A Son's Obedience

Rest into wellness today, Beloved - rest and rejoice, even before you feel well. Sing and declare healing over yourself and your family. Embrace the lovely rest day in My Presence. Refuse to be disappointed or discouraged - just rest in Me and enjoy My Presence. 

You are moving into friendship wtih Me, but you are also My Beloved Child. Just as there is an element of friendship between grown child and parent, yet there is still a parental relationship. As you grow up in Me, there are times I need to discipline you, yet there are also times of genuine sharing heart-to-heart. 

As you grow in revelation of who you are in Me, you will see just how much I love you - your personality, likes, dislikes, preferences, talents, hobbies, pursuits and your will. Yes, I will share secrets with you and allow you to influence Me. We parter together - I gave you your unique personality and I love it! I do not want you to give that up - just to give up all expressions of sin nature that is already dead. That is the pruning of the branch - as you give yourself up to the process, I can activate aspects of your personality that have lain dormant. You can discover whole new personality traits that you never knew you had! This is Me giving you a new name and calling out things I see in you that you cannot see yourself. There would be no space for these aspects to grow if I was not pruning you. 

My obedience to My Father is not a slave's obedience, but a son's obedience, flowing from Love and intimacy. My Father does not threaten Me or intimidate Me into obedience - it gives Me joy to humble Myself and do what He wills. The greater your level of intimacy with Me, the more I can share My reasons behind what I ask of you. In coming to earth, I knew what the Father wanted Me to do...but I also knew why. It was this that enabled Me to suffer immense pain adn torture - for the joy set before Me! I understood why My Father asked this "impossible" task, and yielded Myself to His will out of Love for Him and Love for you! 

As you can see, it's all about Love! Growing in Love for Me, as you spend time soaking in My Word and in My Presence, and gazing on Me throughout the day...this Love will naturally overflow to others. The more you gaze on Me, the less you gaze on yourself. I want to release you into new levels of freedom and power, but this comes with less thinking about yourself, not more! These changes began in earnest as you let Me show you how I see you - perfectly loved and perfectly righteous! The beauty of this new identity is that it is founded entirely upon grace - how I see you, through no goodness or work of your own! Yet it is so much more amazing than you could dream up or believe on your own. As you really believe all I say about you, you are released to live more freely and fruitfully than ever before. Self-promotion is not an issue, as you know you are what you are entirely by God's grace.

 

No More Disappointment or Discouragement

Beloved, you used to think that the key to avoiding disappointment was to "manage your expectations" - but this essentially meant expecting a low level outcome and anything better was a bonus. But this did not work very well, as it was from a negative, earthbound perspective. Beloved, you could not understand how to be expectant in faith, but then not disappointed if things you hoped for did not come to pass. 

A child who loves and trusts her Father perfectly and knows that she is loved perfectly can ask Daddy for anything with hopeful expectancy, and joyfully accept a "no" or "not yet", because she trusts Him completely - and knows He has His perfect, unselfish reasons for that answer. These reasons are never lack of supply, for Daddy has access to unlimited supply! These reasons are never manipulative or on a selfish whim. These reasons always flow from Perfect Love. Trust Me completely, My Dear Child. 

You never need be beset by disappointment or discouragement again! 

How I Love You!

"The shepherd laughed too. 'I love doing preposterous things,' He replied. 'Why, I don't know anything more exhilerating and delightful than turning weakness into strength, and fear into faith, and that which has been marred into perfection.'" (Hinds Feet on High Places)

"You awaken us to delight in Your praise, for You made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You." (St Augustine)

Beloved, how I love you! Your beauty is beyond compare! The tender love you show Me, by your yielded life, thrills My heart and captivates Me. I am  yours and you are Mine. Beloved, come dance with Me this morning, upon the grassy hills of the secret garden. 

You twirl and spin with your garment of praise - such beauty and grace delights and enraptures Me. To see the laid-down love in your eyes as you dance for My delight gives Me joy unspeakable! Your joyful confidence in My Goodness is a beautiful thing! 

I called you awake and out of bed early this morning for this - to pour out My Love and My delight upon you! Not for a word of admonishment or warning - just to Love on you and remind you who you are...One Loved By Me! Embrace this mysterious and delicious Truth today, My Precious One. 

The love you pour out on others flows from this place. Continue to be a channel of My Love, My Darling.  

*****

"Don't yield to fear or be troubled in your hearts - instead, be courageous!" (John 14:27)

There is a constant battle raging for influence over you. You are the one who has power to turn the tide. In every situation, you yield to something - either fear, self-pity, discouragement, fear of man, etc.; or to Me, to My will and to My Love. You get to choose to what you yield. Isn't that exciting? You don't have to let a "discouraging situation" discourage you, if you choose to yield to joyful trust in Me!

The Place of True Heart-Rest

Love is growing in your heart, Beloved. It really is! I can taste the fruit in your heart garden already. 

Beloved, as you are faithful in listening to My voice, yielding your will and obeying joyfully, there will still be things that don't go the way that you expect them to. This does not mean that you heard wrong. Do not second guess - when I call you to a life of obedience; walking with the Spirit; "moving by the impulses of the Spirit"; "moving to the unforced rhythm  of My Grace" - I call you to follow without questioning and second guessing. Do not let doubt in, even for a moment! If you think you are doubting yourself and whether or not you heard correctly, reject this as a lie of the deceiver, the father of lies; for when you yield to Me, you are trusting that I will show you what to do. Go forward, let the past go, even the past of five miutes ago, and press forward in joyful trust and obedience. Trust that I will show you if there is something that you need to follow up on or make right! 

I call you to rest as a lifestyle! My way is to energise you through My Presence, which is best found in the place of true heart-rest. You are learnign to live from this place of rest. It will become a habit, like breathing!

"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me - watch how i do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." (Matt 11:28-30 The Msg)

Shed a Greater Light Abroad

Beloved, My Love is not an ulterior motive. I love you, and I want to be with you always, every moment! 

My Love in you is not an ulterior motive, either! You need not feel guilty for wanting to introduce others to me! When you first met and fell in love with your husband, you could not wait for your friends and family to meet him! How much more for Me, who can save them from themselves?!

If you keep gazing on Me, I will open your eyes to needs all around. My Love transforms your vision. Serving need not be a chore! You get the privilege of pouring My Love on others, partnering with Me. It is a joy and a delight! 

Having children will not stop you from serving - in fact, it is imperative that they see your love in action where I send you. Share with them the joy of secret giving, also. 

The world will see Me by your love for one another. This is how I draw people. This Love is genuine, not exclusive. There is always room for another to be welcomed into the embrace. In a world full of insincere "care" with secret hatred, as well as blatant outright hatred, My Lovers will stand out as stars in the universe by their extravagant Love for each other and others. 

Your hearts burn with My all-consuming fire of Love. As you gather together, the flames join as one in Me, and shed a greater light abroad. Others are drawn to this light and the warmth it offers freely to all who would receive it. As you bring others into your cirlce, they are warmed and heartened by the fire, and the longer they spend with you, the more likely their hearts will also be set ablaze. But even before they are, they will benefit from just being near you. As you go about living life with them, they can see more clearly by the light you shine, and feel cared for and warm by the heat your fire gives. Every act of love counts. Not one is wasted.

Free From Fear of Man!

Beloved, during My time on earth as a man, I did not have to work at being free from fear of man - I just kept My eyes fixed on My Father. As long as you are in right relationship with Me and know who you are, you will care less and less about pleasing man, and more and more about loving them as I do. For as long as fear of man motivates you, you will be held back from truly loving others the way I do. 

Fear of man causes you to break the royal law of Love (James 2:8). This is your highest law. 

As you let Me live My Life through you, you will continue to discover greater freedom in this realm. Freedom from fear of man, freedom to love others extravagantly as you love Me. It will come pouring out of you naturally as you abide in Me, constantly yielding up your own selfish desires and reactions. This is how I change you fr4om the inside out!

Reign of Fear is Over

Let's talk about what Love looks like. Let's talk about My Parenting in Love. I do not vindictively punish you, My Precious, but I do leave you to the natural consequences of your sin when you refuse to obey. I do not force you, I step back and let you resist and experience the pain of those consequences. The "hell of your own making". Learn from the way I parent you as you seek to parent your children from Love rather than Fear.

Beloved, I am casting out the fear of man and fear of punishment with My Perfect Love!! You are learning these lessons, and it is time to demonstrate these to your kids too. I am cutting off the spirit of fear over your household! Fear of man, fear of punishment, fear of not being able to control - gone, in My Name! 

I declare the reign of fear is over in this family and this home! A new day is dawning! The barren season is over and gone. 

Trust My guiding with your kids. As I live in you and through you, I will show you how to love them and how to shepherd their hearts as I shepherd yours. Beloved, drink deep of My Living Water, and remember the spring is within you. You need to remember to draw from it in every situation, especially when your kids are behaving in ways that bring out fear in you! You are a powerful person Beloved, because My power is alive in you!

"My prayer for you is that every moment you will experience the measureless power of God made available to you through faith. Then your lives will be an advertisement of this immense power as it works through you! This is the explosive power. 

Then, by constantly using your faith, the life of Christ will be released deep inside you, and the resting-place of his love will become the very source and root of your life, providing you with a secure foundation that grows and grows.

Then, as your spiritual strength increases, you will be empowered to discover what every holy one experiences - the great magnitude of the astonishing love of Christ in all its dimensions. How deeply intimate and far-reaching is his love! How enduring and inclusive it is! Endless love beyond measurement that transcends our understanding - this extravagant love pours into you until you are filled to overflowing with the fullness of God! 

Never doubt God's mighty power to work in you and accomplish all this. He will achieve infinitely more than your greatest request, your most unbelievable dream, and exceed your wildest imagination! He will outdo them all, for his miraculous power constantly energises you." (Ephesians 3:16-20, TPT)

Through Eyes of Love

Rest in My Presence is as important as nourishing yourself on My Word. There must be both in your day for you to be in balance. 

In physical training, the muscles are worked hard and then rested. The rest helps to allow muscles to grow. The rest period is just as important as the work period - it is what makes the work effective. 

Do not be quick to rush from the place of rest, even into reading Truth. This place of rest is where your heart and mind can make space for all you are learning, without becoming overwhelmed! 

Embrace the rest with patience and joy! Let My Love wash over you, soothing any ache or pain, carrying your questions and concerns away - they are safe with Me, Beloved. We will address them when you are ready. You can trust them to Me! 

Let us slow dance for a while, My Dear. I'll carry you, let Me carry your whole weight. You are weightless in My arms as we sway back and forth. Not a care in the world! Weariness gone! Perfectly loved and safely held! 

I love how you LOVE this time with Me above all else! It thrills My heart how you desire Me and My Ways! How willing your heart is to say, "Behold, I am your handmaiden - Acceptance with Joy!

Let's get your eyes off the ways you are falling short, and back on My Face. You long to see everyone through eyes of Love, but you are fretting about the bad habits you have that keep tripping you up in this area. Beloved, gaze deep into My eyes of Love as we dance. The more you gaze into My eyes of Love, the transformation takes place! I transfer My sight to your eyes through the gaze of Love! So stare into My eyes and be transfixed, held in this place as long as you can bear it. It burns, Beloved! My gaze of Love burns away the milky film over your eyes. I am healing the cataracts of impatience, disdain, uncaring, superiority...they belong to the flesh that is DEAD! You were made to see with eyes of Love. My gaze is restoring your true vision as I intended it to be!

"The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness." (Matthew 6:22-23)

"Your revelation eyes are pure, like pools of refreshing - sparkling light for a multitude." (Song of Songs 7:4, TPT)

"But God has taught me that no love is real love until it is WILLINGNESS TO LOVE ALL with no exceptions; and that the more sinful, blemished, and unlovely a person is, the more he needs love. More love - not less - toward those who are obviously spoiled and marred and sin-sick - that's God's way. Then I was shown that love does not begin in the feelings at all - it begins in the will. To be willing at last to love all, individual by individual, as we are brought into contact with them, is to be ABLE to love all. We must begin quite deliberately to act toward them as though we really do love them and are willing to bear everything unlovely about them just because we want to love them. Then love comes, first as a trickle, then as a stream, then as a flood, till, like the river of life in Ezekiel, the waters which at first came only to the ankles, then to the knees, then higher still, became at last "waters to swim in."

Love is light, and when love has opened our inner eyes we see things in their true light - a whole new landscape of reality and truth is spread out before us and we see beauties and wonders of the realm of God which we never before even glimpsed, nor suspected to exist." ("Walking Among the Unseen", by Hannah Hurnard)

Speak Life

You are in training, Beloved. I am training you in godliness. I am your personal Coach. You don't always understand My methods, but you can know with joyful confidence that they are all flowing from total, complete, Perfect Love! Therefore, you can submit to all My methods with a willing and joyful spirit. 

"Be quick to abstain from senseless traditions and legends, but instead be engaged in the training of truth that brings righteousness. For athletic training only benefits you in a short season, but righteousness brings lasting benefit in everything; for righteousness contains the promise of life, for time and eternity. Faithful is the Word, and everyone should accept him!" (I Timothy 4:7-9, TPT)

"Fully embrace God's correction as part of your training, for he is doing what any loving father does for his children...God corrects us through our lives for our own good, giving us an invitation to share his holiness. Now all discipline seems to be more pain than pleasure at the time, yet later it will produce a transformation of character, bringing a harvest of righteousness and peace to those who yield to it. So be made strong even in your weakness by lifting up your tired hands in prayer and worship. And strengthen your weak knees, for as you keep walking forward on God's paths all your stumbling ways will be divinely healed!" (Hebrews 12:7, 10b-13, TPT)

Daily use your "weapons of warfare-worship" that I am training you in. Sing the songs that I put in your mouth. Declare Truth in every situation. Be careful not to undo it by speaking throw-away phrases, by habit or by fear of man. Surprise those around you by your joy and peace, do not speak what they expect you to, especially in your difficulties, even if it is easier. For My words, spoken to you and through you, bring life. There is power of life and death in the tongue. 

"Sharing words of wisdom are satisfying to your inner being. It encourages you to know that you've changed someone else's life. Your words are so weighty that they have power to bring life or release death, and the talkative person will reap the consequences." (Proverbs 18:20-21)

"Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a word spoken at the right time." (Proverbs 25:11)

"For we have the living Word of God, which is full of energy, and it pierces more sharply than a soldier's sword. It will permeate to the very core of our being where soul and spirit, bone and marrow meat! It interprets and reveals the true thoughts and secret motives of our hearts." (Hebrews 4:12)

"Words of wisdom are like a fresh flowing brook, like deep waters that spring forth from within, bubbling up inside the one with understanding." (Proverbs 18:4)

"Can you bridle your tongue when your heart is under pressure? That's how you show that you are wise. An understanding heart keeps you cool, calm and collected, no matter what you're facing." (Proverbs 17:27)

"Winsome words pour from a heart of wisdom, adding value to all you teach. Nothing is more appealing than speaking beautiful, life-giving words, for they release sweetness to our soul and inner healing to our spirit." (Proverbs 16:23-24)

"When you speak healing words, you offer others fruit from the Tree of Life. But unhealthy, negative words do nothing but crush their hopes." (Proverbs 15:4)

"Anxious fear brings depression, but a life-giving word of encouragement can do wonders to restore joy to the heart." (Proverbs 13:25)

Dance This Day Into Alignment!

Consider this intensive training, Beloved, and take heart! I am giving you a new name - "Joyful" and writing it on your forehead for all to see. No longer will you need to make sure everyone sees how much you are suffering - seeking either admiration or pity. Fear of man holds you back from wholehearted loving Me, and from single-mindedly obeying Me. Fear of man is CUT OFF! You are Mine, Beloved, and I am yours!

"I encourage you to surrender yourselves to God to be his sacred, living sacrifices. And live in holiness, experiencing all that delights his heart. For this becomes your genuine expression of worship. 

Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you, but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think. This will empower you to discern God's will as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in his eyes." (Romans 12:1-2, TPT)

"Let this hope burst forth within you, releasing a continual joy. Don't give up in a time of trouble, but commune with God at all times." (Romans 12:12, TPT)

My Power has freedom to work in you when you are aware of your own weakness and fully yield to Me. As I live My Life through you today, My Grace is enough for you. You will not be stuck in the same old trap of despair, the pit of self-pity or the dungeon of fear. 

We will move together in this Dance of Love with grace and joy, and you will see the grey, dreary circumstances be transformed into vibrant colour and light. Let's dance this day into alignment with My Kingdom! 

Gentle, Kind, Tender; Fierce, Wild, Untamable

Your joy for this day flows from My Love. Your growing awareness of My Love for you, your Love that springs up for Me...the River of Living Water (which is also Love) flows in you and splashes on all around. In every detail of your day, you can find My Love. 

 

"So we are convinced that every detail of our lives is continually woven together to fit into God's perfect plan of bringing good into our lives, for we are his lovers who have been called to fulfill his designed purpose." (Romans 8:28 TPT)

 

Look for My Love in every moment. When you are feeling weak and tired, tune back into My Love and experience on-the-spot refreshing! When you are frustrated with your children's actions, search again in your heart for My Love which is flowing out of you and let it spill all over your kids. 

 

Everything My Love touches is changed! Watch and see My transforming Love at work in all the little details of your life. 

 

My Love is the gentlest, kindest, most tender you could ever experience. 

My Love is fierce, wild and untamable.

It is both at once. 

 

As you learn to live by My Love, you will find it will help you willingly bear all circumstances you face. The same Love will burn fiercely in you and cause you to firmly resist and even fight against injustices that violate My law of Love with such tenacity that you did not know before. As you grow in Love, you will learn how to yield and resist simultaneously. The key is that you can ALWAYS yield to My Love, which will either patiently bear a circumstance or resist and fight injustice and unlove through you.