Storms

I have seen a lot of storms in my life; some self-imposed, some simply the result of a fallen world, and then those that came directly from Satan’s realm threatening my very existence. I am contemplatively meditating tonight as I am about a year out from being rescued by the Hands of Jesus from one of the largest storms of my life that has loomed over me since I was 18 years old. This unholy tempest was life-altering and would leave some permanent physical and emotional scars, but in some miraculous ways. Life altering to the degree that I will never live life for granted again! Jesus tells us in John 10:10 that the enemy of our souls came to steal, kill and destroy, but He came to give us Life and Life more Abundantly! I now live every day not with expectations, but with the expectancy of a little child about what Abba is going to do with this surrendered life today.

It is a curious meditation on the other side of the end of a lengthy storm like this one that conjures thoughts like “is it really over?” It almost feels like it was never real to begin with, and the repercussions have been as merciful as Christ washing my feet by a warm fire. My mind, body, spirit, and soul are ever thankful tonight, and again I feel almost like this is someone else’s story, and I am just a witness that has prayed, interceded, and fought (as I often do) for God to do a mighty miracle and He showed up in ways that are as usual mind-blowing.

So, my question to Him on the backend of this difficult life-lesson is what were you showing me here, Father? I have learned that we never fail a test with God; we only take them over and over till we get them right. His simple yet poignant answer was “walk in humility and focus on what has eternal weight” so I have pondered that little nugget in my heart for almost three years now and now I see the desires of my heart were selfishly motivated. My soulish nature has fooled my spirit by looking for what seemed to be the right desires, but in all actuality, I have been attracted to what is temporal, self-gratifying, and vain. To the point that before this hiatus, I found myself meditating on relationships, desires, and aspirations that were self-promoting, and full of blissful manipulation. So, I am now on a determined path to having the Mind of Christ in everything I put any I invest my mental, physical, and spiritual time in. I will wake every morning from this point forward intentionally seeking joy, and with conviction and a new discipline to have right thinking and right desires in every decision I make, or the answer will be no.

Sometimes The Lord calms the storm, and sometimes He lets the storm rage and calms His child

Jay

I am undone, and I am done!

I had a joyful encounter with an old friend today that made my heart full, and I had an unexplainable release. I have found myself in a place of odd complacency and distance from God and most everyone over the last few months. It should have been a time of joyful gratitude and celebration as new life was gifted to me (literally) on July 18th, 2017 when a faithful brother sacrificed his own life and wellbeing to give me one of his kidneys. Coincidently another comrade of mine who I consider like a little brother had received the same gift of a Kidney Transplant from an anonymous donor just two months before mine. He must have felt the same way I have lately, and it drove him off the deep end into some self-inflicted, life-threatening darkness. He had a GOD encounter at BNA baggage claim with the anonymous donor’s parents, and that potential miraculous experience is playing out as I type.

(Side Note) I lost a dear brother (a young veteran) to suicide this past weekend, which prompted a call to another one that deals with the same deception, only to find out he had tried to take his life the exact same night. It was a dark story, but thankfully he is still alive to see God’s plan for his life another day, and I am thankful for that. So, last night I got on my knees for the 1st time in a long time and repented for my condition and apathy and simply asked Jesus for peace and freedom. So those events lead me back to the original intent of this thought.

I have held on to things that I was never meant to hold and bore burdens that I was not created to bare. I have sabotaged relationships out of insecurities and life-long fears, and I have tried to breathe life into desires that were only illusions. As a loner at heart, an only child, and alone most of my adult life, I have lived from fantasies I have created in my head. From the time I put my head on the pillow at night, to the time I fall asleep is 3 or 4 hours as the torrent of unsolicited thoughts fill my brain. The enemy of our soul will come at the most unlikely times to distract us from the reality that is the destiny that Christ summons us too in His Word/Words!

My friend, I saw today mentioned a chance encounter that had recently transpired where God moved her to go to a certain place, and a random messenger asked how he could pray for her and gave her deeper insight to The Holy Spirit. A bell went off in my head when I got home and started writing this blog that just about all the Gifts of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23 were absent in my life at that moment. No love, no joy, no peace, no patience, limited kindness, goodness, gentleness, or faithfulness, and regretfully inadequate self-control. Proverbs 18:21 “Death and Life are in the power of the tongue” Well, I am undone, and I am done! As I talked with my friend and we caught up on some years gone by, I felt the Freedom and Peace I had prayed for the night before return. I felt laughter, joy and a gentler spirit return to me after the conversation. I recall God prompting me to reach out to my dear friend who had struggled with depressive/suicidal thoughts in the side note above, and I realized that God is never done with us, no matter how undone we are with ourselves.

Jay

1000 Year Reign of Christ

When was the last time you heard someone talk or preach about the 1000 Year Reign of Christ? God tells us He is creating a New Heavens and a New Earth and that should be reason enough for us to research and discern this Eschatology as part of our Christian reality. While Heaven is certainly our eternal destiny, we need to weigh the entirety of the scriptures with the fact that there will be a new eternal Earth as well. This reality is obviously an even greater expanse for the renewed/perfected human race other than just Heaven. 

Isaiah 65:17

For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.

Revelation 21:1

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.

1000 Year Days 

Many preachers and theologians that view the discussion of the 1000 Year Days as being numerology, or that it’s God’s way of saying that time is minuscule in His eyes. Well let’s dispel that notion right up front and demonstrate that God has done many great work and appointments on specific Millennia 

2nd Peter 3:8

But beloved, do not let this one thing be hidden from you, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day.

Moses reiterates the point of the 1000-Year-Day in Psalms. 

Psalms 90: 4

One thousand years in your sight are but a single day that passes by, just like a night watch.

God makes a very important point in Chapter 46 of His book to the prophet Isaiah that is the backdrop and foundation for much of Eschatology we will discuss in this blog and future writings. 

Isaiah 46:9-10

Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.

God tells us in Isaiah that He has “declared the end from the beginning,” and in the prophetic nature of God, He did exactly that when He gave Moses the first 35 verses of the Genesis. It would be too much of a rabbit hole to describe in detail for this letter, but all of human history from Adam until the end of time is revealed in those initial verses of Genesis 1 and 2. Most people don’t realize that many of the great prophets, kings, and icons of the Bible were born or positioned precisely on Millennial days.  
Day 1 (3000BC) Noah
Day 2 (2000BC) Abraham
Day 3 (1000BC) King David
Day 4 (1AD) King Jesus

Above is the storyline of how God works on Millennial Days, and when God speaks about 1000 Year Days it can and is prophetic and literal. In Genesis 2:17 God told Adam if he ate of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil that “in the day that you eat you will surely die” and we know that Adam lived 930 years. Almost a 1000-years or “A Millennial Day” later. In Genesis 6:3 God tells Moses that He is going to reduce man’s lifespan to 120 years right before the flood of Noah. One Thousand Years later Moses himself dies on his birthday at the exact age of 120. Moses death was an exact fulfillment of the declaration God made just before the flood. Moses “with his eyes still bright” (meaning he was still full of life) fulfilled that prophecy perfectly 1000 Years later in Deuteronomy 34:7. 

As God finished His six days of work creating the Universe and every detail of Heaven and Earth, He ends with this very prophetic proclamation. 

Genesis 2:1-2

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day, God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 

Hebrews 4: 4-5

For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works” 

1000 Year Reign of Christ

Just as God gave Moses and man the 10 Commandments to guide our path, God also took remembrance of these truths as well as you can see in Genesis 2:1-2 to “remember the Sabbath Day and keep Holy.” This was a declaration of rest from His creative process on the 7th day of the week, and the fact that Satan and his angles are locked up in a bottomless pit during the 1000 Year Reign of Christ is why the millennial reign is referred to as a Day of Peace/Rest.
There are three primary books of Scripture (see below) that describe this Millennial Day after the events of the 7-year Tribulation/Apocalypse have ended. John’s Revelation seems to indicate that the New Heavens and New Earth after the 1000 Year Reign of Christ, I also see Isaiah 65: 17-25 seems to indicate the New Heaven and New Earth are to be formed before the 1000 Year Reign of Christ. So as 2 Timothy 2:15 says I implore you to rightly divide the Word of Truth and come to your conclusion. 

Revelation 20:1-3

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the abyss and a great chain in his hand. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for 1,000 years. He threw him into the abyss, closed it, and put a seal on it so that he would no longer deceive the nations until the 1,000 years were completed. After that, he must be released for a short time.

Revelation 20:6-9

Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of the Messiah, and they will reign with Him for 1,000 years. When the 1,000 years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations at the four corners of the earth,  Gog, and Magog, to gather them for battle.  Their number is like the sand of the sea. They came up over the surface of the earth and surrounded the encampment of the saints, the beloved city.  Then fire came down from heaven and consumed them.

Isaiah 65:17-25

For I will create a new heaven and a new earth; the past events will not be remembered or come to mind. Then be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating; for I will create Jerusalem to be a joy and its people to be a delight. I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people. The sound of weeping and crying will no longer be heard in her. In her, a nursing infant will no longer live only a few days, or an old man not live out his days. Indeed, the youth will die at a hundred years, and the one who misses a hundred years will be cursed. People will build houses and live in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They will not build and others live in them; they will not plant and others eat. For My people’s lives will be like the lifetime of a tree. My chosen ones will fully enjoy the work of their hands. They will not labor without success or bear children destined for disaster, for they will be a people blessed by the Lord along with their descendants. Even before they call, I will answer; while they are still speaking, I will hear. The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but the serpent’s food will be dust! They will not do what is evil or destroy on My entire holy mountain,” says the Lord.

Isaiah 11: 6-10

The wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the goat. The calf, the young lion, and the fatling will be together, and a child will lead them. The cow and the bear will graze, their young ones will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. An infant will play beside the cobra’s pit, and a toddler will put his hand into a snake’s den. None will harm or destroy another on My entire holy mountain, for the land will be as full of the knowledge of the Lord as the sea is filled with water. On that day the root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples. The nations will seek Him, and His resting place will be glorious.

Ezekiel 37: 25-26

They will live in the land that I gave to My servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They will live in it forever with their children and grandchildren, and My servant David will be their prince forever. I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant with them. I will establish and multiply them and will set My sanctuary among them forever.

These scriptures above are abounding and a deep wealth of knowledge about what the future holds for God’s Creation, Christians, the Hebrew people, and allows us to glimpse the destiny for the world at large. It is evident that Satan will be bound for 1000 years. This will usher in a dispensation of peace and rest that will end not with a final war. Many have described this as a fire from Heaven that devours Satan, and all his angelic, demonic, and human minions.  (Revelation 20:9-10)

Animals Become Peaceful: I have long debated with other Christians about animals in Heaven, and it was not until I did my full vetting of this project that I realized it’s not about whether animals are in Heaven. It’s about us as perfected humans/spirits have access to this new Earth where animals are peaceful, herbivores, and possibly communicative. Psalms 150: 6 says that “everything has breath will praise The Lord.” So while we know there are horses and beast and other “living creatures” in Heaven itself, we are also well assured that on this New Earth there will be animals in a perfected nature. (Isaiah 11: 6-9) 

Life Spans Increased: Here a passage with some astounding information. Isaiah 65:20-25 says, "There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed. And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them.

People will procreate: It is clear in both Isaiah 65:23 and Ezekiel 37:26 that during this 1000 Year Reign of Christ there will be offspring, infants, toddlers, children, etc… So, this begs the question; who all will be procreating during this prelude to eternity? I think many will conclude that in Isaiah 65: 22-23 that these are “Chosen” people that will have offspring, but we also see in Isaiah 46:20 that sinners will also procreate and die with increased lifespans. The curious nature that is in my heart must ask; what about us? As the perfected, renewed, redeemed of Christ is it too bold of a question to ask if we procreate in this 1000 Year Reign? Most would point to the scripture in 

Matthew 22:30

For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.

To that, I would ask what about the angels in Genesis 6: 1-4 that obviously procreated with human women to create “giants”? They obviously were not sexless if they indeed procreated with human women. Obviously procreation is not predicated on marriage, and in the end, we are all married to The Lamb of God in Heaven, so the human idea of marriage is irrelevant. 

I hope this letter has stimulated you to do some digging on your own into the fascinating book of the Bible God left for all of us. I am so encouraged by the reality that we serve such an amazingly powerful God and want to encourage all Christians to take God, and our denominational ideologies out of the tiny boxes we have kept Him in. Let us see beyond our wildest visions. We serve a BIG GOD, and as long as our imaginations don’t go beyond the bounds of sound doctrine, then let’s dream big... Flying like angels, talking animals (Balaam’s Donkey did it on Earth) future generations of perfected human beings (without physical limitations), a sinless Earth. It is all a grand vision that most don’t dare to explore, but I say why not?

Daughters

I think God's heart is continually grieved for His precious daughters. Many have struggled for purpose and acceptance only to find one failed place, path or partner after another. The enemy of their souls has convinced them that this life is about image, success, and liberation, all for a false sense of security.  Risk that “something” for “someone” Jesus! They have put on the face of the imposter because the world has told them that the youth and beauty you behold in the mirror are the only real means to acceptance, but The Lord says your true beauty is your unique, glorious, and precious God-Breathed spirit. At points, shame has so overtaken you and denial was your companion, so you have taken its hollow hand and at times remained. God’s Heart is for you to move, flourish, live and live free! Grace covers every stain of His daughter’s fragile soul, and God does not impute sin to those that have faith, believe, and desire to live free from the garbage that this life, other people’s control, and the darkness of this world. 

Psalms: 91

“She who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
She will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in His I will trust.”

Surely, He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence.
He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge;
His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side,
And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you look,
And see the reward of the wicked. Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge,
Even the Most High, will be your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you,
Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; For He shall give His angels charge over you\
To keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone. You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra,
The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.

“Because she has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver her;
I will set her on high, because she has known My name.
She shall call upon Me, and I will answer her; I will be with her in trouble; I will deliver her and honor her. With long life I will satisfy her and show her My salvation.”

You are covered, cherished and loved Daughter of The King. God’s mercies are from everlasting to everlasting. The medications of ill-motivated attentions, superfluous attractions, and false beautifications will never fill your vacuum of your heart that desires daughtership with Abba. You know in your heart that the world is full of lies and as you sense it in your own zealousness to protect your own children, and yet the deception you so rigorously fight to protect them from engulfs you at times, and again you embrace lies for truth. There is no shame, guilt, burden, or spirit that can keep you from the depths of God’s love.

So, live in Truth and Light Jesus’s elegant and stunning beauty, as you are the exquisite pinnacle of God’s creation. Remember He made you the Grand Finale of the cosmos in this extraordinary age, and if He made you the crowning jewel of the entire universe how much more does He love you; even unto death. Do not be distracted by the atmosphere of this world but be overcome it by the Love of Jesus Mercy, Compassion, and Grace. Don’t settle for anything less than the authentic romance that only comes from the Heart of The Father overflowing from the balconies of Heaven to immerse the Daughters of men in His perfect LOVE!