RENEW AND RESTORE

“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭51‬:‭1‬-‭12‬ ‭NIV‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/111/psa.51.1-12.NIV

UTTERLY TRUSTWORTHY

“And may the God of peace Himself sanctify you through and through [separate you from profane things, make you pure and wholly consecrated to God]; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved sound and complete [and found] blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah). Faithful is He Who is calling you [to Himself] and utterly trustworthy, and He will also do it [fulfill His call by hallowing and keeping you].”
‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5‬:‭23‬-‭24‬ ‭AMPC‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/8/1th.5.23-24.AMPC

RELIABLE AND FAITHFUL

“So let us seize and hold fast and retain without wavering the hope we cherish and confess and our acknowledgement of it, for He Who promised is reliable (sure) and faithful to His word.”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭10‬:‭23‬ ‭AMPC‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/8/heb.10.23.AMPC

ALL…..TURNED TO THE LORD!

“As Peter was ministering from place to place, he visited God’s devoted ones in the village of Lydda. He met a man there named Aeneas who had been paralyzed and bedridden for eight years. Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus the Anointed One instantly and divinely heals you. Now, get up and make your bed.” All at once he stood to his feet. And when all the people of Lydda and Sharon saw him, they became believers in the Lord. Now, there was a follower of Jesus who lived in Joppa. Her Aramaic name, Tabitha, means “gazelle.” She lived her life doing kind things for others and serving the poor. But then she became very ill and died. After the disciples prepared her body for burial, they laid her in an upstairs room. When the believers heard that Peter was nearby in Lydda, they sent two men with an urgent message for him to come without delay. So Peter went with them back to Joppa, and upon arriving they led him to the upper room. There were many widows standing next to Peter, weeping. One after another showed him the tunics and other garments that Tabitha had made to bless others. Peter made them all leave the room. Then he knelt down and prayed. Turning to the dead body, he said, “Tabitha, rise up!” At once she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up. He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called for the believers and all the widows to come and see that she was alive! The news spread all over the city of Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. Peter remained in Joppa for several more days as a guest at the house of Simon the tanner.”
‭‭Acts‬ ‭9‬:‭32‬-‭43‬ ‭TPT‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/1849/act.9.32-42.TPT

AND UNCONTAINABLE JOY FILLED THE CITY!

“Although the believers were scattered by persecution, they preached the wonderful news of the word of God wherever they went. Philip traveled to a Samaritan city and preached to them the wonderful news of the Anointed One. The crowds were eager to receive Philip’s message and were persuaded by the many miracles and wonders he performed. Many demon-possessed people were set free and delivered as evil spirits came out of them with loud screams and shrieks, and many who were lame and paralyzed were also healed. This resulted in an uncontainable joy filling the city!”
‭‭Acts‬ ‭8‬:‭4‬-‭8‬ ‭TPT‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/1849/act.8.4-8.TPT

TEAR OPEN THE HEAVENS

Isaiah 64:1 OH, THAT You would rend the heavens and that You would come down, that the mountains might quake and flow down at Your presence–
Isaiah 64:2 As when fire kindles the brushwood and the fire causes the waters to boil–to make Your name known to Your adversaries, that the nations may tremble at Your presence!
Isaiah 64:3 When You did terrible things which we did not expect, You came down; the mountains quaked at Your presence.
Isaiah 64:4 For from of old no one has heard nor perceived by the ear, nor has the eye seen a God besides You, Who works and shows Himself active on behalf of him who [earnestly] waits for Him.

THE RIVER OF GOD

Ezekiel 47:1 THEN HE [my guide] brought me again to the door of the house [of the Lord–the temple], and behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east, for the front of the temple was toward the east; and the waters came down from under, from the right side of the temple, on the south side of the altar.
Ezekiel 47:2 Then he brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around outside to the outer gate by the way that faces east, and behold, waters were running out on the right side. [Zech. 14:8; Rev. 22:1, 2.]
Ezekiel 47:3 And when the man went on eastward with the measuring line in his hand, he measured a thousand cubits, and he caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were ankle-deep.
Ezekiel 47:4 Again he measured a thousand cubits and caused me to pass through the waters, waters that reached to the knees. Again he measured a thousand cubits and caused me to pass through the waters, waters that reached to the loins.
Ezekiel 47:5 Afterward he measured a thousand, and it was a river that I could not pass through, for the waters had risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over or through.

FIRE!!!

Seeds begin to germinate and sprout as the earth warms in springtime. However, some seeds, like the Giant Sequoia, Lodgepole Pine, Eucalyptus, and others, require the intense heat of a fire for their seeds to pop open where water can enter and allow them to geminate and grow into the plant that was locked in that seed so long ago.

This is true in our spiritual lives as well. God puts various “seeds” of skills and talents and giftings in each of us at birth. Some are developed right away. Some require time and various “conditions” like formal training or a series of experiences to more fully develop. Then there are those that “pop open” and become more evident in the fire of rebirth and salvation. And even more so as we are increasingly filled with the Holy Spirit and yield more and more to His leading. However, I believe that there are some that require even more intense heat. Scripture says…

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (James 1:2-4)

We see trials and persecution of many kinds around the world today…and growing exponentially as these last days before Christ’s return are upon us. When the hard times come, open your heart and spirit to the continual “washing of the Word”. God’s Eternal Word of Truth. Let that Living Water flow into your spirit and soul allowing you to blossom and grow into all that God created you to be…..for such a time as this.

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. (2 Peter 1:3)

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)