A big THANK-YOU to those of you who have blogged on the CITN site to give your positive feedback about the word that I gave yesterday…whether you were ITB, or whether you were logged on to stream the service from wherever you live in the world, it is always great to hear from you, and it is especially gratifying to hear that so many of you “got it”!
I’m not at all sure that I am finished with the teaching on “The Jacob Principle”…we’ll see…when you are in a certain flow of revelation, the more that you say about your subject, the more you have to say about it. Lately, it seems like so much happens in the course of a week that I never really know from one Sunday to the next where the most abundant green pastures will be for my flock.
But I must say that this whole series has been a pleasure to preach…not only is it exciting for me just to talk about the concepts of visualization, it is really something extra special when I can literally see the message being confirmed at CITN, week by week!
As I sit here writing this, CNN is on in the background (I love CNN!), and they are doing a news special about this coming Tuesday’s very important Presidential Primaries (our entire household is very engaged and interested in all things political, so we watch a lot of news)…and as I listen and type at the same time, I am once again struck by how different things are in the presidential race landscape than was predicted just a few months ago.It’s looking more and more like the race is probably going to come down to Obama vs. McCain, but until fairly recently, all of the political pundits and pollsters were convinced it was a shoo-in that '08 would be all about Clinton vs. Guliani! The names Obama and Huckabee were virtually unknown, and, I can’t remember if he said that the Lord told him to do this or not, but Pat Robertson endorsed Guliani because he said that Hilary was inevitable as the Democratic candidate, and that Rudy was the only one who could beat her. Boy, was he wrong on both counts!
My point in saying that is this…we are living in a time when ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN, and you can NEVER SAY NEVER! In my lifetime, I don’t remember a presidential race like this one…and not just because the candidates include a woman and an African-American for the first time. So many twists and turns have occurred that it’s nearly impossible to get a feel for what is for sure going to happen in November. For the Dems, Obama is leading on many levels, and yet Clinton is still not entirely out of the race. And for the G.O.P., McCain seems to be the winner, and yet Mike Huckabee is like the Ever-Ready Bunny who just keeps going and going and going! I think I know what’s going to happen this coming Tuesday, but, honestly, I can’t be sure any more! We’ll all just have to wait and see.
But whatever happens, you have to admit that there’s something really different about this race and about this year. As I said a few articles ago…2008 is UNCOMMON! I believe that it is uncommon for all of us…and I expect God to do exceedingly, abundantly more than I can ask or think in it, according to the power that works in me!
In light of all that, I want to encourage you to continue to climb the ladder/stairway into your own personal heaven. Keep moving up…step by step…rung by rung…glory by glory…until you have that paradigm shift that causes you to say, with Jacob, “How awesome is THIS place! The Lord was here all the time, and I didn’t know it!” Remember that God says, “SEE, I am doing a new thing…will you not PERCEIVE it?!"
When you are in the process of a steady climb, it's sometimes hard to see how far you've come...literally, the PROCESS obscures the PROGRESS...but when you open your spiritual eyes, you can perceive that you really are developing a state of mind that will make all things new! If you haven't heard this series, you can order it from www.churchinthenow.org...if you have heard it, tell me what part of it has most resonated with you.
23 comments:
Missed the service but caught the stream. You mentioned something about the church being on Iris Drive. Did some research on the word and found that the iris allows light in the eye, as well as being the color of the area around the pupil.
You mentioned something about the property bordering an interstate. I looked it up and it is I 20. Those interstates run east and west, so along Iris Drive (drive means to forcibly propel or in your case to push into the future), you have 20/20 "I's" ("eyes" for my use).
If you look at a US atlas, you will notice that Eye 20 connects with Eye 10 in Dallas. So really, the long range look is that as far as the east is from the west, everyone of the “pupils” in your church should have 20/10 vision, better than normal vision.
I know this is a little exotic, chaotic, perhaps quixotic but, it should also be noted that hallucinogenic drugs dilate the iris so that visions not normally seen are commonplace. I am obviously not promulgating that, but the eye has to be open to see and the iris has to allow all the light in that is possible. When an extraordinary amount is manifested in a place, then visions not normally associated with church as usual will manifest and life can begin to reproduce. Without light, there is no reason for the eye, nor the iris.
My prayer is that all light will be allowed in so that the Iris Drive to illumination can be seen with 20/20 I's and will achieve a 20/10 vision for the future.
Ain't God Good?
Dont print this part:
Isn't it Giuliani?
First of all...yes, thank you, it is Guliani (I had spelled it with a "J" for those of you who just logged on, and I knew that it didn't look right when I wrote it) but I made the adjustment and printed your kind observation to show that I can, indeed, take correction/help when it is offered constructively)...
Secondly...OMG! What an AWESOME post!!! I've got to put that on the CITN site with your permission...no, I'm going to put it on there anyway...thanks so much!
Yes, God is good, and y'all pray for Klinton and McKane and all the rest of 'em!
After reflecting on the word that came forth about the Iris... and listening to the message yesterday of how our vision changes as we climb the stair case... seeing things in a new light... new shadows... new perspective… perception changed… all good… problems small… God bigger… blessings received… sight given… big picture revealed… colors brilliant… vision clearer… Of course we are on Iris drive… We are the church with vision… As we grow… as we see the vision take place… as we climb the stair case… the light gets brighter… the light is let in… and all is changed.
Thanks Bishop for every word… Thanks for this blog sight… Thanks for allowing the light in so we can see more clearly… Thanks for showing us the stair case… It is awesome up here….
Iris
More later. But the Klinton/McKane reference ranks right up there with the DBA+PM comment! Will be Laughing out LOUD at both all day.
DBA,
Just read your post. Pure, original, genius! As a general rule, most revelation (including mine), no matter how original, is usually flavored and enhanced by something we've heard or read. That's just the way it is. But yours, my friend, is firsthand revelation and as I've already said, original genius. Any additional revelatory thought on that subject will be built on your foundational insight.
Having said that, I, with all due respect, will refrain from adding any commentary(Even though after reading it detonated a cluster bomb of thought). Doing such, I feel, would be inappropriate and probably distasteful. There's just nothing that needs to be added to it.
I hope the Church In The Now members that read your post will grasp the depth of your idea, allow it to sink in, and well...Selah.
Peace to you as you journey deeper into the land of original thought.
PM
The iris is also made up of millions of speckled rods that differentiate (judge) various lights, then illuminates, identifies, and interprets, what is seen by our brain.
The Iris Drives the brain.
Ain't God Good?
DBA, I love it! Did you see that I posted your first article on the CITN site? It's been kind of a slow day here, so I appreciate your input even more than usual. Great stuff about the iris...really.
Avatar, what comment are you talking about?
Iris, I thought when I saw your name come up that "Iris" might actually be your name (is it?), and that you were going to complain about what I said about it yesterday, but instead you posted a beautiful message. Thank you very much.
Peacemaker, I looked for you yesterday...was the crowd so big that I just couldn't locate you in it?
In context: on "the day the blog died", I believe it was DBA who said it might be left to us to repopulate the blog and he sure hoped that peacemaker was a girl. Funny in itself, in the midst of all our shock.
Then on Happy Leap Year, [I see now on a big screen] you wrote "Thanks for being theological "team players", Peacemaker and Doubleback Alley (if you know what I mean)..."
Apparently "I" didn't know what you meant (smile)!
But on a 2 inch screen, I read that with a period following "team players", making the thought, "Peacemaker and Doubleback Alley (if you know what I mean)", a stand alone comment.
From a "day the blog died" perspective [there's that word!] and one tiny punctuation change, it looked like a funny comment from you indicating that peacemaker's not a girl. I chuckled all day, all because I SAW a comma as a period.
DBA/PM--fun watching you two "sparkle" together. And, I'll still chuckle every time your names are together, remembering the day we thought we were left behind.
Sunday was awesome. Everything you said just confirmed things in my spirit this week. Step by step applies in every itty bitty piece of our lives. Step by step the seats will be filled, step by step we learn more each day, it takes small steps to get to any of our goals, step by step we will battle our addictions, step by step we grow in his Glory and his blessings.
Over a year ago I wasn't sure about my marriage, addiction had overcomed my spouse. I kept battling it in my life and praying but not giving it to God. A few weeks ago the first Sunday we had been back in a very long time and I went down and gave it to God. Increasingly step by step my spouse has been changing. It's actually much quicker than I could have imagined. Everytime discouragement comes knocking I just remember all these small "changes" are steps onto the path of Glory that God has lead us on. Glory, Mercy and Grace... what an Awesome God we have.
Ah, I get it, Avatar...that is funny!
Fredshead, very cool...thanks for the good report!
Hoooold on thar, Avatar, you divine incarnation, you. I wus the one that did that thinnin' about the repopulation of the blog.
We can't let DBA get all the credit, what with all that "iris" revelation and such...got to keep him humble:-)
Just kidding(not really).
Bishop...thanks for looking for me, but I really don't know how you could have singled me out. Any church you pastor is bound to be packed with "peacemakers".
PM
I just want to reply to doubleback alley, how awesome was that revelation and your heart to do that research. Your comments were very cool!
Bish, yes you are indestructable as you are a spiritual man! Life always conquers death, as you have so often quoted! I still believe this blog will be a voice crying in the wilderness to the nations. You mentioned twice that you don't know what has happened over the last 3 weeks, the answer is yes, you do have intercessors praying for you and CITN! Peace...Yvonne
Just picked up your book 20/20 again to read for the umpteenth time. It is so relevent to what you all are saying about the eye and moving forward and perception. Funny how God works in a circle, I don't remember "seeing" so clearly the last time I read it!
Peacemaker, I knew that you were the one who said it, but I thought that I would wait and let you admonish Avatar yourself...and I like the Quick Draw McGraw (aka El Kabong)imitation...
but, Avatar, I did get a good chuckle over "the day the blog died"...
...thanks, Yvonne, I'm touched by your words
...Tracy, I think that's why they chose to spotlight it on Streaming Faith a few days ago...I needed to hear/read it again, myself! Sometimes we have to be reminded of what we already know.
Thanks y'all...peace, out!
Hey Gang!
Came across this on that OTHER cyber site, and thought it fit nicely with the whole sight/perception dialogue. Think about it!
AUTOBIOGRAPHY IN FIVE SHORT CHAPTERS
by Portia Nelson
I
I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk
I fall in.
I am lost ... I am helpless.
It isn't my fault.
It takes me forever to find a way out.
II
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don't see it.
I fall in again.
I can't believe I am in the same place
but, it isn't my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.
III
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in ... it's a habit.
my eyes are open
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.
IV
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.
V
I walk down another street.
Many humble apologies most wise and insightful Peacemaker. No excuse. Namaste.
And you are sooooo right, revelation like that needs a thorn to go with it or at a minimum a kabong! Do you have your guitar with you?
LpinSC: I almost forgot. .Its Tuesday. Aren't we waiting for a good Monday report? or is that next Monday?
Avatar,
Still waiting... and waiting... and WAITING! ARRGGGHHHH! As the song says, "the waaaaiting is the hardest part."
I may as well just come clean cuz I know you all are friends and prayer warriors and agreeers (I'm relatively certain that's not a word, but you get my meaning).
I haven't been to the doctor in 10 years for anything other than a bronchial infection in '03. SHAMEFUL, I know! I almost went at the end of last year, because our insurance was about to change, but I chickened out again. Well let me just tell ya, God knows me all to well. And He's a tricky one... yesiree. He KNEW that I'd likely spend the next 10 years making excuses unless I had a concrete reason to go. So I guess I could be mad at Him, but I'm not. As I said in my initial post, He's left post-its all over my path from the very beginning... not wimpy pale yellow ones... I'm talking the bright flourescent (sp?) kind!
You know, I genuinely care about my body and take pretty good care of it, within reason. I'm not fanatical, but I tend to what goes in, and I see to it that fitness is part of my routine. I've just never managed to lose the doctor phobia, and at my age that's just ridiculous! Anyway, LADIES OUT THERE PAY ATTENTION! I do what I'm supposed to do every month w/out fail. As a result, I feel that I know my body pretty well, so I knew that something wasn't right. Every symptom is telling me that it's a cyst, but I had a mammogram and a breast ultrasound on Monday. I now have a doctor and intend to hold onto her for dear life, as I struck out THREE times with doctors not accepting new patients. So yeah, see God's plan here... He allowed me to get just troubled and frustrated enough so that I'd actually want to go! Tricky, tricky, tricky!!!
I still fell like I haven't taken a good, deep breath in the last 6 weeks, but Bish, I have to tell you that when I was lying on that table for the ultrasound, my mantra was, "I am WELL, because HE IS!" Over and over and over. And Judah's last wonderful post on the CITN site came to mind. And the fact that if the hairs on my head are numbered, then He knows the structure of every cell in my body, and if something is wrong, then HE'D JUST HAVE TO FIX IT!!!
I'll tell ya this and then I'll shut up. This was just too precious to me. That wonderful message that I received from my friend just felt prophetic. I asked God that day whether or not I should wait and take the March 3 appt. or find a walk-in clinic. And I told Him that, yes, I'm definitely going to the doctor, but PLEASE "speak to me in that way You do, and just let me know I'm OK." My friend's message was waiting for me. She encouraged me to go with thorough and compassionate rather than hurry up and get there. And the very last line read, "You are WELL, Elle!"
(Elle being my display name)
So, I receive that! But I gotta tell ya, the human part of me is still a bit nervous, and I really just want to breathe again. And, Bishop, I'm trying my best not to be fearful cuz I SOOOO don't want to be counted among the adulterers and murderers, etc! :)
I haven't told anyone about this, except, of course, Joe. My family just doesn't need ANY other "thing" right now. So, I am WELL, because HE IS! Yes?!? Agree with me!
Love you guys!
GOOD NEWS! Followed, perhaps, by a little tiny question mark, but generally very good news. Doc called today and told me that the radiologist couldn't see anything that would indicate cancer at all. It seems likely that I have a fibroadenoma, a benign growth that is most prevalent in 20 to 30-somethings. Hhhmmmm... could that possibly mean that I have the body of a 20 year old? (Just trying to keep my sense of humor!)
Anyway, the radiologist said that I could either wait 3 months & get tested again to look for any changes, or that I could consult with a surgeon for a needle biopsy just to make sure... for peace of mind and all that jazz. I opted for the surgeon (yikes!), but haven't been called with a date yet. So, just continue to remember me in prayer if you would. Much appreciated!
BTW, the recent posts on this site are awesome. Love the most recent blog. Haven't had time or energy to think about adding to, but sure am enjoying the dialogue.
Probably streaming tonight, so I guess I'll meet ya in the flow...
Lpinsc: keep that humor! Joy of the Lord/your strength of course AND maybe the Jacob Principle will take effect on the 20y.old reference too! (smile--soytently can't hoyt).
BTW, as indicated on 20 questions, I got your updates, and agreed in prayer, just couldn't post. I'm makin' up for lost time now, huh?
My apologies to anyone getting tired of me--Wait--you love me anyway? That's so cool.
Thanks, Avatar! (and everyone else)
But just tell me this much, OK?... do I know you? I mean as in have we met personally? This alias thing makes my head swim :) Not trying to "out" you... just wondering if I know you.
Lpinsc: answer this, what difference would it make if you know the answer?
OK, smartie-pants... no difference at all! I was just curious! Some of you should drop a clue every now and then... like a game. Actually, there are relatively few at CITN whom I've met personally, since I seem to only grace the place once a year. Need my annual fix right about now!
I actually understand your choice of alias, though. I'll admit, I had to look up 'avatar.' Guess I wouldn't do so well on JEOPARDY, huh? Managed to make out the definition despite having left my reading glasses in the bedroom. I've progressed to the LARGE PRINT era of life :O
So, I'm thinking... perhaps I need a cool alias, too. Hhhmmmm... will have to ponder for awhile :) Guess for now, LP can stand for LARGE PRINT!
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