Sunshine Saturday

If you're local, you're probably outside today enjoying the beautiful weather...don't know what's going on in other parts of the world...but if you do happen to come inside for a minute, check out the updates in the other rooms...

Hello Blogosphere!

Hey bloggers...what a beautiful day today!

While I'm finishing up some things (including the rest of MITN XIII), check out AYITN and 20/20 VISION (DEVOTIONAL and PERCEPTION)...

I'm getting all of the blogs better organized and more functional...make yourself at home in all the rooms of the house...

And thanks for the tweets from those of you who have joined Twitter...it's really a cool concept once you get used to it...

Also, I'm really happy to see the ministry blog starting to come to life...

Good stuff is happening everyhwere (if you know how to look for it!)...


____________________LATER...


Hey...I'm not going to get any more writing done tonight, but here's what's new...

Most of the blogs have been updated...thanks for the feedback that's already on them...

I've been working on the music. Now the playlist on BLOGINTHENOW is just 25 upbeat worship or positive songs (a few new things) that have good intros and create a nice energy...

The playlist on AW4W is a totally different concept...70 songs, pretty much all jazz, intended for extended play when you just want to chill out...

The 10 songs on the Now Ministries blog are all about changing the world, or reaching the nations...all very encouraging...

And there are 25 songs on WHERE2OR3RGATHERED that are perfect for prayer and meditation...

Anyway, I hope that you enjoy them all...

I think I'm done for the night...

Peace...

What's Happening In Your Part of the World?

Thanks for the feedback on MITN XIII...I'll post the rest of the chapter here tonight or tomorrow...there are updates on the other blogs, so check them out...

MITN XIII, Verses 1- 23

Verses 1 - 11 were previously posted on the comments page:

1. On the same day Jesus went down to the beach and simply sat by the water to meditate in solitude.

2. But when the people saw that it was Him, they began to gather around Him in such great numbers that He got into a boat and remained sitting there, while the huge crowd stood on the shore and stared at Him in silent expectation.

3. And so He began to teach by telling them many things in didactic allegories or parables, saying, “A sower went out to sow.

4. And as he sowed, some of his seed fell by the side of the road, and the birds came and ate them up.

5. Still other seeds fell on rocky ground, where the soil was so shallow that it was virtually nonexistent; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil.

6. But when the sun rose, they were scorched, and because they had no root system to nourish and anchor them, they just dried up and withered away.

7. And other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and suffocated them.

8. But other seeds fell on good soil, and yielded healthy grain. Some produced a hundred times as much as was sown, some sixty times as much, and some thirty.

9. He who has spiritual ears, let him listen and let him perceive, discern and comprehend by spiritual hearing."

10. After the conclusion of this teaching, His disciples came to Him and asked, “Why do You speak to them by telling these stories?”

11. And He replied to them, "I have unveiled the secrets of the Kingdom of/from the heavens to you first, but not to others yet.

12. You see, this is the way it (the Kingdom) works…everyone who uses what he/she already has within himself/herself (because the Kingdom is within you) will attract even more to himself/herself. But people who don't utilize what they already have within, will lose even what little they have already manifested without.

13. When I teach, I use allegories, or “stories”, as you call them, because they force my listeners to activate their inner vision, and to hear My words in their spirit. When they look only with the natural eye, they cannot see, and when they listen only with the external ear, they cannot hear or understand.

14. In this sense is the process of fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy, which says: You shall indeed hear and hear but never grasp and understand; and you shall indeed look and look but never see and perceive.

15. For this is about what is happening right now in this nation…and this nation's heart has grown grossly fat, their collective mind has become dull, their ears are heavy with prejudice so that they have difficulty in hearing, and their eyes they have intentionally and tightly closed. If this were not the case, they could see and perceive, they could hear and comprehend, and, most importantly, they could grasp and understand with the heart what can never be seen or heard with eyes and ears. If they allowed for this kind of insight and perception, I could turn and easily heal every one of them of the disease resulting from their self-inflicted blindness and deafness.

16. But you are blessed in spite of all that because your eyes have chosen to see, and your ears are purposefully open so that you can actually hear what I am saying now.

17. You don’t even realize the full impact of this, but it’s true anyway…many prophets and seers…righteous men and women of old who longed to see into the future…actually yearned to see what you are seeing right now. They believed for it, but did not see it. They wanted to hear what you are hearing, but they were not able to connect with it.

18. So listen with your heart, then, to the meaning of The Tale of the Sower:

19. You see, while anyone is hearing the Word of the Kingdom with nothing but the external ear, they fail to grasp and deeply comprehend it. So when something or someone who is adversarial to the Word that they have heard, challenges their revelation of it, that adversary is like an evil one who comes and snatches away the seed that should have been sown in the heart. Regardless of how much life-potential the planter scatters, when the seed remains un-sown…when it just sits lightly on the surface…it is vulnerable to enemies. This is symbolic of what was sown along the roadside.

20. As for what was sown on the thin and rocky soil…this is a similar issue. This represents the one who hears the Word (even beneath the surface), because he/she actually has the ability to comprehend the Kingdom on a deep level. So immediately this one welcomes and accepts the Word with joy, and embraces the revelation of it.

21. But even though he/she can recognize and receive Kingdom revelation, this person has no real internal root system, because he/she has formed no genuine relationships in the Kingdom. As I have already told you, the Kingdom comes in corporate revelation, so the “roots” here are the relationships that nourish and anchor an individual. So, because this one is isolated (and therefore rootless), he/she is inconstant, and only lasts a little while. When affliction or trouble or persecution comes to challenge the Word, at once he/she is caused to stumble, and just falls away because of his/her own disconnection.

22. As for what was sown among thorns, this is he or she who truly “hears” the Word…this one has both the required roots of relationship and the desired depth of discernment. But even though this one has everything that is needed, he/she fails to consistently get rid of what isn’t needed. And so the cares of the world…the wrong perception of the daily duties of life… and the deceitfulness of riches…the wrong idea that riches are something external…simply choke out and suffocate the God-breathed Word. In this case, someone who obviously should be fruitful and flourishing becomes bleak and barren, just by ignoring regular, basic garden maintenance.

23. And as for what was sown on good soil, this is he/she who hears the Word with the heart, or with spiritual ears, and grasps and comprehends it! This is the one holds onto their roots and gets rid of their weeds (they keep the relationships and let go of the cares), instead of the other way around. This one indeed bears fruit, and yields in one case a hundred times as much as was sown, in another sixty times as much, and in another thirty. In other words, a person’s harvest is ultimately determined by the quality of their soil, not by the amount of seed that is sown into them."

Real People Blogging About the Real God

Hey bloggers...thanks for your very kind words about my mom and the healing service on Sunday evening...her computer is currently out of order, so Debye read most of your comments to her over the phone, and we'll print the rest out for her...

I trust that everyone has survived the blizzard of '09...

We're still trying to work the bugs out of my writing relationship with Streaming Faith, but at least we found out yesterday that their failure to publish my last article was the result of an administrative problem, and nothing personal...

Speaking of which...no, I haven't finished MITN XIII, so my cyber-accusers will just have to wait a little longer for new material...it's all good...God bless 'em...

I enjoyed all your comments yesterday...it's fun to run into so many of you as you roam from room to room throughout the house...

I'll probably be back here with something later today, but in the meantime, don't forget BODY BUILDERS tomorrow, and LifeSkills In The Now tomorrow night (regardless of the weather!)...

Come In...It's Open

Happy Monday!

There's new stuff in all the rooms today...

Today's AYITN (DEVOTIONAL) is a good one..."PARADIGM SHIFT"...while you're there, scroll down to what I posted yesterday...in the book there is a poem for every month, and "MARCH IN THE NOW" was kind of ironic, considering Sunday's winter wonderland...

And there's a cool new song from Slumdog Millionaire on AW4W (ENTREPRENEURS)...actually, there are quite a few new songs there, and a nice little post about WINNERS...BTW, if you haven't joined the site yet, you can still do it...it helps to advertise the blog...

I only post on LifeSkills on Wednesdays, but I did add the Far Side cartoon that I was talking about the other night...scroll down to "Overcoming the Impostor Syndrome" and you'll see it...

There are some questions for you ministers to answer on Now Ministries (MINISTRY NETWORK)...

And a new post (really a re-post with a new title and pic) on 20/20 VISION (PERCEPTION)...

And I like the flow that's going on at WHERE2OR3RGATHERED (PRAYER REQUESTS)...go there and write your requests and we'll agree...

Yesterday's services were wonderful...I really needed that corporate anointing...and I was amazed at how good the morning crowd was...and, Pastors, I was really proud of you...and as soon as church was over I started getting great, complimentary texts and e-mails from streamers from everywhere about the sermon...in fact, the most messages I've ever received like that right after a service...must have been a word in season...

And where did that crowd come from last night? Wow...that was miraculous, considering...and Mom did a great job...there was a powerful anointing, and a strong atmosphere of faith...I'm expecting some good reports of healings...

And thanks for your beautiful words from yesterday's post...

Theme for today: Less Blurking...More Blogging!

Peace.

CREATION'S LONGING

It's not a leap year, but this is the AYITN entry for February 29...

All around we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it’s not only around us; it’s within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We’re also feeling the birth pangs. These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance. That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don’t see what is enlarging us.But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy. (Romans 8:22-25 - The Message)

1. Today I will live in the now! I will live in the now because the Holy Spirit is actively in the process of working to reveal my true identity as a manifested son of God in the earth. I am aware that something is developing and maturing on the inside of me that is real and alive, and it is increasing in the now!

2. Today I will walk in the revelation that the whole creation of irrational creatures has been moaning together in pains of labor until now, and not only the creation, but I too, groan inwardly. Because I have and enjoy the first fruits of the Spirit, I continually experience a foretaste of blissful things to come that causes me to wait expectantly for the redemption of my body from sensuality and the grave.

3. Today I will not attempt to resist the emergence of the real me, as I begin to finally live my life from the inside out. The concept of existing in the eternal present is becoming less abstract to me, and the infilling of the Holy Spirit is becoming more important and precious to me every day, as He produces in me the reality of sonship that cries “Abba! Father!”

4. Today I will communicate a certain confidence that comes from comprehending that I am a child of the Creator and, therefore, I am His heir, which makes me a fellow heir with Christ. Knowing that I share Christ’s inheritance with Him enables me to gladly share His suffering because I also share His glory!

5. Today I will not allow myself to become frustrated in waiting for my personal manifestation of God’s will, because waiting is a necessary part of the birth process. The waiting is not decreasing the quality of my life in any way—on the contrary, I am being increased by it! Through faith and patience I inherit the promises, and while faith is coming to me by hearing the word, patience is being developed in me by counting it all joy!

6. Today I will walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh.

7. Today I will intercede harmoniously with the rest of creation for the Kingdom to come, and today I will live in the now!

Father, help me to pray Your will today. In Jesus’ name, amen.