Aroma of the Spirit

 It's a soft and cool rainy day today here in San Antonio, Tx.  As I was spending time with the Lord, just enjoying the coolness of the air, several birds of the sky caught my eye.  I began to reminisce of when I would feed the birds over at my last place.  They would follow me and sing to me in the neighborhood I lived in last.

 Last night, I fed the birds over here at my new place, and the birds this morning were flying in to sing to me.  I am filled with so much gratitude.  As I felt excited to get to know my angels over here, a thought began to form in my mind, "Birds, just like angels, are like the wind.  Always going where the Spirit takes them.  Just like the birds the wind carries, you cannot tell where the Spirit will blow next."

 The Lord took me to John 13:4-5 this morning and began to explain to me a significance.  Jesus laid aside his own garments, covered himself with a towel, and washed the disciples' feet.  This reminds me of Ezekiel, when God instructed him to prophesy to the wind and bones in the valley, and how the Lord covers us with his "skin", which is His righteousness.  This passage from John also reminds me of Mary, Martha's sister, how while weeping, she anointed Jesus' feet with an excellent aroma and washed His feet with her hair.

 The hour is upon us, a time when many will be shown that the time is near when we will depart from this world and ascend back up to the Father.  This doesn't mean wait for a physical death to return to God.  No, this also means that the hour of our salvation is here, and he has sent His angels concerning you to watch over and protect you.  Your care and watchful nature is a pleasing aroma to the Lord and soon you will share in His glory with not just yourself but with others.  I pray this word edifies your spirit and you find comfort in Hs presence.  I love you.  Jesus loves you.  Shalom Shalom

His Help, Our Resolve

 There will be wars and rumors, and rumors of war.   Do not be afraid.  What we're seeing in the world today is a direct reflection of what has already transpired in the Spirit.  Have we not already waged war within ourselves?  We cannot become distracted by outside events.  What we're witnessing in the world around us should be of no shock.  Throughout the ages, mankind has struggled with internal conflict, and that same war within leads to the manifestation of an outward projection of it..  How many times in our everyday lives has this truth proved true?  So it only makes sense that this same truth proves out in the world at large today.

 

 Now is the time to exchange our battle-worn garments for garments of peace.  Peace within us and throughout our communities.  This life is short in contrast to the eternal life we will experience with Jesus.  We will endure to the end through strife and through longsuffering.

 Our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.  From beginning to end, the Master Architect never ceases in creation.  He oversees the work of His hands, never abandons it, and ensures the success of His creation.  The Lord forms within us Spirit-led inclinations and purpose, resulting in a radical shift from a fleshly mindset to a spiritual mindset.

 

 The day of the Lord is here.  The kingdom of God is at hand.  Let us draw near and revel in our newness within Him.  He has prepared us for this day.  Pruning and testing.  Refining and purging.  His blood has washed away our sins and we are now purified in Him.  Now we get to enjoy the fruits of our labor and the resulting spiritual and moral purification.  God loves you.  I love you.  Shalom Shalom

Rain, Refuge, and Rivers

 The Lord brought me to Acts 5:2 this morning, "And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet", and 1 Corinthians 4:4, "For I know nothing by myself, and am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord."  Just like Ananias and his wife Sapphira, the apostles and God were aware.  He and his wife were aware they were cheating the Lord as the apostles and God were also aware of their transgression.  

 Sometimes in our desire to serve the Lord, our fleshly desires get in the way of our prostration before him.  We cannot serve both money and God.  We will hate one and love the other.  Monetary wealth is a direct manifestation of the spiritual abundance he has given us, and not the other way around.  Does He not gather the grapes and cut them off from the vine as well?  And he will also demonstrate this with His people.

 Modesty and reverence for the Lord must outweigh my own desire.  Did he not raise us up from the dust of the earth and multiply as numerous as the stars in the sky?  We were blessed before we were formed and we are still blessed as we hold on to His promises.  That is the splendor of the Lord.  As we desire him, God too desires our heart.  And if we desire the flesh, death too will desire our life.

 There is nothing new under the sun.  We may fool our fellows and we may fool ourselves, but we cannot fool the Lord.  That is why it's so important to spend time with him-doing so brings joy and clarity.  He reveals hidden things to His children in the secret place.  As God has blessed us, let us too, revel in His majesty and give to the Lord what belongs to him.