Editor’s Table
More prophets – More pastors – More evangelists – More teachers – More apostles? Paul says that God gave us these to build His kingdom (Ephesians 4). He also said that we have been given gifts to help each other; these gifts are not just for ourselves (Romans 12). I believe that one of the gifts we most need in abundance is encouragement. If our time in the world (job, relationships, every day stresses like finances) doesn’t beat us up enough, we also receive plenty of bruises and verbal flogging within the church. Yes, within the church! If you are puzzled by my statement, maybe you have never been the chairperson of a committee, organized an event, been a Sunday School teacher, or noticed the fatigue in your pastor or the worship leader. Where is Barnabas?
We first hear about Barnabas (originally Joseph) in Acts 4 when his name change is clarified as ‘the Encourager’ as he brings the offering of the proceeds from the field he sold. His free offering is set in direct contrast to the manipulative, partial-offering of Ananias and Sapphira. Barnabas is then portrayed as the ‘other half’ of the team for the very volatile and high-energy Paul. It is Barnabas who connects the man who was Saul the persecutor to the disciples in Jerusalem who are understandably wary of bringing Paul into that inner circle of the Church’s leadership. Given Paul’s personality I believe it is reasonable to assume that it is Barnabas who takes care of the details that will implement the visions that Paul has been given for the various churches. I can see Barnabas meeting with the workers in the church and showing them how to set up widow and orphan care and encouraging the worship leaders to bring together all the pieces on Sabbath. And when Paul hears of dissension in the church they left flourishing three months ago, it is Barnabas who is used to sift through the emotions and hear the truth of the choices that each fellowship has made as they move through growing pains.
We need encouragers who will listen to God’s Spirit that inspires a note to a struggling member in the Body. We need encouragers who will speak the truth of God in a committee, bringing the focus to God’s plan of serving others, especially unbelievers, new believers, children, and those in His focused mission of a given church. We need encouragers who will inspire and empower others to be involved in the ministry of Christ, not just pew sitters. We need encouragers who will send that card, that email, that text message to workers, those seen and those behind the scenes, who need that “’Way to go!”, “Thank you!”, and “We so appreciate you!”. It is Living Water from the well of God. The thirsty workers may have allowed themselves to become so busy that they do not even realize that they are dehydrated!
An encourager who greatly impacted my life and many, many in our church was Janet, a senior citizen who told me that she sometimes felt that she wasn’t doing enough for Jesus since her health had declined and she spent a great deal of her time caring for her husband who had Alzheimer’s. She did not realize the HUGE impact her well-timed notes. Her notes would arrive so timely, usually not because of any significant thing that I had done but because she felt the “nudge of God” (her words) to write a note to encourage. When she died a few years ago, the gathering to celebrate her life filled a sanctuary with an infinite number of stories about Janet’s notes. I will even go out on a spiritual limb and say that her notes made as significant an impact on God’s Kingdom as any prophecy that has been spoken.
Have you felt the “nudge of God” this week? Have you taken the time to notice someone’s weary eyes or slumped shoulders? In this day of texting, email, ecards, Twitter, Facebook, and Skype, we all have many, even convenient, ways to send a word of encouragement. The Kingdom multiplication of those few minutes to receive that “nudge” and obediently respond would be … Let’s do it and see what happens!
Ethiopian People Greeting the MissionariesBSP: When and how did you initially become connected with the people of Ethiopia?
BeckyLynn: Very shortly after my birth 🙂 Before I was walking, my parents loaded me and some large metal barrels with our stuff onto a freighter in New York, bound for Yemen, and then from there to Ethiopia by airplane. Until I was almost 11 years old, Ethiopia was the only home I knew. Half of that time was spent in boarding school far from my parents “down-country”; the other half was spent on the mission station, squatting in the huts eating roasted corn called “kolo”, helping the Ethiopian children herd their goats, etc. It was a very special upbringing, full of unique challenges, but also wonderful blessing.
We left Ethiopia on an emergent basis, with only 3 days’ notice. We thought my mother was dying of a brain cancer. Parting with Ethiopia was very traumatic for me. I planned to return as a nurse, so got my bachelor’s degree in nursing. But then God appointed me to be a wife to Dave….so all those preparations were abandoned, and for the next 28 years Ethiopia remained only in my heart.
Dave Black and Ethiopian Baby
In 2004 I took Dave back to Ethiopia to visit my home sites, “so that he’d understand me” 🙂 The second night we were there he plopped his head on the pillow & said, “I love these people so much it hurts!” It was then we knew that God had a work for us to do there. Since then we’ve spent on average 3 months of the year in Ethiopia.
BSP: What is the vision God has given you for His mission in Ethiopia?
BeckyLynn: The work He’s appointed us in this section of His vineyard is simple: help the local Ethiopian churches in Burji, Alaba & Gondar. Burji consists of 33 local churches in the Burji District, far to the south, almost to the Kenya border. No one wants to go to Burji because it is so isolated & it is surrounded by an aggressive warring tribe. It was one of my childhood mission stations, but since 1975 no one has helped these churches. When we visited in 2004, the church elders were pleading with us, “Don’t forget us.” Alaba is an area of Ethiopia that is easily accessible, but it has an almost 100% aggressive Muslim population; persecution of Christians is active. Hence, many are afraid to venture into the Alaba area. In both Burji & Alaba, God has removed all fear from us. We are the only “faranjis” (white-faced foreigners) you will find there. And I cannot tell you how much it means to these dear brothers & sisters in the Lord that we have come to share their burdens! The fellowship we have with them is extremely sweet. The plea from the Gondar churches was for financial assistance in funding evangelists into
Village Comes to Greet BeckyLynn
areas of Ethiopia completely devoid of any believers. This area of Ethiopia is almost exclusively Ethiopian Orthodox; the people are bound up in a religion that is a mixture of superstition, traditions, OT Law and NT Gospel. They are so strongly bound to this religion that they will actively persecute (on order of their priests) anyone who presents the pure, simple Gospel of Jesus’ faith alone. In fact, there is an organization within the church that targets any who forsake the traditions of the church; persecution is far worse than any Muslim’s persecution in Alaba. Because of cultural issues & Ethiopia’s history, only people from the Gondar region can gain a hearing of the Gospel from the people of Gondar. So our evangelists are largely “under cover”; God has blessed this work, and now 3 new local churches have been planted in this spiritually-hard area!
The Clinic in Burji
How do we help these Ethiopia churches? We listen to the church leaders and then pray about what they have said. As the Spirit impresses us, we present to the church leaders a plan of action. They then pray about it..and the Spirit gives us unity in the work. Because each area is different, the help given has been different. For example, in Burji we’ve distributed thousands of Bibles, hundreds of reading glasses, established a medical clinic, established solar-powered loudspeakers & lights in rural churches, helped with buildings for Bible school & church, etc. In Alaba, the great need has been for rural church buildings, charity for the persecuted believers, and Bible teaching. In Gondar, the great need has been salary supplement & assistance with evangelists.
The Work is fairly fluid. Once an engineer asked me, “What is your 5- and 10-year ministry plan?” “Simple, ” I replied…”It’s the same as our 1-year and 1-day plan: to be obedient.” God knows what He is doing in His Work. He knows the future. And when it is time, He will show us our role in His plan. It is too easy to organize the Spirit right out of the Work. We guard ourselves against that.
BSP: How do you raise money?
BeckyLynn: We don’t! (Gotcha, didn’t I :)) Seriously though, we don’t. We do not set targets or goals. We don’t have a budget. We don’t look under every bush or behind every church door for what might be there for the work in Ethiopia. Charity/Church/Mission fund raising has become a huge professional enterprise; whole organizations exist solely to raise funds for other organizations! And they are always doing studies to try to figure out how to be more successful at transferring funds from someone’s pocket to theirs! We don’t participate in any of that.
Dave Preaching — Translator to Dave's right, James, was later martyred
God has promised to care for His own. He has clearly said “don’t worry about it!” So we don’t. And when the Evil One starts insinuating that our Lord is not going to be faithful, the Spirit quietly asks “Has there ever been a time when the money you needed for the Work I’ve appointed was not there?”
When we started this appointment in 2004, it was only Dave & me; we set aside all of my income as a nurse for the Lord’s church in Ethiopia. Someone heard what we were doing, and accused us of being selfish by not letting others know about it. So we began to share the work appointed to us, and God began to bring partners. We simply tell the story of His glory in Ethiopia, and the Spirit appoints laborers, just like He did with us.
The work changes each year; it is dynamic. We don’t have a “program” that we try to sell the Ethiopian churches. We listen to them, we pray about what they have said, we seek His appointment, we plan with the Ethiopia leaders under His guidance….then we communicate that plan/vision/issue to whoever wants to listen…and somehow God creatively sends the things needed for the Work.
One thing we feel strongly about….that is, to try to replicate the ministry of Paul and Jesus. As it pertains to administrative expenses and personal expenses in the work, the Apostle Paul discusses this very plainly in I Corinthians 8-9. In short, he says that as a minister of the Gospel, he has the right to take from the kitty for his personal needs. But in exercising that right, he exposes the Work to the Evil One. He names specifically 4 areas of vulnerability resulting from the exercise of that right: 1) He is tempted to become a servant of those who pay him; their wishes might supersede the Spirit’s prompting; 2) People might accuse him, rightly or wrongly, of doing Gospel work for financial reward; 3) His own motive can become muddied; how does he know for sure that he is not doing the work for its salary or other perks; and 4) receiving support from the kitty tends to blur his vision of the ministry; he will always be thinking of whether the kitty is large enough for his needs, plus that work. Paul’s own testimony was that he “worked day & night” to supply the needs of himself & those with him. It was a costly decision he made is forgoing his right to support.
So, for ourselves, because of these dangers, we have covenanted before the Lord not to take one penny from donations for our own personal needs (our airfare, our in-country expenses, our clothes, immunizations, etc.). Furthermore, we willingly & joyfully pay all administrative expenses (wire fees, speaking costs, printing, phone charges, etc). In this manner, the Evil One has less “ammunition” against us and the Gospel Work, and 100% of the funds sent by partners goes to the Ethiopian churches. (This has always been our policy; it continued in this way even when I retired from my nursing job 3 years ago.)
BSP: How do you bring together team members?
BeckyLynn: It’s funny that you ask this question. We’re getting ready to take the largest group to Ethiopia we’ve taken, and I’ve been asking myself for the past 6 months at least “Lord, how do You bring the Team together?” In the book of Acts, we find such phrases as “it seemed good to us” or “the Spirit led us”….God is certainly a God of order, but He is not a God that is rigid, lifeless, predictable. Part of His glory is creativity. And He delights to do things in a way that floors us!
“The Team” spans the whole continent. Some of the Team goes physically to Ethiopia; our next batch of people is going for the month of July…23 people from the Roxboro/Durham/Wake Forest region of North Carolina. The team after that will probably be from churches in Texas. (Those going are always sent as representatives of churches who have partnered with the Ethiopian churches.) Some of the Team contributes their skills to the work…technical advice in solar power, making recordings, computer expertise, financial management expertise, sewing skills, etc. Some of the Team contributes Prayer…on their knees daily, faithfully struggling for our evangelists, or the clinic staff, or any number of issues that arise; this is probably the hardest & most necessary work of all! Without prayer, there is no power; without power, there is no Kingdom. And finally, some of the Team contributes financial resources…money. Many members of the Team are doing more than one job. The point is that none is more important than the other, no contribution is too small, and all contributions are God-appointed for that individual or church, for that time period, and for that purpose.
“Are you on vacation?” A million responses flew through my mind the first time I was asked while on a road trip for the Lord. The simple answer, “Why, yes. And what a great vacation it has been!” Christmas at Radio City Music Hall
I never knew how important places were to God until the Holy Spirit started taking me to some really strange places! GPS? Unless you are talking about “God’s Positioning System”, you won’t find anything more than an interstate level map in the car and a Frommer’s book in the carry-on! The buildings and things He’s revealed in those places and the people who have been encountered–no travel agent can plan a better trip than Him! Availability, not ability, is the key to traveling with God. With Him as the pilot, you will go farther and longer than you ever dreamed. Remember lesson one: Loosen His Spirit wherever you go. Sometimes that’s all He needs someone to do.
In 2006, my daughter and I took our first trip to NYC and spent the week of Thanksgiving amongst millions of other travelers on the island of Manhattan. A decision was made to see and do all the “touristy” things in that large city, which included taking in some sort of show. My daughter, Lindsey, loves Christmas; so, I decided to take us to the Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall. While viewing that truly spectacular event, in the most amazingly-designed building, it became apparent that a form of the Gospel of Jesus Christ’s love was being told through a vehicle that any person could understand–seeds of truth were being planted in that building, through that show. Whoever wrote that play must have known Him. A gentle loosing of His spirit inside of a most beautiful place, over a truthful thing–He can handle the rest on His own.
Our tickets included a back-stage tour. We were able to walk through all parts of that building, seeing old things, hearing stories, seeing places that famous people had been–secular and Christian artists had/have/will perform inside one of the most interesting places I have ever had the privilege to pray in. No one else knew I was praying, nor did they need to–that’s one cool thing about prophetic intercession.
One of the last things we did in Radio City Music Hall was to meet one of the Rockettes. She was a beautiful and lovely young woman. It was this experience that helped me realize that God’s people are everywhere. We have no idea the prayers that go up to Him, from what place they go up, or the reasons or hearts behind them.
That trip taught the lesson that place, things, and people are the reasons that prophetic intercession is important to God. Carry Him with you and let Him go into everywhere place you go, and signs and wonders are sure to follow–whether WE see them or not. Knowing His heart and seeing things with His eyes can change the world. Try it the next time you’re out and about on your everyday errands or family vacation. After all, isn’t that where THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD?
We have added BuddyPress to this site to enhance the discussion possibilities. There may be a few setup glitches as we get things going, but it looks like it’s working pretty much as planned.
You can link your Twitter updates to Energion.net and vice-versa. We’ll post more on this topic here soon.
Come! NOW is the time! Broken Vessels 1997
It is my prayer that this area of the webzine will primarily be created and written by the age group for which it is intended. I invite youth and young adult leaders and peers to bring devotions and articles that will minister to each other.
When I was a teen, the Sunday School teachers that I had taught, year after year, the Ten Commandments. It seemed like they thought if they drilled the words of those ten commands into our heads then we wouldn’t disobey them. Questions about how we were to walk out that ‘holiness’ in our day-to-day lives were not welcome. They did not know how to answer the question. Bible study was not a part of the class. We were just to do what we were told. (more…)
Making Prayer JournalsEditor’s Table: Finding Answers in my Life
I have tried to put this piece on a back burner and let it come at a later edition – but it will not let me rest! Within my family we are wrestling with major decisions and freely admitting that we want God’s answer because we are clueless in our own reasoning. In my nursing job, I hear people ask co-workers for advice. They ask people who don’t know them and do not have the same value system. They ask them for answers to life-changing questions! How do I find answers in my life?
The Sunday School answer is: Ask Jesus. And that isthe best answer. But how do I, a limited, mortal human know what my infinite God wants me to do?
“I am convinced that we cannot be effective in the Kingdom without growth in our own lives through the disciplined study of God’s Word.” – Greg May (gregsfishinhole)
There are many verses of Scripture that use the word ‘seek’. Jesus said not to worry but that I should first look for God’s Kingdom and a right relationship with Him and “all”, meaning food, clothing, and all in my life would also come. (Matthew 6:25-34) It took me over 40 years of trying to make my way work better than His before I gave up and began living the “Seek God’s Kingdom First” life.
As a young, intelligent up-and-comer, I did buy into my parents’ philosophy that if I worked hard I would achieve my goals. My ambition became my god as I pushed to gain the attention of my boss and my peers to applaud my achievements and reward my successes with monetary bonuses and verbal flattery. How quickly those mouths and hands are silenced when their own ambitions must be fed – even fed the scraps of what is left as we all clawed our way to the same mythical ‘top’.
Not until I had seemingly lost important milestones – marriage, home, cars, prestige, and job – did I see God’s Kingdom and His answer to my cry, “Is that all there is?”
God’s answers to daily questions in my life can be found in His word and in His conversations in my life. God is not a drive-thru where I state my question or life situation and He responds with a ‘have it your way’ answer. A relationship with intimate conversation comes with the building of the relationship. There are no short cuts. If I only gave my marriage two hours of attention per week, the marriage would not last and be on in name only at best.
Finding God’s answers in my life is putting in the time, making the relationship more than ‘name only’. Bible study, prayer, personal and corporate worship builds an eternal relationship, a Bridge. God becomes my Comforter, Savior, Lover, and Best Friend as we spend time together walking through this life and into the next…never to be alone.
Note on picture: Mission trip to Hungary. Teaching Ukrainian orphans about prayer journals. Take your needs to God, write it down with a date, and watch Him answer your prayers!
Dateline: Panama City, FL Greg’s Fishin’ Hole
On an unassuming street, a mile or so as the gull flies from the white sugar sand beaches of Panama City, Florida, is a place where everyone could come to know your name! It is known as The Fishin’ Hole. Greg May, saved Christian, husband, father, grandfather, postman, and well-loved friend of countless souls has taken his garage and made it into a place that is warm and welcoming for Believers and non-believers alike.
One Saturday night, my husband, Henry and I, visited The Fishin’ Hole. The cold cola and world famous nachos were in front of me almost before I could find my stool. The place quickly filled with old and young, men and women, laughter and hugs. I can’t wait to go again! BSP: How did Greg’s Fishin Hole come about? Greg: Jody, the best way I can explain how the Fishin Hole came about is my blog”Crewed Awakening. The Fishin Hole is the manifestation of the rivers of my life coming together. What a revelation in my life to see how God has been working all along! BSP: What is the desire that the Father has planted in your heart about this ministry? New Year 2010 at the Fishin Hole Greg: At first my plan was to create a place of “comfort and safety” for believers (particularly men) to come together and enjoy one another, to fellowship, have bible study, etc. A “Cheers for Believers”, I thought. Although these are good things, God has busted right through this plan and expanded what the Fishin Hole is to become. Luke 15:1-2 comes to mind, Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming close to him to hear him. The Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, “This man welcomes sinners, and eats with them.” (WEB)
I heard a man from the Middle East explain how seriously they take eating together. That for a Middle Easterner to sit at someones table and eat with them meant that they were considered family! No wonder the Pharisees were offended when Jesus ate with unclean sinners. Aren’t we to do what Jesus did? Aren’t we to be Jesus to the world? Besides, what’s the difference between us (Believers) and them (non Believers) besides the grace of God that we have accepted? So,I pray that the Fishin Hole is becoming a non-threating place where people from both sides of “the family” can come and “eat” together like we should. BSP: So what are some of the things that happen at the Fishin Hole? Greg: We do have a regular (weekly) bible study. There has also been a couple of meetings of church groups at the Fishin Hole. We have had a guest speaker from Israel. But more and more the Fishin Hole is becoming an everyone place. There has been party nights with games and football on the big TV. There will be movie nights and food nights and combinations of both. Some friends of my sons had a Hurricane Party and on New Years Day there was a cookout and college football Bowl Games. People from both of my work places, my church, and other churches, believers and non-believers were in attendance. To me, that’s Kingdom stuff! I know we won’t get all of the believers to go to the non-believers and testify, and I know we won’t get all of the non-believers to come to church and hear the Good News, but I do believe we can get some of the believers to meet some of the non-believers at the Fishin Holes. Greg and Company at the Fishin' HoleBSP: What is the atmosphere? Greg: The “theme” of the Fishin Hole is a “man cave” with a fish camp “decor” (term used loosely).
Literally, my garage turned into a pub-like gathering place. Still “under construction”, we have a large “U” shaped bar (formerly a table saw table) that seats 10-12 people, a big TV, a piano, dartboard, etc and seating for about thirty people. We’ve had live music and also play some tunes on our fine sound system! (just kidding) Well, you can hear it OK! The nachos and the root beer floats have already become world famous! (not kidding) BSP: Who is Greg May? Greg: I’m a stinking sinner saved by the grace of God. A stench only washed off by the blood of Jesus. If that sounds super holy or some kind of attempt at big humility, it’s not, it’s just a rather recent revelation of how big this salvation God has provided for me really is and I’m sure I still don’t know the full scope of it yet. BSP:Who has influenced your spiritual life? Greg: Jody for this question please look at the blogs at the Fishin Hole of the Fishin Hole Hall of Famers (Linda and Terri), in particular Linda’s teaching of the Word and living out the love of God and Terri’s living example of discipleship. Also my wife Hannah who lives a Godly life out in front of me. Perry Dalton who always had my back when we were in ministry together or I would have been wounded continually in battle. My current Pastor Alan Ferguson who is a constant encouragement to me. And last but not lesser by any means a group of kids in the 90’s (grown adults now) who lived out faith in front of me and I saw what it was to grow ” in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men”. You know who you are, everyone of you, thank you!
How much time should I put into Bible study if I want to “grow” as a Christian?
This question reminds me of another one. How long should your legs be? Long enough to reach the ground, of course!
But frequently when I hear this question — and I do hear it quite often — I hear a subtext that is asking “How little Bible study time can I get by with and still grow spiritually?” If that’s your question, then let me just say that spiritual growth is not something that happens on a schedule, and as long as you’re looking for minimums you’re going to find that growth is very difficult. You might ask instead how much of your life you must surrender to Jesus. Now it might take a long time for your life to be 100% surrendered, but complete surrender is always the goal.
A better question might be just how can Bible study help with my spiritual growth? How should I go about making scripture a positive part of my spiritual life?
Many people are actually hindering their own spiritual life by trying to study precisely as someone else does, or for a particular amount of time that isn’t tailored to their spiritual and intellectual needs. And before someone reminds me that it’s all about God, we do have spiritual needs, and we need to fulfill them. For example, I can tell a substantial difference in how the rest of my day will go if I cut short or skip my morning devotional time, even if the remainder of my day is occupied studying scripture or theology.
So I’m going to guess that if you’re asking this question you are concerned about your spiritual growth, and you think that more time with God’s word will help. You need to ask not only how long to spend, but what to do with the time you set aside.
Let me suggest three things that may have brought your Bible study to a halt or made it into a task rather than a joy.
First, you may be studying for the facts or for simple intellectual satisfaction. If you are inclined to intellectual curiosity, you may even be enjoying your Bible study, but still feel that your spiritual life is dying at the same time as you learn more and more. If this is your problem, the prescription is not more time spent in study, but rather a focus on applying scripture in your spiritual life. This can involve increasing your time spent in prayer, in service to others, or in meditation as opposed to working harder on details of knowledge.
Second, you may be following the Holy Spirit — or you may think you are — but not studying the word systematically enough to let it correct you. In this case you are probably more experiential than intellectual and analytical. Following the Holy Spirit is both possible and very important in Bible study, but often people who think they are following the Holy Spirit are really just following their own inclinations. The result is that they go over the same passages again and again, passages that tend to support what they already believe and do. In this case you may need to spend more time looking at the facts of scripture and reading systematically through larger portions of scripture.
Third, you may be excessively influenced by your surrounding culture. This is very similar to my second point, but instead of assuming that you’re following the Holy Spirit you spend your time looking for specific texts to support or oppose things in the culture. In other words, your study is issue oriented, and you believe that if you find the correct answers to such questions as homosexuality, abortion, women in ministry, modesty in dress, or any of a number of other issues, you have done the proper sort of Bible study. It is quite possible to have all the right answers to those questions and yet not be a disciple. In this case you need to look both for the guidance of the Holy Spirit, combining your Bible study with prayer, and also making it more systematic.
The key is to seek God’s guidance through scripture in all aspects of your life. To do so you will need to combine listening to God’s voice speaking to you, looking at all aspects of scripture, and finding those places where God wants to correct you.
Once you have the diagnosis of your need, the answer to the question of how much time will come to you easily.
with Iris Lloyd Black asphalt, solid yellow lines, and dashes of white—a road for all practical purposes but metaphorically-speaking, the picture described represents Life. This column explores prophetic intercession, from its foundations to its application into today’s world and your part in God’s plan in this Kingdom ministry. Iris Lloyd (middle)
Prophetic Intercession. Two words that most people may not fully comprehend when they are used alone, so bringing them together generally does not bring about widespread understanding or acceptance. The more familiar term of the two, intercession, means “prayer, petition, or entreaty in favor of another.” A further study of the word intercede means “to intervene between parties with a view to reconciling differences, or to mediate.”
Prophecy, or anything prophetic, has long since been a word that sends panic into most believers. Visions of locust-eating, long-haired, loud-mouthed flakes come to mind as the word rolls off a speaker’s tongue. Well, according to His word, there WERE men and women like that who were used mightily by God for His purposes. That does not, however, mean that everyone is called to engage in that type of prophecy. A book definition is not being considered in the explanation of the word prophetic. This description comes strictly from experience. Prophetic means symbolic and representative of something. Joined together, these words mean performing intercession that is representative of acts that need to occur in the natural to allow an unlocking of the spiritual realm. And, yes, there are times when that may get a little flaky–but not TOO often!
Using Joshua 24:27 as inspiration because it illustrates the importance of events and where they happened. There is a pattern in the Old Testament to remember places of worship and how God worked. We remember that sin defiles just as obedience can bless. Joshua 24 is a passage that reveals this principle in God’s directions to Joshua to use a rock as a witness and becoming, for this author anyway, the foundation for the prophetic intercession that He has led me to perform.
The most basic principle of prophetic intercession taught to me by Mrs. Annette Dotson Curtis, a wonderful Godly woman and cherished mentor, is that as we walk we have the authority as believers to invite or usher in the presence of the Holy Spirit by simply speaking “I welcome you here to this place, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” It’s as simple as that–even in a breathy whisper the power that He gains from this simple admission allows things to begin to happen of which we could never dream. Our words represent a relationship that can bridge a gap which allows a reconciliation to begin in the spiritual–THIS is prophetic intercession. Rockwell Mural at the UN Building – Photo courtesy of Iris Lloyd
In closing, I would like to share my first-ever road trip. It was the fall of 2006 and my daughter and I decided to spend Thanksgiving in NYC. As we visited the United Nations building and the General Assembly room, I was suddenly aware of Annette’s frequent bidding to “loose the Holy Spirit” wherever we went. I simply prayed, in little more than a whisper, “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I welcome you into this place and give you permission in the name of Jesus to come in to this place and have your way.” That was it. That simple prayer was repeated at Ground Zero, St. Paul’s Cathedral, the NBC studios, Rockefeller Plaza, Wall Street and many more locations as well as throughout the streets of Manhattan as miles of sidewalks and subway rails were used to usher in His presence as He directed. That was just the first trip, there have been several more with more in-depth initiatives completed–but this was the first and most necessary step that God used to begin a ministry that has spanned countless miles and numerous cities and cemented Him into my heart and life forever as a force that can move mountains while revealing His love to me in and through the process.
However, the most important work begins closer to home. You can practice the same principles, beginning in your own home and throughout your own town. By releasing His presence in your own sphere of influence, you can witness His mighty hand at work in a very personal way. Seeing Him move like this builds an unparallelled intimacy into your relationship with Him. I challenge you THIS MONTH to step out in faith at least once, release His power through your words, and watch Him begin to use prophetic intercession in your world–that’s where THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD. Iris S. Lloyd, Executive Director, Founder, LP Executive Services LLC
Overall, Megabelt has some good qualities. However, it is my opinion that the author missed his chance at writing a book that would have great impact on the church. I wish this book could be re-written with more grace, less sarcasm, and no crudity. If a revision was done well, then I think churched people of the South might be willing to read it and think about the important issues it raises.
