Crossing the Threshold of Isaiah 58 by Kathi Pelton

Eugene, OR

A Testimony of Experiencing Breakthrough

Last November I was in Okinawa, Japan, attending meetings with a number of global gatekeepers. During our time together, an Asian leader shared a story.

The previous week, he had met with a remnant of Believers from his nation, so that they might seek the Lord together for breakthrough into victory over the many obstacles they have faced for generations. Churches had fasted, prayed, worshipped, and repented, and yet they were not experiencing the breakthrough that they were seeking.

This man told us how, in the midst of their meeting together, they became aware of several families among them who were in severe financial need. The entire group stopped everything that they were doing, laying down their agendas and schedules, and proceeded to take up an offering for these families. As the money was distributed to those in need, they received it with humility and gratitude, deeply touched and profoundly blessed.

Later, when they all regrouped and returned to prayer, crying out once again to the Lord corporately, everyone gathered sensed the witness from the Holy Spirit that they had received the breakthrough they were looking for.

As I listened to his story my spirit was moved and I heard: "They crossed the threshold of Isaiah 58."

It was like having water splashed in my face, awakening me to a vitally important truth that we often neglect as we contend for a corporate breakthrough. We forget that the Body is made up of individuals, and we can find ourselves rejoicing in a corporate victory even as many individuals leave and return home feeling the weight of oppressing circumstances upon them. (Photo via Pixabay)

Isaiah 58 is the chapter about God's chosen fast. It begins with passionate words to those who have fasted, prayed, and called out to God, but to no avail:

"Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to My people their rebellion and to the descendants of Jacob their sins. For day after day they seek Me out; they seem eager to know My ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask Me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them. 'Why have we fasted,' they say, 'and You have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and You have not noticed?'"

These words echo the cry of those who had stood on behalf of that Asian nation, and yet they were not experiencing breakthrough. But let's read further:

"Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for people to humble themselves? Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed and for lying in sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD?

The leader I mentioned told us how, within his country, many churches competed with one another to see which was the biggest and best congregation. This led to leaders treating their people – and even their own families – in harsh and abusive ways as they strove to be the best. Leaders were dealing with divisions, offenses, and broken family relationships. They looked good on the outside, but the "family" within their walls was broken and divided.

"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter – when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and He will say: 'Here am I.'

"If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The LORD will guide you always; He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

When these leaders turned their hearts to the needs of individual families, putting aside their public agenda to meet the financial need, they crossed a threshold from the old way of doing things into the new "true" fast. They stopped striving for breakthrough the way they always had, and in doing so, became the breakthrough for others.

As they released the ones in need from the yoke of oppression, God released them from the yoke of oppression that was upon the whole. Already the promises of Isaiah 58 are beginning to come upon them as pastors and other leaders have begun to humble themselves and repent for their pride and harshness, seeking to repair broken relationships and release new freedom among their people. (Photo via Pixabay)

Maybe the poor are among us as an invitation into the corporate breakthrough. Will we remove the oppression from them, or simply ignore their need? Will we point a finger at them and wonder what they've done wrong to be under this yoke of oppression, or recognize that – just possibly – they are under that yoke because we have not taken it off of them?

Does all of our time and money go to building better ministries or do we first stop and build a strong family? Maybe our promises are found in Isaiah 58's wisdom...just maybe.

Give and It Shall Be Given Back to You

One of the first words the Lord gave me as we approached 2016 came fromLuke 6:38:

"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

The Holy Spirit emphasized this verse again and again to me. I knew that God was about to deal with the poverty spirit that presides in the Church. This spirit is rooted in fear and unbelief. We must take God at His Word and truly know that to whatever measure we hold back, that creates the measure that is held back from us; but also, to the measure we give, so are overflowing blessings given back to us.

I often hear Believers say that they can't give because they do not have enough to meet their own needs, but this is the very thinking that often causes God's children to not have enough. It is as we give that it is given back to us. Remember the story of the widow's mite?

Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. (Photo via Flickr)

Calling His disciples to Him, Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything – all she had to live on." Mark 12:41-44

Her small gift was counted as more costly than those who had given large amounts out of their wealth.

The Widow's Mite

Many years ago, when my husband and I were living in another country with our four children, we experienced something similar to this story. We were living on missions support, and our monthly support base was much smaller than our monthly needs. One Sunday morning, as I sat in the morning service, I was feeling a great weight of oppression upon my shoulders as we only had a couple of dollars in coins left. We needed groceries and gas, and there were bills due.

When it was time for the offering, I wished desperately to give something, even though I really wanted to save our last few dollars for milk. But, as the basket came nearer, I remembered the story of the widow's mite, so when the basket was put into my hands I turned my wallet upside down and emptied all that I had. It was a very small amount and yet it was such a great sacrifice.

God is faithful, and we somehow got through that next week.

The next Sunday our church was filled with many visitors due to a large conference our fellowship had hosted. The pastor who was speaking that morning gave a brief message, and then called my husband and me up to the front. We were startled, and our surprise turned to astonishment as we heard him recount how he woke up that morning and the Lord told him that He wanted to pour blessings over us.

Ushers set two chairs in the front of the church, and we were instructed to sit down. The pastor then invited everyone assembled to come forward and pour money over our heads. People began to empty their wallets over our heads (just as I had done the week before with the offering), and then people set cash in our laps and checks in our laps until it seemed as though we were covered. When the cash and checks were counted, the amount was over $7,000! (Photo via Pixabay)

I gave my "widow's mite" and, in return, God sent hundreds of people to pour provision over our heads. "Give, and it will be given to you...running over, will be poured into your lap."

It was literally poured into our laps!

Your Faith Will Be Perfected

God is perfecting our faith in this hour. When His people begin to move forth in faith and trust in all that He has said in His written and spoken Word, it creates momentum that begins to move us forward. But moving forward requires action on our part. On February 22nd (2/22), I heard the Holy Spirit say, "It is a 2:22 time." I began to seek out what the 2:22 meant, and was led to James 2:22:

"You see that his faith was working together with his works and his faith was perfected by works."

Here is the context of that portion of Scripture:

"Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? You see that his faith was working together with his works and his faith was perfected by works. And the Scripture was fulfilled that says, 'Now Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness,'and he was called God's friend. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone" (James 2:21-24).

Our faith is perfected when we obey by taking action on what the Lord has spoken. Many hear and believe, but do not add action, instead requiring proof through what they can see. Their attitude is "seeing is believing." But we believe even before we see. We believe, therefore we act as a result of our faith. God is looking for the remnant of modern-day "Abrahams" who put action and works to their faith.

When God called our family to move to another country, all we had was His Word to us. Our house hadn't sold, we didn't have support raised, and we only had temporary housing set up. But God made it clear that we were to go, and He would provide every step of the way, so we put action to our faith and moved. He was faithful to take care of us through the years. There were times we were afraid, but our fear was not because of unfaithfulness on His part but rather unbelief on our part.

Wrapping It Up

I believe we are in a kairos time, where we can cross over thresholds that have kept many of God's sons and daughters from breakthrough. Here are vital keys for all of God's people in this hour:

• Walk out the Isaiah 58 fast, where we remove the oppression off those in need;

• Give generously according to Luke 6:38, which breaks the poverty spirit; and

• Move forward in obedience to God's direction as stated in James 2:22, putting our faith into action.

We are called to be light and salt. I am convinced these truths written in the Book of Life will bring both light and salt back to His Body. They will be beneficial in breaking the orphan spirit, the poverty spirit, and the despair of hope deferred off of many. We were created in His image, and we must reflect His image in our private and public lives. We must put works to our faith, be generous in our giving, give care to those who are oppressed, and stop the pointing of the finger in accusation against those facing hardship. (Photo by Jennifer Page "Love's Preservation" via elijahshopper.com)

The truth truly does set us free, and His Word is truth.

Kathi Pelton
Inscribe Ministries
Email: jkpelton@sbcglobal.net
Website: www.inscribeministries.com

Becoming Stealth: A Vision By Kathi Pelton

www.inscribeministries.com

This morning I was meditating on the verses in Colossians 3. In the midst of reading this important chapter on “how to live as believers” I was taken into a vision. Before I share the vision I encourage you to read all of Colossians 3. This chapter basically sums up what it looks like to change our spiritual clothing (ways) when we come alive in Christ. Verse 5-8 tells us what we should take off,

“Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming.You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world. But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language.”

And then verses 12-14 tell us what we are to put on,

“…you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts.”

As I was meditating on these verses I saw a vision God’s people changing their clothes. In the vision I saw the people clearly and vividly as they were wearing their old nature and as they began to take off the old nature and clothe themselves in the new nature (the image of God) they became more and more invisible. This continued until I could no longer see them.

I asked the Lord why His people were becoming invisible and He replied, “I am making my people stealth to the enemy as they are clothed in My image.” Wow, in this time of great spiritual warfare God has given us strategy for both Christian living and for spiritual warfare. As we clothe ourselves in these virtues we become stealth.

A number of years ago the Lord showed gave me a dream about demons being attracted to the atmosphere of fear, chaos, anger and perversions and how the peace, faith, joy and love completely confused the enemy and attracted the angelic to rush to us. I absolutely loved this dream. This is one of the reasons that I began to really pursue peace in my life and ultimately wrote me devotional, 30 Days to Breakthrough: Peace.

The virtues spoken of in Colossians 3 are not mere suggestions but vital for every believer. The enemy has had far too much access in the lives of the sons and daughters of God through the areas of still wearing and walking in the old nature rather than the new nature. The Holy Spirit is both willing and able to help you to shed the old and put on the new. It is a work of the Spirit with the cooperation and yielded heart of the Believer.

It’s time to become stealth and Colossians 3 in your guidebook to get there.

Listen to God's Report - It's Time For Upgrades! by Kathi Pelton

Eugene, OR

Focus, Focus, Focus!

The enemy wants to steal your focus with distractions. In the midst of God shifting spiritual atmospheres that have been stagnant, releasing His movement and swift changes, the enemy has attempted a counter-attack with his own assault. Many others have been troubled by various ailments that have stopped them from travel. My husband and youngest son and I were in a serious car accident on January 3rd that has presently grounded me from all travel.

Although I have been in constant pain since the day of the accident, the Lord has given me great hope. Almost immediately after the accident the Holy Spirit said the word "Upgrade" to me.

As I sought Him regarding this, He clearly told me that every place the enemy touched would result in an upgrade in that very area. Within hours of our accident, a friend who is a prophetic voice in Canada wrote to our family, sharing that as she prayed for us, she kept hearing the word, "Subaru." (Photo by Famartin via Wikimedia Commons)

This was a bit surprising, but we received the word. Two days later, we received an email from a couple who live in another state, telling us they wanted to give us a car, and asking if they could deliver it the next day. Guess what the model is? Subaru! The Lord had actually spoken to this couple several days before our accident and directed them to give us the car. Provision was on the way even before we needed it. The value of the car we received is worth many times the cost of the vehicle we lost in the accident.Truly an UPGRADE!

As I mentioned, I am currently not able to travel, therefore all of our speaking engagements and trips for January and February had to be canceled. This is our main income stream, but in January people generously gave us about three times what these meetings would have provided. Another UPGRADE!

We believe for healing in my body to come as well. God will upgrade my physical temple. Various medical caregivers have pronounced that I will never be as I was before; my bones and ligaments and other tissues have been compromised in ways that are medically irreparable due to severe blunt force trauma. But we are trusting God's good report that I will be better than before! It's time for UPGRADES!

Now is the time to focus our thoughts and affections on the One who bore all our suffering so that we would be free. I refuse to turn my focus – my affections – toward any bad report or negative circumstances. I will endure the pain with the joy set before me that God's good report will come to pass and we will experience more upgrades.

My affections will be daily given to the only One worthy of them: Jesus! The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but our God is greater than anything we will ever face. I realize that even if our lives had been lost in our accident, we still would have received an upgrade.

I am not the only one hearing this word "Upgrade"; Lana Vawser, a prophetic voice from Australia, has been hearing it in her times with the Lord as well. God is confirming His word.

"Hocus-Pocus" or Divine Focus

I heard the words recently, "Hocus-pocus or divine focus." We are all familiar with this term used by magicians before doing a magic trick. The dictionary defines it this way:

Hocus-Pocus: meaningless talk or activity, often designed to draw attention away from and disguise what is actually happening.

I saw a vision of the enemy doing what appeared to be magic tricks to deceive the natural eyes. People were watching his tricks with great concentration. They were wondering what he would do next. As this vision continued, I heard a voice out of Heaven calling, "Focus, focus, focus!" Then the words "Divine focus" came to my spirit.(Photo via Pixabay)

The Spirit of the Lord was calling to those who had become preoccupied with all the "hocus-pocus" and illusions of the enemy, and telling them to shift their focus to the reality of Heaven and the affections of the Father, Son, and Spirit – our great God who is pouring blessings upon His sons and daughters.

It is very important at this time to turn our attention and affections to the one true God who is worthy of our undivided focus. Do not allow the frantic activity and the accusations of the enemy to draw your devotion away from the truth of God. Do not allow satan's "illusions" to define what is actually happening in your life.

God's report and perspective are always greater than the world's, and He has a plan to prosper us and not to harm us. It is time for us to believe Him and focus our spiritual eyes on what is true and what is holy, rather than what our natural eyes see that is actually an illusion.

The Truth and Nothing But the Truth!

Next, I heard the words in my spirit, "The truth...and nothing but the truth!"This term is used in the courts of law here in the United States when someone swears an oath before giving their testimony.

God's people are about to be giving testimonies of truth that will unveil the illusions of the enemy. The enemy will be known only for his "hocus-pocus" (distortion of truth), and the fear of the Lord will uncover all his deceitful trickery. The truth will set people free, and we will see an unprecedented outpouring of miracles like we have never seen before. (Photo via Pixabay)

Though this outpouring will be worldwide, keep your eyes on the United States, because I believe many reports of upgrades, miracles, and outpourings will manifest throughout the U.S. beginning this year. As I have written previously, for many years my attention was focused on other nations more than my own. But now I see the United States known as "One nation under God."

God has not left us, and He is about to give testimony through His sons and daughters that He has heard the prayers of the righteous that fill the bowls of Heaven (see Revelation 5:8). The Heavens are opening and answers will pour forth. The United States will not be able to contain it, and it will spill over into the nations of the world.

Showers of Blessings

I have a chalkboard in my home that I write on. I usually ask the Lord for a prophetic declaration before I write. A few days ago, I realized January was almost over, and I hadn't written anything new since the holiday season. So, I erased my cheerful Christmas greeting from the board and waited to hear what I should write. The three words that came to me almost immediately were"Showers of Blessings."

Yes! We receive showers of blessings as the bowls of Heaven pour down upon us. The next morning at our fellowship, a number of people gathered around me to pray for my physical healing. As they prayed, one lady looked at me and said, "I hear three words over you. They are 'Showers of Blessings'!" My husband and I looked at each other and laughed at the confirmation of our little declaration from the day before. I believe that just as the rains have been falling upon our land (we live in western Oregon where rain is plentiful), so we are now in a season of showers of blessings that will put an end to the spiritual drought that many have experienced the past several years. (Photo via Pixabay)

This is God's good report! Take your focus off of unworthy things and put it upon the One who alone is worthy. You are on the verge of a miracle! We are on the verge of many miracles that will release a flood of testimonies that reveal the truth of our God! Take every bad report and rip it up, throw it into the fire, and receive the good report that declares truth.
Bless you with showers of blessings!

Kathi Pelton
Inscribe Ministries
Email: jkpelton@sbcglobal.net
Website: www.inscribeministries.com

A Word to the Church For This Year: Return to Your First Love by Kathi Pelton

Eugene, OR

Isaiah 61:1-8, The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion–to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.

They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor. They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations. Strangers will shepherd your flocks; foreigners will work your fields and vineyards. And you will be called priests of the LORD; you will be named ministers of our God. You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast. Instead of your shame you will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace you will rejoice in your inheritance. And so you will inherit a double portion in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours.

The Key: Yielding and Love

"The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me..." If you remember nothing else after reading this word except that reference, then you will have everything you need in the days to come. There is no good thing that we can accomplish in our flesh that will not end in our flesh.

Everything Jesus accomplished while on Earth, He did completely yielded to the Spirit of the Lord. The Old Testament is filled with examples of men trying to please God in their own strength, but falling short due to the limitation of human strength. When Jesus came and died for our sins, He left us His Spirit so He can do for us that which we cannot do for ourselves.

The past couple of years we have seen many in the Body of Christ become weary, reaching the end of their own resources. Why is this? One reason is that God, in His mercy, will not leave us in our own strength. We must completely yield our lives to the Spirit of the Lord in all that we do. Whether we are trying to love our families or minister in public settings, we have to ask the Spirit of the Lord to impart what we need. (Photo via freeimages)

We must do everything from a heart of love, but how can we love the people or things that we actually do not care about? We can act in a loving fashion, but that will only take us so far. If we would truly love those that the Lord puts in our paths, we must ask the Spirit to impart the love of the Father into our hearts. This is not a work of the flesh, but a manifestation of the Spirit. The anointing that we need is an impartation of His Spirit.

So he said to me, "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty." Zechariah 4:6

We must walk by the Spirit to accomplish the complete and finished work the Lord desires. We must walk in love – the love that the Holy Spirit imparts to us. The measure of your love is the measure of your authority. We should not put our hand to anything which we do not first love. If you don't love something or someone that the Lord is asking you to minister to, then ask Him to impart His love to you. By doing this, you will have authority grounded in love.

This is the key to walking in Isaiah 61: Yielding to the Spirit and the letting His impartation of love be the strength and authority for everything we do. The Church must understand this truth. We can either be a container that is limited by our capacity or a river that allows God's love to flow continuously. The Spirit flowing through us allows us to transcend our own capacity to extend love. Love is the key to authority; any work apart from love is merely "a resounding gong or clanging cymbal".

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 1 Corinthians 13:1

Unity: The Fruit of the Tree of Life

John 17:20-23, "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as You are in Me and I am in You. May they also be in Us so that the world may believe that You have sent Me. I have given them the glory that You gave Me, that they may be one as We are one–I in them and You in Me–so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that You sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me."

The love that the Spirit will give to us will also begin to release unity. God longs for a family. That was His intention in creating mankind and still today is His greatest longing. In Genesis we find numerous accounts of family lines. This is because God is emphasizing the importance of family and lineage. The prayer of Jesus in John 17 is a powerful and wondrous example of the longing within the Godhead to draw us into the family unity that they share.

The enemy always seeks to create counterfeits. The "political" or "religious" spirit is one of those substitutes. The best way to recognize that spirit is that it always creates camps or parties. Unity creates family, but religion creates divisions. The political or religious spirit will find a "cause" to build its platform upon, and then draw people to a cause rather than to the Father. The cause may even be righteous, but when it isn't founded in love, it merely creates noise that divides rather than peace that unifies.

Here in the United States we are entering an election year. The "political spirit" is on the move and the Church must be aware of its snare and tactics. In everything we do we must move from the foundation of love. Love will make a place for righteous causes to naturally and organically rise up within the context of family, but the political (religious) spirit will attempt to displace love for the sake of a cause.

We must yield our hearts to the Holy Spirit in order to have love imparted to us; then we can stand boldly for righteousness from a place of love, rather than stubbornly clinging to a "right cause". This is the difference between eating from the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and eating from the fruit of the Tree of Life.

Love unifies, where a cause, not grounded in love, will force itself upon others and act as a sword, dividing family members. The Lord is looking for willing hearts that are yielded to His Spirit and His heart. As we walk by His Spirit, we will be given the wisdom we need to bring forth justice and mercy without causing division or disunity.

The Church is not a political party, we are a family! Within a family there may be differences and diversity, but there remains loving unity that makes room for differences. I am not talking about making room for sin or unrighteousness beliefs; I'm talking about different mantles, positions or callings; or even different understandings of various aspects of God's Word.

We all walk in unique positions and anointing, but we are under one Father through one Spirit. When we honor and yield to this truth, then jostling one another will cease and honor will be given room to create unity, family and oneness that comes out of love.

Beauty, Joy and Praise...and First Love

"...to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair." Isaiah 61:3

Ashes, mourning and despair have been a perfect description of what we have been hearing each day in the news – and often in the Church as well. But this year will bring forth reports of beauty, joy and praise. Again, this is a work of the Holy Spirit. As we allow the Spirit of the Lord to impart the heart of the Father to us, we will begin to see marriages healed, prodigals returning home, the grieving ushered into joy and praise breaking the spirit of despair.

There are too many reports of despair. God is about to turn that around by His Spirit. His light will shine in the darkness like never before and His promises will come to pass in the lives of His sons and daughters, through the lives of His sons and daughters.

The amazing thing about allowing the Spirit of the Lord to accomplish what we cannot is that as we come into full reliance upon Him, we are able to enter into peace and rest that we have never before known. We come to the end of our strength and the beginning of His strength in us. That does not mean that we will not be busy, because His Spirit works through the lives of men and women, but we will be busy in the grip of His peace and rest. The end result will be reliance upon on His Spirit.

A Letter to the Church: Return to First Love

Revelation 2:1-5, "To the angel of the Church in Ephesus write: These are the words of Him who holds the seven stars in His right hand and walks among the seven golden lamp stands. I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for My name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first."

Just as He announced to the Church of Ephesus, God is calling today's Church back to first love. First love doesn't count the cost; it is compelled to sacrifice its own for the sake of another.

Recently I was listening to a dear friend share how, when he was first in love with the lady who later became his wife, he would not even think twice about driving for many hours in the middle of a day to spend a lunch hour with her. The price he paid to be with her was never counted or considered, because love trumped every other consideration.

Then he said that recently, his wife asked him if he wanted to come and see her on her lunch hour. She was only a five minute drive from him, but he decided not to go because he knew he would see her when she got home that evening. At that point, he remembered how he used to drive for hours just to be with her for one hour, and his first thought was, "Wow, I'm glad that I've matured beyond that." At that moment, the Lord spoke to him and said, "You have not matured, you have fallen away from first love. Go back and do as you did before."

Love does not count the cost or focus on the sacrifice. Love is ignoring the calling of self and becoming aware of the rhythm of Heaven. Love is what caused Jesus to pay the price on the Cross for all mankind. This is also what allowed the Father to send His only Son: Love. His love is the type that does not count the cost but is compelled to die in order to see the other benefit. Love lives for the one you love. (Photo via eyesright)

Take time to humble yourself before the Lord and ask the Spirit to give you back your first love. First love for God will impart a love for His Body to you. The deeds of the Church of Ephesus were righteous, but they did not come from a place of love. God is calling for us to return to first love this year.

We long to fulfill Isaiah 61, but we must do it by His Spirit, from a place of first love. This is good news! This year can be a year of good news and good reports, but we have a choice to make. Every prophetic word is subject to the will of the listener. The only requirement to see this fulfilled is to humble ourselves before the Lord and ask that the Spirit of the Lord come upon us and impart His heart and love to us. The work is His; but the willingness must be ours.

Sowing and Reaping

Luke 6:38, "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

This year your seeds of faith will bear fruit. The fruit that ripens will drop seeds that produce a multiplication of fruitfulness in the years that follow. It is important to clear the land of your life of any remaining doubt and fear; doubt is a weed that will choke the planting of the Lord in you. Abiding trust will be like a weed killer for you. It is time to trust Him so doubt will die.

Fruitfulness will burst forth as you cultivate faith, and this will cause many to enter an eight-year season of bountiful harvests both personally and corporately. This year will be a time that produces abundant return for all the seeds that you sow.

Generosity is a key to financial breakthrough. Though this is always true, this year it will set a precedent in your life for provision and resource. There is an alignment and agreement with the goodness and generosity of Heaven that will release prosperity and financial breakthrough on God's people this year in unprecedented measure. (Photo via Pixabay)

I was in a meeting last month, and one of the leaders shared a dream in which his oldest son was eating stones and his mouth was full of blood. He was quite alarmed by the dream, but as soon as he recounted it, I remembered that the previous morning as I woke up, I immediately heard the words, "No more stones, no more stones!" Then I heard the verse out of Luke 11:11:

"You men who are fathers – if your boy asks for bread, do you give him a stone? If he asks for fish, do you give him a snake?"

We as God's people have often withheld from one another (love, finances, mercy, kindness, forgiveness, etc.), and in doing so we have fed stones to our sons and daughters. I believe that this dream is both a correction and an exhortation. It is a correction regarding the "withholding spirit" that many have operated in, and an exhortation to become like our Father who gives generously.

Some of the lack the Body of Christ has experienced in the past years is a direct result of withholding that which has occurred as doubt and fear which took root in many hearts and lives. God is about to deal with these strongholds as He sets His house in order for the days to come. Doubt, fear, withholding and lack are all connected; we need to ask the Spirit of the Lord to free us from these things so that we can embrace trust, the fear of the Lord, generosity and abundance.

Withholding merely produces lack where a generous lifestyle of giving will produce a life that is marked by abundance.

A Recalibration for the New Climate

A few months ago I was at a conference and a lady walked up to me and said, "I see the word recalibration over you." She said that she was reminded of her recent move from a warm climate to a cold climate. After the move her vehicle was not running well. When she brought it into a mechanic he said that he needed to recalibrate her carburetor. He explained that her car was calibrated for a warm climate, and that it must be adjusted for the cold climate to run properly.

When she said this I was immediately aware that I personally – and all of us corporately – have moved into a new spiritual climate. This is true in both the spirit and the natural realms. I needed to allow the Spirit to recalibrate me to this new spiritual and natural climate. Love, trust, peace, generosity and living by His Spirit are part of the recalibrations. Not that I hadn't been living in these things but they were taken to a deeper level.

Even a greater alignment between my public and private life was being recalibrated. No longer could I compartmentalize aspects of my life, but all areas needed to be aligned and purified so that the enemy could not accuse me of any hypocrisy. Once again, this is a work of the Spirit, but my willingness to yield to this work.(Photo via flickr)

The Body of Christ must be recalibrated to stand against the climate of fear with the spirit of peace; we must dwell together in unity in a world climate that is full of division; we must practice trust in the climate of suspicion and we must freely offer love in a climate of hatred.

Summary

2016 will posture the Body of Christ truly to be a light set on a hill.

"You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven." Matthew 5:14-16

We will carry the Light of the World into darkness and see many saved. I believe that light will be a beacon to many. I keep hearing that we have entered an eight-year period of light and fruitfulness. It is like the eight nights of light celebrated during Hanukkah. We may only have prepared the purified oil for one night, but God will give us eight nights (years) of light. I not only saw the light that shines from the Menorah, but I saw fruit hanging from all its branches.

Happy New Year, Family!

Kathi Pelton
Inscribe Ministries
Email: jkpelton@sbcglobal.net
Website: www.inscribeministries.com

Let Wisdom Lead You by Kathi Pelton

Eugene, OR

A spirit of fear rages through our world in these days. Continually we read and hear reports of terrorist attacks, ISIS cells emerging on the international scene, natural disasters, and threats of war. These woeful proclamations tempt the inhabitants of the global community to dwell in an environment of fear. This kind of fear provokes an emotional reaction which can thrust people into survival mode, rather than into a peaceful response that intentionally seeks wisdom.

Occasionally, reactionary fear is appropriate, even necessary. It is helpful as a response to immediate danger, such as an out-of-control speeding car or a falling object. But it is not healthy or proper to live consumed by this fear or to make long-term decisions dictated by its torments. If you do, then you are living in the "fear of fear" rather than in the fear of the Lord.

The Fear of the Lord

Proverbs 9:10 says, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight."

The fear of the Lord refers to a reverence and respect of His ways, His power, and His counsel. Following the life-giving instruction found in His Word is to walk in the fear of the Lord. Walking according to the Spirit of Wisdom is to live in the fear of the Lord. If you grew up in a household with a good and loving earthly father, then you understand that you can be fully and completely loved and still fear moving outside of the boundaries that your father set for you. Those boundaries represented safety and wisdom. They kept you safe and protected from harm. (Photo via Pixabay)

It is the same with the fear of the Lord. He so loves you that He has laid out boundaries of safety for your life. I never look at them as rules to live by, but loving arms to live within. When we choose to live outside of these arms of love, it causes repercussions that often bring harm and calamity into our lives. Our loving Heavenly Father wants to protect His children from these dangerous and fearful situations; therefore He invites us to live in thefear of the Lord.

When my children were young, I set loving boundaries for them. They may have thought I was simply making rules, but they were actually protections put in place because of love. I did not want them to face the consequences of disobedient behavior. My husband and I trained them because we loved them. It brought us no pleasure to discipline them when they crossed boundaries that we set for them, but our discipline was better than letting them grow up and face the harsh consequences laid down by the world when foolishness is fully manifested in an adult.

By submitting to the discipline of God, we come to know wisdom and we receive insight. As we become more and more intimate with Him, we gain a greater confidence and trust in His ways, which causes us to experience a peaceful environment in the midst of a fear-based world.

Letting the Spirit Lead

Some of my extended family members do not yet know Jesus as their Savior. Because of this, they still react with fear to world events, rather than come under the fear of the Lord that responds to heavenly wisdom. During this time in our lives, my husband and I are traveling internationally with greater and greater frequency. This is causing a lot of fear in these members of our family. All they can see is that we are exposing ourselves to enhanced risk of possible terrorist attacks. But what we see is that the best place we can be is in the center of our Father's will!

As we seek the wisdom and insight of the Holy One, we allow our lives to be overshadowed by the covering of the Lord as revealed in Psalm 91:1-2: "Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, 'He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.'" (Photo via Pixabay)

The fear of the Lord leads me to turn to God as my refuge and fortress. The fear of the world will merely dictate a life of self-protection that keeps me from experiencing and relishing fullness of joy. There are two key words that should not be missed in the verses above: "will rest..."

Negative fear and rest do not coexist, but the fear of the Lord will lead you into rest. In my new book, Thirty Days to Breakthrough: Peace, I talk about how so much of the warfare that we experience as Believers is due to lack of peace, not battling against actual adversity. When we move into fear and worry about tomorrow, rather than dwelling in the refuge of the Almighty, we begin to live out our greatest fears even before they have happened. Our minds can be one of our greatest battlefields if we allow fear to control our thoughts.

We want to place our faith completely in the protection of our Father, not express faith in the destruction of the enemy. We must allow the Spirit of the Lord to renew our minds as our thoughts are captivated by peace and rest in the presence of the Lord. Even as we face fearful circumstances, we can remain in rest as we adjust to living in the refuge of His love.

His Ways

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8-9

We must settle it in our thoughts and our actions: The ways of the world are not the ways of our God. His thoughts are foolishness to the world's mindsets. But to the Believer, there is no greater wisdom than the wisdom that comes from above.

Look at the battle of Jericho. The children of Israel were told to march around that walled city and then shout in order to see the walls fall. Can you imagine the mocking they must have endured as they walked, day after day? Or, consider Noah. Can you imagine a man building an ark in the middle of a desert with no rain in sight? What foolishness! (Photo via Wikimedia Commons)

This is how we live as God's children. We live after a fashion that looks like foolishness to the world but appears as faith in the eyes of Heaven. We fly into danger zones at the Lord's request during times of violence, we worship and rejoice in the midst of hardship, we declare truth and watch it change events on Earth. This posture illustrates who He is and helps us grow in trust as we obediently live in the fear of the Lord. That is wisdom.

He is inviting us into His ways, His truth, and His peace. We can enjoy life in the midst of an environment of evil and fear. There is a truth that is greater and more powerful than earthly "reality," and there is a government that rests on the shoulders of the Almighty that will prevail. Nothing can separate us from the love of God, and that is our greatest victory. No evil or fearful thing can overcome His love that surrounds our lives.

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow – not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below – indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39

This is our assurance and the truth that we live by. We have an eternal hope that cannot be shaken and we are surrounded by a love that is irreversible. Let your faith arise and let the fear of the Lord be the doorway to wisdom in your life. This is not an hour to fear evil but to fear the Lord.

Kathi Pelton
Inscribe Ministries
Email: jkpelton@sbcglobal.net
Website: www.inscribeministries.com

The Power of Agreement – with Lies and with Truth by Kathi Pelton

Eugene, OR

Agreement is a powerful tool in both earthly and heavenly matters.Agreement is the vehicle by which ideas become legally binding and differences are reconciled.

The dictionary defines agreement in this way:

Agreement:

1. Harmony or accordance in opinion or feeling; a position or result of agreeing.

2. A negotiated and typically legally binding arrangement between parties as to a course of action.

3. The absence of incompatibility between two things; consistency. (Photo via Pixabay)

The power of agreement has resulted in treaties that were signed, covenants made, and unions formed and throughout the Bible we read about agreements that resulted in treaties and covenants. Scripture is quite clear about how much God honors agreement between two parties.

Matthew 18:19-20 Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in Heaven. For where two or three are gathered in My name, there am I among them."

Agreement About Your Identity

If there is so much power in the agreement between two people on Earth, just think about how much power there is when you come into agreement with the spiritual realm, whether with God, or with the enemy.

My husband and I spent many years doing foster care. Most of our foster kids were teenage boys who had been neglected, abused, and abandoned. As horrible as many of the events were in these boys' pasts, there was an even more tragic event that permeated their lives. The day they came into agreement with the voices of evil that pursued them is where their lives took the most tragic turn.

On more than one occasion when one of our boys had been "triggered" (upset emotionally by some word or deed) causing them to rage against their existence, I would put my arms around them and repeat over and over, "This is not who you are! This is not who you are!"

Somewhere deep inside they knew that the message of being worthless was not true, yet life had beaten that demonic message into the fabric of their identity. The enemy had used the events in their lives as proof of the lie, creating agreement between them and the demonic agenda that was being played out.

One of the enemy's greatest strategies is to get one of God's amazing creations to agree with an identity that is different than the one that He gave to them. The enemy takes great pleasure in setting up scenarios that give proof to his lies. Demons love to hang out with hurting and disillusioned people to speak lies about their identity. If he can get them to agree with his lies, then power is released creating legal authority to validate this lie as truth in their life. (Photo via Pixabay)

Has this ever happened to you or someone you love? Have you ever come into agreement with the demonic voices that want to convince you that you are not who God has said you are? Have you spoken words like, "I am so stupid," "My life stinks"...or even worse? Those are agreements with the enemy that release power and a basis for accusation and harassment.

Breaking Demonic Agreements

There is good news if you have agreed with the enemy about your life or the life of someone else: YOU CAN BREAK THAT AGREEMENT.

It is not too late to change the course of your life and remove every legal right that this agreement has secured. You can go before the Righteous Judge and ask forgiveness for this agreement, renounce the agreement, break the power of the legal right, and then come into agreement with truth and justice on your behalf and on behalf of others.

The Mercy Seat of God is open to you. The Blood of Jesus will both cleanse and renew you. He purchased you with His own Blood, and has triumphed over every evil power and all accusations against you. The power of His Spirit will set you free from any alliances you have made with lies against your true identity. (Photo via Pixabay)

In Isaiah 30, God speaks about His people being deceived into entering into an alliance with a plan of the enemy, because they had not asked His counsel, that they might know His truth.

Isaiah 30:1-5 "Ah, stubborn children," declares the LORD, "who carry out a plan, but not Mine, and who make an alliance, but not of My Spirit, that they may add sin to sin; who set out to go down to Egypt, without asking for My direction, to take refuge in the protection of Pharaoh and to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt!

"Therefore shall the protection of Pharaoh turn to your shame, and the shelter in the shadow of Egypt to your humiliation. For though his officials are at Zoan and his envoys reach Hanes, everyone comes to shame through a people that cannot profit them, that brings neither help nor profit, but shame and disgrace."

Drop down to verse 18, and read of God's desire to intervene on their behalf:

"Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you, and therefore He exalts Himself to show mercy to you. For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for Him."

It is time to allow the Lord to be gracious to you and restore you. His justice flows to those who make His truth the only agreement and alliance that they enter into.

Agreeing with Truth

Isaiah 30 goes on to list the results you will see when you break the alliance with every demonic lie and come into agreement with His truth and His ways.

Isaiah 30:23-26 And He will give rain for the seed with which you sow the ground, and bread, the produce of the ground, which will be rich and plenteous. In that day your livestock will graze in large pastures, and the oxen and the donkeys that work the ground will eat seasoned fodder, which has been winnowed with shovel and fork. And on every lofty mountain and every high hill there will be brooks running with water, in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall. Moreover, the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day when the LORD binds up the brokenness of His people, and heals the wounds inflicted by His blow.

The Lord says to us, "This is the way, walk in it" (verse 21).

Walk in truth! Agree with truth! Speak truth! Who does the LORD say you are? Who does He say the person standing next to you is? Agree with that identity, even if the enemy wants to give "proof" of the opposite in this visible world. It is time for us to agree with the truth of the unseen and bring it down to Earth. There is power in agreement. When you agree with the truth of the Lord it releases the power of the Spirit. You agree with the legal right of Heaven to come to Earth. When you bring another into this agreement along with you it releases even more power. (Photo by Donna Smallenberg "Arise, Shine" via elijahshopper.com)

I encourage you today to break all alliances and agreements with lies and to enter into truth. You are amazing, you are brilliant, you are loved and of great value. Wait for the Lord, for He will restore all things as you come into agreement with His truth and walk in it.

Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."

Kathi Pelton
Inscribe Ministries
Email: jkpelton@sbcglobal.net
Website: www.inscribeministries.com