Arresting His Attention

The River Ministries

When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child.  But when I became a man, I put away childish things. – 1 Corinthians 13:11 

Have you ever noticed what small children do when they want attention and don’t get it immediately?  If positive actions do not fasten everyone’s focus on them in a hurry, whining, bawling, and tantrums certainly will. 

A lot of us, although physically grown, try the same tactics on God.  The Israelites of Moses’ day repeatedly complained to get what they wanted from Him. They succeeded, but their bad attitudes brought negative consequences along with the answers every time!  We haven’t changed much.  An awful lot of us still murmur, hoping to twist God’s arm into some action. 

The Bible gives better ideas for how to arrest God’s attention: 

Faith: But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he who comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. – Hebrews 11:6 

Trust:  The LORD … knows those who trust in him. – Nahum 1:7 

Cheerful, generous giving: As every man purposes in his heart, so let him give – not grudgingly or because he has to – for God loves a cheerful giver. – 2 Corinthians 9:7 

Intimate relationship with Him: Because he has set his love upon me, therefore I will deliver him…. He will call upon me, and I will answer him…. – Psalm 91:14, 15

Righteous devotion to Him: For the eyes of the LORD run here and there throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are perfect [blameless, committed, loyal] toward him…. – 2 Chronicles 16:9 

Faith, trust, cheerful giving, intimacy, righteous devotion – all these flow from a deep belief in God’s character, His goodness, and His unlimited love for us.  

Smith Wigglesworth commented, “There is something about believing in God, that makes God willing to pass over a million people just to anoint you. … God will always turn out to meet you on a special line if you dare to believe Him.” 

I’m diligently seeking His heart – to know Him, to be known by Him, to arrest His attention.  How about you?

The River Ministries

A Prayer for Our Time

The River Ministries

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.  Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your Holy Spirit from me.  Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with your free Spirit. – Psalm 51:10-12

The Lord has been speaking to me that this is a prayer for the modern Church, a prayer that paves the way for Awakening. 

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. – If we are to see a massive move of God, a keen awareness of personal sin and a sincere determination to turn from it are required.  Psalm 34:18 says, “The LORD is near those who are broken in heart, and saves those who have a contrite spirit.”  “Contrite” means “thoroughly sorrowful over sin.”  God eagerly answers repentant prayer and restores a clean heart within us.  It is not possible to have a right spirit inside without such repentance. 

Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your Holy Spirit from me. – A full casting away from His Presence, for the once-believer, is final judgment for rejecting Jesus.  But God does lift His Presence from His own, so that He no longer hovers closely over them, through their refusal to listen and obey.  It is about having, or not having, His anointing. 

Samson, the man of God, toyed with sin on a regular basis.  His compromise probably started out small.  Compromise usually does.  He came to a point of thinking, “I will go out as before and shake myself” (speaking of using his supernatural strength) “and he did not perceive that the LORD had departed from him” (Judges 16:20).  May God help those of us who are in compromise to turn from it before we come to the place of losing the anointing and not even realizing it! 

Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with your free Spirit. – The joy of salvation should not be confined to personal enjoyment of eternal life and relationship with Jesus.  Genuine joy over salvation will produce an uncontainable urge to tell others the good news so that they can know Jesus too.  God wants His Church so re-filled and re-empowered by His Spirit that we cannot help but pour out the gospel to those around us. 

Lord, light the fire again!

The River Ministries

Our Testimony

The River Ministries

The testimony of a Christian is a most precious thing. We all have known some with wonderful testimonies and some not as shining. A testimony is not just about how a Christian became a disciple of Jesus, but his life after that event. 

The Bible has a few things to say about people’s testimonies. In Revelation 2:4, Jesus reproved the Ephesian Church: “Yet I have this against you, that you no longer love Me as you did at first.” Paul warned of some, “They profess that they know God, but in works they deny him …” (Titus 1:16).  And in John 2:24, 25, “Jesus did not commit himself to them, because he knew all men, and did not need for any to testify of man: for he knew what was in man.”  The testimony was coming up short in the Lord’s eyes in each of these cases. These would not be testimonies for a Christian to cherish.    

We can be of a different ilk, thanks to God. The Lord has provided for us to shine like the sun. Jesus declared, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12). But amazingly, in Matthew 5:14 He also said, “You are the light of the world.” We realize that we are not the light by ourselves, but it is Jesus shining through us. So it comes down to yieldedness. We let Jesus live through us. Galatians 2:20 says, “Christ lives in me.” 

By the grace of God we can press in to have a testimony of shining with Jesus. We probably will have to make some adjustments, maybe repent of things that hinder the light. But Jesus is on our side. He wants us to succeed in this. He has made all of heaven’s resources available to us. He has even given us His precious Holy Spirit to live in us and through us. 

Let’s make the most of our testimony, so that all people will be drawn to Jesus.

The River Ministries

Carrying His Presence

The River Ministries

I still remember my first encounter with God’s tangible Presence resting upon someone.  A smiling elderly couple took the empty seats in front of us at a Bible camp meeting.  Heaven entered the room with them.  I whispered to my husband, “Did you feel that?”  Eyes wide, he nodded solemnly.  My prayer became, “God, I want to hold Your Presence like that.” 

What does it take to carry His Presence so that we impact those around us?  In Old Testament times, the priests exclusively carried the Ark of the Covenant, the symbol of God’s Presence. The Lord set higher standards of holiness for them to live by than He did for the general congregation.  In our day, all believers are called to be holy priests unto the Lord: “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation …” (1 Peter 2:9). 

The priests understood that extreme reverence was necessary in handling the Ark and God’s Presence.  When they bore the Ark upon their shoulders, they did not carry other baggage.  If we are to carry God’s Presence tangibly with us, we cannot carry baggage either.  Envy, unforgiveness, bitterness, criticalness, compromise, and worldly lusts are all baggage that many Christians are so used to carrying that they are not even aware of their burdens.  We cannot bear His Presence if we carry these things.  God does not tolerate a mixture of the holy and the unholy. 

Carrying the Presence requires great humility.  Numbers 12:3 tells us that “Moses was very meek, above all men on the face of the earth.”  Meekness is an old-time word meaning “humility with strength.”  

Moses spent much face-to-face prayer time with God.  Consequently, He carried the Glory-Presence: “When he came down from the mount … Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone, … and when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, … the skin of his face shone” (Exodus 34:29, 30). 

Moses was unaware of the glory emanating from his person and how it affected others.  Similarly, when we continuously bear the Glory-Presence, we probably will not be aware of it either, unless someone tells us or responds to its effects.  But carrying the tangible Presence of God will always have far-reaching impact on those around us.

Holiness, extreme reverence, humility, much time spent with the Lord, and leaving our baggage behind – these are the keys to carrying His Presence.

The River Ministries

Three Crosses

The River Ministries

Recently I was thanking the Lord for His cross and suffering, and my eyes fell upon a plaque of three crosses hanging on my wall. I asked myself which one of these crosses best represents my life. 

In the crucifixion story, two of the crosses held thieves, symbolizing two types of people.  The thief who railed on Jesus represents those who have no time for Him. Even though their lives are a total mess they still refuse to get right with God through faith in Jesus. The other thief represents people who realize they need help from beyond themselves. Like the second thief, they understand that Jesus is their only answer. 

Neither of these crosses symbolizes the Christian.  Those who are true believers have already requested, like the second thief, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom,” and have passed from spiritual death into life. 

The Christian’s cross is the middle one, where Jesus hung.  The Apostle Paul said, “I die daily” [to natural desires] (1 Corinthians 15:31).  Paul also said, “I  have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). 

Jesus realized that the middle cross was essential to bring life to the world. In John 12:24, 25 He stated, “… Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone.  But if it dies, it brings forth a large crop.  He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to eternal life.” Jesus fully lived out these verses. He gave up His place in heaven, surrendered His will to His Father, and finally went to the cross. He became that grain of wheat that fell to the ground and died. But look at the result of that dying: millions of souls have entered the kingdom of heaven.

If you have not yet made a decision to yield your entire life to Jesus, I encourage you to follow the example of the second thief – embrace Jesus as your Lord and ask Him to give you eternal life.  If you have already trusted Jesus for your salvation, go to the middle cross and die to your own desires, so that the new life of Jesus welling up within you can bring transformation to others in your sphere of influence.

The River Ministries

Covenant Inheritance (Part 2)

The River Ministries

Last time, we talked about our blood covenant with God through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.  Because Jesus is the Son of Abraham, and we are counted as children of Abraham through faith in Jesus, we have both the Old Testament covenant promises of Abraham and the New Testament covenant promises available to us. 

Why then, do we so often fail to obtain those things that are promised?  Part of the problem is our lack of understanding of what is truly ours.  If we do not draw on (appropriate) the covenant promises, whether through ignorance or unbelief, we do not receive what is rightfully ours. 

There is another problem though – and it is a huge obstacle to obtaining the promises.  There are many in the Church who mistakenly assume the right of covenant, all the while breaking that covenant through disobedience to the Lord. 

The covenant is a blood covenant, and it has been made with us at a horrendous cost – the suffering and death of our heavenly Father’s precious Son.  This blood covenant only avails for us through repentance – the renouncement of all that would grieve His heart.  We dare not take the covenant casually.  God certainly does not.  He inspired the author of Hebrews to write, “How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?” (Hebrews 10:29).  This is not written to nonbelievers, but to the Church. 

There is much available to us in our covenant with God through Jesus.  We must diligently seek to obtain those things which He has provided for us, for it pleases God greatly when we do so.  But we must do it rightly – honoring the God of our covenant with our full devotion, obedience, and holy respect for Him.

Previous: Covenant Inheritance (Part 1)

The River Ministries

Covenant Inheritance

The River Ministries

In recent weeks, the Lord has been speaking to me about covenant, especially in relation to healing and provision.  People of ancient times understood the responsibilities and rights of covenant very well, but we have since lost much of that understanding. 

God established covenant with Abraham in Genesis 15.  God had promised him a son and  inheritance of the land he lived in, but Abraham asked, “Lord GOD, how shall I know that I inherit it?”  God’s answer was to perform a blood covenant ceremony with Abraham, involving animal sacrifices, thereby assuring him that what He had said He would perform.

The Israelites were deceived into covenant with the pagan Gibeonites, but the covenant was still valid, and when the Gibeonites needed protection from their enemies, Israel came to their rescue.  It was the Gibeonites’ right to be defended and cared for by Israel because of their covenant relationship (Joshua 9:3 – 10:7).

Covenant followed down to the descendants of those who originally entered into it.  Galatians 3:7 tells us that “they who are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.”  Those of us who have by faith received the Lord Jesus, Who is the Son of Abraham (Galatians 3:16), have available to us every one of the covenant promises God gave to Abraham – all the Old Testament promises of healing, protection, and provision. 

But God went further still in establishing covenant with us.  He made yet another blood covenant with us through Jesus’ sacrifice at the cross.  The New Testament assures us in many places that this final covenant likewise provides for our healing, deliverance, and provision – but also eternal life and joint inheritance with Jesus (Romans 8:17).

Our covenant relationship with God through Jesus is the reason why Jesus said, “And whatever you ask in my name, that I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If you will ask anything in my name, I will do it” (John 14:13, 14).  It is our right, under covenant inheritance, to ask in Jesus’ Name and receive.

Next time we will talk about hindrances to living in our covenant inheritance.

Next: Covenant Inheritance (Part 2)

The River Ministries

Dwelling in His Presence

The River Ministries

The River Ministries has been engaged in “Sixty Days of Abandoned Worship.”  We have our doors open nightly from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. for worship and prayer, through October 11.  Our family has been there nearly every night, and it has been wonderful to be with the Lord in that setting. 

For our family and many others, the opposition to focusing on the Lord has phenomenally increased during this time.  Health, relationships, technology, machinery – all have come under attack. It’s been a battle.  

But this is what I heard the Lord speak: “Don’t dwell in your problems.  Dwell in My Presence.” 

Setting problems aside to dwell in His Presence is easier said than done.  There is a pressing-through process to get there, and the victory is hard-won.  But we can do it.  God wouldn’t ask it of us if we couldn’t.  His Word has a promise for those who persevere to press through: “If you abide [dwell] in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” (John 15:7). 

In the days ahead, I believe God wants to bring His people into Presence-dwelling to such a degree that we find the answers to every problem are met there in Him.  He desires to bring His Church into new understanding of what it is to depend on Him for everything – everything – and to find the needs satisfied as we focus on Him.  Presence-dwelling provision is what Paul was talking about when he said, “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). 

Dwelling in God’s Presence makes it possible for us to successfully live out Philippians 4:6, 7: “Do not be care-filled about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” 

It’s all in His Presence.

2009 Wisconsin Prayer Rally

On September 25, 2009, a statewide prayer rally took place in Madison, Wisconsin.  For a first-time event of this nature, the attendance of 250 to 300 people was very encouraging.  At least half the people who came were from outside the Madison area, including some who drove six hours to get there.  Those who drove from a distance expressed their understanding of how important the event was, and their seriousness about representing their particular region with their attendance. 

Our thrust throughout the day was to “open the heavens” in a spiritual sense over Madison and Wisconsin through prayer, repentance, and worship.  There was no political or special interest agenda.  Jesus Christ and His Kingdom being established in Wisconsin was our total agenda. 

We began the afternoon by prayer walking the Capitol grounds and State Street to the top of Bascom Hill in groups of two or three, repenting for the sins of Wisconsin and praying for our state government and education systems. We did this humbly, without banners, fanfare, or confrontation with anyone. 

After a short break, we all encircled  the Capitol and prayed the Lord’s Prayer together, blew shofars in unison at the four corners of the building to proclaim Jesus’ Lordship, and sang “We Exalt Thee” together. 

We gathered at the Best Western Inn on the Park for a full evening of worship, corporate prayer, and prophetic decrees for Wisconsin.  God’s Presence was very thick among us as we worshipped, and, although we came from many different backgrounds, the participation was enthusiastic and unified.  Prayer was lifted up for God’s Kingdom to be established in each of  seven areas that influence our culture – government, religion, business, media, arts and entertainment, family, and education. 

Young children were very much a part of the evening, with a group of them presenting a worship dance, and several of them praying and decreeing spontaneously. 

We truly believe that mighty things were accomplished in the spiritual realm for Madison and Wisconsin, and that those who took part in this event will also see breakthroughs for their regions in the weeks and months to come.  For the many of you who expressed your  disappointment in not being able to attend the rally for various reasons, but who faithfully prayed along with those of us who could attend, God knows your heart, and you will reap the benefits for your region as well. 

For another report on the Wisconsin prayer rally, please see All God’s People. 

 If any of you would like to receive the Wisconsin Intercessors Arise! newsletter, please contact intercessors@salt-international.com with “Subscribe” in the subject line. 

 

 

 

 

 

Who?

The River Ministries

Elijah came to the people and said, “How long will you halt between two opinions?  If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.”  – 1 Kings 18:21 

In those days John the Baptist came, preaching …, “Repent! For the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”  For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.’” – Matthew 3:1-3 

Elijah came as a lone voice, calling God’s people to repentance.  “How long will you waver between two opinions?”  It was a clarion cry for a heart-decision: serve the True and Living God and Him alone, without compromise – or serve Baal, the god of this world, the usurper of worship. 

In the time leading up to Christ’s revealing, God sent a man like unto Elijah.  John the Baptist again put forth the call: “Repent! Prepare your hearts for the coming of the Lord.  Ready yourselves.  He is coming!”  He, too, called for a heart-decision: serve either the Lord or the world system. 

I will send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me.  And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom you delight in.  Watch!  He will come, says the LORD of hosts.  But who may abide the day of his coming?  And who will stand when he appears?  – Malachi 3:1, 2

Malachi prophesied partially of John the Baptist, but also of an end-time messenger who would carry the spirit of both Elijah and John the Baptist.  As in the days leading up to Christ’s first revealing, so in these last days directly preceding His final revelation, God is raising up a prophetic cry in the hearts and mouths of many sold-out ones: “Prepare the way before the Worthy One.  Drop from your hands and lips anything that compromises true adoration of the King of Kings.  You cannot serve both Baal and Jesus.  You cannot love both the world system and the Lord of Glory.  Prepare!” 

He’s coming.  Who will be able to stand in the day when He appears?  “He who has clean hands, and a pure heart” (Psalm 24:4) and will “worship the Father in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23). 

Who will be an Elijah, a John the Baptist?  And who will purpose in his heart to serve King Jesus without compromise?

The River Ministries