers of the pigs he is left to care for in order to survive.

It is during this rock bottom moment the son has the epiphany it would be better to try going back home as a servant to his father, instead of staying where he was any longer. At least there he would be home around those he was familiar with and no longer in a foreign land where he knew no one anymore (when the wealth and fun go away, so do the friends found with those things).

‘17 “Humiliated, the son finally realized what he was doing and he thought, ‘There are many workers at my father’s house who have all the food they want with plenty to spare. They lack nothing. Why am I here dying of hunger, feeding these pigs and eating their slop? 18 I want to go back home to my father’s house, and I’ll say to him, “Father, I was wrong. I have sinned against you. 19 I’ll never be worthy to be called your son. Please, Father, just treat me like one of your employees.”’

20 “So the young son set off for home.’

The verse then immediately jumps to the father seeing the son from a distance and running to meet him. I would like to pause before that moment and explore the in between if you will. I feel like we have all been at this in between before. Perhaps you are currently there.

The road to redemption is hardly ever easy, at least it feels that way while we are walking there. If you are like me, your footsteps will be heavy with guilt and shame causing the journey to be much harder than it is. We have been humbled and brought low after all. We have been a witness to the depths of our own depravity and lack the capability to see ourselves in the light of love anymore. Like the son, we may see some sense in a better life ahead, but we could never fathom returning to our former glory. How could it ever be so?

Instead, we come up with a story to tell those at home in order to soften the blow of our return. We recite it over and over until we have it exactly right because in our broken and fragile state, we could never feel worthy to be home again. We keep our head bowed low in disgrace because we have no other choice.

No matter the actual distance from where we left to arriving home again, it always feels to take much longer due to all the unnecessary weight we put on ourselves.

'From a long distance away, his father saw him coming, dressed as a beggar, and great compassion swelled up in his heart for his son who was returning home. So the father raced out to meet him. He swept him up in his arms, hugged him dearly, and kissed him over and over with tender love.

21 “Then the son said, ‘Father, I was wrong. I have sinned against you. I could never deserve to be called your son. Just let me be—’

“The father interrupted and said, ‘Son, you’re home now!’

22 “Turning to his servants, the father said, ‘Quick, bring me the best robe, my very own robe, and I will place it on his shoulders. Bring the ring, the seal of sonship, and I will put it on his finger. And bring out the best shoes you can find for my son. 23 Let’s prepare a great feast and celebrate. 24 For this beloved son of mine was once dead, but now he’s alive again. Once he was lost, but now he is found!’ And everyone celebrated with overflowing joy.

This is such a beautiful picture, especially to the brokenhearted. Even before the long journey is over, the father runs to meet the son and greets him with an overwhelming love. Imagine how much a shock that must have been! Like suddenly being swallowed up in arctic waters. We try our best to catch our breath when we realize what has happened. We stumbled over our carefully crafted words just to be wonderfully interrupted by the reality that we are once again home.

Then in disbelief we stand by as our Father gathers everyone around to celebrate our return. Instead of coming back with the slim hope of possibly being tolerated back home, we are lavished with gifts, restored to our former glory, and surrounded by joy. What we could never have imagined, is happening before our very eyes.

It is extremely difficult to accept this as reality. It takes time for it all to sink into our psyche. We will protest. We may even try to reject it all and accept only what we feel we deserve. Our Father will have nothing to do with that though and insists on loving us anyway! He is just so happy we came back home. Nothing else really matters to Him.

The story goes on to talk of the other son who stayed home with the father. This son refuses to come celebrate his brother’s return and is indignant about the entire thing. Like the prodigal, this son also holds the belief his brother is not worthy of anything his father has to offer. He goes so far as reminding his father of all the brother had done against him. He tries to help his father see reason and understand just how ridiculous the situation seems. Grace is illogical after all, and I hope we do not miss out on its magnitude as this older son did!

I love the father’s response, and we should do our best to wrap our minds around what he had to say.

31 “The father said, ‘My son, you are always with me by my side. Everything I have is yours to enjoy. 32 It’s only right to celebrate like this and be overjoyed, because this brother of yours was once dead and gone, but now he is alive and back with us again. He was lost but now he is found!’”

How sweet it truly is to have once been dead and gone, only to be brought back to life and set free! How much sweeter that our return is also greatly celebrated!

CANVAS OF GLORY
By Joel Clark

We’ve found ourselves in the middle of the storm as the whole of humanity is being squeezed in unprecedented times. Without a doubt, I have never encountered such a peculiar situation. Yet many of us are finding that the circumstances provide an open window of blessings into the realm of creativity. We see the good, the bad, and the ugly of the human condition as we are challenged to do life in a different way. We are delicate people living in a delicate microcosm. As we journey and strain to master the practicalities of this season, God has put it on many hearts to journey the deep questions of our souls. We question the sovereignty of God in the midst of panic and we should accept this challenge as an opportunity to dive deeply into the truth that our Father has for us. Be encouraged by this truth:

“Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.”
-Ephesians 1:4

         I believe that predestination and free will go hand in hand. God sees the story he is writing through the scope of eternity from beginning to end. We know that no man can manipulate the will of God, but at the same time we know that our prayers do have an effect in eternity. How is it that the two go hand in hand? I’ve always preached that God is the author of our lives as long as we give him our hearts, and I am convinced that God is working all things according to his will. He writes his own story through our lives when we choose to open our entire hearts to who he is in full surrender. Therefore, what the Lord has predestined for us goes hand in hand with the decisions that you and I make, most importantly the decision to accept Christ. This is the beauty of a relationship with Jesus: we walk with him and our journeys collide as he makes us his own masterpiece, the crown of all creation. He is the brilliant writer of the story; you are the vivid and vibrant illustration. He is the passionate composer; you are the instrument that lifts a sweet melody of praise throughout the Universe.
         God has called you, yes you and all that you are; your heart, your style, your personality, your passions, your thoughts and imagination, your fire and your desire; according to his purpose. God Almighty himself dwells in all that you are, and all of the wonders that he will do in the future through all of eternity, he will do with you, in you, and through you. You are the canvas of glory, and every stroke of the brush of God is laid upon his sons and daughters. God is the artist and the author and we were created to be enriched by his power. He is the one who brings dead things to life. He is the one who causes light to shine in the darkness, and in Christ you are children of the light. Jesus prayed that he would be with us wherever we go, and also that we would be with him wherever he goes. This is our destiny: to walk in step with the Creator of the Universe, the Maker of a billion billion stars. He resides in us, and we in him, creating a partnership that overcomes the gates of Hell and causes the glory of Heaven to flood the Earth.
         So choose to see life differently. If you are in Christ, you were chosen to be without fault in the eyes of God. Know that in your walk, you carry a hope that saves souls and restores purpose and life to humanity. I know that it often feels like what you have to offer this world is overlooked, but take heart and trust that your inner-most being is fully known and cherished by your Father in Heaven. God never wastes a single moment, he never overlooks a single thought. He sees you. Remember that many don’t even acknowledge that God is real, yet we believers are sure of his existence and his love. We know that he reigns supreme over all creation and he treasures his children so much that he chooses to write his story in the details of our lives.

Your storms and your triumphs are the canvas for God’s grace and redemption.
Your character and your personality were destined to saturate the ideas of God with beauty and diversity.

“For we are God’s masterpiece.
He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, 
so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”
-Ephesians 2:10

“The nations are in chaos,
and their kingdoms crumble!
God’s voice thunders,
and the Earth melts!
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is here
among us;
the God of Israel is our fortress.”
            It is clear that in a time of confusion and chaos such as this, the heart of man can interpret clearly that our life is but a mist in the midst of a doomed world. A simple word uttered from the mouth of God causes global turmoil. Although we may not know why God allows panic and disease to spread throughout his own creation, we know that he does allow it. Moreover, if we take his Word seriously, we know that the darkness and despair will intensify. And even as things grow exponentially worse, we will see humanity refuse to open its heart to the truth.
“But the people who did not die in these plagues still refused to repent of their evil deeds and turn to God. They continued to worship demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood - idols that can neither hear, nor see, nor walk.” -Revelation 9:20
The true tragedy in the end times is not the lives lost or the panic. The true tragedy is the lack of courage and the lack of faith. We know that the light shines in the darkness, and even now the true light is shining through the hearts of believers instilling hope in those who are paralyzed with fear. However, most will still worship false hopes, and this is what crushes the heart of our God. But even as kingdoms crumble and the Earth melts, the Lord of Heaven’s armies is among us. Our God remains our banner and our fortress; our salvation becomes apparent as the cross, the crux of all eternity, still remains with the sins of all believers left for dead in its wake. Jesus promised that in the world we will go through many trials and sorrows, but he tells us to take heart because he has overcome the world.
The lives of believers do not reside in this world; the Word teaches that our lives are hidden with Christ in God. Though we all will pass away one day and though many of us are prone to disease, pain, and affliction, we know that our souls are protected by the perfect blood of Christ. We are certain that every weapon of the enemy that could ever cause us harm has been disarmed because of what Jesus has done for us. So take heart, stand firm, and understand what God is calling you to do. You are the light of the world and you are destined to shine. Know that within the problems you are facing right now, God is fueling your destiny. Be encouraged and understand that the promises over your life still stand. Be sure that God is more passionate about the dreams he has given you than you are. There is no end to the glory that God has bestowed on your life. God Almighty is alive and well, working in our midst.

Hi, faithful and faith-filled friends,

I was "in my closet" this morning with the Lord and was so inspired afresh in regard to the power of PRAYER. Super basic, I know, but stay with me...I'll try to be succinct.

The world on many surface and spiritual levels is both exploding and imploding. Your world, my world. In little ways and big, devastating ways. We Christ followers don't want to miss the forest due to the trees.

What if prayer was our first, not our last stop? What if right now, today, we just chose to take every care, every need, every burden, every hope, every dream, every parent, every child, every sibling, every friend, every circumstance and situation, every ounce of warfare, distress, depression, loss, anger, hurt, confusion, selfishness, weariness, busyness, laziness, apathy, ignorance, rebellion...fill in your own blank....before the Throne of Grace, BOLDLY, expecting not only to be heard but answered.

My faith is RISING. This morning I asked for:
*Fresh eyes and a heart like Jesus to see lost sheep
*Fresh baptism of the Holy Spirit, anointing that breaks yokes
*An overpowering flow of Agape Love over and through me
*A heart that desires nothing outside of God's perfect will
*A love, hunger, and understanding for God's precious Word
*Prophetic words that encourage, instruct, strengthen, comfort
*Dominion over the dark enemies of all who follow Christ
*Power to share and to live the Gospel, with signs & wonders
*The ways of God being my greatest influence in daily life
*Intimacy with Jesus in the Secret Place that bears fruit
*GIFTS working in and around me, especially healing
*A balance of grateful contentment and hunger for change
*Deliverance from all evil
*GOD CHANGE ME! Work with me to evict every thought, feeling, belief, and behavior that doesn't belong in Your Kingdom, doesn't align to Your righteousness

The enemy is hot on the tail of us and all that we love. If they can't get to us, they're relentless and will go after our parents, siblings, children, grandkids, friends, church, city, state, nation.... it's here. End times unleashing of deception, destruction, death, disease, all kinds of relational breakdown, identity theft and more....yet greater is He in US than anything the enemy throws out there, but we have to engage! Pray.

I took my stand this morning. Drew a spiritual line in the sand of my life and reminded the filthy liar that he is NOT allowed to trespass on one INCH of my life, my land. I pushed him back, knocked him down, my foot on that nasty throat that utters lie after lie, believing that Jesus has given me the right, the authority and the responsibility to pray. Believe. Fight. Watch. Stand in the gap. Intercede. Travail. Ask. Seek. Knock. Persevere.

I'm not giving up. I stand today with YOU, for all that you hold dear. For fights you don't even know you're IN yet, for the ones you're hanging on by a thread in, the ones you are ignoring because you don't want to deal with it, all of it, and I just speak STRENGTH and LIFE over all of us. Strength in the Lord and the power of His might, Discipline and Obedience born of true love for our Lord to pray.

Who in your life needs Jesus? A miracle? Some help, provision, hope, joy, peace, deliverance, freedom, healing? Cover it. Offer it up.

Thanks for listening!!!

xx Nancy