Hello Everyone!
Well, my first year up at Bethel is complete and here I am, back at home, and the adventure continues! I wish I had time right now to recount all the things God did in me this year, all the revelations I've received, all the ways I've been equipped... I will do that sometime this week. You all have had the privilege of seeing me change in ways that I could not see from my perspective! More than aything, I know who I am and what I have more than I ever have in my life, and that's probably the most priceless thing I could have come away with.
So at some point in the near future, I'll do a recap but for now, the best thing I can imagine doing is to share the things that God is teaching me and birthing in me. And that would be EPHESIANS. Gosh, I think Ephesians must be one of the most pregnant books in the entire Bible... especially this year, I have been so wrecked as I've read through it. I was reading just the first chapter this morning, and this cry rose up within me to the Lord, that even though what I was reading was so beyond my comprehension, He would birth in me those truths and revelations that the fullness of Christ might be seen in my life. Read this a few times, meditate on it, really take it in...this is Paul's prayer for us...
"...that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to
you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of
your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His
calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and
what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, acording to
the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him
from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above
all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named,
not only in this age but also in that which is to come."
Isn't that SO PREGNANT? And it's that last portion that really awakens my spirit to cry out... what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places. AH. His power toward us as His people is the very same power that raised Christ from the dead and exalted Him as the name above all names! And this rocked me even more, that we are seated in heavenly places with Christ. As He is, so we are. As He is a perfect representation of the heart of the Father, so we are. As He is above all principality and power and might and dominion, so we are. I don't even know what else to say other than "YES GOD"! Work that in us, God... Help us to truly understand that as Christ was and is, so we are to be in this world. Encounter us with the revelation that you have created and empowered us to do all that Jesus did... He has given us everything. Everything... Go deep, God. All we can say is yes... yes. Yes and amen... Yes and amen.
Wow, as you can tell it's rocking me even now so I just release whatever God's doing in me to you... Meditate on these verses some more and get all you can because there is so much available.
I love you all so much!
Blessings for MORE,
Melissa
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Feeding you on what's feeding me!
Hello everyone! 11 days left until graduation, and it's really just starting to hit me... only more 6 school days left. Wow. I'm beginning to feel an anxious sort of desperation stirring inside of me... not anxious in a negative sense but more like I'm just grasping wildly for as much as I can get my hands and heart around for these last precious weeks.
I just finished my last assigned reading book of the year! It was Bill's latest book called Strengthen Yourself in the Lord , and I can't even BEGIN to tell you how much of a word-in-season it was as we're coming to the end of the school year. It fed, encouraged and strengthened me so much so I wanted to offer to you a few of the revelations that really impacted my heart...
"God has set us up to succeed. Yes, He commanded us to disciple the nations. It looks like an impossible task. But Jesus is the Desire of the Nations, and He dwells inside us... Our job is learning to let Him out, and we only do that to the degree that we are like Him. This is why the desire to become like Him is the driving passion of the Christian life. When we truly see who He is and what He's done for us, when we've tasted His love and power, a desperate conviction is born in us-- we simply cannot live any longer with the areas in our lives that are inconsistent with who Jesus is. This conviction must grip our hearts so completely that we resolve never to quite until we are completely conformed to His image. In becoming like Christ, we become the very thing the world longs for."
"I must take personal responsibility to strengthen every weak place, and to break any and all agreements with fear! We must become the ongoing manifestation of revival and stop waiting for outside circumstances to line up with our dreams."
"As you become more and more convinced that you are a person with a great identity and purpose, that you are prepared for the moment you're standing in, and that all of Heaven is waiting to back you up as you choose to be faithful to your purpose, your perception of which forces (the kingdom of darkness vs. the Kingdom of His marvelous Light) are most operative in your life will shift."
"No one else can fulfill my destiny for me. No one else can possess my promises. Complacency will not draw the baptism of the Holy Spirit into my life. There's something about exercising my will and faith to step beyond convenience that matters to God."
"Fire always falls on sacrifice. And in worship, sacrifice is no longer mere physical expression or verbal declarations. We are the sacrifice. And when we are the sacrifice, we cannot help but be changed."
"People's needs can exert tremendous pressure on us, and that pressure will expose the places in our heart that care more about meeting the expectations of others than doing only what Jesus is doing. In His ministry, Jesus met the needs of many people, but He also walked past alot of other needy people. He understood that as one man, the only way He could succeed at what He was doing was to keep Himself in a place where what moved Him was not merely human need but the actual heart of His Father."
Is that enough meaty revelation for you? :) I know I'll be asking the Lord to work all of that in me for the next few months. There was SO MUCH in this book that cut right to my core... so many things that God was reinforcing and strengthening in me even just by reading it, and more things still that He was freshly provoking me with. One of the overriding themes that He has been repeatedly speaking into me has just been a deeper revelation of Jesus. He's the center of everything. He is intimate covenant relationship... He is the embodiment and completion of our redemption and victory... In Him, all the fullness of God dwelt, and from Him we can see a perfect reflection of the heart of the Father. Jesus encompasses my identity and destiny, all that I am and all I'll ever become... He is everything. His name is power, breath, and living water...And His very Spirit dwells inside of me. And even more amazing still, my intimacy with Him and my pursuit of Him will result in the healing and salvation of the nations.
That's just a taste of what's going on in me! I hope it feeds you and stirs you up! Keep me in an extra measure of prayer during these last days of school, that continue to be equipped and empowered with everything I need for this next summer season! Thanks!
Love and blessings,
Melissa
I just finished my last assigned reading book of the year! It was Bill's latest book called Strengthen Yourself in the Lord , and I can't even BEGIN to tell you how much of a word-in-season it was as we're coming to the end of the school year. It fed, encouraged and strengthened me so much so I wanted to offer to you a few of the revelations that really impacted my heart...
"God has set us up to succeed. Yes, He commanded us to disciple the nations. It looks like an impossible task. But Jesus is the Desire of the Nations, and He dwells inside us... Our job is learning to let Him out, and we only do that to the degree that we are like Him. This is why the desire to become like Him is the driving passion of the Christian life. When we truly see who He is and what He's done for us, when we've tasted His love and power, a desperate conviction is born in us-- we simply cannot live any longer with the areas in our lives that are inconsistent with who Jesus is. This conviction must grip our hearts so completely that we resolve never to quite until we are completely conformed to His image. In becoming like Christ, we become the very thing the world longs for."
"I must take personal responsibility to strengthen every weak place, and to break any and all agreements with fear! We must become the ongoing manifestation of revival and stop waiting for outside circumstances to line up with our dreams."
"As you become more and more convinced that you are a person with a great identity and purpose, that you are prepared for the moment you're standing in, and that all of Heaven is waiting to back you up as you choose to be faithful to your purpose, your perception of which forces (the kingdom of darkness vs. the Kingdom of His marvelous Light) are most operative in your life will shift."
"No one else can fulfill my destiny for me. No one else can possess my promises. Complacency will not draw the baptism of the Holy Spirit into my life. There's something about exercising my will and faith to step beyond convenience that matters to God."
"Fire always falls on sacrifice. And in worship, sacrifice is no longer mere physical expression or verbal declarations. We are the sacrifice. And when we are the sacrifice, we cannot help but be changed."
"People's needs can exert tremendous pressure on us, and that pressure will expose the places in our heart that care more about meeting the expectations of others than doing only what Jesus is doing. In His ministry, Jesus met the needs of many people, but He also walked past alot of other needy people. He understood that as one man, the only way He could succeed at what He was doing was to keep Himself in a place where what moved Him was not merely human need but the actual heart of His Father."
Is that enough meaty revelation for you? :) I know I'll be asking the Lord to work all of that in me for the next few months. There was SO MUCH in this book that cut right to my core... so many things that God was reinforcing and strengthening in me even just by reading it, and more things still that He was freshly provoking me with. One of the overriding themes that He has been repeatedly speaking into me has just been a deeper revelation of Jesus. He's the center of everything. He is intimate covenant relationship... He is the embodiment and completion of our redemption and victory... In Him, all the fullness of God dwelt, and from Him we can see a perfect reflection of the heart of the Father. Jesus encompasses my identity and destiny, all that I am and all I'll ever become... He is everything. His name is power, breath, and living water...And His very Spirit dwells inside of me. And even more amazing still, my intimacy with Him and my pursuit of Him will result in the healing and salvation of the nations.
That's just a taste of what's going on in me! I hope it feeds you and stirs you up! Keep me in an extra measure of prayer during these last days of school, that continue to be equipped and empowered with everything I need for this next summer season! Thanks!
Love and blessings,
Melissa
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
18 days until graduation, and the Lord is still hard at work...
Hey everyone!
Man, I can hardly even begin to tell the depth of what God has been doing even since I last checked in with you all... To say the least, I am awestruck. Honestly, He may now be doing some of the most significant work that He has this entire year because He's going deep in me to revisit, strengthen and reinforce what has already been awakened inside of me. And SO MUCH of it is about my identity... It's really a trip to look back on this year because coming into it, I totally thought I knew who I was but in reality, I was walking in a mere fraction of who the Lord has created and called me to be! :) God has really been testing my heart and character lately... He has been bringing back into my view things that I thought were complete works but that actually need a WHOLE LOT more work before they are brought to completion in me! Behavior has a powerful way of displaying what has really been accomplished in my heart, and when I leave this place, I (and everyone else, for that matter) am going to see who I really became this year!
One of the things that just leaves me in awe and wonder is something one of our pastors said to day... "You cannot become a Heidi Baker or a Bill Johnson without being tested by the Lord because He loves you too much to let you stay the same." It is out of His LOVE for me that He refines my character in the fire because if He didn't do that, I would NEVER be able to withstand the weight of the radical call He has placed on my life! I am just wrecked with gratitude that He's revealing my weaknesses now. More, Lord! Whatever it takes to become more like You!
Haha, do you know that nothing can hold you back, if you're seeking after the Lord with all you have? Nothing. If you are earnestly, passionately pursuing Him, NOTHING can stop you. No lie is strong enough to overshadow His promises for your life. No mistake you ever make will annul the covenant of love He has made to you. No obstacle or detour will be able to keep you from the paths that lead to the fullness of your destiny. No weapon formed against you, no snare prepared to entangle you, no trap laid to cause you to stumble will EVER be able to take you down because the mighty hand of your Father is upon you, His favor and the strength of His Spirit are always with you, and He will work ALL THINGS to your good because you love Him and are called according to His purposes!
Nothing, nothing will keep us from fullfilling the dreams that we dream with Him ;). Doesn't that just make you so excited?? I'm excited! Yay Jesus!
I love you all! I need to do some homework and then hit the sack!
Be strengthened, stirred up, and encouraged by His love,
Melissa
Man, I can hardly even begin to tell the depth of what God has been doing even since I last checked in with you all... To say the least, I am awestruck. Honestly, He may now be doing some of the most significant work that He has this entire year because He's going deep in me to revisit, strengthen and reinforce what has already been awakened inside of me. And SO MUCH of it is about my identity... It's really a trip to look back on this year because coming into it, I totally thought I knew who I was but in reality, I was walking in a mere fraction of who the Lord has created and called me to be! :) God has really been testing my heart and character lately... He has been bringing back into my view things that I thought were complete works but that actually need a WHOLE LOT more work before they are brought to completion in me! Behavior has a powerful way of displaying what has really been accomplished in my heart, and when I leave this place, I (and everyone else, for that matter) am going to see who I really became this year!
One of the things that just leaves me in awe and wonder is something one of our pastors said to day... "You cannot become a Heidi Baker or a Bill Johnson without being tested by the Lord because He loves you too much to let you stay the same." It is out of His LOVE for me that He refines my character in the fire because if He didn't do that, I would NEVER be able to withstand the weight of the radical call He has placed on my life! I am just wrecked with gratitude that He's revealing my weaknesses now. More, Lord! Whatever it takes to become more like You!
Haha, do you know that nothing can hold you back, if you're seeking after the Lord with all you have? Nothing. If you are earnestly, passionately pursuing Him, NOTHING can stop you. No lie is strong enough to overshadow His promises for your life. No mistake you ever make will annul the covenant of love He has made to you. No obstacle or detour will be able to keep you from the paths that lead to the fullness of your destiny. No weapon formed against you, no snare prepared to entangle you, no trap laid to cause you to stumble will EVER be able to take you down because the mighty hand of your Father is upon you, His favor and the strength of His Spirit are always with you, and He will work ALL THINGS to your good because you love Him and are called according to His purposes!
Nothing, nothing will keep us from fullfilling the dreams that we dream with Him ;). Doesn't that just make you so excited?? I'm excited! Yay Jesus!
I love you all! I need to do some homework and then hit the sack!
Be strengthened, stirred up, and encouraged by His love,
Melissa
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