Jesus is our Compass.

This month, 05/2025, we as a Kingdom family have stepped into our 5th year. The number five represents grace, favor and redemption. We’ve gone through the process of tearing down, uprooting and destroying. We are now stepping into building and planting. We will build nothing except by the voice of Jesus. He is our compass. Building and planting can be a difficult process because it requires exposes yourself to His marvelous light. Every part of you. We will be required to let the King of Kings say some things to us and we must be willing to hear them.

As a family we are not building ministries, platforms or brands. We are becoming a kingdom family. with one priority: intimacy with Jesus as beloved sons and beloved daughters. Pastor Tim shared Sunday a statement we shared on social media and is now on our website, concerning who we are and where we are heading. Jesus has given us a description of what a kingdom family looks like. We are His light. A city set on a hill. We see in Acts 2 a description of those who burn for Him. We believe this is possible for those of us who burn for more of Him today. If you burn for more of Him, it will require more of you set a part for only Him.

“Every believer was faithfully devoted to following the teachings of the apostles. Their hearts were mutually linked to one another, sharing communion and coming together regularly for prayer. A deep sense of holy awe swept over everyone, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. All the believers were in fellowship as one body, and they shared with one another whatever they had. Out of generosity they even sold their assets to distribute the proceeds to those who were in need among them. Daily they met together in the temple courts and in one another’s homes to celebrate communion. They shared meals together with joyful hearts and tender humility. They were continually filled with praises to God, enjoying the favor of all the people.”

We are excited and full of expectation for this process of building and planting. He’s giving us the blueprints to build and the seeds to plant. Will you tether yourself to Jesus and the family He’s planted you in? We need Him but we also need each other.

Jesus is the Truth

Jesus says, “When you continue to embrace all that I teach, you prove that you are my true followers. For if you embrace the truth, it will release true freedom into your lives.” John 8:38

Most of us have heard this passage like this- you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. We have evidence that just knowing information does not set us free. This word know is the same word as Adam knew Eve and they had a son. This word means intimate. In The Passion Translation, it says to continue to embrace. When you embrace someone and remain there you begin to know them. Your heart softens to them, and you find yourself becoming one with them. True freedom comes when we embrace Jesus, not just the idea of Him, but the fullness of who He is. Intimacy reveals all the deep things about who we are. Don’t be afraid or embarrassed of exposing those thoughts and beliefs to the light of His love. Let Truth know you. Let Truth reveal His true nature to you. His love and grace abound. This is where we find true freedom to be who we are designed to be. Freedom from pain, brokenness, anger, disappointment and fear. We can live free with love, joy, hope, wholeness and a bright future for generations to come. Your true freedom opens doors for many generations.

Embrace Jesus today. Let Truth hold you close.

You’re Invited!

“So God created man and woman and shaped them with his image inside them. In his own beautiful image, he created his masterpiece. Yes, male and female he created them.” Genesis 1

As beloved sons and beloved daughters we are designed to be as creative as Yahweh. Wow, that is a big statement. Think about it for a moment. How creative is Yahweh?

We truly cannot comprehend the magnitude of all He has created. Yet, He gives us the honor and ability to be just like Him. You, beloved one, have the ability to do everything your heart desires.

“For his “body” has been formed in his image and is closely joined together and constantly connected as one. And every member has been given divine gifts to contribute to the growth of all; and as these gifts operate effectively throughout the whole body, we are built up and made perfect in love.” Ephesians 4

What gift or ability has He given to you? What invitation has He extended to you to advance the kingdom here on earth? Most of the time we are the first ones to disqualify ourselves when He ask something of us. We want to examine our past mistakes or current situation to say I could never do that.

You have everything you need to do what He asks of you. We must begin to see ourselves as He sees us. There is grace and favor to move forward in what He’s inviting you to. Will you accept the invitation?

You Are the Tree of Life!

“What delight comes to the one who follows God’s ways! He won’t walk in step with the wicked, nor share the sinner’s way, nor be found sitting in the scorner’s seat. His passion is to remain true to the Word of “I AM,” meditating day and night on the true revelation of light. He will be standing firm like a flourishing tree planted by God’s design, deeply rooted by the brooks of bliss, bearing fruit in every season of life. He is never dry, never fainting, ever blessed, ever prosperous.” Psalm 1

This is living with Abba in first place. As beloved sons and beloved daughters we are the trees standing firm, deeply rooted in Him with living water flowing to everything around us. Beloved, you are the Oaks of Righteousness. The Reward of Yeshua’s suffering! On the other side of surrender, this is what life looks like. Always bearing fruit and prospering. The mind, body and spirit will forever be blessed. Your leaves have the healing for nations. See yourself as He does.

Say what Abba says and see what He does in your life, your children and grandchildren. Our legacy is here to transforms the earth back to its original purpose. We will not wait around to abandon the gift of the garden.

Become fully alive in Him!

On Earth as it is in Heaven!

Are You Paying Attention?

Have you been watching son of man? In other words, are you paying close attention to what the Holy Spirit is doing in your life right now? When we surrender every aspect of our lives to Him it is not always easy to hear His words or watch Him move. He always wants to talk about those areas we want to keep hidden. The areas of fear, disappointment, insecurities, heartbreak and hopeless thoughts. Are you paying attention to the provocation of the Lord? What conversation is He trying to stir up?

He does this to get us to the place of who we are designed to be and prepare us for what we are to do.

“The shining man said to me, “Son of man, do you see this?” Then he brought me back to the riverbank. When I got there, I was astonished to see an enormous number of trees on each side of the river. He said, “This water flows east, down to the Jordan Valley and to the Dead Sea. As it flows into the stagnant waters, that water becomes fresh water. Wherever the river flows, all living creatures will live and thrive. Schools of fish will be very plentiful, for wherever the river goes, it brings healing, and everything will come alive!” Ezekial 47

You and I have the river of Living Water flowing from our hearts. We are designed to flow into salty situations to change the atmosphere. Wherever this water is allowed to flow it becomes fresh. All living creatures will live and thrive as it flows. It brings healing to those who are brokenhearted, disappointed and scared. We are designed to transform the earth around us. This is not only people but also the planet.

It starts with one sip of the Holy Spirit. The sip looks like a walk to talk about those areas we haven’t quite surrendered. Don’t be afraid or embarrassed of what He wants to talk about. He’s gentle and kind. Full of love and compassion. As you trust in His care you will become fully alive in His presence.

On Earth as it is in Heaven!

Whispers of the Holy Spirit

One of the beautiful things happening right now at The Wilderness Place is the revealing of the river described in Ezekial 47. We hear His whisper to go deeper with Him. Ezekial is telling us about a river that flows from the temple and the further you go into the river the deeper it gets. As beloved sons and beloved daughters, we are now the temple of the Holy Spirit. We have rivers of living water bubbling up in us. The deeper we go with Him really is determined by how much we trust Him.

The longer you wade around in ankle- and knee-deep water the more comfortable you get with your walk with Jesus. When we are comfortable, we stop depending on Him and become self-sufficient. There could be a couple of reasons we only splash around in ankle deep water. One is you feel like your struggles disqualify you from really experiencing the Holy Spirit. The more you behold your struggles the more power you give them. We must continue to behold His eyes. As you look into the eyes of your Abba you will see His delight in you despite your struggles and frustrations. The second reason is you don’t want to relinquish full control of your life to Him. This is really hard for all of us, but it shouldn’t be. We must believe He is for us and everything He has for us is so much better than what we can think or imagine. One of the reasons I struggle to allow Him full control is I have a hard time waiting for Him to tell me what I should do. Lord, I need to make a decision now! He always responds to me, “why?”

We must slow down. We all have people looking at us for the answers, but it is better to be led by His voice than our opinions. The lovely aspect of Abba is He never leaves us. Even in our frustrations, disappointments, hasty decisions, and loud opinions, He is whispering to us to come to Him. “Sit my, child. Let me love you. In my love you will hear My directions and know My heart for you and your legacy.”

We are on a journey in this river of living water, and we are excited to go deeper with the Holy Spirit to allow this river of living water to flow to others around us. He’s ready to flow and move but we must get out of the way to let Him. His invitation is extended to you today- “Sit my, child. Let Me love you.”

No More Excuses

“If you invite the poor to your banquet, along with the outcast, the handicapped, and the blind—those who could never repay you the favor, then you will experience a great blessing in this life, and at the resurrection of the godly you will receive a full reward.”

When they heard this, one of the dinner guests said to Jesus, “Someday God will have a kingdom feast, and how happy and privileged will be the ones who get to share in that joy!” Luke 14

In the earlier verse, Jesus advises us to not just invite our friends and relatives to our gatherings but invite everyone. We are incredibly thankful for the revelation Abba has given us at TWP concerning what the bride is to look like on the earth. We are not called to gather on Sundays with all the people who look like us and think the same under a religious umbrella. Jesus was about the Kingdom, not a denomination.

In this passage of Luke, we can see Jesus telling us the feast of the Kingdom is available now. Like most people today, they believed that they were waiting on Abba’s kingdom to come but Jesus is telling us the invitation has already been extended to enjoy the feast of the Kingdom now. We can miss the feast laid before us if we believe that “one day” we will enjoy heaven. Heaven is waiting on the beloved sons and daughters to reveal it to the earth.

“Jesus replied with this parable: “A man invited many to join him in a great feast. When the day for the feast arrived, the host instructed his servant to notify all the invited guests and tell them, ‘Come, for everything is now ready for you!’ But one by one they all made excuses. One said, ‘I can’t come. I just bought some property and I have to go and look it over.’ Another said, ‘Please accept my regrets, for I just purchased five teams of oxen and I need to make sure they can pull the plow.’ Another one said, ‘I can’t come because I just got married.’ “The servant reported back to the host and told him of all their excuses.”

It’s important to not read this and immediately think this is about making excuses of not coming to a building with like-minded people. Although, it is very important to gather with Kingdom family to honor and worship Jesus as one body. Psalm 133:1 says, “how truly wonderful and delightful it is to see brothers and sisters living together in unity.” In Hebrews 10, “and let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another.” Coming together to enjoy the feast He has prepared for us in very important. This can also apply to those areas we find excuses because we have disqualified ourselves. Sometimes this disqualification comes because of our actions but it also comes by way of how we think about ourselves. Have you ever had a pity party? We all have. These pity parties cause us to lose sight our who we are and whose we are. As a beloved son and beloved daughter, we are invited to feast with our King on a daily basis. He prepares a table for you in the presence of your enemies to feast with Him. Our enemies are those lies that try to creep in to discourage us and dismantle what Abba has designed us for. Let’s not continue to make excuses of why we are not qualified to sit at the table of the King and feast. It is time to come alive in His presence and bring others along the journey with us.

Into the arms of Abba

“I am a true sprouting vine, and the farmer who tends the vine is my Father. He cares for the branches connected to me by lifting and propping up the fruitless branches and pruning every fruitful branch to yield a greater harvest. The words I have spoken over you have already cleansed you. 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.” John 15:1-4

We learned last week how important it is to allow the Holy Spirit to change the way we think. We must expose ourselves to the way Yeshua thinks. It’s the only way we become like Him. In this teaching by Yeshua, He uses the reference of farming, tending the vine. Christ is the sprouting vine and Abba is the farmer who tends to the vine. We (His beloved) are the branches. Everyone is in agreement with what has been said so far. It is what comes next, we struggle with. When we are not fruitful in areas, we take the disappointment in ourselves and make it Abba’s disappointment. We take on these negative thoughts of how He sees us. We then distance ourselves from His presence because we think wrongly about how He feels. What does Yeshua say the Father actually does?

He cares for you and me when we are not producing fruit. He lifts us up which means He pulls us closer to His heart and in His arms. When a farmer lifts the branches off the ground it enhances their growth. He does the same for us when He lifts us up to His chest to cradle us in His love. The word prune here is the Greek word kathairo which means cleansing. He does not allow you stay in the mindset of disappointment from past mistakes. It doesn’t matter if it was twenty years ago or yesterday. His embracing love changes how we think about Him and ourselves. When we think different our actions will be different. We only have to do one thing.

We must remain in life-union with Him. When hard things happen, we don’t run away or close ourselves off to Him. We lift our arms like little children for our Abba to pick us up and hold us. It makes everything better. We feel safe in His arms. Let every circumstance and situation be an opportunity to nurture your intimacy with Yeshua.

Who Do You See?

Meekness: strength under control- gentle, humble, and patient disposition, characterized by a willingness to submit to Abba’s will and to others rather than asserting oneself.

Yeshua was meek yet carried the glory of Abba in a powerful way. This is His will for you and me. We are designed to carry the weight of the Kingdom. We are designed to carry the same resurrection power that Yeshua carries. All while walking in meekness. This is where the Holy Spirit holds up the mirror and ask the question- Who do you see?

I’ve encountered some questions and statements by others in the last couple of weeks that the Holy Spirit has held up the mirror and said, “Who do you see?” Is it Me or is it you? He wants to get us to a place of carrying the glory we are designed for. A place when we look in the mirror or when others see us the reflection is always Yeshua.

In order to get to this place, we will encounter situations and/or people who will cause emotions and beliefs to be stirred up. Yeshua will purposefully allow these moments to arise to address what is in our hearts that does not represent Him. Let’s talk about Matthew 20:1-16, this is the parable Yeshua shares with the disciples and us. In this parable to the vineyard owner go to hire laborers for his vineyard. The laborers agreed to the pay offered by the owner. They began at the earliest hour. Five times the owner went back and hired more laborers throughout the day. At the end of the day, they were all paid the same amount of money, but they also all agreed at the beginning what they would be paid. When the ones who worked all day realized the ones who worked one hour was paid the same, they were upset. Truth is they were paid the amount they agreed upon. Why did they believe they were owed more? It seems to be only fair, right? These are the ideals, beliefs and actions Yeshua wants to confront in all of us. His heart is to help us not only look like Him to others but to actually be Him in the earth.

If you are really serious about diving deep into His presence and becoming all of who He says you are then when situations like this comes up in your life, then you have a choice to make. Do I demand my way or turn to behold Him? We cry out for justice over social media posts, and He’s never asked you to do that. We are designed to intercede for others and situations on behalf of the Kingdom. He has not given us the seat of judgement.

All this week, He has been speaking to us about our thoughts and beliefs. He’s extending an invitation to go deeper with Him. It’s true, Yeshua has given us all authority over all things, yet it must be done in meekness not entitlement. Will you invite Him to hold the mirror today and ask you hard questions?

Oftentimes those questions will come from your children, grandchildren, others who may be offensive, or just circumstances. Pay attention today to what He is revealing. Always remember there is no shame or condemnation that ever comes from Abba. It is always to get us to the place of representing Yeshua. You are Abba’s beloved child.

The Hamster Wheel of Thoughts

Yesterday we talked about going all in with Yeshua. Do you know the way you think can trick you concerning your beliefs? Our thought patterns have a huge part in how we live our lives.

Let’s talk science for a minute. Our brains process information by way of neural pathways. The more times we think a certain thought the more our brain goes directly to that thought. Think of it as highways in your brain. The more you travel a road the more it becomes second nature. I like the way Kris Vallotton describes it, “Metaphorically speaking, “the wider the highway”, the easier it is to repeat the same thought. And the more we repeat the same thought, the wider the highway becomes. You can see how this becomes a brain hamster wheel, a superhighway to constructive or deconstructive mindsets.”

Yeshua gave us His authority. All of His authority. That is a lot of power. When we give a lie or wrong thinking our authority it becomes truth to us. This lie then governs your whole life. Many of us are doing or have done destructive things to our health or life because we believed a lie and have continued to travel those neuron pathways and now the lie is truth to us. This is especially true when it comes to genetics, relationships and what you believe about yourself.

How do we change these thought patterns and get off the hamster wheel of destructive thinking? Let’s look at what Paul says in Romans 12. “Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you, but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think. This will empower you to discern God’s will as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in his eyes.”

So how do we stop imitating the ideals and opinions? We must first ask the Holy Spirit questions. Am I thinking about this correctly? You can also look at the fruit of your decisions. Where have these thoughts led? Yeshua will always give us opportunity to confront our thinking if we really want to.

Let’s back up in Romans 12 to verse one. It says, “Beloved friends, what should be our proper response to God’s marvelous mercies? To surrender yourselves to God to be his sacred, living sacrifices. And live in holiness, experiencing all that delights his heart. For this becomes your genuine expression of worship.”

In order to get off the hamster wheel of wrong thinking you must first be willing to surrender every area of your life to Abba as a living sacrifice. Our thinking (beliefs) can be a genuine expression of worship to our beautiful King. We CAN display and live Heaven on Earth, but you first have to surrender the way you think to the way Yeshua thinks.

Here is a practical way to change those thoughts patterns. Start today and repeat daily for 40 days to change a thought pattern. Meditate on these promises.

Abba loves me and I am His beloved.

Isaiah 26:3 Perfect, absolute peace surrounds those whose imaginations are consumed with You.

Deuteronomy 31:8 The Lord himself goes before me and will be with me; He will never leave me nor forsake me. I will not be afraid or discouraged.

Psalm 32:8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.

How Deep Are You?

“The man holding his measuring line walked east and measured off a thousand cubits. Then he made me wade across the shallow water, and it was ankle deep.” Ezekial 47

Ankle deep is when we begin our walk with Jesus. The first miracle the disciples did in the book of Acts was heal a man’s ankles at the Beautiful Gate, which is the same gate this river flowed out of. This man was able to walk into the temple for the first time. Sadly, this is where most people remain in their relationship with Jesus. In ankle deep water you can be in a relationship with Jesus yet still live your life how you want.

“He measured off another thousand cubits and told me to wade across the stream again; the water was up to my knees.”

Knee deep water represents a place of prayer. In this depth, we are beginning to turn our hearts to Him in faith to pray. It is a comfortable level for a lot of people. We can know Him a little more intimately but yet still maintain control of our lives.

“He measured off another thousand cubits and made me wade across the stream again, and the water was up to my waist.”

As we wade out in the river of living water to our waist it is the place we begin to birth fruit. We are experiencing more of the fruit of His love which in turn displays patience, kindness, gentleness, joy, meekness and hope for our lives. This can be a tricky one because once we see fruit we stop going deeper. We see and experience Him in a way we never have but yet in waist deep water there is a part we can still feel in control.

“He measured off another thousand; it was now a river over my head, which I was unable to swim across. It was a deep swollen river—a river no one could cross.”

This depth represents the revelation of the Holy Spirit that is so deep no human can understand without divine help. His Spirit dwells in each of us today. He is inviting us to go in over our heads in His presence. This is the place of surrendering control over your lives and trusting Him with every aspect. We truly mean it when we say: Jesus, my heart is yours. My life is yours. What happens on the other side of Ezekiel going in over his head?

The shining man said to me, “Son of man, do you see this?” Then he brought me back to the riverbank. “When I got there, I was astonished to see an enormous number of trees on each side of the river. He said, “This water flows east, down to the Jordan Valley and to the Dead Sea. As it flows into the stagnant waters, that water becomes fresh water. Wherever the river flows, all living creatures will live and thrive. Schools of fish will be very plentiful, for wherever the river goes, it brings healing, and everything will come alive!”

When you and I make the decision to dive deep into the presence of Yeshua we will see things come alive around us. Those children you are believing for, that spouse you have been crying out for, those family members you see drowning in despair, our cities and states will come alive. We carry healing in our leaves as Oaks of Righteousness.

The danger of staying in control and only wading in ankle, knee and waist deep is nothing really changes. Jesus should receive His due reward for the Cross and Resurrection, and it is to come by way of His beloved ones.

An Exchange of Thoughts

Some of us grew up with some long-held beliefs that have been passed down for many generations. One of those beliefs is Jesus came on the scene with a message of repent for the kingdom of God is at hand. What were you taught about the word repent? I think it is safe to say most of us understood this to mean telling God you were sorry for all your horrible sins and asking Jesus to be your Lord and Savior so you could be saved and not go to hell.

The word repent is a terrible translation for what Jesus actually meant. This word means to pay penance for your mistakes. If we are continuing to instruct others to repent (pay penance) for their sins, we are missing the power of the resurrection, and the gift Jesus is offering to us. Either He paid is all or He didn’t. I believe He did.

Let’s remember Song of Songs, if you ever lose sight of Me just follow in My footsteps. We only want to do what Jesus has done and is doing. He never asked people if they were saved or wanted to be saved. His message was this, “From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 4. This word repent should be translated as metanoia, which means change the way you think. Yesterday we talked about offense and how He will challenge our thinking and old beliefs. He will offend your mind to reveal your heart.

This is what I truly love about Yeshua. He never settles for partial freedom for His beloveds. If you have been walking with us in the wilderness for the last four years you can say, I am different than what I was prior to the wilderness. We can see the beauty of change we are experiencing here in our kingdom family. He celebrates with you but He also is calling us to go deeper. He’s inviting us to really challenge how we think about everything.

In every conversation, anything you see on the news or your own opinion we must ask Jesus this question: What do you think about this? We all have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. If we really want to know. If we really want to become just like Jesus, we will hear Him answer our questions.

When He speaks it does bring transformation. Our part is the response to what He says. Just yesterday I saw something and had an opinion about the circumstance. Immediately, I felt a nearness of Him. I said, Yeshua how do you see this? All of a sudden, I had a compassion towards the situation. He will not settle for partial freedom in your thinking. Will you surrender to His questions and allow it to change the way you think?

Do Not Be Offended at Christ

We’re on this beautiful journey at The Wilderness Place where Yeshua is guiding us to descend deeper into His presence and to know Him in a greater way. I think we all understand just because something is beautiful doesn’t mean it has not been difficult or there won’t be challenges up ahead. Have you ever heard the reference of Abba weaving our lives together like a beautiful tapestry? This comes from Colossians 2:2, “I am contending for you that your hearts will be wrapped in the comfort of heaven and woven together into love’s fabric. This will give you access to all the riches of Yahweh as you experience the revelation of Yahweh’s great mystery - Christ.”

Pastor Tim began with this verse Sunday. Luke 7:23. “And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.” This is from the NKJV. Some of the other versions say, “Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of Me,” “Yahweh blesses those who do not fall away because of Me,” “The blessing of heaven comes upon those who never lose their faith in Me, no matter what happens.”

Why would Yeshua say this to us today? In order for us to become the image of Yeshua in the earth He’s going to allow situations to come about that will challenge how you think. Circumstances that will test your trust in Him. He will say things to you and ask questions you do not like nor want to answer. You and I have a choice to make. We can choose to go on the journey with our Kingdom family and become the image of Christ on the earth together or we can just glean from the edges of the field. His love lets us choose.

I will share a testimony of what it looks like to be living out Colossians. TWP has a women’s gathering once a month. We share a meal together and encourage one another but I see Him weaving us together in heart. We are experiencing the riches of Yahweh as He takes us deeper into our conversations and prayers for one another. We are choosing each other daily as we are discovering the mysteries of Christ. We have fun conversations, but we also have hard ones. We are experiencing healing and freedom not only in our own lives but our families as well.

It is important to choose today to not let anything Yeshua talks to you about cause you to be offended at Him or stumble over His questions. These conversations come in many ways. Let glory slide into your heart, thinking, and beliefs. His way is so much better.

Yeshua, our hearts are yours. Our lives are yours.

He’s With You in Every Step

This week has been a challenging walk facing our disappointments with the Holy Spirit. You may have even pulled back this week and said to the Lord, I just can’t go there. Remember Monday we talked about having the tiny mustard seed of faith and how it can move mountains? These disappointments in life are like mountains that stand between you and all of what heaven has in store for you on earth.

Facing disappointment, discouragement and hopeless situations are not done alone. He is with you and pours out His grace to not only face it but overcome it. “My grace is always more than enough for you, and my power finds its full expression through your weakness.” So I will celebrate my weaknesses, for when I’m weak I sense more deeply the mighty power of Christ living in me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9

This is a process. It is not all done in a day. It is accomplished by daily turning your heart to Jesus and saying. My heart is yours. My life is yours. This gives Him permission to heal and restore every area of your heart. It causes you to begin to have His perspective, to think like Christ. Your faith on the other side will move mountains, not just for you but those around you.

As you walk with Him daily remember the words of Yahweh to you. “Even if the mountains were to crumble and the hills disappear, my heart of steadfast, faithful love will never leave you, and my covenant of peace with you will never be shaken,” says Yahweh, whose love and compassion will never give up on you.” Isaiah 54:10

Bring Your Questions

Yesterday we spent some time allowing the Holy Spirit to reveal disappointment we’ve had packed away in our broken hearts. These times of reflection can be very hard to sit through because no one wants to remember the pain of these moments in life and live through it again. Thankfully we have an Abba that loves us too much to let us continue in brokenness. Even a hairline fracture in your heart effects your whole life.

Why would God let this happen? We have all had that question at some point in our lives. Pastor Tim shared his testimony about the death of his father when he was just fifteen. His father was a truck driver, and someone had been talking to him about Jesus. He wanted his family to start going to church. The first Sunday morning they went his father had to work so he wasn’t able to go. Pastor Tim shares his excitement about that morning feeling like he could be all in for this God thing. He really had a great time. They went back for the Sunday evening service but before the service started the pastor took his mom to the back first then came for him, his brother and sister to only find out his father was in an accident that morning and had passed away.

How could YOU let this happen? He shares about his anger towards God. This was the first day going to church. He was so heart broken and disappointed. So angry with Jesus. He was determined to get as far away from Him as possible.

Have you ever been so angry and hurt that you pulled away from Abba? This pulling away has many forms actually. You can be so intentional like Pastor Tim where you avoid any thing that has to do with Jesus. Or maybe you still believe in Him, but He doesn’t have your heart. You really don’t feel He’s trustworthy. Many people show up to church every week as a routine with no space given to the Holy Spirit to transform their heart. This is really hard if the disappointment comes as a result of the death of a loved one. Grief is very difficult. When Pastor Tim was sharing his testimony the Holy Spirit said, “you are still disappointed in Me for the passing of your dad.” I hadn’t felt like I was but when we give the Holy Spirit space to speak into our hearts, He will reveal all things that hinder our intimacy with Jesus.

Some of us have had disappointments come by our own choices. We are just thankful He still lets us in the building. We struggle with the idea of Him loving us because when you are disappointed in yourself you believe He is too. Jesus is willing to meet you right where you are. He is patient, kind, gentle and longsuffering. He never gives up on us. Never. He is always ready to start the process of healing every disappointment completely.

Do not be afraid to drag all of your questions and thoughts of what ifs into His presence. He wastes nothing - every tear, every whisper of I’m tired, this is too painful, I don’t want to think about it. Bring it all to Him. Look at His hands, at His feet, and His side. He loves you this much.

Disappointment is Hard

Today is a time for reflection. Think about the first time you made a decision to be all in with Jesus. It’s like sunshine being poured into your soul. You come alive and find yourself so excited about life. Your heart is sincere in following Jesus to the ends of the earth. Jesus, my heart is yours. My life is yours.

How long have you been a believer? March 2003, I made a decision to be all in with Jesus. I was so excited to give my heart and life to Jesus. What happens to a person that would cause them to be all in then find themselves barely living with Jesus on the back burner of life? That was me.

Let’s look at John 11 to see who Thomas was before he was labeled by religion as doubting. “Then Jesus made it plain to them, “Lazarus is dead. And for your sake, I’m glad I wasn’t there, because now you have another opportunity to see who I am so that you will learn to trust in me. Come, let’s go and see him.” So Thomas, nicknamed the Twin, remarked to the other disciples, “Let’s go so that we can die with him.”

Thomas is willing to lay his life down for Jesus. He is all in, full of faith and trust in the Lord. The disciples have already seen many miracles and now they get to experience one more and it is a major one. It’s resurrection after four days. Thomas is here for it all. What happens to Thomas that he would later be known as doubting?

He experienced disappointment. Disappointment if not brought to the Lord will cause a broken heart. When Jesus was crucified, his disciples were heartbroken, disappointed and discouraged. Have you ever been disappointed? Disappointed in yourself, someone else or a tragic life altering situation. These moments in life can cause us to pull back from Jesus. Truth is when you pull back from Jesus you pull back from life itself. You can find yourself just going through the motions of life. You’re not really living. When we make decisions from disappointment it effects our whole life. In Galatians 5, it talks about a little leaven ruins the whole lump of dough. Disappointment effects everything.

How do we deal with disappointment? Let’s look at John 20. “One of the twelve wasn’t present when Jesus appeared to them—it was Thomas, whose nickname was “the Twin.” So, the disciples informed him, “We have seen the Lord with our own eyes!” Still unconvinced, Thomas replied, “There’s no way I’m going to believe this unless I personally see the wounds of the nails in his hands, touch them with my finger, and put my hand into the wound of his side where he was pierced!” Then eight days later, Thomas and all the others were in the house together. And even though all the doors were locked, Jesus suddenly stood before them! “Peace to you,” he said. Then, looking into Thomas’ eyes, he said, “Put your finger here in the wounds of my hands. Here—put your hand into my wounded side and see for yourself. Thomas, don’t give in to your doubts any longer, just believe!” Then the words spilled out of his heart—“You are my Lord, and you are my God!”

Jesus is not disappointed in you for having doubts or a broken heart with walls all around. In this passage we see Him go past all the disciples who had faith. Straight to the one who was struggling to believe. In our most troubling and darkest moments He shows up. A lot of us have gone through some very traumatic, heartbreaking things in life that has caused us to withhold parts of our heart.

Jesus says to you, “Put your finger here in the wounds of my hands and put your hand into the wound of my side.” He is saying to you today, “You have to put your fingers in my wounds if you expect your wounds to be healed.” Only by staring at His scars can our disappointment and broken hearts be healed.

Thomas’ response to Jesus, “You are my Lord, and you are my God!”

Bring your disappointments to your Lord today. It doesn’t matter if it happened yesterday or twenty years ago. Time is irrelevant to Him. He just wants to heal your heart and bring encouragement to you. His wounds heal, just stare at them.

Yeshua, my heart is yours

As we discussed yesterday, we’re designed to be the image of Yeshua on the earth. If we are the mirror image, then we only do what we see Him do. Truth is Yeshua never asked anyone if they were saved or instructed them in a prayer of salvation.

What did He do? In Luke 4 we see Yeshua read the scriptures for the first time after being in the wilderness for 40 days. “And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” Then He closed the book and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

The order in which things are written and spoken are important. Yeshua says I AM anointed to preach the gospel to the poor. He came to spread the good news of His Kingdom to those who are poor in their spirit. Yeshua says, He (Abba) has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted. If you have a broken heart concerning any area of your life you are not living to the degree, He was resurrected for. When you have a broken heart, you have not allowed love to do what it came to do. Perfect love comes to deal with all fear.

The reason we usually keep perfect love at a distance is we still have a question about how He sees us and how we see ourselves. He is LOVE. Perfect love. He is not disappointed in you for any reason. His love abounds toward you. He has come to heal any area of brokenness in your heart because He knows without that healing you cannot become who He designed you to be.

Yeshua didn’t ask people if they were saved. What he did say was metonia, change the way you think. Repentance is a poor translation for the word metonia. He was telling people then and now, change your perspective because the Kingdom is at hand. This means you can have everything that is available in heaven on earth right now.

In order to change how we think about things we must first allow Him to heal any brokenness we still carry in our hearts. Living with brokenness only causes us to become exhausted because we begin to strive in prayer. We decree and declare to only become discouraged by not seeing those things come to pass. We can’t speak with the authority He gave us when we also carry brokenness.

Come into a posture of rest today. Right now, take a deep breath and as you breath out turn your heart to Him. Say to Him, Jesus, my heart is yours. My life is yours. Take some time just sitting with Him to say this over and over. Allow Him to pour His perfect love over you as you say these words. Careful not to rush out of His presence today. Carry Him with you throughout today to be in constant conversation with what He is showing you concerning your heart.

One Tiny Seed

Today let’s go deeper into Matthew 17. We will start with the transfiguration of Jesus on the mountain.

“Jesus took Peter and the two brothers, Jacob and John, and hiked up a high mountain to be alone. Then Jesus’ appearance was dramatically altered. A radiant light as bright as the sun poured from his face. And his clothing became luminescent dazzling like lightning. He was transfigured before their very eyes. Then suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared, and they spoke with Jesus.

Peter blurted out, “Lord, it’s so wonderful that we are all here together! If you want, I’ll construct three shrines, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

But while Peter was still speaking, a bright radiant cloud spread over them, enveloping them all. And God’s voice suddenly spoke from the cloud, saying, “This is my dearly loved Son, the constant focus of my delight. Listen to him!”

This radiant light that spread over them is actually the same as Mary being overshadowed and conceived a child. The Greek word is episkiazo, which is used exclusively for the power of Yahweh. It is supernatural power. Jesus being transfigured into this radiant light by the glorious power of Abba is a witness to us. This is part of our destiny as well. It is the same Greek word used twice for us, His beloved in renewing our minds. “But be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think” Romans 12:2. Then in 2 Corinthians 3:18 concerning us becoming like Him on the earth. “We can all draw close to him with the veil removed from our faces. And with no veil we all become like mirrors who brightly reflect the glory of the Lord Jesus.”

We can hear the voice of Abba also say over us, this is My dearly loved son and daughter, the constant focus of My delight. We too can be transformed into His image and radiate with light and power. When you read statements like this do you believe you can radiate with the same light and power as Jesus? Or do you struggle with the thought of actually being able to lay hands on someone and they be healed. Or pray for a city to be changed and it actually happen.

In Matthew 17:20, Jesus tells His disciples (also us), “I promise you, if you have faith inside of you no bigger than the size of a small mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move away from here and go over there,’ and you will see it move! There is nothing you couldn’t do!”

Just like a seed must be planted to grow and become what it is designed to be you too must be rooted in His love to grow in your faith. We all start with the small seed of faith of believing in who Jesus is and what He did for us, but we cannot stop there. Our faith must grow into who He says we are designed to be. He gave His life for this. Faith grows as it is nurtured by the love of Abba. You must let Him love you. Sometimes this can be difficult if we don’t love ourselves.

A mountain is anything you have exalted above truth. We talked last week about the danger of not taking every lie captive and casting them out. These lies become mountains in front of us. We get discouraged because we feel overwhelmed by what we are looking at. Oftentimes these mountains are really a facade of the lies we believe. It causes us to forget who we are. Knowing who you are in Him causes great power to rise up and the words you speak will cause these mountains to be moved. Jesus says, “there is nothing you couldn’t do.” We know Jesus is not liar so if He says we can- WE CAN!

Let’s start here today: Jesus, my heart is yours. My life is yours. I am planting my seed of faith into the soil of your love. I will rest in You. I will soak in your love being poured out on me today and every day. As I soak in your love, I know my faith will grow into the beautiful life you’ve designed for me. Abba, I will display your glory to those around me just like Jesus did on that mountain. Thank you for your love.

Thank you, Yeshua

Christ is Supreme: Colossians 1:19

“Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything. For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.”

“It is finished, My bride.” John 19

Two Opinions

Elijah camped by the brook for an extended period of time learning to trust Yahweh for his needs. The Kerith brook means cutting away. Oftentimes, He will call us to sit and learn to trust His provisions. In the posture of rest and trust He will cut away those thoughts or beliefs that hinder our intimacy with Him. When we are obedient to His voice we find all of our needs met. These needs are not just financial. It can be physical healing, the healing of relationships or restoration of family.

Elijah moves from the brook on the word of the Lord and ultimately after some time came back before King Ahab with a challenge. He serves the God of Israel, but the King and his prophets serve baal. This is what he says to the people. 1 Kings 18:21 “Then Elijah stood in front of them and said, “How much longer will you waver, hobbling between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him! But if Baal is God, then follow him!” But the people were completely silent.”

How long will you waver between two opinions? If you are reading this walk, then you would probably say I know Jesus can do anything. I believe in Him as my savior, but I also have thoughts that are not from Him. I struggle in my daily life with trusting Him. I have my own opinions and thoughts. We either follow Jesus or we follow our own opinions and beliefs. And the people were silent.

When you have lies come into your mind like thoughts of yourself or a situation that go unanswered you come into an agreement with the lie. A lie becomes a truth when you give it your authority. We are instructed in 2 Corinthians 10 to take every thought captive that is raised in defiance of the true knowledge of Yahweh. Jesus gave us His authority to trample every lie that the enemy tries to speak. (Luke 10:19) When these lies go unanswered in our minds we come into agreement with it and then it has power.

YOU HAVE THE MIND OF CHRIST! Declare this over yourself and your children daily. You are created in His image and likeness. You must know who you are. When you know who you are so will your children, grandchildren and for the next ten generations. We have been given a word here at TWP of things being established right now that will affect the next ten generations for the glory of Yahweh. We have hope because we are hearing the voice of Yeshua say, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” Repent actually means metanoia which translates to change the way you think. We refuse to be silent to the lies and allow them to govern our legacy. We will hear His voice and speak His words over us and our family. We will speak His words over our community and the State of Mississippi!