A Statewide Call to Pray - Day Forty-Four!

Yesterday (Day 43) I spoke of the open door that is set before us.  We have a choice of either  going through or not going through that door that leads to our destiny.  But let me share with you one very important truth about that door, God has been waiting at the door for us!

Last night at the Open Door meeting at the Global Spheres Center, Dr. Robert Heidler shared a teaching about the upcoming month of Av, which starts this evening at sundown.  The key thought regarding this month, especially in Jewish history, is the "dire straits.  It is a time for passing through the narrow place - the time of testing - the wilderness - in order to enter into the place of your promise, your joy, your destiny and your future in the Lord.

It is a time to press through the open door into joy and celebration.  I have taught on this month many times.  It is a month of decision.  It is a month of difficulty as we journey through the narrow place into the broad and beautiful promises of God.  The Jews call it "The Dire Straits."  A picture from the teachings of our Lord is "the eye of the needle."

It is also understood by the Jewish world as a month of great curse and sorrow.  Why?  Because on the 9th of Av the Israelites stood on the brink of the promise.  They had exited Egypt.  They had journeyed to Sinai. They now stood at Kadesh Barnea and had a door of opportunity and promise opened before them.

AND THEY SAID NO!  They listened to the negative report of ten spies versus the faith of Joshua and Caleb and they refused to go through the door.  God's response to their response was forty more years in the wilderness.  A generation would pass before they would see this door again.  It's interesting (and that is a topic for another blog) that this generational curse has plagued Israel ever since.  Every major tragedy that has sought to destroy Israel throughout history has all been on the 9th day of Av.

OK, what about us?    As we journey through the dire straits - the wilderness - the drought - the testing, and arrive at the open door of our destiny as a state and nation, will you believe God’s promise?
Will you press through this month? On the other side of that "eye of the needle", narrow place or door is your future.  Let's go through narrow place to get to the broad expanse of God's promise.  You will miss the blessing if you don’t.

A Statewide Call to Pray - Day Forty-Three

‘These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens”:“I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it;for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name." (Revelation 3:7b-8)

It's an Open Door season.  As we journey through the wilderness the Lord is breaking off the past.  He is sifting and threshing away the chaff.  He has brought us to an open door.  Chuck Pierce declared last night that when you come before an open door you have three responses.

1. You can go through more threshing or sifting before you go through!
2. You can postpone going through the door at all!
3. OR YOU CAN GO THROUGH THIS OPEN DOOR WITH CELEBRATION AND A SHOUT!

I say, Texas, that we go through with celebration and a shout!  Sound the shofar!  Let's soar!

A Statewide Call to Pray - Day Forty-Two!

It's been 42 days.  When I was impressed by the Lord to write these blogs, I originally thought it would only be seven days.  The Lord had asked me to call a time of prayer for Texas.  On the eighth day He extended it until August 5th - the eve of The Response in Houston. He added 42 days to our assignment of prayer -- an assignment akin to Elijah's walk through the wilderness that ended at the Mount of the Lord.

And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!” Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, “Arise and eat.” Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again. And the angel of the LORD came back the second time, and touched him, and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.” So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God. (1 Kings 19:3-8)

As I retired to bed last night I was meditating on this journey.  It's been long. During this time period I've been reading the trilogy by Michael Shaara and his son Jeff on the Civil War: Gods and Generals, The Killer Angels and The Last Full Measure.  I am approximately 200 pages from finishing and the thought that has been running through my mind and heart is the weariness that has set in on both armies of the war.  They "thought" it would be a swift victory.  That one battle.  That quick strike.  But it has gone on and on and on.  Tens of thousands have died.  The bands accompanying the armies are no longer playing the victory chants but dirges and quiet lullabies.

The wilderness journey is an arduous one.  It is not meant to be easy.  It tries our soul.  It tests our spirit.  It pushes our flesh to the limit.  Yes, we might live in a microwave, quick paced world, but that is not how the Lord fashions us.  Seven days from now we will witness the gathering of God's kingdom in Houston for a solemn assembly.  Even as we gather - it is not a quick fix, but another element of our journey in Him as a state and nation. 

One more thought.  I realized in meditating on the 1 Kings 19 passage above that Elijah's wilderness journey started after he arrived at Beersheba -- the place of covenant.  Remember, our journey begins and ends in covenant -- a covenant sealed with our Redeemer's blood.  Let's press on toward the goal!

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead... (Philippians 3:12-13)

A Statewide Call to Pray - Day Forty-One!

The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD,
And He delights in his way.

Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down;
For the LORD upholds him with His hand. 
I have been young, and now am old
Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, 
Nor his descendants begging bread.
He is ever merciful, and lends;
And his descendants are blessed.
(Psalm 37:23-26)

Yesterday I had the combined joy and sorrow of participating in the 'homegoing" or "coronation" of Floyd Alves.  He entered the heavenly courts on July 20, 2011. Beth Alves, his wife wrote, "It was a bitter sweet goodbye. Precious in the way he sat up, smiled with eyes shining brightly, looked upward and reached his hands toward heaven as he left this earth of his heavenly home."  Floyd and Beth co-founded Increase International, which was formerly known as Intercessors International.  Both of them have been instrumental in the release of God's intercessory and prophetic destiny in my life.

During the memorial gathering I was asked to read a note written by Floyd's daughter, Cindy Divers.  At the end of the note she shares the same message that I quoted from Beth above.  BUT she goes on to write:

On Monday morning, July 25, I was sitting with Mother while she was working on writing Daddy's obituary.  While sitting there I was looking up the two pages of his favorite scripture references he had left behind for us.  I had gotten his personal Bible out of his office to use to look up these scriptures.  After a couple of minutes of turning page after page, I noticed a familiar smell.  It was his smell...a mix of Old Spice and Dial Soap.  I lifted the Bible to my nose to take a sniff.  Daddy's smell was all throughout the Word of God!  Tears came to my eyes as I thought of the unexpected legacy he left behind for us.  Daddy had spent so much time in the Word of God that the Word and his smell intermixed with each other.  Wow, but that is who my Daddy was....a man who love his Father God more than anything else and spent many many hours with him.  Your love and the legacy you left us will remain in our hearts forever.

For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. (2 Corinthians 2:15-16)

Why did I share this? As we exit our wilderness journey with the Lord - we will have His aroma!

A Statewide Call to Pray - Day Forty!

We have reached day forty of my blogs.  We now stand just ten days away from The Response in Houston.  It is a day of fasting and prayer.  It is day set aside to bow our knees before our God as a state and as a nation.  It is a day to confess our sins and to repent (change our minds) regarding the unrighteous acts that we have performed or agreed with by our lack of response.  It is a day to reconcile with Him and with each other.  It is a day to bring glory to the Lord's name.

I personally have been asking the Lord to reveal (uncover) those things in my life and ministry that have not honored Him.  It is very easy to point out the sins of others.  It is hard to ask the Lord to point out those sins in us.  And He has.  And honestly - I don't like what is revealed.  But like it or not, our first response is to bend our knee in humility and confession before our loving and merciful God who desires to correct us in order to redeem and fulfill our destiny in Him.

Now, on this past Sunday morning as I was trying to find a wristwatch that worked, replacing projection lamps and trying to focus on my message for the body, I received another email from Tracy Hamlin. (I really need to talk to him about this).  He was sharing about his struggles with the Lord regarding "learning Spanish."  And in the midst of it - the Lord gave this word!

“As a nation, the Mexican people have been treated as poorly by the US as any other race or people group.  Various atrocities have taken place on their land, and on the soil of the US, so much of which the general populations have no idea about.  It is all named AMERICA, and yet there is a massive division that has relegated those from below the river to menial tasks and places of disrespect.

It will take the same level of repentance as was given to the Host Nations to correct and begin to mend the ties between the Spanish speaking people and the people of the US.  The people of Mexico have been touted as illegal, and undeserving by a nation, and not given the ample opportunity that anyone else is given.  People are people, regardless of race, station in life, or skin color.  I created them all, and I love them all and esteem them all in the same manner, enough so to place My Son on the cross for the salvation and redemption of all.  I did not once make anyone fill out a form to come to Me, the only qualifier is the blood of Jesus, the Son of the Living God.

I am not condemning political polices and policing for regulatory and safety concerns, I am not endorsing law breaking, but how many of the ones that cry out ‘illegal’ have sin in their lives that goes unconfessed, unrepented.  Do you not know that you were brought in to the world as an alien yourself?  You are not of this world, and yet, you do not consider yourselves ‘illegal’.  The term illegal is not applicable to people.  They may be doing an illegal thing, according to the laws of the land which must be obeyed, that is not the issue on My heart, it is the pronouncement of a curse over an entire people because of barriers, geography, hatred, bitterness and strife.  My heart is grieved over the throw-away mentality of the governments of some of the states, some of the law-makers that jump on the band-wagon simply for the sake of the popularity contest of politics.  It is an evil root that has brought this issue and festered it in the hearts of those that lump themselves into the “white” category.  I am not dealing with races, I am dealing with heart issues.

Do you think that I am “white” or “black” or of this nationality, or came from this part of town???  Then why, ask yourselves, WHY would you treat ANYONE as less important, or label them with a derogatory name, when they are created in MY image?  Do you not see that you are equally defaming ME by this slurring?  You are saying to MY FACE “you did not create these people good enough to be equal to me and my skin colored people”.  That is hatred toward ME, now think about that.  I am reasoning with the hearts of man, to save the path of judgment that will come on the heads of those that refuse My correction.

So now you ask “Lord, how do we do this?”  The same way you have done it in the past.  On your face, on your knees, humbled to the point of humiliated, and broken before ME and before those that have been offended.  Take this matter seriously, the workers of the land have been poorly treated, and the land has suffered.  The native hosts, the original keepers of the land have been replaced by new keepers, and still the same thing is occurring, the land is bearing a curse because the keepers are cursed by the words and pronouncements spoke over them, and by the unjust treatment of those that feel they are in charge.  Oh, you must think it a coincidence that the stereo-type exists of landscaping and lawn maintenance - I don’t deal in coincidences.  I have placed that in motion, as a means to keep them close to the ground, close to the land, in touch with the land, in working covenant with the land.  I do not make a sweeping rash statement about the people, that is a label that has been put on by men, but that has simply been a distraction to this point, so that the eyes of the nay-sayer would not see the connection to the land.   But now, you see it.

Now, the land is crying out again to have the curse removed.  Now it is crying out for stewardship to be repaired, to be taken over again by the ones that will use the land for My Kingdom.  Lands will change hands, in gift, and in deed, and will be used for My Glory.  I will fill the Latin houses with joy and laughter, and the stigmas and limitations and low expectations will be broken off of this people.  I will say this again- I created man in my image, so look at man, look at ME and see that I am not a race, nor a look, or a color, I am the Creator.  I created man, and man has scoffed at My creation.  That is not a wise choice, and it is not one that I will tolerate in My Kingdom.  Take heed these words, and see to it that repentance is not a matter or method, or a matter of show, but allow me to orchestrate the timing and the place and the proper ones to be in place.  You have done measures in the past, but this is much deeper than you first knew, much more close to My heart that you were aware.  Return to Me, and see that I am the good God that brings all men to Me through My Son. “

My heart broke before the Lord.  I, like everyone else, have my opinions regarding immigration and border control.  And I could share those opinions with clarity and resolve.  But listen carefully - in this hour as we approach our God with humble hearts - our opinions don't count.  Only His! You'll notice that even the Lord was not condemning our need for safety and policies regarding the border and immigration, but His heart is breaking over our heart-view of a people.

During worship, as I reviewed His words regarding "resetting time" and going through new doors, His Spirit prompted me to act.  I stopped worship and as an entire congregation we left our worship and walked the length of our building to our fellowship hall.  In that room a Hispanic congregation meets. We went before them and bowed our knee in repentance.  We honored them.  We embraced them.  We committed to walk in covenant with them.  We have much more to do. We have to walk our talk, but as we journey towards Houston on August 6th - our talk must line with His.  This is about Him and His kingdom.

A Statewide Call to Prayer - Day Thirty-Nine!

Yesterday I wrote that I was going to share something the Lord revealed to us on Sunday morning.  I will get to that revelation tomorrow!

In response to yesterday's blog, Charlotte Merschbrock, who oversees the Louisiana Apostolic Prayer Network with her husband Roger, wrote the following:

Tom,

I wanted to share something with you in regard to prayer for rain.  I took a look at the national drought monitor this AM.  It looks as if the dryness is breaking up a bit, but we’ve got a long way to go.  The Lord is continually reminding me, as you have said, this is not just about the dryness of the earth but the spiritual dryness of His people.

Blessings to you and family,
Charlotte

Here’s what I wrote in my journal this morning.

This morning I left for my routine visit to Curves for exercise.  The owner began to converse with me and the other ladies about the rain we’ve been having as of late.  The Cane River here in Natchitoches, Louisiana, which is the lowest we’ve seen it in the 25 yrs. we’ve lived here, has begun to rise slightly.  It’s a long way from normal level, but thankfully there’s been some positive changes.  She then made the comment that this rain is almost too late and is actually detrimental to the farmers trying to harvest their hay and corn.  She shared about her brother who was concerned that the previous lack of rain had kept him from having enough hay to feed his livestock.

Immediately the scripture came to me from Deut. 11:14 about the Lord giving rain in “due season”:  “And it shall be that if you diligently obey My commandments which I command you today, to love the LORD your God and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, then I will give you the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain, your new wine, and your oil. And I will send grass in your fields for your livestock, that you may eat and be filled.” (emphasis added)

Don’t get me wrong, we’re to be thankful for the heavens opening and the recent rainfall, which has begun to replenish the dry ground.  But if you’re one of the ones that have received rain don’t get comfortable or satisfied.  We must continue to cry out for the RAIN! There’s still extreme dryness—spiritual dryness in our land.  (And from the looks of the US Drought Monitor, the natural land is still drought stricken.)

The very fact that we are seeing rain now is also a reminder that the rain, as wonderful as it is, is “out of season” to produce a fruitful harvest.  Deut. 11:14 says not only that He will give us rain but that He will give us rain “in season.”  Because we haven’t had rain in season, the Word is telling us that a curse is operating in our land due to the heart of the people—our hearts are not wholly focused on worshiping Him and pursuing Him above all else.  Now this is probably not a great revelation to you, but sometimes when we see answers to prayer for rain, we begin to draw wrong conclusions.  Yes, God has blessed us by sending the rain, but we still need to see breakthrough! This “dry condition” will not be shifted by a few prayers for rainfall—this is a spiritual dryness.  God is looking for a people who will seek Him above all else and who are truly desperate for His presence!

It may be too late for an abundant corn crop along the Cane River in Natchitoches, Louisiana, but it’s not too late for the harvest God wants to release in this season.  So we continue to cry out to Him because this is THE SEASON God wants to release the RAIN, a spiritual flood, a deluge of His glory and presence to bring forth an unprecedented harvest.

In this new season we’ve entered, we must keep seeking Him, calling upon Him and believing for the RAIN IN SEASON!!

Thank you Charlotte.

A Statewide Call to Pray - Day Thirty-Eight!

Yesterday morning was interesting.  I was up early as usual as I made preparations for Sunday morning worship at Prince of Peace Church.  As I was finishing, I reached for my wristwatch and noticed that it had stopped.  I laid it down and went to a dresser drawer where I knew I had other watches.  A couple of years ago at Christmas I had received two as gifts.  I reached for one and noticed that it to had also stopped.  Crazy. 

I reached for another and yes, it had stopped.  You know the rest of the story.  I picked up the fourth and last watch and it too had stopped.  Puzzled, and yet knowing that this was not a mere coincidence, I went over to the church with no timepiece.  On arriving at the church I realized that I had forgotten an errand.  Our projection system bulbs had burned out and I had forgotten to get them replaced early in the week by someone or even by myself.  So now I am up on a ladder changing a bulb. 

To add to all of this - even though I several different notes before me - I did not know what message the Lord would have me speak.  The Lord unraveled it in our midst. During worship, after I had shared my wristwatch story, one of our members, Marsha Allred, brought me a word.  She announced that it was for me BUT I knew immediately that it was a word for the entire congregation as well as the kingdom body of Christ in Texas.

The 'energy' that propelled your days in the past has run out.  That day is no more.  Today I am 'resetting' your days to be powered in a new way.  You have been a faithful son - now it is time for you to come up higher - now is the time for you to see with new eyes - speak with a new sound - hear with a new heart - and move in a new power.  The flesh cannot take you where I have destined you to go - only by the power of My Spirit.  Come into Me, My son. Come into Me.  Come into Me in a deeper way then you've ever known.  Listen for My sound - for Mt touch - I love you son.  You are my true son - my heart trusts you.

Remember!  It's wilderness time.  The Lord is in the process of removing old things from us.  He wants us to hunger and thirst for Him alone! Let go of the old.  Close the door to the past.  That time is gone.

New power.  New time.  New bulbs (revelation). It's time to reset!  It's time to respond to the Lord with a commitment only unto Him. By the way, it took me longer to get today's blog out because I had to 'reset" our computer and internet system.

Tomorrow I will share a significant event that took place in our midst that relates to Texas and the upcoming Response.