Monday, February 11, 2019
Sunday, February 10, 2019
“Rise, Ramp Up and Breakthrough”
During the first week of this year, I became quite sick and had to
take a few days off to rest. As I lay on my couch, I took the
opportunity to spend some time in prayer and soaking. God took this
opportunity to get my attention! As I soaked, I began to perceive that
God had something awesome on the horizon for His people in 2019. I also
began to understand that the visions and promises God had given me, that
related to my destiny in Him, were not necessarily going to be
fulfilled in the manner I thought they were, and that it would probably
look very different than what I was anticipating. I had a deep sense
that in 2019 and 2020, we are approaching something very holy to God. It
is wisdom to adopt a spiritual posture of humility before the majesty
of the King in full surrender to His will, and in acknowledgment that
Jesus Christ is Lord!
A Sacrificial Fire
| “When things seem as if they are at their worst and the days look dark, that is when God tells us to look up, for our redemption draws near, and He moves suddenly to show forth His great power!“ |
I readily submitted to this process, fully expecting Him to refine the work for His greater glory, never expecting that He might not return some of the things I had placed in the fire—but that is what happened! God soon began to highlight certain things that were to remain in the fire. Certain projects I had worked on for years, others more recently—gone. These things had all bore a certain measure of fruit, but not to the level I had been expecting.
Having given birth to these endeavors, it was with some tears that in obedience, I put an end to them. After I got over the initial shock of what I had done, surprisingly, I began to experience much relief as the burden for these ventures lifted. I felt freedom! I have chosen to be vulnerable and transparent as I believe that many will relate with this word, and that through obedience they will experience the same relief and freedom I felt.
Laser-Beam Focus
I then heard the Lord say that I was to now “focus like a laser beam”
on the original mandate He had given me: the primary vision. He
revealed that the things He kept, although good, were not His first
intention for me; they were secondary visions I had attached to the
primary. He helped me to see that the secondary had become a hindrance
and a distraction to the primary. I began to see and possibly others
will relate to this: over the many years in long preparation and
training for the mandate, the primary vision toward His destiny for us
can become blurred and distorted by the flesh, emotions and enthusiasm.
Because of a lack of clarity as to the manner of the fulfillment of the
vision, the flesh tries to fill in the gaps and to add or subtract in an
attempt to complete a picture given in seed form. Remember He says that
His ways are so much higher and beyond our reasoning (Isaiah 55:8).God impressed upon me that He has heard all the prayers of His people, knows all our desires, understands all our expectations, and acknowledges all the demands made on Him in faith! However, as we approach Him this year, I believe He is saying, “I acknowledge it all! Now, let it all go into the fire! All that I need you to understand for 2019 and beyond is to be still and know that I am God. Trust that I know what I’m doing in every sphere of your life and in the world, even though you may not understand it at first.”
Trimming Away the Secondary to Bring Forth the Primary
This year, God is going to be trimming away the secondary to bring forth the primary in glory.
The glory of God shall be seen on His people. The Lord will receive all
the honor, and He alone will be exalted and glorified through all that
we are and do for Him! (Photo via Unsplash)In the years ahead, the sons of God will come to fullness as they partner with the Lord’s plans and the Lord’s intentions—a partnership in sonship. A new dynamic will come forth through this strategic alliance with the Godhead that will see ministries, businesses and creative and innovative endeavors emerge on the world’s stage, clothed in the majesty of transcendent excellence.
The work of cutting away the excess and pruning us back to the core vision is in preparation for the unveiling of His masterpiece: the sons of God and their release onto the arenas of the world. The pruning comes to trigger supernatural increase and garner the maximum output from His investment.
Submission to God: Our Most Important Posture
The most important, productive position we can take at this time is
stillness in His presence, listening for His voice, and receiving fresh
directions for 2019. The season ahead comes as a new dynamic with its
own unique challenges; it is marked by a way we have not walked before.
The willingness in our hearts to become nothing so that He can arise in
us to become everything and receive all the glory, is a posture of
submission to love inspired by wisdom. When Jesus shows up, He is the
only star and all fall prostrate!| “In the years ahead, the sons of God will come to fullness as they partner with the Lord’s plans and the Lord’s intentions—a partnership in sonship.“ |
Leave the Small Place Behind! Cross Over to the Promised Land!
The sons of the prophets understood the need for change and a new dynamic, they said to Elisha in 2 Kings 6:1-2: “…’See
now, the place where we dwell with you is too small for us. Please, let
us go to the Jordan, and let every man take a beam from there, and let
us make there a place where we may dwell.'”In this passage the Hebrew word for “place” also means “a condition of the mind” (Strong’s H4725). It is from a root word which means “to rise.” The Jordan represents the Cross—the river of complete surrender and death to self—the preparation for crossing over to possess the Promised Land! In this passage as a word for today, God is saying that the Body of Christ has been living in a small place, that our minds need to be stretched, and our hearts enlarged to contain the great thing He has stored up for us! God’s desire is for each of us to go down to the “River,” the place of absolute surrender, and let go of the past which also means good intentions, good deeds, our agendas, idols, self, comfort, ungodly beliefs, etc. The place where we surrender to His cutting away of the excesses.
The “River of Sacrificial Love” beckons us to come in and collect our beam—our contribution to the building of God’s house—a beam that fortifies and strengthens relationships. The Hebrew word for build is “banah” from which we get the word for son which is “ben, the builder of the family name” (Strong’s H1121). We have each been given a part in building up the family name of Jesus Christ and becoming built together as a spiritual house, as we are transformed into His Bride. When we dwell together in this holy union, we become a force to be reckoned with, having power and authority to gather the Lord’s harvest and the love to care for them.
“Enlarge your house; build an addition. Spread out your home, and spare no expense! For you will soon be bursting at the seams. Your descendants will occupy other nations and resettle the ruined cities.” (Isaiah 54:2-3)
God
is saying that it is now time to intentionally rise, ramp up,
transcend, breakthrough, and prepare to penetrate the greater dimension
of His glory! He is calling out to us to begin to move in step
with Him in the next season, a season that demands a deeper place in
Christ, in order to possess broader places in Him. The River of Life in
abundance awaits the bold and courageous! Many will begin to pass over at Passover to possess the promises of God. You have been fully prepared and equipped for this day! (Photo via Unsplash)The glory of God will descend through the perfecting of our love, unity and submission to His will. From that glory, the sending will begin—the sending of an army of saints who will possess nations and do mighty exploits in His name. Yahweh is a covenant keeping God. He is standing ready to fulfill the covenants He made with us in His Word. A multitude of angels is standing at attention, ready to be released, to execute the will of God on Earth. In these times of volatility, it is crucial to our faith to always remember that Yahweh is also the God of resurrection. When things seem as if they are at their worst and the days look dark, that is when God tells us to look up, for our redemption draws near, and He moves suddenly to show forth His great power! He reigns!
Faith Marie Baczko, Executive Director
Headstone Ministries International | Schools of The Last Wine
Email: contact@headstoneministries.com
Friday, February 8, 2019
Thursday, February 7, 2019
Wednesday, February 6, 2019
Acts 12 New Living Translation (NLT)
James Is Killed and Peter Is Imprisoned
12 About that time King Herod Agrippa[a] began to persecute some believers in the church. 2 He had the apostle James (John’s brother) killed with a sword. 3 When
Herod saw how much this pleased the Jewish people, he also arrested
Peter. (This took place during the Passover celebration.[b]) 4 Then
he imprisoned him, placing him under the guard of four squads of four
soldiers each. Herod intended to bring Peter out for public trial after
the Passover. 5 But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him.
Peter’s Miraculous Escape from Prison
6 The
night before Peter was to be placed on trial, he was asleep, fastened
with two chains between two soldiers. Others stood guard at the prison
gate. 7 Suddenly,
there was a bright light in the cell, and an angel of the Lord stood
before Peter. The angel struck him on the side to awaken him and said,
“Quick! Get up!” And the chains fell off his wrists. 8 Then
the angel told him, “Get dressed and put on your sandals.” And he did.
“Now put on your coat and follow me,” the angel ordered.
9 So
Peter left the cell, following the angel. But all the time he thought
it was a vision. He didn’t realize it was actually happening. 10 They
passed the first and second guard posts and came to the iron gate
leading to the city, and this opened for them all by itself. So they
passed through and started walking down the street, and then the angel
suddenly left him.11 Peter finally came to his senses. “It’s really true!” he said. “The Lord has sent his angel and saved me from Herod and from what the Jewish leaders[c] had planned to do to me!”
12 When he realized this, he went to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where many were gathered for prayer. 13 He knocked at the door in the gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to open it. 14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that, instead of opening the door, she ran back inside and told everyone, “Peter is standing at the door!”
15 “You’re out of your mind!” they said. When she insisted, they decided, “It must be his angel.”
16 Meanwhile, Peter continued knocking. When they finally opened the door and saw him, they were amazed. 17 He motioned for them to quiet down and told them how the Lord had led him out of prison. “Tell James and the other brothers what happened,” he said. And then he went to another place.
18 At dawn there was a great commotion among the soldiers about what had happened to Peter. 19 Herod Agrippa ordered a thorough search for him. When he couldn’t be found, Herod interrogated the guards and sentenced them to death. Afterward Herod left Judea to stay in Caesarea for a while.
The Death of Herod Agrippa
20 Now
Herod was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. So they sent a
delegation to make peace with him because their cities were dependent
upon Herod’s country for food. The delegates won the support of Blastus,
Herod’s personal assistant, 21 and
an appointment with Herod was granted. When the day arrived, Herod put
on his royal robes, sat on his throne, and made a speech to them. 22 The people gave him a great ovation, shouting, “It’s the voice of a god, not of a man!”
23 Instantly,
an angel of the Lord struck Herod with a sickness, because he accepted
the people’s worship instead of giving the glory to God. So he was
consumed with worms and died.24 Meanwhile, the word of God continued to spread, and there were many new believers.
25 When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission to Jerusalem, they returned,[d] taking John Mark with them.
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