I have been re-reading “The Shack.” Again. At this point, it has been a decade or so. And let me stop you right there. No, it’s not the same as the movie. The movie is good but the book it far, far better. There is a depth in the words the author selected that feels like heavenly revelation. There is a weight on them. A weight of glory, perhaps. 

One passage likens our thirst for independence as being part of a worldly matrix. However, instead of being plugged into a monstrous robotics system of the sci-fi movie, independence is us walking away from the circle of love provided by the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Picture this. A child encapsulated, surrounded by the purest love and desire, stands up and pushes through this divine embrace, walks  several paces away, then turns and says, “I’ll do it myself.”

If you have been around toddlers at all, you have seen this play out in the natural. “My do it,” they yell. As earthly parents, we know how to observe them for their own protection. The same is true with our Heavenly Family. 

But in the spiritual world, such independence creates its own misery. We think we need control. We want to dictate. We attempt to predict success. We want to determine our identities. 

Yet what follows the “my do it” rant is the utter onslaught from the enemy:
  You are alone.
      It’s all on you. 
        You can’t do it.
           You are abandoned.
               You are unloved.

Independence isn’t an American idea. It is a demonic one. 

It is the delusional quest for self-sufficiency. Self-reliance. We vacillate  between self loathing or self worship. Constantly questioning and assessing our value and worth.

I will venture to an extreme line and say that independence from God is so counter creation that all our global hurts are demonstrations of humans demanding “my do it.”

Apart from Me, you can do nothing. (John 15)

Jesus said it because He was living proof of a new way. A better way. 

That’s not a judgment. That’s an invitation. An instruction of how to break out of the matrix. How to be free of the damning existence of doing life own our own.

You know, it’s funny every time I find myself sitting in a pile of self-pity poop,  the Lord always begins the with same basic truth.

I love you.

Running into His arms always unwinds me. It always frees me. Resets me. 

Surrender maybe needs a new definition. Surrender could mean sitting in the Holy Embrace until I feel His truth wash away every worldly lie, evaluation, criticism. 

God’s love is a white hot fire. It burns off the deceptions of independence.

I was made for Them. So were you. We were made to do life with Them. Through Them. All else is futility. 

He woke me up yesterday with an old school Gaither song from my mom. It was sung at our wedding. And the 30th is her birthday.  So I took it as a sweet, sweet kiss from Jesus. 

I am Loved, by Bill and Gloria Gaither

I am loved, I am loved
I can risk loving you

For the One who knows me best
Loves me most

I am loved, you are loved

Won’t you please take my hand
We are free to love each other

We are loved

Every time you encounter God there is an upgrade available. The key word is, available. Holy Spirit always leads us into truth, and truth changes us and sets us free. Some encounters are teaching or cleansing. It may be letting go of an idol or counterfeit love. Some moments are just sheer bliss, His presence being that intoxicating. No matter the beginning point, every encounter opens the pathways to more of the Kingdom being revealed to us and in us. 

It was precisely one of those delicious moments when Jesus whispered, “I want you to go from Follow Me to Flow with Me.”

I blinked a few times. My spirit was trying to adjust to the new realm like walking from a dark room into the bright sunlight. 

“Flow?” I said. 

“Follow Me is about obedience, which is beautiful to Me. I love your quick and willing Yes. But flowing is being so entwined with Me, there is no stop and start, just the two of us going in the same direction, effortlessly.”

Selah. 

Right after that, I was listening to a worship song by Davy Flowers that said: 

Oh, be still, my restless soul

Be still and know all the work is finished

Lay down your heavy load

Take on the yoke Jesus has given

Leave the weight of your world on His shoulders

Let the Cross of His love draw you closer

To the water

When you’ve got nothing left to offer

Just come running like a child to the Father

There’s no greater fountain

There is a whole revelation brewing for me about the river of God. It’s been going on for months. I just keep listening and marveling as He drops jewels in place. Yet, I know in my spirit that He is calling His people to lean into His peace. To lay back in His grace and float. To flow in His presence and hope. 

He is asking us to resist making life so hard but learn to flow in His eternal love and provision. We have to unlearn the grind and dependence on ourselves. We have to learn to enjoy the wild river ride with this Beautiful God, even the white water sections when we think we might die. Smile. 

So find a verse or a song, and start speaking and singing the truth into your reality. Watch it carry you to a new place.

Here’s my line that keeps bubbling out of my mouth. (From the same song.)

“Oh my soul be still. Oh my soul be lifted.
He loves you. Oh how He loves you.”

 

Well then. This is exhilarating! In two weeks, we’ve had a staff retreat, looked at property to purchase, signed the contract, gathered the $10K earnest money, and whew… What just happened? I think the answer we are straining for is:  Jesus. I laughed and told my team the last time the Spirit was moving this fast I ended up in another state!  

I will keep you abreast of all the steps as we go. You can watch the backstory video if you missed it. But going forward, I want to tell you this is NOT a story about property. As beautiful as Hunter Valley Farm is, this story is much, much bigger.

This is a story about our faith. 

And how our faith stirs the heart of our God. 

When all this began, I kept asking the Lord, “Am I crazy?” He responded by taking me back to Psalm 145, the song by Shane and Shane. What you don’t know is that song was a pivotal passage of scripture and an anthem in a season when I was praying for—wait for it—a miracle house. 

“You open Your hand and satisfy desires of all things.”

I took a deep breath and told Him, “Okay, okay, I’m tracking with you.” Then He started replaying in my mind all the miracle house stories and the feelings of fear, thrill, and clinging to Him that occurred with each one. 

“This feels familiar,” I said, the tension and breathlessness around the miraculous. “We’ve been here before,” I said.

“Yes. I just love it.” He said. 

But every story had one common denominator. Worship.

Many times I could do nothing to impact the outcome and He told me to simply worship. The same was true for this adventure.  

So I sat out on my dock and played the song, over and over, to let it seep into my spirit. 

Suddenly lyrics broke through in a whole new way. 

One generation will

Commend Your kingdom

To one another

They will speak of You

 

And I will meditate

On Your wonder

 

And they, they will speak

Of Your glorious splendor

Of Your majesty

 

Every day I’ll praise thee

Forever and ever

Tears slid down my cheeks. One generation will tell the wonders of God to another generation. That is the story God is telling us all. This is what He loves. 

Then I watched the episode from The Chosen when Jesus heals the centurion’s son. 

From a distance. With a word. 

The centurion explained he understood what it meant to be under authority and he KNEW that Jesus merely had to speak a word and his son would be healed. 

The look on Jesus’s face. 

His wonder and enjoyment. 

His response to such faith. 

I tell you with all my heart, our faith moves our God. It makes Him smile, makes Him laugh, even stops Him in His tracks. 

Makes Him proud. 

My friends, how will we tell God’s wonders if we never experience them ourselves? 

This wind of God is not merely on a ministry changing locations. The wind is blowing on the hearts of His people to rise up in faith. To test and see that He is good beyond what we can ask or even imagine. He wants us to stretch, to sacrifice, to give as He gives. Hilariously. 

Why? Because when we do that, it means we have tapped into His idea of Kingdom riches. There is always enough.

I am worshipping and listening to hear what God is dreaming about. What brings Him joy as we go on this great adventure? Like the centurion, I want to make Jesus marvel at our great faith in His goodness.

Every day I’ll praise thee

Forever and ever

We were talking at our staff retreat about our word for the year. Have you revisited yours lately? My word for this year is surprises. I am usually excited to hear from the Lord through this exercise. But at the beginning of this year? Not so much. I didn’t receive the word surprises as something akin to fun and delight, as in parties, gifts, and trips. It came with a tinge of dread. Surprises felt more like being caught off guard, snuck up on, or tricked. You can imagine my initial conversation with the Lord.

 

“Why am I nervous about this word?

Why are you?

It’s been a hard season.

Yes, and I have been with you through it all.

I know Lord. Thank You. You have been so good to me. I think I am just tired. I don’t want any bad surprises for a while.

But I give you good things. Good surprises. Do you trust Me?

Funny that Trust word. Dang it. It always circles back to our whole-hearted trust in His goodness. 

So here we are in April. And, whew, there have been a plethora of surprises. Some were painful. A lot of unplanned home repairs. A new HVAC. A new water line. A car repair. A new dock after storm damage. There have been surprising heart twists and turns. Some relational breaks and lots of transitions. But God has been with me, teaching and changing me through it all. 

That’s just doing life in His good hands.

And. There have been delightful surprises. Visits from Knoxville friends, and my team just left a few days ago. A Florida church all because Chuck went to a funeral. Lots of hearts. Seeing manta rays off our dock. New flowers are blooming for the first time on our property. Restored family relationships. 

Again, just doing life in His good hands.

But there are deeper surprises still. God has revealed and healed some hidden wounds. Places in my heart I was surprised still needed medicine. He has provided in amazing ways, unexpected gifts and commissions. And recently, He has surprised me with His plans for my future.

God doesn’t forget. God doesn’t quit. God doesn’t skimp or slack. 

See, I had gotten stuck in a mental loop of two yucky choices regarding the future. I had prayed and asked Him ‘What the heck am I supposed to do?’ To which He was silent.

Then I spent some time with my sisters and they started to echo back to me key phrases. Extend your tent pegs. Houses of promises. Extreme Security and Extreme Generosity. The current house prepares for the next house. 

God surprised me in several ways.  

• He used my sisters to remove the lenses (read: lies)  I was looking through. They jerked me out of faulty small thinking to recall God moves in mysterious ways. 
• The Lord told me I was far from done and to get ready for the next season of GT.  
• And, He reminded me what He has already told me. Every step leads to the next bigger step. Glory to glory. Strength to Strength. Faith to Faith. 

Whew. It’s only April. And boy, have I been surprised by this hilarious and intentional God. He has plans for our future to prosper us. 

I love doing life in His good hands. 

 

I was driving home after church, I found myself praying for people in my circle, my community, my family. I reflected on the conflicts and struggles going on there. ‘It’s hard to be human,’ I exhaled as a silent prayer. Then this picture popped into my mind of a person taking off pieces of clothing. The clothing had names on it. Hiding. Shame. Insecurity. As each word was taken off, the person went from a shadowed demeanor into a brighter countenance. 

Remember Psalm 34:5? Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. 

Then I saw the same person, now radiant, put on three new garments; 

Confidence. Mercy. Compassion. 

The Lord reminded me of how Colossians 3 instructs us to live as those made alive in Jesus and we have “taken off your old self.” 

Rather our wardrobe has completely changed. We now live “as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved” and therefore we “clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”  Putting off and taking on. There is a lot of personal power packed in this whole passage. There are a lot of heavenly exchanges too.

Taking off hiding. Putting on confidence.

Confidence to live wholly seen since we are bathed by His Love.

Taking off shame. Putting on mercy.

Mercy flowing from Heaven to cover any past sin, lie, failure, or memory. 

Taking off insecurity. Putting on compassion.

Compassion, not futile tolerance, but deep heavenly kindness for our still-in-process human weakness. 

I wonder, could we become uncomfortable in these ill-fitting clothes provided for us by the enemy? Could we become so rankled that whenever we feel insecurity, shame, and hiding, we recognize it’s an assault on very tender places in our life?  

Places that need healing, not accusation.

Instead of defending our bad fit, we would shirk off the clothing and run for the garments that God has given us.

We’re not trying to fix ourselves. Jesus already did that. The old man (woman) is dead. We got ourselves a new life. A new look.

Now we have the honor of putting on the same garments that Jesus wore. And may I say, His righteousness looks good on us!

There is a miracle of God’s mercy that we often overlook. Not only does it come fresh, full and renewed every single morning, but it also keeps us from destruction. His mercy is a healing balm available to us on the small scale of our individual lives and also on a global scale. That’s why Chuck and I have been having conversations with our kids about the days we live in. Lots of threats, lots of predictions, lots of fear, fear, fear. But God calls us to live and move in faith, trusting His goodness, living as God’s children in what is often presented as a God forsaken world.

Do we prepare for hard times? Absolutely. My friend put it so beautifully, “Enough to survive and to share!” That’s just wise and generous living. 

I have a vivid memory as a small child standing in my grandmother’s pantry. Rows and rows of jars of canned food that she had put up from her garden. “Enough food for a year, just in case,” she would say. 

You see, my grandmother lived through the Great Depression. And so did my mother. In my home growing up, we had a hu-u-u-ge garden and we canned stores for the winter. In her later years, my mom stopped canning but she still had a well stocked pantry for ‘just in case.’  That’s not fear, that’s wisdom straight from Proverbs 6 about the ants. 

Today, we are way past the Depression. And yet. 

While we navigate the social media mania and diligently search for scraps of reliable facts, there is a God in heaven who is completely and intimately involved in every detail. He loves the world He has made and the people He created to fill it, even if they don’t love Him. Far from being abandoned, or orphaned, we drink from the mercies God generously rains down every morning. 

We consult the web, the scroll and predictors. But do we consult the King of Heaven? Or worse, do we dare tell Him what is going happen?

“Who can fathom the Spirit of the LORD, or instruct the LORD as his counselor? 

Whom did the LORD consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way? 

Who was it that taught him knowledge, or showed him the path of understanding?” 

Isaiah 40: 13-14

As Chuck and I quietly enjoyed time at home for the eclipse, we recounted the major hysterias just in our lifetime. Y2k, 9/11, Market Crash 2008, Covid Epidemic 2020. This doesn’t even count the meteors, aliens, conspiracy theories, nuclear blasts, and the precisely predicted day of Jesus’s return.  We told our kids “Humans do the best they can, and sometimes they get it wrong. However, God never fails. His mercy never fails.” Then we went on to tell them about divine interruptions, holy interventions, and God provisions in the worst of times. 

This is where the buzz started around His mercy. 

Do you remember that Y2K had worldwide attention? In Chuck’s realm of telecom and IT, the companies he served brought in international specialists and attached bonuses and created entire tasks forces to figure out how to minimize the coming crash. Few businesses implemented all the required updates. The world watched, beginning in the far East, as the time zones switched to 2000, one after the other. There was no collapse. No catastrophe. In the end, all the specialists shook their heads, none of us were ready. How did we make it through that…?

God has a thing or two to say about the affairs of men. It begins with His Love and ends with His mercy. 

“Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the earth was founded?

Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.” Isaiah 40:21, 26

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are ACTIVELY working in the world today. We see the horrors of mankind and the absolute mess we are generating on so many levels. But are we seeing and celebrating the miraculous and merciful works of our Loving God? 

I don’t know about you, but I just don’t have the wardrobe for fear and hysteria. It’s not in my color wheel, doesn’t bring out my best features. Makes me look fat. Smile. 

But seriously. Faith looks beautiful in us and on us all. 

God’s mercy is a one-size-fits-all, perfectly. 

So keep using your words to release the Kingdom of God. 

Keep storing goods so you can be generous ‘just in case.’

Look for the mercy of God. 

Release the mercy of God.

Celebrate the mercy of God in your own heart, your relationships, and the world you live in. 

It’s fresh every morning so might as well have a hot serving with your coffee.  

The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
    His mercies never cease.
Great is his faithfulness;
    his mercies begin afresh each morning.

Lamentations 3:22-23 NLB

I had a vision during Easter Service. An overwhelming sense of awe fell on me that I was part of the whole world singing Heaven’s song, people from every tongue, tribe, and nation praising the Risen Son. I saw the Lord’s hand sweeping around the globe as we sang in different time zones. He was fanning the flame of our worship and devotion. 

Then as we continued in worship, I saw three openings in three distinct places. God is still unpacking this vision for me, but I want to release what I have so far. 

I saw in detail:

the opening of the flesh of Jesus. 

the opening of the veil to the Holy of Holies.

the opening of the tomb.

In my first attempt to put human words around the revelation, I strained to find the right word, was it ripping? Tearing? The ripping of his body and the blood that poured out, the tearing of the dense fabric of separation, the angels ripping the stone away…But the vision was not violent. 

Finally, the right word came. The Lord was opening new levels to us. 

Because we know God to be so precise, so intimately involved in the details, there is no accident that these three openings took place at this time and location in history.

These openings represent places of bondage and oppression. Places where we experience separation, fear, and hiding.  Jesus enveloped these places with His love and they became doorways of new life with Him.

Freed from Self

I have been crucified with Christ goes the verse and the hymn. In the vision, the Lord showed me with the opening of His flesh, the blood that poured out, He opened the pathway for our healing and wholeness. The curse of mankind, the obsession with self, and curse we experience in our body, has been overcome and opened up for us. He poured through our humanity to reveal a different reality.

In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.’ Luke 22:20

Freed From The Law

Which leads to the second opening. The veil was opened from top to bottom. After freeing us from the bondage of our humanity, God removed the dividing line between us and His Presence. He invited us into His holiness, forever. Our connection to Him is opened, forever. 

No performance. No pretending. No hiding. No bartering. 

So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. Hebrews 4:14-16 NLT

Freed From the Earth

The empty tomb opens up all the possibilities of Heaven. If ever there were a doorway, this is it! The empty tomb is where Heaven’s ways overcome not only the unseen demonic realm but the seen earthly realm. Jesus opened for us the way of the Holy Spirit and the power of heaven released through us. On earth as is in Heaven becomes our reality through the cross, the veil, and the empty tomb. 

These openings we celebrated on Easter are not just for holiday ritual purposes. They are the roadmap we follow, the engine of our lives, and the very breath in our lungs. The days after Resurrection Sunday call us to even greater things through this beautiful God. 

 

Is it just me? Or is everyone feeling this crazy pace? It’s like someone stole… I don’t know…maybe a couple of weeks or a month out of my life? With the time change, Spring Break, an early Easter, and just the pace of life, it’s all I can do to keep up. My calendar almost has a life of its own. And now, Palm Sunday is upon us.  Here is my humble ask.

In the same way that Christmas gets crowded, Easter gets crowded with counterfeits. So make a plan to pause and reflect on the highest Holy Day of the year. 

My friend Suzanne told me about the rituals they do at their church to prepare hearts for the Savior. It was beautiful how they deliberately created awareness of and hunger for their need for Jesus. Other churches do different things to celebrate and prepare. 

The church we are going to has many offerings for reflection. One night is a Seder meal. I am so excited to walk through this traditional Jewish practice again. To remember the first Passover lamb. And the Last Passover Lamb.

But apart from Church activity, let’s talk about you, your home, and your family. This photo is a collection of items my family made over many years, from when the kids were toddlers to teenagers.  Each year we made something together and added it to the Resurrection Scene that we put on display. 

Some years we would do a foot-washing time as a family and take the Lord’s supper together. Let me tell you, having your five-year-old daughter wash your feet will wipe you out…But we took a Bible story and made it real to them. Jesus did this and so are we.  We were all changed by it.

Our friends had a game with plastic eggs called Resurrection Eggs. After a big meal, everyone at the table took an egg and shared part of the story represented by the token inside the egg. 

One year, our small group took the Lord’s supper together and we “remembered” Jesus. He said when He did the Last Supper, do this is in remembrance of Me. So we literally remembered Jesus. We remembered our favorite story about Jesus and how He revealed Himself to us through it. 

The point —the main point —every, single time is to make space for your God. 

Carve out some worship, some silence, some scripture so you can remember the Who and Why of this season. I promise you it has nothing to do with a bunny or candy. But it DOES have to do with the VERY BEST news in the whole universe.

He is risen just as He said.

 So break through the grumbling of your kids or the family’s awkward fumbling and begin a real conversation about our Beautiful Jesus. He is worthy of our attention. 

 

For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying,
“This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
In the same way, after the supper he took the cup,saying,
“This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.[a]

Luke 22:18-20 NIV 

Here is a beautiful story worth sharing. Chuck and I are in a season of “calling things that are not as though they were.” We learned this verse in Romans 4 from John Dee beginning in 2000. Fast forward all these years and encounters later, we are still going after all that it means to ask, seek, and knock; and to declare a thing in faith. Here’s the catch. While we master speaking blessings, God is constantly reminding us of the same powerful effect of negative speaking. He definitely got our attention through a vision Chuck had and a devotional the next day. 

Chuck had been counseling a friend to stop beating himself with a shame stick as if his constantly speaking shame over himself would bring freedom. Later during meditation, the Lord brought this image back to Chuck’s mind. But the scenario had shifted. 

Chuck saw a man he didn’t recognize and he had a stick in his hand. He took the stick and fed it through a wood chipper. The machine whirred and growled as it chewed up the stick and spit it out as mulch. Then the scene changed. Chuck said he saw Sarayu, the character representing the Holy Spirit in the book, The Shack.  Sarayu took the mulch and spread it around different plants in a garden.  

Chuck said the Lord showed him the man was Jesus destroying the stick of complaining, fearful, negative thoughts. Jesus took the enemy’s weapon used to torment Chuck and made it something the Spirit uses to fertilize and beautify the garden of Chuck’s heart. 

I mean. Wow. But the Lord didn’t stop there. 

It is not just destroying the negative. It is replacing it with the truth of God. This is a portion of the random devotional I received the morning after. 

I Hear His Whisper…By Brian Simmons and Gretchen Rodriguez

I work in the silent moments of rest.

Your life is my garden, and I am the One who is responsible to bring forth my fruit from your life. Watch me work in your silent moments of rest. You are a branch growing from me, meant to remain close and connected to my heart. Your life will flow with milk and honey as you remain in living fellowship with me.

When I created man and woman on the sixth day, I created them for more than labor; I created them for rest. Even I, the Creator of all things, rested on the seventh day. When you rest, I can restore and reset the exhaustion in your body and soul. All your fulfillment will be found in the satisfying Sabbath of my life in you. Your first love will be restored as you lay your head upon my shoulder. Come, child of delight, child of my heart. Come to me. I know all there is to know about you, and I love you more than you can perceive. I am gracious and tenderhearted. As you eat from the garden of my presence and rest in me, you will bear the fruit of my Spirit in your life.

His left hand cradles my head while his right hand holds me close.
I am at rest in this love.

Song of Songs 2:6 TPT

Side note. This is one of Chuck’s favorite verses. I love how God is constantly revealing His love and presence to us. 

I love how He is the defender of our faith, our hearts. There is no place safer than His love. 

Chuck and I are dipping our toes into church life here in the sunny land of Pensacola. I know, I know. It’s been over a year. Perhaps like you, church is hard for us. We are looking for real. Real Jesus. Real Holy Spirit. Real community. Which in turn means there will be real gifts and power. Oh yeah. And real worship. And the right view of women. It doesn’t seem like such a tall order when I read the New Testament. But in today’s churchianity, real is nearly impossible to find. That said, we walked into a church a couple of weeks ago and I started crying as the worship team was only warming up. 

I thought, ‘Okay, now we are getting someplace.’ We’ve been several times since and it is close enough for now.

All this is to set up what happened yesterday. In this particular denomination, they celebrate what they call Transformation Sunday, and then they begin Lent on Ash Wednesday. I have lots of thoughts about these man-made traditions. But let’s focus on Transformation Sunday which is based on the transfiguration of Jesus found in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

In our current world, trans is a loaded word and most commonly meant to cross over, from one to another. Think transatlantic, transfer, and of course recently, transgender.

But in scripture, trans is connected to the word transform which means beyond or above… Remember Romans 12:2 says do not be conformed, think cookie cutter, but be transformed, altogether different, by the renewing of your mind.  

I notice we say transformation a lot in Greater Things. I mean. A. Lot. As I sat in church on Sunday I began to piece together why that is. Jesus took three disciples up on a mountain. Why only three? Why those three? But once there, Jesus transformed beyond His natural man to reveal His heavenly one. The three-dollar word transfiguration means to shape or fashion, above. If you look up the definition it speaks of Christ being seen in his glory. 

Peter, James and John had a BLOW YOUR MIND encounter with Jesus. Jesus trusted them and planted in them a vision of Who He truly was. Seeing Jesus unveiled in this dramatic way changed those three men forever. They could not un-see this beautiful Jesus.

All through the bible, we see transformation. People changed over time. People healed in a moment. Murderers becoming kings. Persecutors becoming apostles. Demon possessed becoming worshippers. And then Jesus ups the ante and says there is even more transformation possible. Beyond. Above. 

I was so immersed in the scripture yesterday and then they showed the classic art masterpiece by Raphael. My mind was recalling different visions I have had personally, and other’s stories of great manifestations. My spirit was soaring…until the pastor dialed it-all-back-down.

He summarized, and I paraphrase, if you have visions, great.  If you don’t, great. It doesn’t really matter as long as you love Jesus.  Wait, what?

Jesus has revealed His glorious nature to mere mortals and they didn’t die. Then Jesus went on to say He has shared this same glory with us. Then Holy Spirit shows up and shows us how to live a life that is beyond or above the common human experience in the middle of the common human experience.

And the pastor is telling me the supernatural doesn’t matter? Is that true?

I tell you it is not.

We have a supernatural, glorious, all-together-other God who is living within us, breathing His life into us, pouring heaven out on us and through us. We dare not settle for the human answers and responses and diagnoses. We dare not settle for comfortable or quitting or resignation. We dare not settle for dead, dreamless lives that have no hope of change.

I have been through too much pain, too much brokenness, too much devastation to dial down the goodness of God, the wonder of His interventions, and the power of His transformation in my life. If it wasn’t for His supernatural presence I wouldn’t be here. Hard Stop.

I have seen too many miracles and experienced His glories too many times to dial it down. I will ALWAYS expect God to move miraculously in every area of my life.

So here is what I would have said yesterday in that sermon.

1. You have a powerful, beautiful God who longs to reveal himself to his people. Are you looking, asking and receiving from Him?
2. Once you have encountered Him, what are you doing with the divine revelation? He shows you things for a reason. Carry it well.
3. Your hunger for the heavenly encounters brings about change in your own life and thus the change in others. We don’t need more therapy as much as we need to connect with this glorious God.

Listen. I am all about counseling. Heck, GT is built on helping others get healthy.  But at its core, counseling and therapy and deliverance are ways to remove obstacles so people can truly see God and see themselves as God does.

It is delusional for us to say we love a supernatural God and then believe we should stay the same.  So we go for transformation. We go for dreams and visions and encounters.

We speak it. We seek it. We live it. We promise it. We promote it.