Today’s Readings:
Psalm 16
Acts 13: 15-51
Isaiah 60
As God’s loving servants, you should live in complete freedom, but never use your freedom as a cover-up for evil. Recognize the value of every person and continually show love to every believer. Live your lives with great reverence and in holy awe of God. Honor your rulers.
1 Peter 2:16-17
Time of Restoration and Rebuilding
The Lord says,
I Am rebuilding, revitalizing, touching cities with My love and with My ingenuity and with My creative power. I have a heart for cities, for communities, for homes, for businesses. I have a heart for all of these pieces, especially the families that make up the fabric of society.
I Am dropping new dreams into the hearts of My people, new ideas for businesses, new strategies, new hope, new ways to contribute. This is a season where I Am making all things new – new hearts, new minds, restored families, restored systems and this will all contribute to revitalizing communities, cities and the nations.
Kingdom businesses are important and they will be powerful community anchors. Community members protecting each other and acting as family, as responsible parties for one another. This is critical. This is a new thing. This is not an every man for himself time. This is a every man for every man time – where ties are created, relationships forged, care is taken to help one another, to support one another and to protect one another. The days of not caring and carelessness with each other – I Am drawing these days to a close.
My people will have their eyes and hearts open, will have their hands ready to help. Will have an apt word, and a good encouragement.
There is healing in this kind of mutual concern and care. There is healing in being seen and heard and cared for. Responsibility and a feeling of mutual responsibility grows out of being seen and heard. This will have a ripple effect across families and communities. This will bring new meaning to My Word that it’s not good for man to be alone. I Am bringing people together, I am knitting them together to serve one another in love and truth – to do so sacrificially, without an expectation for return – but in knowing that they are doing the will of the Father and reflecting the person of Jesus. These are My Holy Spirit led people, and I will cause them to bring a great relational healing, responsibilty healing to society.
Jesus and the Truth
The Lord says,
I Am raising the awareness of Jesus. I Am raising the prominence of Jesus. I Am lifting His Name up in a way, in a place for all to see. I Am seeing many hearts acknowledge and receive the love, the sacrifice and the person of Jesus. I Am making Jesus more famous in the earth, across the land. I Am revealing the truth about Him and dispelling, displacing, destroying the lies of the enemy about who Jesus is, what He came to do, what He represents, and how He sees people. Jesus is the full reflection of God the Father. He is full of compassion and love. He lives within the bounds of God’s commandments because of His connection to the Father, because He knows the Father’s heart, because He knows that God’s commands are only for our benefit, for our safety, for the prosperity of our souls and our lives.
The lie of the enemy is that God’s commands are meant to keep us from fun, to limit our experiences. But no, that is an evil and wicked lie. The commands of God exist as boundaries for our safety, for our hearts, for our health and to maintain our connection with Him. Life outside of those bounds has consequences, can hurt other people, can create a separation between us and God, because of shame, because of pain, because of fear. Inside His boundaries is freedom. Inside His boundaries is full freedom in upright living. In Him alone is the wide open spacious life that your soul longs for. Desire to be, desire to live, to thrive, to grow within the healthy boundaries created by the Lord for your benefit, protection and good.
In the Presence of the Lord is the fullness of joy. Presence is a place where the concerns of our heart are less heavy, the pain that we feel is soothed, the stress that we carry melts. The Presence of the Lord is re-centering. It reminds you of what is important, who is important, and that you are not hurting, feeling, carrying, doing any of these things alone. His Presence reminds you that He has sent you a helper – Holy Spirit, who lives inside of you, comforts you and gives you wisdom and instruction.
Clear out the clutter in your mind and your heart. Get quiet and ask Him to speak up. Ask Him to speak in a way you can hear today. He’s always available. His patience does not run out with you. His love is never ending. And He’s extending a hand of help, beckoning you to come in. Come to Him, come into His Presence.
How to Respond
- Ask the Lord to give you a vision for your community, what your town, your city redeemed and restored, renewed. What would it look like? What’s your part in this restoration?
- Ask the Lord to renew your vision for what community amongst the people looks like. How can you be more proactive in helping others with no expectation of return?
- Ask the Lord for revelation about what it looks like to live within the boundaries of His commandments, of the very few rules He created to help us maintain an upright heart.
- Get outside in nature and ask Holy Spirit to make you aware of His Presence, to instruct you, comfort you, release wisdom to you and bring new light to your eyes.
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