Inclusions of Grandeur

Ever since I was a child, I have taken great pleasure in asking questions.  I believe it is my superpower.  You know, the thing I do like no one else; my sweet spot, the free money. Not general questions, like how things work and what something means, but deep questions, probing questions.  The kind that make people uncomfortable.   At first, I didn’t know this was the case.  I had the great gift of a grandmother who made me feel like my questions were normal and welcome.  She opened herself up like a book and poured out all the wisdom she accrued throughout her life and I soaked it up like a thirsty plant.  I wanted to know what made her tick.  Why she did the things she did.  I wanted to understand her motivations and because I listened to her heart I could deeply love her.  Even though it was no secret that she wasn’t a perfect person, I could overlook all the ugly because she had allowed me to see the beautiful.  Not...

May I speak boldly?  For awhile I’ve been thinking about the parallels between when Christ came to the earth and the days we are living in.  When Jesus arrived on the scene the Jews were pretty secure in their favored position as God’s chosen people.   They had confidence in what God had said through the prophets, but they were also blind to the revelation contained in the Holy Word to be revealed at the appointed time.  That revelation was of course the incarnation of God to restore the Kingdom into the hands of mankind.  As Christians, we too have become somewhat blind to the immensity of what Christ accomplished on the cross and have relegated His accomplishment to only apply to a select few.  Christ died once for all.   Now, am I saying that there is no obligation on our part to believe this truth.  Of course not!  But God’s patience towards us is as immense as His sacrifice and more so His victory.    Ther...

“And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force” ~Matthew 11:12 KJV According to Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary the word violent is defined in four different ways: 1) marked by the use of usually harmful or destructive forces 2) caused by physical force or violence: not natural 3) emotionally agitated to the point of using harmful physical force 4) notably forceful, furious or vehement.  I find it very interesting how this verse has been interpreted and taught throughout the body of Christ.  The teaching somehow suggests that we need to bombard the gates of heaven to get our way or ascertain the promises.   For me, this seems to fly in the face of what Jesus said in Matthew 10:16 when he states, “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves.  Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and innocent as doves”.    Let me propose a very different explanation.  Could it be t...

I spent my morning watching Glory of Zion online, which is where I worship with regularity.  I have aligned myself with this ministry.  Today, they highlighted a letter they received from a boy named Ben. In it, he reported how his “homed school” experience was going, and it WAS NOT GOOD!  This immediately brought me back to my early homeschooling days.  I remember how difficult it was and how the LORD met me in my weakness. Mommas (or dads), I want to offer you some encouragement and lessons I learned in the midst of the chaos of my own agendas of what I thought school at home should look like.   First, take a deep breath and know that you are deeply loved.  Second, I want to encourage you to look at this time with your child as a gift and not the curse that it may feel like at the moment.  Finally, I want to challenge you to discover who you are at your core and in turn who each of your children are and the gift of wholeness they can bring to y...

If you travel in circles similar to mine, you may have heard, “It’s Harvest Time.”  Maybe you’ve been waiting for “the harvest” for a long time.  Primarily this phrase refers to the great multitude of souls expected to come into the Kingdom at the end of the age.  But for others, this could mean the manifestation of a long awaited promise or the yielding of a crop that you’ve planted, watered and have been anticipating.  And while all these things are true and noble, I think it is pretty interesting to look at what Jesus said about the Harvesting Angels. The term harvesting angels comes from the Parable of the Weeds (or Wheat and Tares)  in Matthew 13.  It states:     24 Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping , his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also...

In light of the recent label of pandemic, I felt compelled to pour out what has been stirring in my heart for quite some time. These thoughts do not originate with me, but instead have been gleaned along the path of my journey and have become a huge part of my understanding of the Kingdom of God and how it operates.  Did you know that “Do not fear” is one on the most repeated commands in the bible?  If you do a quick search you will find it reported 365 times.  That's right, one for each day of the year! So, what’s the big deal?  It’s not like we can help our own fearful thoughts, right?   Right now, it is imperative that we learn to take God at His Word!  Just as faith has substance, fear is the stuff our worst nightmares are made of.  Just ask Job. In Job 3:25 he reports, “What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me”.  In my estimation, the current reporting in the news is an opportunity to put our faith to the ...