The Tumbleweed Times, Colorado County Texas – Vol. II

“The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until the full day” (Prov. 4:18, NASB).

As Believers, every day in which we choose, often painfully so, to refuse to buckle to temptation, pressure, discouragement, strife and despair, and rather press-in and forge forward in our callings as torch bearers, our “light” shines brighter, and is further evident for the world to see—amidst rapidly encroaching darkness.

The brightness of our countenance, and that irrespective of how we feel about ourselves from day to day, increases, until the “full day,” as we choose to be obedient to the daily process of death to the carnal nature, that the redeemed nature may rather be seen.

“…I die daily” (1 Cor. 15:31, NASB).

It is when we feel that nothing more can die within us; and that we are but a frail and charred remain of God’s fiery dealings; that we discover yet more to be purged from our carnal nature. To this end, I can recall like it was just yesterday, over 40 years ago standing in the presence of an early mentor who quipped:

“Ya know David, just when you think that God has thoroughly purged you of the ‘old man,’ and you feel like you’ve been peeled like an orange, He will then place that peeled orange in the palm of His hand, and (((squeeeeeeeeze))) it until every last drop is gone.”  He then laughed hilariously, patted me on the shoulder and said, “Fasten your seatbelt young brother, the ride is about to begin.”

That “full day” to which Proverbs 4:18 alludes, is the fulfillment, the apex, the climax and finish line of the race to which we’re called—whether such the climax is defined by the day we meet Him this side of His returning—or whether we happen to be alive when He does return for His Bride. Either day is the “full day.”

“…Run in such a way that you may win” (1 Cor. 9:24, NASB).

To finish the race ahead of us, wherein for many of us the Finish Line is almost in view; requires that we push the outer edge of “The Zone” – that state often described by long-distance runners – which is a product of the will – the will to finish – which is, in itself winning – irrespective of whether one is first to cross the Finish Line.

The outer edge of “the zone” is often seen in the faces of runners as they refuse to collapse—when agony is clearly on their faces—all the while spectators on the sidelines are cheering them on, shouting, “Don’t stop! You’ve got this! Press on!” These long-distance runners, though often physically, mentally and emotionally numb as they will to meet the finish line, can yet hear the cheers from the sidelines. These collective cheers over the centuries have spoken brief deposits into millions of these fatigued souls—deposits which have given them just enough inspiration to make it to the finish line.

Many of you have, following the shocking assault on humanity over the past 2 years alone, felt as if you’ve been running the remainder of the race before you on sheer will—often feeling mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually, numb. Today as I pen this letter, consider my voice but one of many, on the sidelines of your race—a distant voice amidst the clamor of spectators—the voice of one crying within the wilderness of global chaos . This voice actually comes to you from atop a distant wall; a wall which often feels cold, lonely and desolate; yet a wall which enables the watchman to see out and into the horizon.  And, in the same way that the trained ear will recognize the beauty of “polyphonic texture” sewn within the fabric of Baroque Ear composers (e.g., Bach, Vivaldi, Handel, Telemann, etc.), so the spiritually trained ear will recognize the authenticity of a voice crying from atop a distant wall—a voice which seeks to cut-through mass-confusion and delusion, to in turn speak-into those who will listen, which are relative few at this juncture. These runners who strain to register this distant voice amidst the throngs of spectators may in turn receive something of vision, affirmation and encouragement—just enough to make it to the Finish Line.

Those of you who’ve read my articles over the years, which date-back 25+ years ago at this juncture, and/or those who’ve listened to me from behind a given pulpit over the same span or beyond, know that I’m faithful to share precisely what I’m given from atop the wall—even when what I’m given may initially be pointedly unsettling. These also know that I always finish a given message with the reminder that we win in the end—for I’ve read “the back of the book,” many times. I therefore will always follow what initially tastes “salty” – with that which tastes “sweet.”

Those who aspire (or “earnestly pursue” [1 Cor. 14:1]) to be used as conduits of the sure-word-of-prophecy and the revelatory gifts as a whole, must understand that you are charged with relaying both that which is sweet—and that which is salty—come what may.

And so, in the spirit of my previous letters, articles and messages, I share with you two parts: 1) that which I am seeing approaching on the horizon; and 2) that which reminds us that we have the victory, and that we win—in the end.

There are three critically-timed excerpts of scripture which comprise the gist of that which I wish to voice to you from atop a distant wall today, as you find yourselves hitting “the zone” within the race you’re presently running. The first of these is Matthew chapter 24, in its entirety. I will however insert hereafter an abbreviated representation of this chapter, in the form of excerpts from verses 3 thru 33:

“…What will be the sign of Your coming and the end of the age? …many will come in My name…and will mislead many…you will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars…nation will rise against nation…there will be famines and earthquakes…these are merely the beginnings of birth pangs [contractions]…many will fall away and hate one another…many false prophets will arise and mislead many…because lawlessness is increased the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved…the gospel of the Kingdom will be preached to the whole world, then the end will come…there will be great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world…for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short…when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door…”.

In reflection of this very sobering chapter, understand that this one chapter reads as if it is the only authentic and trusted news broadcast on the planet presently. For an anchor person could this very day read this chapter “On Air,” and in so doing render the most accurate “news” of the day—for Matthew chapter 24 is now unfolding before our eyes—“live.” To deny such is to welcome a dangerous state of denial, which, prolonged, can readily morph into delusion—the inability to recognize reality and truth.

When one is in denial, one has chosen to believe a false reality—an untruth. The Apostle Paul very soberly warns us in II Thess. 2:11, that when we willfully choose untruths as our reality—we welcome a “deluding influence” – God’s specific measure of judgment for such.

“Many will fall away…the love of many will grow cold…” This specific prophetic warning within Matthew 24 is further underscored elsewhere in scripture, to include 1 Timothy 4:1, which reads: “…the Spirit explicitly says that in later times, some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons…”.

Again, this is precisely where we are, presently. Many are in fact “falling away” and the love of many is in fact “growing cold.” Just how do we guard ourselves against succumbing to such? The answer lay within the parable of the “foolish virgins” in Matthew 25. The Bridegroom came for His virgins (the Bride of Christ) at midnight (a time of darkness), and only those who had kept their lamps burning were then able to navigate a path to meet Him in that moment amidst the darkness outside (a very timely metaphor for the state of the world presently). Herein lay the expositional, personal application. For it is as you keep oil in your lantern, that your flame will remain lit, thus illuminating the darkness enough to recognize the current ebb and flow of Kingdom activity—namely the approach of the Bridegroom—Who is nearer now than ever before. The lamp oil is the supernatural empowerment of the Holy Spirit in your daily life—which is the byproduct of cultivating daily intimacy with the Lord—one on one, as much as, and whenever, possible—even when on the run amidst chaos, stress, strife and pandemonium. It is not necessarily the timespan we spend at Jesus’ feet, but rather our heart-posture (our hunger for Him), which moves His heart and prompts Him to respond by watering and renewing your soul—even within the context of but a few minutes, if this is all one has to avail. It is as you carve-out windows in time in which to still yourself, that you are able to then recognize the “still, small voice” of the Lord—which will again water your soul, keeping you refreshed, lively, and alert.

“Blessed is the man who listens to Me, watching daily at My gates, waiting at My doorposts” (Prov. 8:34).

The posture depicted in Proverbs 8:34 is that of a person who is so hungry for but a glimpse of the Master of the house; that they, like a stray cat or dog, humbly waits at a door, hoping in desperation that the master of the house will let them in and feed them, and warm them, thus having compassion for them.

Gigi and I are presently caring for a Ferrell cat, which appeared from the woods not long ago. He (“Herbie”) is not unlike a sea of strays that we’ve cared for over many years. It is such a precious parable to see played-out in the animals which have sought us out and have waited at our doors over so many years. Overwhelmed with compassion, we always make beds for them in our outbuildings, and care for them throughout the day. As we have a small zoo of indoor-only cats and dogs, we typically must keep the stray cats in outside quarters, which they nonetheless cherish, as we also create sources of heat for them when it is cold outside (“Herbie” presently enjoys hand-warmer-packets placed under his bed each night, in addition to a heat-generating layer of Styrofoam under the same).

*The reader may read more of our heart-warming adventures with animals via the link below:

https://teshuvahtzion.com/journal/

As you press-in daily, and refuse to succumb to the potentially heart-numbing effects of the raging darkness about us presently, and thus keep oil in your lamp, your vision will remain illuminated just enough to recognize the movement of Jesus about you—amidst the darkness—inclusive of the ebb and flow of His kindness, compassion, mercy and love, and its potential to flow through you hour by hour—right into the hearts of the lost who are strewn out about your orbit presently—and who are also looking for a door, whereby the master of the house may extend compassion—in the same way that you first received the same.

It was Jesus’ compassion for the sick and the lost, which unleashed the powers of heaven, to save, heal and deliver. When we extend Jesus’ compassion to the lost and hurting about us, we too tap into the powers of heaven, and enable a portion of earth to be invaded by heaven (“…on earth as it is in heaven…”, Matt. 6:10). As we therefore opt to remain conduits of compassion, while taking our focus off ourselves, we unlock and unleash yet another dynamic heavenly force captured in Proverbs 11:25, which reads: “…He who waters will himself be watered.”

As one who has facilitated many 1000s of healing and deliverance sessions over a number of decades, I’ve learned to recognize patterns among the masses, which in turn represent seasons, which ultimately reveal warfare strategies levied at the Saints abroad. The demonic hordes about us rarely act randomly. To the contrary, their tactics are very often calculated on a wide scale. As such, it is not uncommon for me to be approached by many people within the course of but one week, who are being hit or hammered with the very same assault. With this in view, I have met with, and with accelerated frequency, a very large number of Believers who have confided that their “first love” seems lost; that their joy has been stolen; and that they no longer harbor the spiritual hunger that they used to. In summation, all of these symptoms are the result of the venomous sting of the demonic hordes about us, which have received orders to infect our thoughts and emotions, thus spawning subsequent actions which enable our testimonies to erode—very much like the sandy seashore facing the battering of an approaching storm.

Our defense against falling away and our love growing cold, is to once again keep our lamps full of oil, by refusing to allow the events about us to dissuade us from finding daily time with the Lover of our Soul, that we may daily hear His voice (amidst the clamor of many others) and feel His heartbeat for us. Intimacy with the Lord is that which will illuminate our paths no matter how dark it gets outside. Additionally, the personal affirmation we receive from Him in our times of intimacy, will free us from falling-prey to seeking such from others—a pitfall which many high-profile leaders succumb to, as their busyness often overshadows their time spent alone with the Lord, where after they unknowingly and embarrassingly fall into seeking to fill this affirmation-void by feasting upon the accolades of their adoring fans among the sea of people seated beneath their pulpits on Sunday mornings. Such the practice may easily turn into an addiction, which is no less destructive than those living in alleyways, while addicted to crack (I have spoken healing and deliverance into both profiles, which, once again, are not too far apart with respect to underlying heart-conditions).

In Matthew 18:3, Jesus tells us pointedly that “…unless you become as a little child, you’ll not see the Kingdom.” Roughly 30 years ago the Holy Spirit whispered a visual image to me as I re-read this verse, while alone in a very quiet apartment in a small town. He showed me a small child climbing onto its father’s lap, and thereafter resting its head against its father’s chest. As the child began to fall asleep, the father slowly placed his arms around the child, holding it close. The child could only hear the heartbeat of its father, while equally feeling its father’s warm embrace. The child did this every day. And, when the child was not on its father’s lap, it yet heard its father’s heartbeat. Everywhere that child went it heard its father’s heartbeat above the clamor of its daily orbit. The child felt its father’s heartbeat for itself, and also felt its father’s heartbeat for everyone encountered throughout the day.

This picture of Matthew 18:3 is pointedly profound in the context of seeking to daily keep our lanterns full of Holy Spirit oil. For as we press-in to such intimacy with our Father on a daily basis, we conclude such times by being affirmed more deeply than anyone can humanly affirm us, which, again, frees us from seeking the same from them—versus seeking such from the Father Himself. Secondly, within the context of every encounter we have with someone or some circumstance throughout the day thereafter, we hear our Father’s heartbeat—His heartbeat for those we meet, and His heartbeat in the midst of every circumstance.

Some of you reading this letter have faced trauma from your earthly fathers. Some of you, like me, grew up without a father. Perhaps even like me, you had no living grandfather; no father-figure to speak of, at all. Such the void can be filled in but one way: by asking Jesus to enable your eyes to see the outstretched arms of our heavenly Father—extended to you, and inviting you to become as a little child, to include crawling upon His lap daily, that you might feel His embrace and hear His heartbeat for you—which, once again, enables you to hear His heartbeat for the lost and the dying about your path from day to day.

One final element of this Matthew 18:3 message whispered to me 30 years ago, is this: when we embrace the Lord in daily intimacy, by leaning against His chest, upon His lap, we minister to Him. This is the most profound ministry in which we will engage in this lifetime. All else, to include highly celebrated public ministry, is but third in line—after that of ministering to our immediate families. The bulk of Western church leaders have this priority terribly distorted. For public ministry is but a byproduct of our ministry to the Lord—first and foremost. The fruitfulness, authority and anointing which may potentially adorn our public ministries, is that wholly contingent upon our intimacy with the Lord and our ministry to Him, first, and our immediate families second. As we enable the divine realignment of these priorities, it is with relative grace and ease that God’s anointing freely flows through us, over us, and around us as we grace a given pulpit, or square-off with a lost soul in an alleyway, or engage a coworker who feels compelled to share a struggle with you. This profound truth is rarely spoken of in Bible Colleges, Schools of Ministry, and Seminaries throughout the West (I know, I’ve attended them).

I believe it fitting to insert the timely telling of a brief story at this juncture.

David Yonggi Cho, founding leader of the world’s largest congregation (Yoido Full Gospel Church), based in Seoul South Korea, and overseeing 830,000 people at last check; was the keynote speaker amongst an impressive lineup of internationally-known leaders gracing a church leadership conference here in the U.S. some time ago. As the conference climaxed, and it came time for the long-awaiting keynote speaker, 1000s of leaders were on the edge of their seats, with laptops, tablets and e-devices of every flavor, ready to eagerly take notes—notes which may perhaps reveal ancient secrets to growing their ministries or church campuses into personal ministry empires (truth be known). As David mounted the platform an uproarious measure of applause flooded the conference center as everyone stood to their feet to honor this amazing brother. As the noise level subsided, David scanned the crowd with his characteristic smile, and for an extended time thereafter simply remained quiet. David was waiting for the Holy Spirit to fully blanket the massive crowd—to prepare their hearts for what he was about to share (truth be known). Minutes later, as he discerned the timing was right, he said this: “Undoubtedly all of you are expecting me to share something of how one goes about growing a ministry or church campus into galactic proportions, like Yoido Full Gospel Church. I have whittled the secret down to but one simple item. In the afternoon, I take a nap.”

Following that sentence, David went silent again, donned his characteristic smile, and again scanned the massive crowd for what was an awkwardly long period for the onlookers. All that could be heard was small pockets of people nervously chuckling, albeit briefly, where after they resumed the position of their e-devices, at the ready to blaze a trail of critical note-taking. But nothing thereafter came, as David then dismounted the pulpit and exited the conference, to fly back to Seoul South Korea.

The hosting MC then awkwardly approached the pulpit, and said, “Well, I suppose we can never accuse David Yonggi Cho of being long-winded and being insensitive to time-constraints.”

Relative few of those many 1000s present in that moment, were able to truly embrace the substance of what David had just shared. For our Western culture, which is unduly mirrored in much of the public ministry adorning the fruited plane presently, does not and cannot equate rest with being the most productive thing to do. And most pointedly, in the spiritual context, it is when we are fully rested that we pose the greatest threat to our adversary the devil.

Aware of the expanse of those who read this letter, there are a goodly number of you who serve the Body of Christ in measures which impact large numbers of people, especially those among you presently serving as Shepherds. To these, do know that I am keenly aware of the pitfall of carrying upon one’s shoulders the collective expectations, needs and wants of a large number of people. If we permit it to, this collective dynamic can weigh upon our shoulders like a large sack of potatoes we must carry with us wherever we go, including taking it home, which impacts our families; and taking it to bed, which erodes our ability to fully rest. This said, please be reminded that there is only one Person you must please in your public ministry capacity, and that is your Father in heaven. For when you carefully guard your rest, you in turn carefully guard those moments in time wherein He may then massage your heart, clear your mind, and free your emotions of all that weigh heavily upon you. Second-only to Him, is your spouse and your children, or your adoptive family (a family of friends who have figuratively adopted you, or which you have figuratively adopted). All of those on the periphery, many of whom you undoubtedly care for deeply, as a good Shepherd does, must be coached in seeking their primary sustenance from the Lord Himself, that they may be freed from over dependence upon leadership for their sustenance. May this reminder free you from such the burden and enable you to hereafter carefully guard your rest.

“The one who endures to the end shall be saved.” This one simple sentence, which concludes my personal reflections on the 1^st of 3 primary excerpts of scripture in view presently, debunks a handful of pet, westernized and popularized doctrines which have led multitudes astray over a period of centuries. As we revisit this simple statement, consider a very simple rule of interpretation that I learned in one of many (8) colleges/universities/seminaries I attended over a 24-year period while engaged in “higher learning” (tongue-in-cheek). The simple rule of interpretation in question, reads thusly:

• What does the passage in question say, literally (i.e., exegesis)?
• What did it mean to whom it was said (i.e., historical context)?
• What does it mean to me, today (i.e., expositional, practical, contemporary application to my personal life in 2023)?

In this instance, verse 13 of Matthew chapter 24 musters the same answer to all 3 questions: there is no room for misinterpretation, for what is clearly stated is clearly to be interpreted: you must endure to the end, to remain saved.

It is not how we begin the race which matters most, but how we end the race.

In Matthew 16:23, Jesus alarmingly rebukes Peter by exclaiming, “Get thee behind me Satan!” This is the Apostle Peter, who was given the keys to the Kingdom, and whose revelatory faith was to be the rock upon which the Church would be built, and Jesus is calling him “Satan!” What are we to learn of this, in the context of “enduring to the end”? It is this: at any moment any one of us may succumb to be Satan’s very mouthpiece, if we fail to “hold every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (II Cor. 10:5). That should be very sobering for us all.

Martin Luther, who revolutionized Christianity with his “95 theses,” would in later life succumb to cursing Jews. Much of westernized theology and church history artfully sweeps that reality under the carpet. Was Luther “holding his thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ” in that moment when he cursed Jewish people? No, he wasn’t. Did he lose his salvation as the result of cursing Jews? No, I don’t believe he did, as I am quite certain that he had a “come to Jesus meeting” before he transitioned to glory. Luther’s slip-of-the-tongue could very well have been that rooted in his affinity with strong micro-brewed beer, which was one of his diet staples. It doesn’t really take much to prod any of us into compromising our tongues. And, as we observed of Peter, he had transitioned from a place of profound revelation in one moment, to a place of being called “Satan!” by Jesus, in the next. If this could happen to Peter, it can happen to us.

We are in fact, in the End-Times, friends. It is time to face spiritual sobriety, to shake-off the cobwebs of western influence, which is at this juncture no different than Babylonian influence, and allow Jesus to cleanse our “system boards” through a Holy Spirit reboot (i.e., “control+alt+delete”), that we may clearly recognize the signs of the times, and order our steps accordingly. This does not mean that we cannot have fun, or exercise humor, or engage frivolous joys; but it does mean that we are wise to take a step back, take a deep breath, rub our eyes, look skyward, thus recognizing (discerning) that Jesus is fast approaching. For some of you, and to this end, a mini-retreat is presently in order, wherein and whereby you bring everything to a screeching halt, and excuse yourself from your hurried orbit, and spend a few days in stillness—contending for the “still, small voice” of the Lord—which beckons us to come away with Him to a quiet place. If there are those among you who take this suggestion seriously, you may wish to consider fasting and meditating upon Psalm 119 in its entirety, while also praying Psalm 119 (i.e., using many excerpts of this chapter as prayer springboards, equating to a panoramic conversation with God). This can be a powerful transaction.

We now come to the 2^nd installment of the three primary excerpts of scripture which comprise the gist of that which I wish to impart to you today via this letter:

“Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God” (II Thess. 2:1-4).

I spoke of spiritual sobriety a moment ago. I will in turn say something that I pray will be very sobering for the reader to now consider. What if, this “apostasy” to which Paul referred, is unfolding right now? What if, after enduring decades of hideous assaults while sitting atop a cold, lonely watchman’s wall; that which I have witnessed unfolding on the horizon is now upon us? My deep and unwavering conviction is that this End-Times turning point, the “apostasy,” is now unfolding beneath our very noses.

The “apostasy” is the great falling-away; a tsunami of souls who have chosen, through exasperation, exhaustion and demonic harassment, to forsake the faith; and who have caved to the pressures of the world and the demonic deception levied against them, and have thrown down the baton.

Can a believer really do this? Yes, they can. Recall my unwavering conviction that we “must endure to the end, to be saved.”

I have met many of these, one-on-one; who have sat before me and declared that they’ve thrown down their lamp and have no intention of relighting the candle within. These have been stung and wooed by the very Spirit of Antichrist, and have chosen to rather do his bidding. My response? Without waiver I have exuded the compassion of Jesus, and have asked Him to move through me and demonstrate such—right on the spot. On most occasions He has answered my prayers, and subsequently brought many to tears, followed by a long embrace, and ending with me reaffirming their election, their calling, and the promise of Lamentations 3:22-23, which declares that when they awaken in the morning they will meet, like fresh dew on the grass, Jesus’ mercy and forgiveness—which was waiting for them long before they awakened.

An untold sea of Believers is presently under hideous demonic assault, a strategy with one end in mind: the turning of a heart once on fire for Jesus, to that of a cold and embittered vessel of doom. You, the reader, could very well be the only stopgap measure that some of these souls will ever encounter, before leaping into an abyss of despair. The one ingredient that will arrest them from their defeated and exhausted stupor is Jesus’ compassion. When you are filled with such, your every word and deed, seemingly simple and insignificant as they may seem, may be just enough to melt the hearts of those otherwise destined to forsake The Way.

The 3^rd and final excerpt of scripture of particular meditation, and which I’ve pulled from “the back of the book” (the Book of Revelation), reads as follows:

“Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city” (Rev. 22:14).

This excerpt, friends, is nestled within the final chapter of the final book of the Bible. It doesn’t get any more “final” than that. You’ve all heard the old quip, “the buck stops here.” Well, this is where the buck stops. And, it stops with what is often overlooked as one of the most profound words for all of us, in this lifetime. Please allow me to expand a moment.

It was roughly 24 years ago, that during a fast while away at a conference in the hills of North Carolina that the Holy Spirit graced me with something I had not noticed while previously glossing over this verse countless times previous.

Re-read Revelation 22:14 once more. Now, refocus upon that word “wash.” This word denotes on ongoing act. That is, a daily act. This is the quintessential “active verb.” And, for your daily act of “washing your robe,” you inherit the “right to the tree of life [in the end], and may thereafter enter by the gates into the [eternal] city.”

Understand that this washing of one’s robe is not a one-time act (i.e., “once saved, always saved”), but is rather that of a daily acknowledgement of one’s sinful condition, whereby the Blood of Jesus is claimed; the Cross of Christ is claimed; and one’s sonship is boldly declared as the result of “dying daily,” and receiving resurrection life every time we kneel at the foot of the Cross, and ask Jesus to cleanse us of the old nature, that we may further walk-in the new nature, and fulfill all that Jesus has apportioned to us to accomplish.

II Peter 1:10 admonishes us to “Make every effort to make your calling and election sure, for if you do these things, you will never stumble.” I pondered for many years, what it meant from a practical, daily standpoint, to reaffirm one’s calling and election. Certainly the quoting and proclaiming of several corresponding excerpts of scripture will dully underscore the tenets of our calling and election. However, it was not until that day in the mountains of North Carolina, 24 years ago, that I then understand that we make our calling and election sure, by daily “washing our robes” – in the Blood of Jesus, as we awaken each morning to the promise of Lamentations 3:22-23, and Jesus’ mercy awaiting us like fresh dew on the grass—even before we awaken from our sleepy stupor.

“The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease; for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.”

There are a number of you who’ve succumbed to what I have long-referred to as “spiritual fatigue” – defined by internal weariness as the result of fighting many significant and successive spiritual battles, on many fronts, for many years. You well-know the promises of God, His faithfulness; and have seen Him move in mighty ways. Your fatigue yet has had a numbing affect upon you, and you are simply tired, battle weary. This paragraph was not penned with presumption; it was penned as the result of a word-of-knowledge. And, the word-of-knowledge comes as the result of God’s immeasurable love for those of you to whom this paragraph is specifically addressed. You know you are among these that I’m now addressing because the Holy Spirit has prompted you to offer this to him, now, while allowing Him in this moment, as you still yourself, to renew your spirit and remove this deep abiding fatigue.

I’m praying that the battle-weary warriors among you, who have just felt the Holy Spirit begin to cradle your heart, will also draw you into a deep sleep the next time you retire for the night, and completely cleanse you of the remaining traces of this deep, abiding spiritual fatigue. He can and very often does visit us deep in the night, to do what He does best. I pray that hereafter you will awaken to the reality that He has renewed your spirit, where after you’ll realize you have new strength with which to clutch and wield the Sword of the Lord—the Word of God; and charge back into this battle of the Last Days.

Your Trench-Mate,

David the Lessor

NoTurningBack(at)protonmail.com

The Bad, the Good, and the Beautiful

With the dawn of each New Year I am consistently greeted with a myriad of emotions—foremost of which is that spawned by fatigue as the result of beer-drinking, gun-toting hellions noisily welcoming-in the New Year (a comedic cultural element in my locale). I was sorely tempted last night to return fire, but to do so would have resulted in sparking fear and pandemonium among my neighbors, in the wake of repeated blasts from decidedly unconventional armament (specifications withheld). And so, I opted for peace, and did my best to settle into a long evening of listening to my miniature dachshund snore through the night.

I’ve awakened to a New Year.

King David, in several places in scripture, writes passionately of his meetings with dawn—the dawn of a new day. At one point in the Psalms, he exclaims, “I will awaken the dawn!” (e.g. Psalm 108:2). He is so eager and intent upon spending time in the Lord’s presence, in worship, that he is intent upon beating the dawn at its own game, by rising while it is still dark, to worship the Lord. I’m not quite there yet, but give me some time, and perhaps I’ll get to that place.

Speaking of sleep and rising early; one of the most readily available healing balms at my disposal, in my desperate attempts for escape from a severe neurological disorder, is sleep itself. I usually don’t experience more than 30 minutes of it without being awakened by the piercing screech of tinnitus raging in my head. This therefore is why King David’s habit of awakening while it is still dark to worship, appears so far from my grasp. I typically awaken as exhausted as when I retired. What speaks new life to me however, is that of worshiping, on guitar. And so, that’s what I will find time to do this morning.

What I am also making time to do today is that to reflect upon the world as I see it, upon the dawn of a New Year. I suppose the reader may be inclined to quip, “Perhaps you’re assuming, David, that others won’t see that your view is sorely skewed by your personal suffering and chronic fatigue.” To this, I will admit that if my personal suffering were all I focused upon, indeed, my view would be sorely skewed. The reality however is that as I force myself to feed upon the Word of God daily, and worship Him daily, my view therefore often transcends my suffering. And it is in this transcendent state that I make efforts to speak but a word of encouragement to those around me today. Therefore, please prayerfully seek-out the jewel of encouragement as you swath through my musings which follow.

I’ve set my hands to tens of thousands of hours of public ministry over many, many years, in my pursuit to speak life into those who are tormented by one critter or another. In and through all of this, I’ve found there’s but one simple yet very potent ingredient that evokes life more than any other at my disposal, and this ingredient is that of a simple word of encouragement. Many of us are predisposed to scurrying about, in search of a revelatory word which will unveil the manifold mysteries of heaven, and in a flash vaporize our doubt, confusion, fear and unrest. When in reality, most of us need but a simple word of encouragement.

Come to think of it, it was but one simple word of discouragement which led a young Japanese exchange student on an American college campus, to return to his native homeland of Japan; march up the ranks of the military, and lead the entire Japanese Navy into attacking the “Imperialist Americans” in World War II (i.e., the Imperial Navy firing upon the “Imperialists”). The young student had been dissed by Anglo-American students, in a spirit of racism. He then allowed his anger to boil, and he purposed to get revenge. He did.

Conversely, the power of but one simple word of encouragement can also change the course of history.

I placed the title of The Bad, the Good, and the Beautiful above this musing, that the reader may in turn find prompting to expect a progression of thought that “gets better.” I’ve done so to counter the impression that I’m hereafter digging a dark tunnel into nihilism—the sentiment that life has lost its meaning. And so, if you have read this far, I encourage you to hang in there, that you might find that jewel of encouragement nestled within the barbs and trappings of the grim realities I’ll touch upon herein–the necessary navigation of many potholes, before the pavement in our journey become smooth.

The world as I understand it, is a planet spinning upon an axis which is actually moving faster than it was ten years previous. No kidding, the “axis-spin” if you will, actually accelerated ten years ago, as the result of the violent sea-quake and subsequent tsunami which decimated large portions of South Asia in late 2004. A decade later, researchers have concluded that the ultimate death toll of the South Asia sea-quake and tsunami is that between 270,000 and 310,000. It has been discovered that many smaller islands, which contained primitive people groups who had purposefully kept themselves from broader civilization, had been completely wiped off the map; rendered wholly extinct—before anthropologists even had the chance to fully research and document their tribal origins and history.

As unconscionable as this sounds, the mind is yet further stretched when one considers the reality of an excerpt of the Book of Proverbs (8:29), which reads: “He set for the sea its boundary, so that the water would not transgress His command, when He marked out the foundations of the earth.”

If you therefore believe all of scripture (i.e.,“the whole counsel of scripture,” Acts 20:27), you must conclude that when the seas transgress their borders, it is only because God has allowed it to happen. That’s one strong cup of coffee there.

Within my social sphere or orbit here in the West, I am met foremost with an immediate and pressing reality of fear and uncertainty on the faces and in the voices of those about me. The most pressing reality that I see and hear is that of the evil emanating from the White House, and its subsequent course of wholly destroying the United States, not unlike an image of molten lava spewing from a volcanic eruption of political vice, and vaporizing everything in its path as it oozes north, south, east and west, to blanket the entire nation. The reality is that this imagery actually does best describe the destruction of our nation as we know it—the same Republic that millions of men and women have died defending for 100s of years. However, we must once again shift our focus to the reality of Scripture—a reality far greater than our personal orbits. For once again the voice of King Solomon echo’s from the pages of the Book of Proverbs; this time in the form of Proverbs 21:2, which reads: “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, like the rivers of water, He turns it wherever He wishes.”

Here we are again, with the reality of a God who has not only allowed the borders of the sea to swallow-up as many as 310,000 people in December of 2004, but who has also allowed a spirit of Antichrist to propel and wholly consume the heart of the president of the United States, that but one man may in turn wholly destroy a nation once committed to honoring Him. It is indeed the same God, the God that the Apostle Paul speaks of in Romans 9:18: “He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.”

Lest the reader conclude that God arbitrarily plucks a soul from the earth to work evil, not unlike a blindfolded man plucking a piece from a chessboard, which He certainly can; understand that history rather reveals that He typically hardens those who have given Him cause to do so—those who have made the choice to give themselves over to evil. His judgment of such is that to allow them their very wish—a heart bent upon evil. And He has allowed the president of the United States to serve as a vessel of divine judgment, to bring the nation to its knees—the same posture that the founding fathers of the U.S. dawned as they first dedicated the nation to His glory.

And so, the United States is being systematically destroyed by our own president. Six years into such destruction, it is clear the national landscape will never look the same by the end of the present presidential term. The United States will never fully recover; the damage is that extensive. Lest we become consumed in our national demise however, why don’t we for a time fix our gaze upon the globe at large, in an effort to perhaps remind ourselves that the world is much larger than our Western paradigm?

Not long ago a very young investigative journalist discovered a man who had been living wholly alone in the wilderness of Chile, for the previous 46 years. A few times a month he would with a pack mule traverse extremely rugged mountain terrain to trade livestock and furs for other goods. His marketplace encounters were limited to very small towns. The man therefore had no interaction to speak of, with modern technology or those shaped by western formal education. He would during his visits into the villages pick up the newspaper and later pour over it in an attempt to understand the world at large. Of course the paper, like most, was tainted by the personal paradigm of its editor. Therefore, the man had only his instincts to rely upon as he sought to navigate world events.

Speaking of instincts; perhaps its timely to insert a little-known segment of research into the dynamics represented in Instinct and Intuition, and their respective relationship to what we in the West understand to represent Intellect.

It was French Philosopher Henri Bergson (1859-1941) who contended that our intuition is a greater force in impacting the world about us, than our intellect. I tend to believe he was right, as the Western approach to quantifying Intelligence Quotient is largely rooted in surveying a person’s ability to memorize data, and to process such memorized data in logical fashion, quickly–a brain function solely rooted in the Left Hemisphere of the brain–wholly ignoring the Right Hemisphere–which is rather devoted to abstract thought and artistic impulse. One could also suggest that intuition is lodged in the Right Hemisphere. I rather tend to believe that such is a product of our spirits–a facet of our being which transcends the intellect, and which engages the function of discernment (commonly mislabeled “intuition”)–when the spirit aligns itself with our Creator, i.e., the Mind of Christ.  Lets consider therefore that the Chilean Hermit, in and through his complete and prolonged removal from the Western onslaught of social media and mass-confusion wrought of metropolitan life, had learned to “trust his instincts,” or rather learned to be guided by his spirit.

*Photo below: area in Chile where hermit was discovered.

Enter a young female journalist, to make discovery of this amazing story of a life lived in utter seclusion for nearly half a century. At one point in the many recorded conversations with the man, he alludes to the peculiar and erratic changes in climate and seasons. Intuitively he had begun to sense a change in the world about him; a change that must have global implications as well. He simply concluded that “something big was up” — bigger than his ability to verbalize. It was clear the man was truly discerning something larger than life, yet couldn’t quite place his finger on it. I do not doubt the hermit had in turn concluded the changes about him were the result of God’s dealings with the planet, and God’s timetable in general; though he was not given the opportunity to share such. Rather, he was abruptly intercepted by the young college graduate, who in turn informed him that all that he had observed of the climatic changes can easily be explained by “Global Warming.” Within moments therefore, this elderly hermit had been duped into believing one of the grandest lies of the century–a lie which has duly fed the federal monster of the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency)–a monster which continues to levy crippling federal restrictions upon the Small Business sector–thus by default continuing to wipe out the Middle Class–a subversive tactic representative of a much larger scheme to destroy the U.S. as we know it–all the while lining the pockets of the financial elite with billions of dollars. I’ll stop there, before sowing disillusionment into those who’ve fallen for the EPA lie, hook, line and sinker.

It is truly remarkable, the mush that is being spoon-fed young minds on college campus around the nation at this stage. I listen to them only to cringe within moments as they parrot the secular-humanistic mumbo-jumbo emanating from their “professors.”

The elderly Chilean hermit, prior to his encounter with the young “enlightened” and freshly graduated college student, had in fact begun to understand the very gist of Romans 8:22, which reads, “…the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs…” In other words, the earth is reacting in natural dimensions, to an unfolding mystery of spiritual dimensions, dully underscoring 1 Corinthians 15:46, which reads, “The spiritual is not first, but the natural; first the natural, then the spiritual.”

Equally so, the Chilean hermit was witnessing the fulfillment of Romans 1:20, which reads, “…since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made…”

And so, we’ve fixed our gaze far beyond our personal orbits, to take a glimpse of an unusual event in Chile; that of a hermit observing God’s handiwork, only to have 46 years of such the observation placed in a tin can of secular humanistic psycho-babble. One hereafter might be inclined to question how I might in turn conclude the fallacy of Global Warming. By way of an answer, consider this excerpt of scripture: “…those who diligently seek the Lord understand all things” (Proverbs 28:5).

The context of Proverbs 28:5 is that of underscoring the reality that those who passionately pursue the mind of Christ, consistently understand the nature of all things that unfold around them. This understanding includes access to the Revelatory Gifts–which very often reveal “the wizard behind the big curtain.”

The fruits of the young journalist, meeting with the Chilean hermit? Deception on the part of the young woman. For the hermit had deemed the young journalist a prophet, from a land far away, who made the arduous journey, to enlighten him. My hope is that the philosophical entropy induced by the journalist, was only temporary.

My point in alluding to this little-known event in Chile between the hermit and the journalist, is that to underscore how quickly something very precious can be thwarted in a matter of moments, by a misguided soul. It is for this reason that we are challenged in scripture to “hold every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).  And it is in the spirit of holding every thought captive, that I wish to shift our gaze to a few more points on the globe as we continue to ponder the implications of having stepped-into yet another New Year.

As we continue to consider the globe spinning on its axis, and as the New Year unfolds, let’s say we shift our gaze randomly to Kurdistan; the mountainous region where eastern Turkey, northern Iraq, northwestern Iran and northeastern Syria converge.

*Image below: map of Kurdistan.

The northern half of Kurdistan sports majestic mountains and beautiful terrain. It reminds me much of northern Idaho. And, nestled deep within these rugged and often treacherous mountains are armies of all-female Freedom Fighters (well, about 98% of them are female anyway). The formal designations and factions of these armies can be confusing. I’ll simply define them in general as well trained militia who refuse to submit to the chauvinistic and brutal imposition of Islamic culture and its inherent abuse and mistreatment of women. They are fighting-back, quite literally. And as they fight-back against oppressive government, they are concurrently fighting Islamic State; taking them head-on, and are very often successful in beating them back. It is a truly amazing story of the vision, courage and determination of these women.

We take an interesting turn however, when we unveil the teaching and indoctrination occurring within the Female Freedom-Fighter camps. A small number of men have joined-up with these females. The number is growing. As part of a typical day within these camps, all present must sit under ongoing teaching and indoctrination. Found within such indoctrination is the belief that the mistreatment of woman began back in the Neanderthal era, and has shown no sign of slowing down. Obviously the belief completely renders the biblical account of spiritual harmony resulting from men serving as spiritual leader of a given household, wholly erroneous. In short, the bible is a fairytale to them. The men present in these camps therefore, are programed to believe that they should be subservient; to accept the reality that they are inferior beings, who must be led-about and dominated by women.

The Kurdish female fighters have therefore initially embarked upon a noble mission, to fight the forces of evil; only to allow themselves to succumb to a deceptive belief in the superiority of women, and the subsequent domination of men. Once again therefore, we have traveled to a remote corner of the earth, to meet both beauty and the beast—the beauty of nature and noble pursuits therein—and the beast of misguided steps which can easily undermine an otherwise noble pursuit.  The story of these brave women underscores among other things, how easy it is to become disoriented when we fail to “hold every thought captive.”

Lest the reader conclude I’ve rendered these women null and void in their mission to fight tyranny, please rather understand that I wholly support their mission to fight-back the forces of evil in the natural, and I have great respect for them. At the same time however, I must alight upon the spiritual forces at-play, and the way in which such forces intertwine themselves into every scenario of note, when they are permitted. The spiritual dynamics herein therefore, represent the central thread in the remainder of my thoughts.

If I don’t miss my guess, the Lord of Hosts has already dispatched Kingdom agents to make their way not only to the hermit in Chile, but also to the female militia hidden in the mountains of Kurdistan. The clock is ticking, and its only a matter of time before they each meet with an authentic dose of Kingdom reality.  This will make the hermit’s hermitage all the more beautiful, and the female-fighters’ mission all the more purposeful.

*Photo below: A Kurdish female fighter.

Let’s now randomly shift our imaginary telescope to North Korea. One of the darkest countries on the planet (figuratively and literally—see photo below, of North Korea at night, in contrast to South Korea).

On New Year’s Day, Dictator Kim Jong Un made the formal gesture of peace negotiations with South Korea. The gesture was received as a complete joke by the South Koreans, for those who know anything at all about North Korean history, know that Kim Jong Un is a madman. The history of tyrannical dictatorship in North Korea has included the brutal murder and torture of millions of innocent people for the last century. Christians especially, upon discovery, are thrown in prisons resembling hell on earth, and are forced to work like animals for18 hours a day, 7 days a week, and are fed food rations equating to maybe 5% of what the average American eats in a given day. And, they are systematically tortured and executed on a daily basis.

Where therefore, is the element of merit in Kim Jong Un’s gesture of “peace negotiations”? The gesture is absurd. The only way to establish any credible gesture of peace on the part of North Korea, is that to first eliminate Kim Jong Un and his entire regime, which means also eliminating the entire North Korean army, which is the 4th largest military in the world, and which is armed with many nuclear warheads. My overriding point? Evil must be wholly excised from its victim in order to free the same to begin embracing the metamorphosis of divine-design—the habitation of God and His purposes therein.

As we reduce the North Korean saga (this time around) to but one word, we arrive at the same word defining the scenario within the mountains of Kurdistan: deception. North Koreans believe their dictator is a god, and that he can do no wrong. Those suffering cruelly within the many prison camps however, know otherwise.  Equally however, I suspect the Lord of Hosts has also dispatched a Kingdom agent to knock upon the door of Kim Jong Un’s heart, in due season.

No, I don’t think Dennis Rodman was was that Kingdom agent.

I have long maintained that virtually every seemingly complex issue can in fact be reduced to a very simple explanation. As such, I enjoy listening to commentators talk about the complexity of a given issue, only to see right through the “complexities” and into the simplicity of the issue. Remember my allusion to Believers understanding “the nature of all things”?

Recently an Islamic State militant posted a foxhole interview filmed by one of his buddies, via a smartphone. In the interview the militant stated that Islamic State would soon overtake the U.S., and that the Islamic State flag would be flown over the White House. U.S. media widely circulated the video, and was aghast at such a thought. However, what U.S. media and most U.S. citizens who have been duped by U.S. media are wholly unaware of, is the reality that the Islamic State flag is already flying over the White House, as it was hoisted into that position on the evening of November 6th, 2008; most simply cannot see the flag—as the result of a dynamic which can again be reduced to but one word. Can you guess the word at this stage? Surely you can: deception.

Now we’re “tracking.”

Lest the reader preclude that I am sowing a web of hopelessness; be reminded that I initially established that we’d have to first navigate a few potholes prior to reaching the fresh pavement on our journey.  Hope is around the bend…

*Photo below: Islamic State fighters in training.

We’ve just established that mass-media within the U.S. has aided and abetted the gross deception flowing from the White House, and that the majority of Americans do not see the extent to which they’ve been wholly duped. Those discerning among the landscape of the U.S., who happen to be a very small minority, have become increasingly enveloped by a combination of anger, hopelessness and despair, as they watch the president systematically dismantle every element of the U.S. Republic. What further magnifies the collective despair is that God’s hand in this scenario seems nowhere to be found. Believers are on their knees, praying for redemption in the White House, and the president only becomes more evil and diabolical as the clock ticks.

What gives?!

As we have established early on in this article, there is nothing that happens which is not first allowed to happen, by God. Therefore, He is allowing evil to runs its course, most certainly in the U.S. The U.S. is being purged with an intensity never before experienced. Every element of national security has quickly been morphed into national insecurity. Americans are stocking-up on food, guns and ammo, expecting the worst. And rightfully so. In the natural, these actions are wisdom at this stage. In the spiritual however, the good that is coming from all of this, is the purging of the soul of the nation. For the soul of the nation has become corrupt. The soul of the nation happens to be the Church.

The Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights, have, by our president, been declared little more than bathroom tissue at this stage—they simply have no bearing on his thoughts—they are nothing more than obstacles in his wake–a collective annoyance.  His obstacle however is much greater than these documents themselves; his obstacle is the God represented in such, for the spirit propelling our president is the very Spirit of Antichrist.  Note that I did not suggest that our president was thee Antichrist, but rather moving in a spirit of such—there is a distinct difference. And what is further perplexing about the growing maze of mindless mayhem emanating from the White House, is the largely unacknowledged reality that God has allowed this to unfold.

And so, God has allowed rampant evil to flow through our president, to wage war with Christians and Jews, and all who believe in the Republic. And as we reel in shock as one wave of evil after another rolls-in from the sea of corruption in the White House, we are being purged from the entrapment of “The American Dream.”
The American Dream and the Kingdom of God have to a large degree been at war with one another over several decades. Western Christians have been duped into believing that the apex of Christian maturity and favor is that evidenced by luxury, material wealth and wanton consumerism. Of course it’s not understood as consumerism, but that’s precisely what it is—the amassing of material security. How does this glorify God? It glorifies God only when a significant portion of our prosperity is channeled and funneled into eliminating the pain and suffering of others, firstly through meeting practical needs, and secondly through sewing the reality of the love of God into the same.

To the contrary, the vast majority of “successful” Americans have allowed their insulated orbit of financial security to rob them of whole dependance upon God. A posture of whole dependence upon Him defines the true nature of humility. There is certainly nothing wrong with wanting material comforts for our families. However, there is something quite wrong when, as Believers, material comforts become our sole pursuit. Such the pursuit readily defines the bulk of Western Christianity at this juncture. This paradigm is an affront to who we are called to be. On this note, it was the late Derek Prince who, during one of his latter conference appearances while speaking on the topic of Deliverance Ministry, said: “The two most deadly idols keeping American Christians from walking in the fullness of their callings, are: 1) Comfort, and 2) Convenience.”

Americans are now being forced to reevaluate their faith, by the minute. This is a good thing—far more good will come from this than anything else we would be naturally inclined to label as “good.” Spiritual roots are being forced to inch their way much deeper into the soil of a real faith. The wheat is being separated from the chaff in our lives with an intensity that I have not before seen in my lifetime. In the process, many are falling-away under the heat of such intense dealings (i.e. “Because of the increase of wickedness and lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold in that day,” Matthew 24:12).

“That day,” my friends, happens to be well represented in this number: 2015—the very year in which we now find ourselves.

I mentioned moments ago that the soul of the U.S. is the Church. One of the more pointed reasons our collective soul is being so severely purged, is that of the result of our readily embracing an anti-Israel spirit, a spirit which, among other things has spawned a resurgent doctrine known as Replacement Theology. In very simple terms (remember, the art of teaching is that rooted in the ability to take something seemingly complex and reduce it to something very simply understood), the Western Church has chosen to embrace the lie that they have replaced Israel with respect to God’s covenant-promises with the Jewish people. The widespread sentiment is that the Church is now “spiritual Israel.”

The most effective lies are those which contain some element of truth. And in the case of Replacement Theology, the concept of a “spiritual Israel” is a half-truth. The whole truth is this: the Western Church is a spiritual extension (key-word) of Israel, as it is comprised of Believers who have been grafted into the olive tree of Israel. A branch therefore, grafted-into the trunk of a larger tree, becomes an extension. Romans 11:24 explains this quite simply, as follows: “…you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree…”

I have watched this very process demonstrated, in Israel. A firsthand, graphic demonstration of Romans 11:24 exemplified.

The Jewish Nation and the Jewish global population collectively, as God Himself has stated, are the very “Apple of His eye” (Zechariah 2:8). Is it now more readily understandable how absurd it is therefore, that the Western Church is presently standing before God and declaring, “We have replaced the apple of Your eye!” (?)
De-legitimizing Israel in this way is nothing less than cursing Israel (Genesis 12:1-3). And, as if this collective cursing wasn’t enough, coming from the Western Church; our current president more overtly curses the Nation of Israel by repeated threats with respect to Israel’s inalienable right to its military defenses. We are in fact wholly welcoming God’s curse upon our nation, and cursing our nation He is.

Our national sin however, is far more expansive than our cursing of Israel, which has spawned judgment enough. Our national sin has many tentacles. I’ll not go into all of them as the definitive list would sow nothing but despair for the reader. But I believe it will suffice to say that there is a corresponding number which well represents all that I’ve described, and that number, yet again, is 2015—the very year in which we now find ourselves. And 2015 also well-represents the fulfillment of a forecast seated in Isaiah 5:20, which reads, “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter sweet and sweet for bitter…”

We are there, friends. We have “arrived.”

“Good,” as understood in Isaiah’s day, and somewhere between 930 B.C. and 722 B.C., when Isaiah 5:20 was written; was something entirely different from that which we in 2015 A.D., define as “good.” For now we “call evil good and good evil.” But the godly-good that I see unfolding, and as I have touched upon moments ago, is reflected in the violent stripping away of our collective conformity to the ways of the world, to include the toppling of our personal empires which “moth can destroy.” The only thing that will remain standing on the other side of this intense stripping, is “the Church not made with hands” – the “House of prayer for all nations” (Matthew 21:13).  This is the “good” that  promised at the onset of this musing.

We’re now approaching the “beautiful” that I also promised to touch upon at the onset of this article. And I believe Psalm 116:15, is very fitting at this stage; it reads: “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.”

No, I’m not suggesting that the lopping-off of a Believer’s head, execution-style, by an Islamic sword, is “beautiful.” What I am suggesting however, is that the hearts of those who are willing to pay the ultimate price for Kingdom Ambassadorship, is in fact beautiful.  When our hearts are so yielded to God’s purposes, that we’ve wholly died to earthly entrapment to the degree that expanding His Kingdom is all that matters; then we are witnessing what is precious in His sight, and beautiful to behold, in the wake and context of a nation groaning in multifaceted upheaval–and judgement.

Psalm 116:15 has long been deemed that to speak of the beautiful heart-resolve of those who are so in love with the Lord that they gracefully accept martyrdom as their fate. This heart posture, and this complete yielding to His ways and means, is indeed “precious in His sight.” Consider however that this verse may actually represent a “double entendre,” in that it speaks to the former, but also, and perhaps more pointedly in this hour, speaks to the precious internal resolve to die completely to self, and to our vein adherence to the world, so much so that all which remains of our lives is a living sacrifice to Him—a vessel completely submitted to the ebb and flow of the Holy Spirit’s prodding, moment by moment.

Very soon, we in the West will have ample opportunity to die to the world, and wholly live for the Lover of our souls, as the economic, political and social structures come tumbling down in the wake of God’s intensifying judgment.

We love to quote the Apostle Paul, when his ancient quips accent or underscore our personal pontificating. But how often do we find ourselves quoting this one (?): “I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need” (Philippians 4:12).

Now that’s beautiful. And that happens to be what we as Believers will soon find ourselves negotiating on a daily basis. This to say that we can no longer allow our external circumstances to dictate whether we are “being filled” with the Spirit. For when we are “being filled” with the Spirit on a daily basis, our external circumstances matter not.

I alluded earlier to the “earth groaning in eager anticipation” of the End of the Age as we know it. As it continues to reel at natural disasters and “wars and rumors of wars,” the authentic Church will further emerge and take Her stand in triumph of truth. Such the triumph may cost many of us our lives. But this is precisely what we signed-up for. For when we embraced Y’shua, Jesus, we gave Him all that mattered to us; our futures, our plans, our needs and wants. Has this resolve changed? If an honest reflection yields an answer of “yes,” then now is as good a time as any to re-submit ourselves wholly to the Lord, and to allow Him to resume Lordship of every aspect of our lives. In this way, 2015 will unfold as the best year of your life thus far, as it will unfold as the year in which your “first love” was rekindled in your heart, just like the early romance with Him many years ago. And it doesn’t have to end—it can remain through eternity.

How does one go about rekindling the flame of our first love with the Lord? Well, I can tell you that you don’t do so by signing-up for the next “Firepower Explosion of Glory Eruption of Prophetic Power Earthshaking and Releasing of Your Destiny with Personal Activation and Impartation Conference.” Rather, you can rekindle the flame of your first love in and through a very simple exercise; one that you can orchestrate even within the next day or so.

As you find yourself agreeable to such, consider carving-out a time of 30 minutes or more, with no distractions. As you do so, open your bible to Psalm 119. Before you begin reading this longest chapter of the Psalms, simply ask the Holy Spirit to move your heart when you get to excerpts of the chapter that you can pray, for yourself; excerpts that will serve as a springboard for asking the Lord to work in your heart, the very thing that David is emoting. The Holy Spirit will be faithful to walk beside you on this brief hike through the woods of David’s heart—which happens to mirror your heart as well. And, shortly thereafter, you’ll find the rekindling of the embers that were still glowing deep in your heart, much to your surprise.

Well friends, I’ve done my best to render a brief musing of The Bad, the Good, and the Beautiful in what I see unfolding before us as 2015 gets underway. We all “see in part,” so I’m simply sharing the part that I see, and I pray this part will have spoken to you in some measure. Perhaps it is most fitting to end my musings with an excerpt from King Solomon, who is speaking for the Ancient of Days:

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, He has put eternity into man’s heart…” (Ecclesiastes 3:11).  May the epicenter of our hearts hold fast to a glimpse of eternity, in and through the reality of the beauty of Y’shua in our midst as the world shakes about us.

Your trench-mate,
David

PressOnward(at)yandex.com

Gotta love this :O)

Shine On You Crazy Diamond

Tribute to Dale Clarke Cathey

January 31, 2014

It was in 2007 that my friend Tom Dooley invited me to co-labor with he, Dale, and Don Stewart at a mini-conference called The Gift of Prophecy, to be held within the Amish community of Libby Montana; attended also by an Amish community in Bonners Ferry Idaho (immediate family from both communities reside roughly 1 hour from each other, across state lines).

As I first met Dale, he approached me with wide-open arms and an ear-to-ear grin. He then gave me a bear-hug of an embrace and buried his head on my shoulder. As is typical with most males, we tend to honor a subconscious 3-second rule (“man-code”) with hugs extended to other males, by stepping back at the 3-second mark, and by also tapping our hugger 3 times on the back, signifying the following subliminal message: “I’m…not…gay.”

At the 3-second mark however, and as I sought to disengage the hug, Dale continued his bear-hug, and just sighed. Perhaps 20 seconds later, he stepped back and said, “I love you.” As he stated such, I realized he was being used in a profound way to express the Father’s Heart to me. And for the 3 days which followed, Dale would continue to express the Father’s Heart to me in this way.

As the ministry sessions began unfolding during this conference, I noticed another unique element within Dale–he rarely felt compelled to speak before the church. In fact, I only recall him doing so once, and that very briefly. Much rather, he was focused upon speaking-into people one-on-one, in between the scheduled sessions. Dale was completely free of the all-too-common compulsion to be seen and heard in the eyes of the masses. To the radical contrary, he was content to remain in the shadows, and to equally remain wholly submitted only to that which he felt the Holy Spirit had prodded him to do. Dale’s obedience to every subtle nuance of the Holy Spirit’s nudging was remarkable. It quickly become clear to me that Dale had cultivated very keen sensitivity to what the Spirit was up to from one moment to the next.

I watched God’s grace equally being woven into our dear Amish friends through Tom and Don.

It would be perhaps a year or more later that I would have the opportunity to co-labor again with Dale, as Tom had invited me to minister at yet another mini-conference; this one in the Chicago area. I would also have the privilege of meeting and co-laboring with Brian Francis Hume during this conference. Just prior to our first session in Chicago, I recall seeing Dale in the distance, as we neared each other in a hallway. And, just like he did in Montana; his arms were open wide, and with an ear-to-ear grin on his face he embraced me with a bear-hug, while he also buried his head in my shoulder. He sighed deeply, and said, “I love you.”  Three seconds later I sought to honor the “man-code” by disengaging, and doing the “I’m…not…gay”  tap (3 times); and he yet held-onto me with his bear-hug, whereas I then let myself go and buried my head into his shoulder.  Perhaps 20 seconds later, he looked me in the face and said, “I just love you so much.”

Once again Dale was conveying the Father’s Heart to me. He was keenly aware, once again, that this is precisely what God wished to convey to me at that moment–and he didn’t care how awkward it may have seemed to me, or anyone else for that matter.  That was Dale.

As the Chicago-area conference further unfolded I watched the Holy Spirit grace the entire team with a precious word-in-season. In the same posture that I had observed Dale minister in Montana roughly 1 year prior; he again felt very comfortable ministering in the shadows, one-on-one, and to the ministry team individually. I recall leaving the conference and feeling doubly-blessed to experience the whole team co-laboring in unison as it did.  And, I had once again experienced a unique touch from the Father’s Heart–through Dale.

The prophetic and apostolic anointing upon Dale was very strong, and he had the grace and anointing to speak to large audiences at any given point in time. He could have easily spoken-into the entirely assembly, but he rather chose most often to remain in the shadows, to be used to channel deeply personal words to those about him, one-on-one. I began to understand and appreciate the self-less-ness in Dale. The furthest thing from his mind was that of making a name for himself in the eyes of men.

It would be perhaps 2 years following the conference in Chicago, that I would again see Dale just north of the Birmingham area, as he, Tom Dooley and another brother from Canada would venture up to my proximity in Bessemer, as I worked a FEMA contract in response to the devastating tornado damage throughout the state. It was a tremendous treat to share dinner with Dale, Tom and our Canadian friend. They collectively spoke a great deal of life into me (I was working 7 days a week at the time, and pushing roughly 100 hours per week, managing tornado clean-up in Lawrence and Limestone counties, with a crew of 250 men).  In typical fashion, Dale rendered multiple bear-hugs, and reminded me of how much he loved me. And with each gesture, it was the Father’s Heart permeating mine once again, through His love flowing through Dale.

It would then be 2 years following this meeting in Bessemer, that I would have the opportunity to co-labor with Dale and Miles Albright, in Clarksdale Mississippi — “The Crossroads.”

Several others had gone before us, including Tom Dooley and Dale and Miles themselves, laying the groundwork in intercession and prophetic proclamation; collectively discerning a forthcoming groundswell of powerful visitation to visit Mississippi, to then ignite the nation in due season.

During this mission to Mississippi, I was to stay the night at Dale’s warehouse in Birmingham on either side of 3 days spent in Clarksdale, MS, wherein we would rendezvous with Miles. As my plane touched-down in Birmingham I experienced the most violent touch-down of my life. An intense lightening storm hit the area just as the plane landed. In fact, I thought for a moment that we had blown a tire upon impact, as a loud explosion could be heard. I learned moments later that it had been a lightning strike very near the plane.

As I exited the airport and saw Dale in the distance, in his pickup, I recognized his ear-to-ear grin.  As he exited his truck he threw his arms around me. This time, I didn’t respond to the instinctive 3-second-man-code; I rather just rested my head on his shoulder and prepared myself for a long bear-hug. However, just 3 seconds later he retracted, did the 3-tap-man-code on my back (“I’m…not…gay”), grabbed my suitcase and stuffed it into his truck.  I stood there in shock, feeling thieved of my Dale-bear-hug.  He then yelled from the truck, “Hey man!  Git in here! There’s lightnin’ pop’n ever’ which a way!”  We then drove to his warehouse, marveling over the massive black clouds hanging eerily low, and the wind rocking the truck and the lightening popping everywhere.

Once inside the warehouse, Dale stood there completely soaked, after insisting upon dragging my heavy luggage inside. He then looked at me, opened his arms wide, and said, “gimmie a hug.” Dale then proceeded to hug me for a good 20 seconds, and stepped back long enough to say, “I love you so much, man.” He was once again exuding the Father’s Heart to me.  And it melted my heart–just like it was supposed to.

Several friends met-up with us that night at the warehouse, including Tom, Miles, Joseph Beckham and Rosemarie Russo.  We prayed for one another that night, and had a fruitful time. As evening wore-on and Dale and I were alone, he suggested I turn-in as I looked exhausted. I replied, “No, I think I need to tarry a while, that you can tell me what’s on your heart.”  He laughed, as he did in fact have much on his heart, that he wanted to vent.  We went deep, and enjoyed some meaningful dialogue deep into the night.

The following morning Dale and I stumbled out of our beds, looking like troll dolls with hair standing straight up, and wandered like zombies into this kitchen to have some coal-black coffee and doughnuts. As we sat opposing one another in total silence, seeking new life in and through our coffee I-V’s, I noticed the Taylor acoustic guitar that Miles had left for me the night before, for use during our expedition. I pulled the Taylor out of its case, tuned it up and began to sing my favorite worship song of all time: “I Love Your Presence.”

As I lost myself in worship while playing this song, I completely forgot about Dale. At one point I glanced up and saw a most precious sight. Dale had put his coffee mug down, had closed his eyes, lifted his hands and his head skyward, and was weeping with joy as he had thoroughly lost himself in worship. At that moment the name “Enoch” came to me. I recall hearing at that moment, “Enoch walked with God, and was not.”  God had plucked Enoch from the earth, out of simple desire to fellowship with him in heaven–He wanted to be with him that much. God was at this moment giving me a glimpse of the core of Dale’s heart–a heart wholly yielded to Him.  I thereafter continued to play the song for some time, and we both felt the Holy Spirit sprinkle the warehouse with His sweet presence.

Video: “I Love Your Presence”

Throughout our intense mission to Mississippi thereafter, and following our return to the warehouse 3 days later, Dale would insist that I play “I Love Your Presence.” He could not get enough of that one song. He truly loved the Lord’s presence, and was content with His presence alone.

During our long drives to and from Mississippi, as well as our 2 over-nighters at the warehouse, Dale and I enjoyed some very rich heart-to-heart dialogue, prayer and worship together. Not long following the mission to Mississippi, Dale would go on to organize a substantial financial gift, through many of his friends far and wide, for my dear friends Amir and Hanna in Israel–yet another vital mission. What Dale did not know as he forwarded this gift to me, for Amir and Hanna, as well as a beautifully handcrafted banner made by Joanne Meeks; is that I had orchestrated 2 previous financial gifts for Amir and Hanna in the months preceding–financial gifts which were precisely the same amount as that which he had given me.

In our final conversations in recent months, Dale spoke of his desire to accompany me on my next trip to Israel. Equally so, we spoke of me accompanying Dale on his next trip to Wales. These trips together will not come to fruition in this lifetime.  However we will have the joy of singing and dancing on the streets that are golden, around the Throne Room of Grace, soon and very soon.

I remain in shock, and in a state of deep sadness and loss over Dale’s departure. I had been looking forward to co-laboring with him again, this time in Israel and Wales.

As I close this reflection of my time with Dale over a 7-year period, I am grateful for Tom Dooley for introducing me to him–for clearing a path that we might co-labor together.  I am equally grateful for Miles Albright, Don Stewart, and Brian Francis Hume, for contributing to these truly life-changing encounters with the Holy Spirit–which would have been incomplete without Dale in our midst.

Following our Clarksdale Mississippi mission, I mentioned to Dale that I had purposed to write an article about our expedition, that others might join the ranks of intercession in anticipation of what is now springing-forth from not only the Crossroads of Clarksdale, but Mississippi as a whole. I told him I had planned only to copy my closer friends, versus that of distributing it broadly. Dale iterated that his preference was that to keep the mission “close to our chests.” I understood at the time that Dale was very adamant about avoiding any semblance of self-promotion. All of the ministry in which he engaged was sacred, and he was so committed to avoiding the pitfalls of self-promotion and fanfare that he often discouraged others from saying or doing anything that would draw undue attention to themselves. This posture of Dale’s spoke strongly of his deeply-seated devotion to Jesus–and to Him alone.

I honored Dale’s wish thereafter, by keeping my narrative of the Crossroads mission very casual, in the form of a personal journal-entry. I thereafter only copied a handful of friends. Since Dale’s graduation into Glory however, I feel compelled to circulate the account of the mission–to honor him, and his noble act of intercession at the Crossroads of Clarksdale Mississippi. I equally honor my dear brother Miles Albright who spear-headed the mission. And lastly, I honor Tom Dooley who acted as a catalyst in spawning the 3-man “Delta Force” team.

What follows below therefore, is that written in personal-journal flavor; as I casually reflected upon the profound implications of what occurred in Clarksdale Mississippi, versus that of writing to a larger audience.

Proverbs 8:34 reads, “Blessed is the man who waits at My gates, and at the posts of My doors.”  Dale spent much of his adult life at the threshold of God’s glory, in and through a life of sacrifice and obedience. He was a noble watchman. The wall is not the same without him.

********************************************************************************

 The Crossroads

July 26, 2013

On this, my birthday, I take delight in recounting a recent mission which was indeed a gift.

The Crossroads—the intersection of Highway’s 61 & 49 in Clarksdale Mississippi—the arguable “birthplace of Delta Blues”—by way of one Robert Johnson, among others; is said to be the place at which Robert Johnson “sold his soul to the devil” in exchange for the ability to play the blues.  This very intersection served as the spiritual epicenter of our mission objective.

My musings herein are but a small representation of a much larger experience.  Several prophetic and apostolic men and women have been tilling the spiritual soil of Mississippi for some time prior to this mission, to include Dale and his friends from Wales, as well Miles and Tom.

It was as I received a call from Miles to extend his joint-invitation from he and Dale to co-labor with them in Clarksdale Mississippi, that I began to revisit a deeply-seated and secretive vision—one which is now beginning to rebirth and blossom, after decades of hibernation.

For most of my adult life, and as a Believer in Jesus, I have harbored a secretive vision to see the Blues, and more specifically Delta Blues, redeemed and “morphed” into worshipping the Lamb—Christ Jesus.  Through a 33-year span of serving the Lord in many capacities in ministry, to include leading worship, I had yet to hear from the lips of another Believer, the same desire to see the Blues redeemed and used to glorify God and draw people to Him—until I received a recent phone call from Miles.

I grew up in the 60’s and 70’s, in the Los Angeles basin (born in 1960).  As a child I listened a great deal (daily) to the Motown greats, thanks to my mother. I was then exposed to the professional music-scene while yet very young, and intermingled with professional rock musicians heavily so between the age of 13 and 18.  It was during this period that I engaged a practice well known by my peers, wherein we would yearly compare shoeboxes filled with concert ticket stubs, to see who was in the lead. At one stage I recall having hundreds of ticket stubs—concerts which represented all of the major 70’s rock bands. It was also during this period that I was strongly influenced by guitar guru’s such as Robin Trower, Frank Marino, Rory Gallagher, Johnny Winter, Jeff “The Skunk” Baxter, David Gilmore, and later Stevie Ray Vaughan (*note: this was long before Stevie Ray Vaughan [“SRV”] became commercially known—I began listening to his bootleg recordings in 1977).  I was privileged to see most of these great guitarists in concert, to include Stevie Ray just 2 months prior to his death.

As I would later yield my heart to Jesus in the Summer of 1981, I began worshipping Him in public meetings on acoustic guitar, singing most of the commonly known worship tunes.  I continue to do so presently.  Over many years I bought and ultimately sold 6 electric guitars, 5 of which were Fender Stratocaster’s.  Each time I would acquire a new “Strat”, I would for a short time enjoy messing around with pieces of secular tunes.  As I would do so I would experience a “dirty” feeling—a feeling as if I were stirring-up demonic dust which I should not.  The truth of the matter is that I was in fact stirring-up demonic dust—because of the lyrics associated with such. It was my failure to accurately discern this distinction that propelled me to “throw the baby out with the bathwater” by repeatedly selling my Strat’s—in essence running from them.

Many excerpts of scripture, combined, suggest that Satan was “on point” (leading) the heavenly host in worshipping the Lamb of God (e.g., Ez. 28:13-14, Is. 14:11-14, Job 38:7, etc, just to name a few).  In his fallen and rebellious state thereafter, he perverted his gifting and anointing, to include his influence within the birth of the Delta Blues, Blues in general, Blues-Rock and Rock in general.  However, in its elemental form; music is a gift from God.  In tandem with this reality, God (among many of His omnipotent dynamics) is not only the God of Restoration, but in and through Christ Jesus is also the God of Redemption.  With the aforementioned in view, and considering the analogous parallel of the rudder which steers or guides the ship; so it is that song lyrics, as well as the spirit (heart-motivation) behind the singing of songs; either glorifies God—or grieves Him.

The scriptural references to the power of the spoken word to evoke evil or good, life or death are myriad.  I will allude to just a few in passing:

Ephesians 4:29: “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth…”

Proverbs 18:21: “Death and life are in the power of the tongue…”

And, King David’s convicting meditation of Psalm 19:14:  “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.”

Blues lyrics have historically woven a destructive web about the lives of those singing them—a web of self-actuated and self-perpetuated ingredients such as poverty, depression, drug addiction, sexual promiscuity, alcoholism, confusion, sadness, suicide and premature death in general.

With the sobering reality of the scriptural truths and warnings in view, I personally believe it was the violation of these very scriptural dynamics that has led to the untimely death of thousands of Blues, Blues-Rock, Southern Rock, Classic Rock/Hard Rock, etc, singers and musicians for nearly a century at this stage. Our feet follow our words. Every word we speak and/or sing, has the power to lay our steps before us—steps which can lead to self-destruction; sowing destruction in the lives of others; or rather that which leads to our freedom and wellness.

My musings on the power of the spoken word aside; it was long after I had sold my last Strat (I sold it sometime around 2008) that the aforementioned revelation began to settle upon my heart. It was then that my vision (still held in secret at the time) of Blues music being used as a potent tool to draw a sea of people (namely music lovers) to the Lord, began to meet with greater definition.  It was then that I realized the potency (read: potential Kingdom-impact) behind the concept of composing a Blues song, wherein the song initially conveys for example one’s once-wretched state, to perhaps include the squalor of one’s personal sin (i.e., one’s “blues”); to then transition to one’s testimony of God setting them free—a song of triumph and freedom—not unlike the heart and soul of King David’s psalms—the earliest “blues.”

I began to visualize playing what I might call “blues-redeemed” in night clubs, and I visualized the powerful impact of hordes of people being brought to tears as lyrics would transition to simply thanking God for His deliverance from hellish chapters in a person’s life.  Lyrics rooted in one’s powerful testimony of deliverance and freedom can pierce through any measure of darkness—and tug at hearts.

The reality is this: hundreds of millions of people in this country (Believer’s included) are starving for authentic encounters with God—the tangible reality of God in their midst.  Tens of millions of the same are repulsed by what has become of church as we know it in this country—the likeness of the Laodicean Church, to be more precise.  They are repulsed by toxic religiosity, politics; and the vain antics of rock-star-pastors posturing and positioning themselves before people on the platform; and who are addicted to the accolades showered upon them by their adoring fans from week to week.  Tens of millions of people are sickened and repulsed by this abomination, as am I personally.  As the result, a sea of people regularly visit bars, clubs, pubs, nightclubs and concert halls, enjoying the marvel of music—a marvel which often removes them from their pain, albeit temporarily. Arguably so, it is equally true that in these bars, pubs, clubs and concert halls, the same sea of people represent a large number who are terribly broken, and who drown themselves in alcohol, drugs and illicit relationships in an attempt to escape their pain.  One would wish they could flee to the nearest “church,” however the present level of toxicity within the Institutionalized/Laodicean/Americanized Church is often far more lethal than what they are exposed to in night clubs and pubs.  In fact, I venture to say that one is far more likely to bump-into Jesus in one of these clubs, than they are likely to bump into Him within the four walls of the institutionalized church as we know it, presently.

Hello?

With the above travesty in view, I allude to the words of Jesus—a verse terribly overlooked in our day:

“Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick” (Luke 5:31).

The context of Jesus’ words herein were that in response to the Scribes and Pharisees who questioned Him when they discovered Mathew the tax collector, as well as Mathew’s heathen friends, hosting Jesus for a feast (contemporary definition: “party”).  The Religious Spirit is quick to quip however: “You should have no fellowship with darkness!” Correspondingly, Ephesians 5:11 reads, “Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness [fellowship], but instead…expose them…”  We must draw a distinction here however: for entering a dark atmosphere for the purposes of ministry, is not “fellowship.” Although, fellowship can occur therein, the objective once again is ministry—piercing the darkness with the Light of Life.

Within the current (read recurrent) Laodicean Church Age, we meet with rampant spiritual narcissism, defined in simple terms by masses of people congregating regularly to encourage one another to engage in perpetual self-absorption (a common contemporary phenomenon known as “having church”)—while the lost and dying, typically not more than a few blocks away; drink, smoke and inject themselves to death within dark corridors of bars and alleyways. Within this dark den, music stands as the primary medium through which one can pierce such mental and emotional confusion and numbness.  Herein lay the spear tip or axe head of the “blues redeemed”—a new song.

A few days after my initial call from Miles regarding the Crossroads mission, I was going through some boxes in an effort to further organize our house in preparation for sale, when I happened upon a very old microcassette recorder (over 20 years old) which I had last used over 5 years previous (I now use a much smaller one, which uses a microchip). I decided to play “microcassette recorder roulette,” to see what kind of “notes-to-self” were still on the 60-minute microcassette which I had packed away over 5 years previous. I hit the Rewind button for maybe 15 seconds and randomly stopped the tape, and then hit Play.  This is what I heard:

“This is a reminder to buy some new guitar strings, and to also return Don’s call about doing some ministry in Mississippi.”

What?!

Understand, the entire 60-minute microcassette was filled with notes-to-self about writings and speaking engagements I was working on at the time, as well as random notes.  Friend Don had phoned me over 5 years previous, on 3 or 4 occasions, with a sense of urgency that I speak at 2 venues, one in Mississippi, and one right across the border in Arkansas.  At the time I was buried in contracting work and could not free myself to do so.

Nothing less than divine orchestration would allow me to hear this message-to-self, recorded over 5 years previous, which alluded to “buying new guitar strings and ministering in Mississippi.”  For here I was presently being invited to play worship on guitar while engaging intersession at the Crossroads in Mississippi—5 years later.

Unbelievable…

I should note that Don has also had a dream in recent history about the Crossroads; that of an awakening springing-up from that very spot—this long before our recent mission.

It was days prior to my departure to a rendezvous point of Birmingham Alabama that Isaiah 61:4, 9 (recall that the Crossroads are at the intersection of Highway’s 61 and 49) came to me; it reads:

“…they will raise up the former devastations; and they will repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations…their offspring will be known among the nations, and their descendants in the midst of the peoples. All who see them will recognize them because they are offspring whom the LORD has blessed.”

The historical context of Isaiah 61:4, 9, speaks to the restoration of Israel—one of many promises as well as periods of restoration in Israel. The expositional and pointedly-prophetic application for Clarksdale Mississippi however, speaks to the redemption of several generations tormented by devilish pacts originating at the Crossroads. In fact millions of musicians and singers have made pacts with the Devil, at the Crossroads, over many decades.  We witnessed many them come-and-go while we were there. Aware then that the Devil’s ultimate goal is that to sew destruction and death into the lives of those who do his bidding in the music industry; generation upon generation subsequently experience divorce, poverty, premature death, suicide, drug addiction, etc,

Isaiah 61 was already on the hearts of the “Delta Force” team long before I was included in such. That it came to me as well was simple confirmation that we were all hearing the same thing.

Equally so, my wife Gigi, as well as a dear friend and prophetic-intercessor, Cathy, shared Isaiah 28:18 with me, just prior to our trip.  Isaiah 28 had also been given to the team prior to Cathy’s sharing of such (again, layer-upon-layer of prophetic confirmation). Isaiah 28:18 reads:

“Your covenant with death will be cancelled, and your pact with Sheol will not stand…”

This is in essence what occurred as we assembled to worship and intercede at the Crossroads repeatedly, over a 3-day period. At one point I wrote on a guitar pick, with a Sharpie maker (in red ink—to symbolize the Blood of the Atonement), the following:

“ISAIAH 28:18.”

I then buried the pick in the ground—in the grassy island within the intersection of Highway’s 61 & 49 where we worshipped on guitars. Miles also drove an anointed wooden stake into the ground with a mini-sledge.

The concluding verse that the Holy Spirit whispered to me while we were there; perhaps the “icing on the cake,” was that of Psalm 33:3, which reads:

“Sing to Me a new song; play skillfully, and with a shout of joy.”

For me, this was a prophetic-promise, that springing forth from this very intersection would be a “new song” that redeems Delta Blues music, and morphs it into glorifying the Lamb—by drawing Delta Blues lovers into meeting the Lover of their souls.

During our time at the Crossroads, Miles mentioned that when he was near me he would often receive a prophetic prompting to the word “Redemption.”  I ultimately shared with him of my guarded and secret inner turmoil over my history of buying and subsequently selling 5 Fender Stratocaster guitars over a period of 3 decades. As Miles shared this word “redemption” with me, it became clear that the Holy Spirit was doing a new work in me (a “new song”) by redeeming my love for electric guitar, and by birthing “new songs” which would take-back the Blues from the clutches of evil, and would use them to glorify the Lamb. What was meant for evil would be used to glorify God—in the end.

It was a treat to see Miles play Amazing Grace via slide, on his vintage Fender Telecaster (a ’65?). This one act alone, at the Crossroads, no doubt sent a spiritual ripple-effect through the atmosphere—a ripple-effect which had likely never before graced that intersection.

It was as we assembled on the island late in the evening for our first worship session, that the atmosphere was discernibly evil, through a discernable heaviness and tension. That evening Miles and Dale pressed-on and remained until after midnight—a critical step, as midnight represented the time in which Robert Johnson is said to have sold his soul. I however bowed-out each evening at roughly 11:00PM, to retire to my hotel room. I was suffering from much fatigue (one of the more pointed side effects of a severe case of tinnitus) and simply couldn’t go-the-distance through midnight.  The morning after our first late night worship session was met with an unexpected cool breeze from the north. This breeze remained with us for the 3 days that we were there. The atmosphere had radically changed on the island, and God’s presence was tangible.  Something had surly broken, and we felt great freedom as we worshiped thereafter.

One of the more humorous encounters during our mission was that which occurred on our way to the Blues Museum in Helena, AR, wherein we passed a radio station sign reading, “Delta Force 3.”  It so happened that the 3 of us comprised the “Delta Force” which I had loosely dubbed our group prior to the trip.

Too funny :O)

During the final worship session together at the Crossroads (Day 3), and while joined by 2 intercessors who had joined us for this session, having driven from northern Alabama; 3 things occurred which bore the unmistakable fingerprints of God.

Just prior to entering into worship for the last time as a group, Dale mentioned that he had yet to see a bird on this island while we were there. He then prayed that God would restore birds to this island. Days before Dale prayed this, I had begun craving doughnuts, oddly enough (I never eat them); in fact I had begun to whine about not being able to find a “real doughnut” anywhere. With these seemingly unrelated elements in view, the following occurred in the final moments of our last worship session on the island at the Crossroads (Day-3):

During our final worship song, “We Will Dance On The Streets That Are Golden,” a large earthworm sprang-up out of the ground, right between my feet. It was responding to the vibration of our worship. This may seem inconsequential, until we meditate on Revelation 5:13 for a moment: “…every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the seas, and all things in them, I heard saying, ‘To Him Who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.’”

A few moments later, a bird landed on the grass (in answer to Dale’s prayer) just a few feet from us. Then, yet a few moments later, a couple appeared with a box. The man, also holding a beer, said, “I saw you here last night, and just want to thank you for what you’re doing” (Hmmmm, how did he “know” what we were doing?). We opened the box and therein was a freshly baked dozen doughnuts!  After the couple left, we noticed a stamp on the top of the box, which sported the name and address of the doughnut shop. Dale realized the shop was just a few hundred feet from where we sat. He went over to the storefront and realized the shop was empty—and closed—yet the doughnuts were freshly baked—fresh out of the oven. Miles then quipped, “Ya spoze he was an angel, with a beer in his hand?” I quipped, “If he was set on offending the Religious Spirit, I can’t think of a better way than to have a beer in his hand.”

I’m convinced the couple were angles—sent just to place God’s fingerprint of affirmation on our mission—and to say, “Job well done.”

There were many more significant sites and declarations/proclamations visited and carried out during our trip. My focus upon the Crossroads themselves has rather been the focus of this brief musing.

“Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully, with a shout of joy” (Psalm 33:3).

(photo taken by Dale)

David

PressOnward(at)yandex.com

Dear Friends:

On this New Year’s Eve I wish to share an excerpt of scripture which I believe holds a treasure of a key to unlocking all that has been stored-up for each of us in 2014–irrespective of what each of us may be facing in the natural as we look forward.

Gigi and I have plenty to be depressed about at present, but we’ve rather chosen to keep our collective gaze fixed upon the greater reality of a God who is already in tomorrow–before we awaken each day.

As I look back upon 2013 I recall many times when I have failed to listen to what a still, small, voice was coaching me to do from one moment to the next–the still, small, voice of the Holy Spirit.  Many times I allowed depression and despondency to rule the day, when all the while the Holy Spirit was speaking to me through impressions, words of knowledge, vivid dreams, etc, It boggles my mind that He continues to speak to me despite my hard-headed-ness and hard-hearted-ness.  He is a merciful God, beyond what can be described.

Today I am reminded of a key within Deuteronomy 11:10-14–a key which waits for us on 01-01–14—tomorrow. I will quote this passage below, and then briefly re-visit the key contained herein.

“For the land into which you are entering to possess it, is not like the land of Egypt from which you came, where you used to sow your seed and water it with your foot like a vegetable garden.  But the land into which you are about to cross to posses it, a land of hills and valleys, drinks water from the rain of heaven, a land for which the Lord your God cares; the eyes of the Lord your God are always on it, from the beginning, even to the end of the year. It shall come about if you shall listen obediently to My commands which I am commanding you today, to love the Lord your God and to serve Him with all your heart and all your soul, that He will give you the rain for your land in its season, the early and the late rain, that you may gather in your grain and your new wine and your oil” (NASB).

Historically, this was addressed to the Israelites as a conditional promise as they looked toward occupying the promised land.  The obvious condition was that of loving the Lord and serving Him with the whole heart. But the subtle key to bringing this excerpt of scripture very close to home, to each of us personally, and with very tangible and practical relevance, is what I believe the NASB version has captured perfectly, in and through these words: listen obediently.

It is one thing to listen intently for the Lord’s voice from day to day; it is another thing entirely, to obey what we hear.  The new wine and oil of the Holy Spirit’s manifest presence in, about, and throughout our daily affairs, hinges upon simply listening…and obeying.

I look back upon 3 decades of colorful and often hair-raising ministry exploits around the country, and out of the country.  I think back upon how much more could have flowed through me, had I purposed to obey what I heard.  It is truly absurd to recall the thousands of hours I’ve spent in silence in the wee hours, asking the Lord to speak to me.  And when He has, I have often shrugged it off as if it were inconsequential.  With each New Year however, I am soberly reminded of the gravity of the times in which we live, and dully reminded that I no longer can afford the careless liberty of mishandling a precious word from the Lord.

In the natural, here in the West, we are stepping-into alarming times in 2014.  Alarming as they can be however, we serve the God of Peace, Who dully reminds us also this evening of His personal agenda with the works of darkness–soon and very soon:

“The God of peace shall soon crush Satan under your feet” (Romans 16:20).

The early Believers crushed Satan under their feet by not loving their lives even unto death–for even in death they were the victors.  Their victory in death?  They had overcome the world.

My very personal encouragement to each of you this evening, and as New Year’s Day unfolds, is that to carefully guard that time you set aside to still yourself before the Lord, to listen to His voice. I also encourage you to begin taking your dreams very seriously.  Write them down, meditate upon them, and be reminded that God is very actively speaking to us “deep in the night” (Job 33:14-16) in this hour.  Receive His dreams (the one’s which are distinctly from Him) as gifts from the Throne Room.

On a closing note; and as glib a this may sound; thank you for continuing to call me “friend.”

Your trench-mate,

David

PressOnward(at)yandex.com

Yom Tov, Friends:

Many years ago a wise leader once shared a timely personal maxim with me:

“While on a given platform, and while gracing a pulpit, a lectern, a microphone, or perhaps even a television camera; take God very seriously, but also remember to never take yourself too seriously.”

Over the years I have done well to remind myself of this.  When I have forgotten such, I have fallen-prey to the wiles of the Religious Spirit, who is ever-lurking in the shadows, waiting patiently for an opportune moment to fuel the vain antics we yield ourselves to when facing a sea of people; for we are predisposed to a performance mentality, and we can very easily get in the way of the graceful work of the Holy Spirit, if we are not careful.

To disarm the Religious Spirit in public meetings, and especially so when I am a focal-point in a given service; I take liberty to laugh at myself.  In so doing I am immediately freed from the temptation to perform, and I subsequently send the Religious Spirit whimpering down the road to another venue.

As the times intensify about us; as chaos, confusion and anxiety slowly and subtly yet steadily continue to lap at our feet, not unlike an incoming tide as we stand in the wet sand looking out upon the horizon; we do well to remember that nestled within our quiver of weapons is the God-given gift of humor.

With these thoughts thus far in view, let us take an unusual turn…

I have been a student of Holocaust Literature for quite some time.  As I have poured over the pages of those who have survived Nazi death camps, and especially the Jewish writers among such, I have thanked God for each and every soul that has emerged to share with us what in turn occurred within their souls as they endured unspeakable suffering. These were virtually tried by fire, to emerge with unspeakable depth, and corresponding depth in recognizing the fingerprints of God—in the most unlikely places, and in the most unlikely moments.

Communist Romania, and the subsequent persecution, imprisonment and torture of Jewish leader’s Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand (founders of The Voice of the Martyrs ministry); and that during an equally dark chapter within the pages of Eastern European history; were no exception to the treasure chest of souls who were so beautifully refined as they emerged from the throes of suffering, that every page of their subsequent writings drips with the unmistakable anointing and fingerprints of the Holy Spirit of God—the Ruach HaKodesh (Hebrew).

For those who have had little exposure to the Wurmbrand’s; I encourage you to secure two volumes penned by these two respectively: In God’s Underground, authored by Richard; and The Pastor’s Wife, authored by Sabina. Richard composed many volumes, however in my opinion In God’s Underground contains the highest concentration of the kingdom jewels he was given. Sabina’s book is equally rich.

One of the most prolific Jewish authors to emerge from the Holocaust is that of Elie Wiesel. Having read most of his works, I count it a supreme privilege that his volumes would grace my personal library.  For those unfamiliar with Elie’s work, may I recommend you consider securing first his trilogy: Night, Dawn, Day.

Though there are many tremendous Jewish authors to have emerged to write priceless volumes; and while it is my aim to rather address a topic quite removed from the Holocaust; I will allude to but one more author.

Victor Frankyl, a psychiatrist, emerged from unspeakable suffering within the Nazi death camps, to later make a remarkable contribution to the field of psychiatry by introducing Logotherapy (I discuss Logotherapy in greater detail, in a previous article). Frankyl’s seminal work is handsomely contained in his book: Man’s Search for Meaning. In the event you are unfamiliar with his work, I strongly recommend that Man’s Search for Meaning be added to your personal library as well.

*Note: Frankyl took psychiatry to a new level, by superseding the industry’s terminal focus upon brain chemistry and its interaction with drugs, to that rather focusing upon a human grasp of meaning in life–an exercise which melds the more substantive elements of philosophy, psychology, and especially theology–meaning as reflected in the discovery of what God would have us do with our lives.

It is within the pages of Man’s Search for Meaning that we meet with Frankyl’s personal discovery of the profound place and purpose of the gift of humor—a discovery which convinced Frankyl that humor is truly God-given, and a God-given medium for survival.

I will paraphrase the excerpt in question (as I have loaned-out my last copy of this tremendous book):

“When the human being is faced with suffering, agony, hopelessness, remorse, shock and despair which seemingly defies words and expression; he does well to be reminded that when all hope is lost, the gift of humor remains at his disposal. For humor exercised, even if but for a brief moment, can elevate one just enough above one’s demise, to in turn gain a brief glimpse of hope—a glimpse of hope which will feed the soul just enough life and hope to enable it to carry on and to see the next day.”

Frankyl alludes to his discovery as he goes on to define his work in coining the concept: The Will to Meaning.

With Frankyl’s observation of humor in view, I return to my initial discussion of The Work of the Ministry.  If we could see us as others see us as we carry out the work of the ministry in formal gatherings; and if those who fuel and perpetuate the worst elements of ongoing congregational politics could in turn see themselves as well; we would have ample occasion to laugh at ourselves.  And it is in the spirit of laughing at ourselves that I offer you a brief reprieve from the weight and pressures of your role in leadership.

As I have long-searched for tools by which to build-up, strengthen, affirm and encourage weary leaders, I have on occasion discovered some veritable jewels.  Such is the case with the 8:14-minute video-clip I have inserted at the close of this article. Within this video-clip, you will meet with an uncanny assortment of scenes which humorously depict precisely what we often witness on a given platform on Shabbat, if you represent a synagogue; or on Sunday, if you represent a congregation otherwise. You will also meet with an uncanny assortment of scenes which depict the colorful congregational politics we are graced with from week to week (or hour-to-hour for some of us).  With each scene, I’m confident you will not have to ponder more than a fraction of a second, before seeing corresponding parallels to that which you witness ongoing within just about every facet of public ministry (smiling).

Before you view such however, please ponder the picture I paint with my closing thoughts.

One would have to be lost in deep denial, ignorance, delusion, or have been lobotomized, at this stage in history, to fail to recognize the signs-of-the-times as they define the unmistakable trademarks of the End-Time’s domino’s toppling in succession before our eyes. This said, and as fear and anxiety continue to mount about us, we do well to remember to laugh at ourselves regularly, and to remember also that God is in complete control—He knows the events of tomorrow—before we awaken (provided of course that we are first able to sleep).

I believe we also do well to consider a maxim that I personally coined some time ago:

“Spiritual warfare is overrated.”

I jokingly exclaimed this to myself while sitting in an exhausted heap on the floor, following one intense yet fruitful deliverance ministry session with a dear soul.  I must have resembled a cartoon character of old, with stars dancing over my head, my hair frazzled, and with my clothes torn, tattered and smoking from flash-burns (smiling).

Please understand dear reader; I could never be personally and legitimately charged with underestimating the place and purpose of spiritual warfare within our daily lives.  Were you to know the nature of the ministry in which I engage daily, you would fully understand why I would render such a disclaimer. Our spiritual lives, in this lifetime, do in fact reflect one massive battlefield.  What I am saying therefore, within the maxim in which I have coined, is this: We must never work ourselves up and into a place of such embattled frenzy that we completely forget that within but a fraction of a second, and with but a gentle touch of one of His fingers, God can dispel every battle that we face.  After all,  He is known in Hebrew as “Adonai Tseva’ot”—“The Lord of Armies.”

We must therefore exercise great discernment and Spirit-sensitivity in the selection of, or the choosing of, our battles.

There are battles in our lives, often self-inflicted battles, and even battles which we were never commissioned to engage, which should be rather left to God alone.  And leaving them to Him requires that we learn to rest in Him–and to more often find the occasion to laugh at ourselves–the very point of my collective musings within this article.

When we forget that God is far more omnipotent than any dust we can stir-up in His name, or any stirred-up dust that we might otherwise settle in His name, our vocation has surly become “overrated,” and we have lost sight of His majesty in all things.

The Holocaust, and Holocaust Literature is no laughing matter. It is a very sobering study and meditation. Equally, a visit to Israel’s Holocaust Museum (Yad Vashem) is very sobering, and heart-wrenching.  I have taken part in 3 historic ceremonies therein, on 3 separate trips to Israel; ceremonies involving holocaust survivors. And I have counted these moments in time precious, as I was privileged to embrace each of the survivors, and bless them.

The above said, please understand that by inserting reference to the Holocaust within the context of a discussion of humor, I am in no way discounting the suffering therein, nor our supreme duty to honor the victims of such.  Much rather, I have used the very words of survivors themselves, who have encouraged us to laugh at ourselves and our circumstances, as one of many means to overcome them.

And when we find occasion to weep about our own suffering, we do well to meditate upon the following excerpt of scripture, which happens to be in “the back of the Book.”  And as you do so, take special note of Who has the last laugh (smiling).

“Stop weeping; behold the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome…” (Rev. 5:5, NASB)

Enjoy this video-clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zz3huPeYCVs&NR=1&feature=endscreen

Your trench-mate,

David

PressOnward(at)yandex.com

January 21, 2013

Yom Tov, Friends:

This evening marks the completion of my 21-day fast, and yet another journey into what Madame Jeanne Guyon (French mystic, circa 1700) coined: “the mysterious depths of Jesus Christ.”

Without exception, when we fast for the purposes of drawing nearer to God, and that we might further be conformed to the image of Messiah Y’shua; He answers the yearning of our souls to more closely commune with Him.  And it is this present communion which has resulted in the new mission in which I find myself—as I type.

I wish to thank each of you for the overwhelming response to my recent request that you would consider sowing financially, and with your prayer support, into my latest Mission to Israel—a mission which, in much larger context, is that representative of the ongoing fruits of 2 previous missions in which I have been honored to have been included—the Amish and Mennonite Repentance and Blessing missions of 2010 and 2012 respectively; that I might again sojourn with Sarah and Abraham in Jerusalem, and serve as a conduit of healing to Sarah and Abraham.  As of today your gifts toward this mission have not only surpassed my projected personal expenses; they have also resulted in what will be a significant financial gift rendered to Abraham and Sarah as I greet them on Wednesday. For those of you who could not sow-into this mission financially; your prayer-support is an even greater gift.  I am aware that all of us have met with trying economic times—me and Gigi included.  And so, please be reminded that this was a no-guilt plea for your response.

As I have shared previously, Sarah’s cancer therapy has come at great cost.  As such our collective gift to them will water their souls.  Additionally, I wish to thank those of you who designated gifts directly to Sarah and Abraham above and beyond what you have sown-into me personally for my traveling expenses.  I am simply in awe of your hearts, and more pointedly your hearts toward the “apple of God’s eye”—Zion. You cannot get much close to the core of this “apple,” than Sarah and Abraham.

I’m presently at a hotel in New York, for an overnight stay prior to my departure for Tel Aviv tomorrow (Tuesday).  I arrive in Tel Aviv late Wednesday morning following an estimated 12.5-hour flight.  Benjamin, Abraham’s business partner and friend in Tel Aviv, is going to seek to break-away from the bustle of his schedule, to drive me from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.  I am very grateful for his kindness.  As many of you may recall as we were in Israel together in November, I complimented Benjamin on his selection of a rather “charismatic” pair of socks he was sporting at the time.  As I see him on Wednesday I will be presenting to him a set of 3 pair of argyle socks—which no man can live without. 

I have been very privileged over the past 32 years to have been granted countless avenues in which to minister, many of which have been a great honor for me, and which have permanently changed me.  However I must say that what awaits me in Israel this time, is of a nature which will require more Spirit-sensitivity and faith combined, than I have ever sought to move-in.  In this light, I realize now in retrospect, that this 21-day fast was the perfect prelude to such—as the fast ended on the very day on which I have embarked upon my return to Israel—a turn of events which were wholly unpremeditated at the onset of my fast on January 1^st.

It was while in my prayer room perhaps a little over a week ago that that the Holy Spirit so surged me with such a love and compassion for both Sarah and Abraham, that all I could do was weep. It was not long following, that I generated my blanket prayer request, that this trip become a reality.

As most if not all of you are at least in a cursory capacity familiar with the colorful history of the Azusa Street Revival, I’m certain you will appreciate a momentary glimpse into a timely maxim from F.F. Bosworth, one of the primary faith-healers spawned by this outpouring (John G. Lake was yet another).  On the wall, next to my Quiet-Time chair in our study, is an 8” x 10” black & white photo of F.F. Bosworth, William Seymour and John G. Lake, taken sometime between 1906 and 1910, outside a meeting house on Azusa Street (Los Angeles).  As odd as this may sound to some of you, I actually feel an anointing emanating from that photo.  It was F.F. Bosworth, author of Christ the Healer; a copy of which I have in my possession as I type; and which I am re-reading for perhaps the 5^th time; said:

“We cannot reach-up and grasp with our hands from God, what we cannot first envision with the eyes-of-faith.”

It is through the “eyes-of-faith” that I have seen in recent weeks, visions of Sarah being delivered and healed of stomach cancer.  When our first recourse is not that to believe God for the miraculous, we very often fall-prey to becoming comfortable with much less.

Miraculous healing is still in fashion—despite what the Apologists would have us believe.

Aware that such is wholly upon God’s shoulders; I am equally aware that our part is that in exercising faith—great faith, and in consecrating ourselves as channels for the divine.

What I have long referred to as “The Genesis 12:3 Key” is being released over the lives of everyone who has responded to my plea.  The blessing for the Church at-large, is spiritual in nature—largely experienced in the form of an increased measure of God in our midst.  And is this not the purpose of our meetings as we congregate?  If it is not, we’ve surely been duped somewhere along the way.

As I bring this note to a close, and while dangling by but one thread of cogency on the heels of having slept for all of 1 hour last night; I wish to offer you yet another download the Holy Spirit spoke to me just a few days ago, in and through another precious observation in nature.

It was early in the morning as I let my dog out (“Joybee the Wonder Dog”—black & tan short-hair miniature dachshund), that she might “make the beepees” (that’s, “Number 1”). As I did so, a small Schnauzer named “Snicker-Doodles” (who had escaped from the property next to us) came to pay Joybee a visit.  And as with each occasion that Snicker-Doodles escapes and visits Joybee, they dart around jumping over each other like a couple of wild rabbits, running in figure-8 patterns and having a blast playing cat-n-mouse.  Joybee rarely gets to see other dogs, and rather enjoys the company of her 20-pound brother (“Freud” – the cat).  Joybee is but 12 pounds.  It was as Snicker-Doodles was finished visiting Joybee, that he darted back to his house, and disappeared.

Though it was not even 20 degrees outside, and Joybee was shivering in the cold (she did have a sweater and jacket on), she darted toward Snicker-Doodles as he disappeared, and ran her 50-foot leash-line taunt, to then lean away from the line as hard as she could, to stretch just another ½” toward Snicker-Doodle’s direction.  She froze in that position, shivering from the cold, and whimpering in a pitiful chimpanzee-like fashion, and remained focused upon where she had last seen Snicker-Doodles, for at least 10 minutes.  At the 3-minute mark I went back inside to warm up, and had the unusual sense that I should observe her for a moment.  As I stood inside the door, and as the minutes ticked-by, the Holy Spirit whispered this to me:

“Joybee’s entire being is fixed upon seeing Snicker-Doodles re-appear where she had last seen him.  She is certain that he will return—right where he was last seen.  She is so intent upon him reappearing that she will freeze before she concludes otherwise.”

It was then that I realized what was being spoken to me.  We as Spirit-filled Believers have many times witnessed powerful visitations from God, wherein He has visited a location in such might that for a time a heavenly portal is established, and all who visit the locale are touched profoundly.  As time marches on however, and though the portal may dissipate, we yet eagerly wait for Him to return to the same place, and in the same way.  However, God is ever-changing, and no two visitations of His presence and power are the same.  He is always up to something new—which requires new levels of faith, new levels of risk, new levels of hope and anticipation, new levels of vision; and new levels of the revelation of the love, mercy and compassion in which He seeks-out the lost and the sick among us.  Also required, are new levels of consecration—through prayer and fasting.

I have so enjoyed interacting with those of you who have opted to fast as well.  It was for this reason that chose to make known my fast—to spawn participation from others.  I have enjoyed the deeper dialog with each of you—the brand of transparent sharing which occurs when our bodies are dying—while our spirits are awakening with new life—as the result of fasting.  It is talking about those deep recesses in the heart, which sets the stage for God’s whole habitation therein.  He is after the “whole heart” (Psalm 119:2).  Your reward will be rich, and I’m lifting each one of you in prayer.

For those of you who are unaware; Micah and Nancy Smith over many years, and Ben and Barbara Girod in more recent years, have modeled Y’shua to Abraham and Sarah in Israel, and at home, in such a way that Abraham and Sarah have witnessed the indelible fingerprints of Y’shua in their midst.  It was this lengthy investment in Abraham and Sarah which set the stage for both of them to be showered with the love of God by the collective Anabaptist team recently in November.  My ministry to them therefore, comes on the heels of precious labor which has gone before—and which I handle with great care.  It was in emulating the love of Y’shua, over such a long period, as Micah and Nancy, and Ben and Barbara have, that the stage has been set for Y’shua to show Himself majestic to both of them.  In this light, and in this context, I am not only humbled and honored to co-labor with these couples and the larger Anabaptist Connections and Global Gateway Network teams; I am also humbled and honored that so many of you would so lovingly and sacrificially sow-into this latest mission with your prayers, and with your finances.

I am eternally grateful to each of you.

Your trench-mate,

David

PressOnward(at)yandex.com

Yom Tov, Friends:

Day-14 into my 21-day fast, I pause once again to share with friends some things I feel are worthy of meditation.

It was in the Summer of 1982 that I met the late Dennis Bennett, an Episcopal priest who is deemed within the annals of church history as “the father of the Charismatic Movement.”  I was, from 1982 to 1984 privileged to have sat under his tutelage repeatedly, in the area of Inner Healing and Deliverance.

It was in 1960, that from the pulpit of his 2600-member congregation in Van Nuys California, he freely shared of he and his wife Rita having recently experienced an explosive baptism in the Holy Spirit, followed by an immediate experience with speaking in tongues and moving in the revelatory gifts.  Shortly after this service in 1960, Dennis was excommunicated from the Episcopal Church.

Dennis and Rita would go on to write several Charismatic Christian classics including Nine O’Clock in the Morning, and The Holy Spirit and You.

Two of the countless things which Dennis shared with me remain with me foremost.  The first is that of his repeated encouragement to approach Father God as “Pappa” or “Daddy,” and in doing so to picture ones’ self sitting on “Pappa” or “Daddy’s” lap.  This was the greatest challenge for me of all, and one that I struggle with, still.

Dennis was onto something in this.  It would be several years later that I would experience the object of Dennis’ goal, while I meditated in the Psalms, and while re-reading Psalm 131:2, which reads: “Surly I have composed and quieted my soul; like a weaned child rests against his mother, my soul is like a weaned child within me.”

It is this very picture, a picture of a child in the lap of a mother, which Dennis sought to impart to his students—a model for daily intimacy with Father God.

I would go on to submit myself to countless Inner Healing and Deliverance ministry models over many years, and ultimately begin to facilitate such for others; which is what I do now very often.

The second of the two things which are chief among that imparted to me by Dennis so long ago, is that which he whispered into my ear after teaching a 2-day seminar/mini-conference based in his book, The Holy Spirit and You. After sharing a truly heart-gripping message about the ways and means; the ebb and flow of the Holy Spirit; Dennis walked very softly over to me, leaned very close to me, and whispered in my ear: “The Holy Spirit is a gentleman, David.  He will never force His way into your affairs.  Rather, He will very gently, and very subtly, speak as a ‘still, small voice,’ so subtle that if you are not attuned to Him at the moment, you will completely miss Him.”

Thirty years have passed since that day with Dennis in 1982; one of many days spent with him over a period of a few years.  And throughout the course of 3 decades I have callously ignored “the Gentlemen” on countless occasions.  Granted, there equally has been many times when I have heard Him clearly, but far more in which I have chosen to ignore Him—to my dismal demise.

This is perhaps the fourth occasion in which I’ve fasted at this length since 1981.  And with each experience I am reminded of how we are so much more keenly attuned to the “still, small voice” of the Holy Spirit, while fasting.  I have long used an analogy of “spiritual antennae,” in that when we are not fasting, our antennae are often in the retracted position—barely picking up heavenly transmissions from day to day.  Whereas as we fast, the antennae become fully protracted, and we receive a much clearer “signal,” not unlike the behavior of radio waves and a common radio (perhaps not so common anymore).

One of the more pressing issues addressed in prayer during my fast, is that of a neurological issue with which I have battled for 12 years; a condition which has equated to the trial of my life.  It has been with fully protracted “antennae” that I have more clearly heard the sound of Y’shua’s voice—in the midst of my suffering.

I have been reminded in recent days of a fitting analogy within the dynamics of one emerging from a dark room—into bright sunshine.  The initial shock to the eye pupils prompts many to cup their hands over their eyes momentarily. Conversely, as we fast, we grow so much more accustomed to the “light of life,” Y’shua Himself, that when we approach darkness we experience the same shock to our spiritual pupils.  In this vein I have largely avoided national news for 14 days at this stage, as the deception behind such news; especially that related to activities within the White House; emanates so much deception that it is a shock to my spiritual eyes.  I have rather opted to spend more time observing the spirit-realm—which is where our focus should be hereafter.

It was in 2005 that I released an article entitled, The Eagle Has Landed.  Within the article, which was published by a few prophetic periodicals at the time, I spoke of a demonic assault upon the minds of the masses, in the form of audio-visual system-overload—a condition which spawns the perpetual hunger to have some form of audio-visual stimulation in front of the eyes and in the ears around the clock.  I also spoke to the demonic assault of prescription drug programming—a programming which includes the diabolical connection between the medical industry and the pharmaceutical industry, characterized by the alarming speed and precision with which millions of physicians write-out prescriptions within minutes of seeing a given patient; as well as the art with which the same number of physicians sell their patients on “lifestyle drugs”—drugs which are to be taken for life.  Chief among these are psychotropic medications of all sorts—many of which physicians have tried to convince me to take as I battle the hideous effects of a neurological condition (Catastrophic Tinnitus).

But you must know, friends, that for 12 years I have denied the pharmaceutical industry such satisfaction.  The pharmaceutical industry is a trillion dollar a year industry.  And I have refrained from such programming for one reason—that I might more clearly hear from the Lord—for others.

To dissuade would-be antagonists; allow me to grant that for many you I understand your medication to be necessary.  Do let that one rest, I implore you.

The race, in which we find ourselves as Believers, can be reduced to but two simple objectives: being Spirit-formed…and Spirit-led.  It’s that simple.  As we grow in our sensitivity to yield to both dynamics, all else meets with relative harmony—and peace.

I wish to thank each of you; friends who span the globe, and who are in varied places in your pilgrimages; for tarrying with my musings during this fast.  This is the first time that I have felt compelled not only to share that I am fasting, but to share what I glean while doing so—so as to spawn a broad and renewed hunger for such (pun intended) among friends.  For it is fasting and prayer, adopted as a lifestyle hereafter, that is going to enable us to fully navigate the turbulent waters before us as 2013 continues to unfold.  Without such, we may very well “faint with fear” (Luke 21:26) over what is forthcoming about us.  The United States that our fathers, grandfathers and great-grandfathers fought-for, is quickly fading into memory.

A profoundly redemptive element of this alarming national metamorphosis however, is this: we are being called to supplant our national patriotism with a much larger allegiance—an allegiance to the Kingdom of God Universal. 

As saddening as the fall of the U.S. is—a notion which is particularly painful for me as a Navy veteran—it must now be relegated to context in the light of a much larger mandate—that to expand the Kingdom of God on earth.  Soon we will no longer look at the world about us as Americans, but as Believers.  The “American Dream” must be replaced by the Apostle John’s dream of the “New Jerusalem” (in literal Israel)—a vision far exceeding our present narcissistic orbits.

This is our hour to shine like “a light upon a hill” (Isaiah 60:1), as we fix our gaze upon the Lamb from sunrise to sunset.

As you ponder what I’ve shared with you this evening, equally ponder the path you might take toward becoming further knitted into a congregation of Believers (whether that be in a formal setting in public, or an informal setting in a home).  For it is the community of the Saints, a collective strength, which will sustain you as you continue to submit yourself to being Spirit-formed…and Spirit-led in the midst of the raging battle about us.

Your trench-mate,

David

PressOnward(at)yandex.com