Redefined

Warrior Bride of Christ

painting by Todd L. Thomas

For the word of God is living and powerful, 

and sharper than any two-edged sword, 

piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, 

and of joints and marrow, 

is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

- Hebrews 4:12

This is a special post because it opens my chronicles for the second half of this year!

The year 5777 of the Hebrew calendar, which corresponds to 2017 in our Gregorian calendar, began on Rosh Hashanah last October 2, 2016. There are still about two months left before the next Rosh Hashanah which falls on September 20-21 of this year.

Events have been moving fast for me the past months and I was unable to write about the significance of the year 5777. So in this post I want to share the impact of this season on me, as it has been my deep desire to be connected to the Hebrew roots of my faith and be aligned to God's prophetic timeline. Even more so these days for clearly the end is near.

Also called ayin zayin, 5777 is the Year of the Ruling Sword, for that is what the Hebrew letter zayin looks like - a scepter and a sword.

The prophetic significance of this year is that it has ushered in a season of cutting away, cutting off, and cutting through. It is also called a year of supernatural grace, there being a triple seven in this year. Seven is the number of God which indicates perfection; indeed, God is perfect in every way. And a triple seven signifies triple perfection!

With the ushering in of this season, God is clearing the way for His glory to be poured out. He is Sovereign Ruler and Commander in Chief of heavenly armies at the same time. He is reclaiming territories that have been taken over by the enemy.

The collision of kingdoms has begun... and is upon us. False ideologies are being exposed, which explains why there seems to be an increase in violence all over the world. Darkness and evil have to been seen for what it really is.

As the saying goes, The darkest hour is just before dawn.

The exposure of evil will reveal on whose side we are fighting.

More than ever before, true warriors need to arise.

This is the season to be vigilant, and to exercise our authority as kings and priests. It is also a season of sifting and a purging. It is important for true warriors to operate in the Issachar anointing, that we may know and understand the times and the seasons that we are in.

We need to get out of old patterns, and discard our worn out wineskins.

New wine will be poured only into new wineskins.

As we are in the year of the ruling sword, the sword cuts off the old and releases the new (Cindy Jacobs).

Therefore, the anointing of the Word of God is being poured upon us like never before. There is a renewed hunger for His word, because the sword is the only offensive weapon in our spiritual armor.

2017 is a year of breakthrough.

God is calling us to wield our swords to cut a path through complacency, religiosity, and wrong priorities.

God is inviting us to intimacy, for intimacy is His strategy for revealing His game plan to His true warriors.

David as warrior king knew the divine strategy because He spent long hours in the presence of God.

In 2 Samuel 5:17-21, we read of how David defeated the Philistines, after which he called the name of that place Baal Perazim. In English this means Lord of Breakthroughs. 

So David went to Baal Perazim, and David defeated them there; and he said, “The Lord has broken through my enemies before me, like a breakthrough of water.” Therefore he called the name of that place Baal Perazim.

Baal Perazim literally means "the God who divides."

Isn't that awesome? This correlates to the passage in Hebrews 4:12 which says:

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

In this season of ayin zayin, the word of God, the sword that is sharper than any double edged sword, will expose our true condition if we are willing. Through His word, God divides between soul and spirit, enabling us to respond to our circumstances not from our soul, but from our spirit, where God dwells.

The number 17 in Scripture symbolizes overcoming the enemy and complete victory. It is significant to note that Noah's ark rested on the mountain of Ararat on the 17th day of the seventh month.

The door of 2017 is open with opportunities for promotion and possessing, but a fight is required. As Graham Cooke says, "Warfare opens up new territory, or it establishes our present claim."

And the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds.

As I walk through the remaining months of this year, I take my position as a warrior very seriously. More than ever before, I want my mouth to be as a sharpened sword.

And He has made My mouth like a sharp sword;

In the shadow of His hand He has hidden Me,

And made Me a polished shaft;

In His quiver He has hidden Me.- Isaiah 49:2

It is within this context that I view the events of the month that is ending today.

I am God's representative, heaven's ambassador -- wherever He sends me. I ask God to let His words be continually on my heart, and that my mouth will speak life and truth to any person I come in contact with.

God calls me to the throne room while it is still dark, but there are times when I have opted for more sleep. And I realize there really is no time to lose. I need God's wisdom each day to see the events unfolding before me from my spiritual eyes, not my physical eyes; to interpret what is happening, from His perspective, not mine.

As I look back at this month, I am thankful for the many opportunities Abba Father has given me to be His mouthpiece, and His ambassador.

July really went by like a whirlwind. For the past weeks of this amazing month, I was re-connecting almost on a daily basis, to loved ones - friends and family!

On the first Sunday of July, Obedient One and I attended the 9 a.m. worship service at her church, Victory Katipunan as my flight back to Bacolod City was that same afternoon.

Pastor Raymund's message set the tone as to how the rest of the month would go for me. Indeed, Jesus Christ's sermon on the mount gives us a new lens from which to view and understand life. For me, this sermon is God's divine strategy for the warfare we are in. The weapons we have been given are not the conventional weapons this world uses.

The teachings of Jesus in these chapters run counter culture, even then as they do today. And as in anything that Jesus teaches, the paradigm shift has to first take place in our hearts before it can manifest outwardly.

I  name this month Redefined... with the prayer that in the coming months the word of God will continue to be my daily portion, and my weapon against the schemes of the enemy.


(I will be sharing the photos from this month in the next post: July Photo Album)