The Midnight Hour

January 15, 2013 sunrise

photo taken by Obedient One on board flight bound for Manila

But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, 

and the prisoners were listening to them.

Suddenly there was a great earthquake,

so that the foundations of the prison were shaken;

and immediately all the doors were opened

and everyone's chains were loosed.

- Acts 16:25-26




So let us know, let us press on to know the LORD,
His going forth is as certain as the dawn;
And He will come to us like the rain,
Like the spring rain watering the earth.
- Hosea 6:3

The holidays are over. Obedient One and I arrived in Manila early Tuesday morning. At the baggage claim, we waited a long time for our third suitcase to appear on the conveyor until we were the only ones left. There was a similar suitcase going around, but it was not ours. We then realized that someone had picked up my daughter's bag by mistake.

The airport personnel were quick to assist us. They checked the tag, identified the owner, and called him on his mobile phone. Fortunately he picked up his phone, and was informed of the mix-up. That was the only time he realized he had taken the wrong bag.

After an hour of waiting, Obedient One finally had her own suitcase back. Because of the delay, we were caught in the morning rush hour when people were on their way to work. We reached our home at about 10 a.m.

Come to think of it, the delay was a small price to pay in exchange for recovering a lost bag. Things could have been worse. I was truly thankful that heavenly Father had His eyes on us, and didn't allow us to suffer loss. Another thing I was grateful for was the fact that my dear friend Rosemarie had sent her driver and Ford Expedition to pick us up from the airport. Despite the heavy traffic, we were very comfortable as we made our way through the clogged avenues leading to our home.

But really, losing a suitcase... being stuck in heavy traffic... what are they compared to the more weighty matters pertaining to one's eternal destiny?

Nevertheless, I am amazed at the goodness of God in taking care of those things for His children. He knows... He cares. He stoops down to where we are.

Taking a look at the circumstances of my own life, I am always reminded that I am so dependent on God... for everything. He alone knows the many concerns that I lift up to Him on a daily basis.

And He wants me to deepen my understanding of His ultimate agenda. To live every minute of my life in the light of His kingdom reign.

How easy it is to be sidetracked, or lose one's focus.

As Neville Johnson reminds us: "The past year has been a year of cascading events that will continue to shape the prophetic, political, and economic landscape. We are now on the final lap of the race that will ultimately lead to the final harvest and the return of Jesus. To be alive in this hour is a great privilege which we must not waste." 

A great privilege which we must not waste.

These words tug at my heartstrings.

There is much truth to be learned, to be digested, to be understood, and lived out.

In September of 2012, Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) ushered in the year 5773 in the Hebraic calendar, the year we now are in.

The year '73' is ayin gimel in the Hebrew alphabet: ayin is the sixteenth letter having a numeric value of 70, while gimel is the third letter and has a numeric value of 3.

Ayin means "eye" - to see, and by connotation, to understand and to obey.  

Every decade has an overarching theme, and three years ago we entered the decade of ayin, what prophets call "The Seeing Years."

We are not just entering a new season, we are entering a new era... an era when God will not let His glory remain hidden any longer, but will choose to reveal it to those who have the eyes to see what the Father is doing, and the ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches.

Just as Moses turned to "see" the fire in the burning bush, and then had an encounter with the Living God, so is the Father calling forth His deliverers from the wilderness, who will turn to "see" ... and hear... then do as He says.

The Lord is calling forth His deliverers to set His people free from the cruel taskmasters of complacency, materialism, self-righteousnessness, deception, and unbelief.

Moses was brought up in the palace of Pharaoh and therefore understood the protocol of kings.

Indeed, he was destined to stand before kings.

But Moses needed to spend time in the wilderness to form his character... to give him a heart of humility... before he could be trusted to release the miracles.

Wilderness time, character formation, is essential that the eyes of our understanding be opened and we become the vessels through which God's miracles will be released.

During this decade, God is calling His people to prepare themselves and be ready for the next great move of His Spirit.

Number 3 in the Hebrew alphabet is gimel, symbolic of the camel. Camels are burden bearing beasts able to tolerate the desert heat and go for many days without water.

For many of us, the past year has been one of desert hardship, in more ways than one. But in the Father's plan, it was the wilderness of heart preparation.

During ayin gimel, the Father wants to show His faithfulness of provision and release to those who will remain faithful to press on despite the heat and the dryness.

I want to be found faithful despite the difficulties and the uncertainties of life.

I want to see the new things that the Father is showing.

I want to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches.

The year 2013 is prophesied to be a year of:

- darkness and light
- the goodness and the severity of the Lord
- the maturing of both good and evil
- a release of the Lord's favor, together with His judgment

As a church we need to have a single eye, not blinded by offense, wrong priorities, or unbelief, but to  see clearly, that we  all may move as one into the new era, the final lap of the race that will ultimately lead to the end time harvest and the return of Jesus.



The past weeks I have had to constantly come before God to repent for not putting my priorities in order. There is a call for simplicity, for consistency, for re-ordering of my priorities, for more intensive praying, and digging more deeply into His word.

This morning in Victory Fellowship I was once again convicted by the words of Pastor Edgar.

Battered and bruised from severe beating, imprisoned, and in chains for delivering a woman from the spirit of divination, Paul and Silas were not focusing on their sad fate. They were praising and worshiping God at the top of their voices.

Suddenly there was a great earthquake,

so that the foundations of the prison were shaken;

and immediately all the doors were opened

and everyone's chains were loosed.

Earthquakes are rather normal in Macedonia, but what was beyond normal was the timing of this particular earthquake, its intensity, and its location.

In response to the heartfelt worship of Paul and Silas, God sends an earthquake that opens their prison doors, and unshackles them, as well as all the other prisoners around them, from their chains!

And they were not even asking to be set free...

Several words strike me in this story...

At midnight.

Suddenly.

Immediately.

In the darkness of our midnight hour, God is waiting for the right response... a response from the heart.

God shakes things in our lives that He may open our prison doors, and unshackle us from our chains.

The time is over for "church as usual." God is bringing us to a deeper dimension of kingdom living. As Paul says, "The night is far spent, the day is at hand." (Romans 13:12)


Father, I want my life to be a reflection of my worship to You. 

My physical circumstances may move or shake me, but in my spirit, I want to remain steadfast and anchored in You alone. 

Open the eyes of my understanding that I may see You, and hear You, and act accordingly... 

as a deliverer setting the captives free... 

as a bride longing for the return of her Bridegroom.

You hear the cry of my spirit, the desire of my heart.

You understand.






Some recent pictures of the Women of Purpose retreat:

At Starbucks, waiting for the rest of the group

At Jing's beach house in Miranda

Dusk at Miranda Beach

photo taken by Lidia on January 11, 2013

Neville Johnson, The Year Ahead

Melissa Flores, Defining Words

Lisa Butler, New Wells in the Year of Ayin

Becoming an Overcomer

Lion of the Tribe of Judah

photo source

These things I have spoken to you,
that in Me you may have peace.
In the world you will have tribulation;
but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.

- John 16:33

Behold, I am coming quickly!
Hold fast what you have,
that no one may take your crown.
He who overcomes,
I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God,
and he shall go out no more.
I will write on him the name of My God
and the name of the city of My God,
the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God.
And I will write on him My new name.

- Revelation 3:11-12

From the days of John the Baptist until now,
the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing,
and forceful men lay hold of it.

- Matthew 11:12




Not that I have already attained,
or am already perfected; but I press on,
that I may lay hold of that for which
Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.

- Philippians 3:12




Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance,
the ends of the earth your possession.

- Psalm 2:8




And He said to me,
“It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega,
the Beginning and the End.
I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely
to him who thirsts.
He who overcomes shall inherit all things,
and I will be his God and he shall be My son.

- Revelation 21:6, 7

Today another month comes to an end.

The month of November will always have a special place in my life.

Before I met my husband Ernie, this month had no special significance for me. But when we joined our hearts together in marriage, the month began to have an important place in our lives.

Ernie was born in November, and since the day we were wed, we have always celebrated this yearly event as a family.

Four years after we got married, I gave birth to our second son, Worshiper, also in November.

In November 2008, thirty years after Ernie and I exchanged our wedding vows, God called my husband home.

A year ago, my second grandson Elijah was born... also in November!

Surely God must have a special reason why this month has become so full of dates for our family to remember and celebrate!

This year, November was extra special because we celebrated my grandson Elijah's first birthday, as well as the third anniversary of my husband's homegoing.

In between those important dates, our team was called to conduct a series of seminars under the ministry of Family Foundations International (FFI).

On November 24, just one day after we had a Thanksgiving dinner to celebrate the third homegoing anniversary of my husband, Pat and I boarded our flight to Cebu City to do two FFI seminars at the YWAM base.

And here I am still, away from my home and my family... writing my end of the month post, sharing precious lessons that God has given me these past thirty days.

It was God who revealed to me what name to give this month.

"Becoming an Overcomer" - that is the name I am to give November as I say good-bye to it today.

A few weeks before the year 2010 was about to end, God impressed on my heart that the year 2011 was going to be a year of promotion for me. I held on to that word, hid it in my heart, and waited quietly for its fulfillment.

The nature of this promotion is still not very clear to me, although I never doubted that it had something to do with my kingdom assignment.

God has been teaching me the value of looking at my life in terms of seasons. It does seem that I have once again entered a stripping season, and my heart is crying out to God for answers and solutions.

But as the days and weeks of the past months have shown me, I can see that my Father wants me to learn new lessons... lessons that can only be learned through the present set of circumstances I am in.

God is calling me out of a place of spiritual comfort... He is training me for war.

For the longest time I have found security in calling myself a peacemaker ... and in believing that wherever possible, I am to live peaceably with all men. I believe wholeheartedly in the ministry of reconciliation.

But these days I am also learning that there is a militant side to peace.

True peace is only possible when we are willing to confront our enemies... both in the physical and in the spiritual sense of the word.

Paul writes in Romans 16:19, 20

The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.

This really strikes at the heart of what God seems to be teaching me in this season of my life.

The God of peace is always on war mode... always on the lookout for His kingdom...

Jesus was always operating in a mode of spiritual aggression toward the powers of hell. (Francis Frangipane)

This season I am being shaken... but the shaking is true not only for me, or my family.... the whole world is being shaken.

Earthquakes changing the landscape of the earth...

government leaders being toppled from their high positions...

financial centers crumbling to the ground...

Right here in my own small world, there is a shaking and a sifting... chaff being separated from the grain...

This much I understand. I am being shaken from my spiritual complacency!

Whether I am willing to admit it or not, the truth is that we live in an embattled world. If it weren't so, why would Paul admonish us to put on the full armor of God and take our stand against the schemes of the enemy?

There isn't much time left, I know. God's clock is ticking... and the tide is turning.

If I have really enlisted to be on God's army, then it really doesn't make sense to be so overly concerned about my comfort... or wallow in self-pity about the wrong things people have said or done!

Daniel 11:32 says

... the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.

The New American Standard Version puts it this way:

... the people who know their God will display strength and take action.

Those words grip my heart as I read them.

Display strength.

Take action.

To go beyond mere words. In short, to stop talking and start walking.

God issues an invitation to every man and woman who truly desires to live as a kingdom person... and that is to walk as an overcomer.

The overcomer's anointing is being poured out in this season... and I am very much aware that in this season, I am being put to the test.

The test is not to disqualify me... not at all... the test is to strengthen me, to make me fit for the battle....

I am being called to know my God in a deeper way... to fast and pray like never before... to intercede... to not only study and teach His word, but to live it at a higher level, and above all, to proclaim it.

The people that do know their God shall be strong... and do exploits.

Those who know their God...

The main point is to really know God... and then to take action.

This whole year we have studied the book of Joshua where the words of the Lord recorded in the very first chapter still ring loud and clear in my heart:

Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go. (Joshua 1:8, 9)

Today I am taking an aggressive stand against the enemy!

No longer will I allow my heart to be weighed down by fear of what lies ahead... I will create my future... bring down to earth what God is saying about it in heaven!

I will take the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, and use it!

Francis Frangipane says: The sword God has put in our hearts and mouths is nothing less than the echo of His voice in us!

The visible, that which is seen, is only a by-product of the invisible. In the same way that worlds were framed by the spoken word of God, the starting point of my victory over my circumstances is always in the spiritual realm! But the word has to be spoken... proclaimed... declared!

The word of God on my lips is my main weapon of war!

God the Father is looking for men and women who will not shrink back in fear, but who are determined to press on... to persevere... to endure... to fight to the finish.

There is need to overcome many hurdles that stand in the way... pride... self-focus... fear... anxiety... complacency. The Father is weeding all of these obstacles out of my heart.

He is building a determination inside of me... a determination to confront manipulation... control... unrighteousness... injustice.

It's not about me, or my plans, or my positions, or my possessions... it's not even about the work I am doing for the kingdom.

It's all about Him.

There can be no unholy alliances getting in the way of my commitment to the King of Kings...

Tonight, as November ends, I thank God that He is training me for my next assignment... I am being promoted to be an overcomer!

A life of ease was never promised...

But, all I can say is Thank you Lord for the privilege...

Lion of Judah

by Jason Upton

No one knows the hour
No one knows the day
Jesus is coming soon
All creation trembles, longing for the day
Jesus is coming soon

There will be judgment
There will be mercy
On that terrible day
Leaders will bow down
Kingdoms will fall down
Have you felt your world begin to shake?

Hear the sound of the Lion of Judah
See the fire and the fear in the enemy's camp
From the sound of the lion of Judah roaring again
There's a new generation arising
A nameless, faceless, placeless tribe
All they fear is the fear of the Lord
All they hear is the Lion of Judah

All I saw were bones
Breaking in the darkness
Then I walked into the light
There I saw an army
Coming from the river
With five stones ready to fight



The month of November in pictures:

November 1
Celebrating the memory of our departed loved ones...
This is our extended family having a breakfast get together at the memorial park


November 2
me and my two sons... a family dinner to celebrate Ernie's birthday


November 2
First Born, his wife God-given, and their son Forerunner
Remembering Ernie on his birthday... lunch at Bob's, his favorite restaurant


Worshiper's birthday... with family and friends


Worshiper with his wife Chosen One, and their son Full of Hope
at Kai Sei... a quiet dinner on his birthday


Elijah's first birthday!

Remembering Ernie on his 3rd homegoing anniversary...
we placed stones on his grave
stones to symbolize immortality...
he is alive in heaven, and we will see him again someday!


A Thanksgiving dinner to celebrate Ernie's 3rd homegoing anniversary
with family and friends


Sunset over Bacolod Silay Airport on my way to Cebu City
November 24, 2011


YWAM staff at the end of the Transforming Hearts seminar...


Pat and me after the Ancient Paths seminar
...with the students and staff of the YWAM
Discipleship Training School
YWAM Base, Cebu City


Ian leading worship


DTS students during intercession

boxes and boxes of stuffed toys from generous hearts in America


taking a photo break from wrapping toys for the Jesus Fiesta
for the outreach kids

an evening of worship with Bob Fitts...


coffee break at Bo's




A beautiful reminder of the Christmas season...

The Heart of Worship

Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said,
“To your descendants I will give this land.”
And there he built an altar to the LORD,
who had appeared to him.
And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel,
and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east;
there he built an altar to the LORD
and called on the name of the LORD.

- Genesis 12:7-9

Today is the first day of March!

I find it hard to believe that 2010 is already in its third month! Wasn't it just two months ago that we celebrated the start of this new year?

This is my birthday month, so there will always be a special place in my heart for March.

And as I write the very first post for this month, I want to share my thoughts on something that is close to my heart.

Worship.

I went to bed last night thinking about what it means to have a heart of worship. Several times during the night I was awakened by these very words: the heart of worship.

There was a special message being downloaded into my spirit. The image of Abraham building an altar kept appearing before my eyes.

My mind was going back and forth to the lines of Hebrews 11.

Hebrews 11 tops the list of my favorite Bible passages. It begins with this famous line:

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1

This chapter is often called the Hall of Faith where the stories of the lives of men and women of faith are written, displayed like life-sized photographs to serve as examples and encouragement for us who want to follow in their steps.

Abel...Enoch...Noah...Abraham, to name a few.

One of the things I love about the Bible is that it never presents its heroes in epic proportions, people who never had to deal with doubt or discouragement or wrong choices.

In fact, these so-called heroes do not even start out as heroes. They are ordinary men and women just like us who had struggles and shortcomings. They end up as our models of faith, but only after we have been made aware that they're also made of the same stuff as we are.


We see Abraham's footprints, and we can identify with his fear, his doubts, his discouragement, his attempts to bring about God's promise on his own resulting in an Ishmael, and his attempts to cover up his tracks.

Yet, today we are recipients of the blessings brought about by this man's obedient responses. Abraham has become the prototype, the paragon, the model of faith, extolled as the man with the altar and the tent. It would do us well to learn from him!

Abraham built four altars:

• At Shechem - Gen 12:7
• At Bethel - Gen 12:8
• At Mamre - Gen 13:18
• At Moriah - Gen 22:9

As we read the account of Abraham in the Bible, we will see that in almost every place where he pitched his tent, he also built an altar.

And I have often asked myself which came first - his faith, his obedience, his altar, or his tent.

Somehow, these four are intertwined:

• Abraham believed that the God who gave the promise was trustworthy, therefore his faith was anchored and rooted in God...
• because of his faith, he obeyed, and his faith grew because of his obedience...
• because of his obedience, he was willing to leave his family and country behind, and to live in tents...
• and his willingness to live in tents set him free, and shaped him into becoming an "altar builder," a worshiper.
  

It does seem that certain things need to happen in our hearts before we can become a true worshiper of God.

And some things do stand out in this amazing faith story.

One is that the call upon Abraham was a call to separation. He had to make some hard choices to be separate from those whose faith was weak or were content with a superficial relationship with God.

It is also clear that the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham was closely related to his life of worship. The waiting period was ordained by God to rid his heart of blockages, equipping him for his crucial role as the father of many nations, enabling him to leave behind a legacy for his future generations.

Abraham's life of faith, obedience, simplicity and worship showed that he took the call and the promises of God seriously!



By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. Hebrews 11:8

Sometime in 1995 God impressed this passage to me, confronted me with it over and over again. I reached the point where I knew I was being asked, being called to go out of the comfortable and the familiar... because He had something better in store for me, my inheritance.

There would be no road maps given for the journey ahead, just a handful mustard seeds of faith, and a heart that was willing to say, "Yes, Lord."

Five years prior to that call, I had entered into my decade of pruning, the start of a season when my husband and I lost almost everything we thought mattered to us. There wasn't really much left for me to hold on to.

I must be honest and say at this point that even relationships we held dear were nowhere to be found. All I had left were my husband, my family, my God...and the school ministry of our church that I headed.

Let it go, God seemed to be saying, referring to my position at the school.

Without knowing what was ahead, I said yes.


The story of Abraham has made such a difference in my life. It was in the obedient, yet painful steps required of me that I discovered the joys of living in a tent and building an altar to my God... And with Abraham as my model, I seriously considered the call to separation, believing that a life of worship was the only fitting response to my God whose promises were completely trustworthy!


It has been said that the names we carry often reflect our identity, and our destiny. My name Lidia literally means "Beautiful Light," but it has an important spiritual connotation that I love. My name also means "Worshiper of God."

I used to say that my name has my job description built into it...but today, I have an even better way of putting it. I no longer look at my name as my job description, but as my calling and my assignment.

To be a worshiper is a lifelong pursuit; there are no overnight changes. It is a moment by moment choice of drawing near the heart of the Father; in everything, to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

The truth is that as children of God, redeemed by the blood of His Son, we are all called to be worshipers of our heavenly Father, the King.

Jesus says in John 4:23-24

But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.

There is a war that is raging, and we are not to be on the sidelines, but at the battlefront.

With the recent earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, famines, droughts, blizzards...wars and rumors of wars... there is no mistaking the fact that we are living in the end times. Matthew 24 says that these are just the beginning of the birth pangs. Like a woman about to give birth, the birth pains, the contractions, will become more intense, more severe while the intervals between them will become shorter...and then the end will come.


A lifestyle of worship is what each one of us is being called to. God knows, it is the only thing that will help us to endure and overcome until the end, and enable us to stand strong in the heat of the battle.

Because deception and lawlessness will abound in these last days, worship will rid our hearts of distractions, give us a clearer perspective, divert our focus off our selves and fix our eyes on God alone, fill us with sensitivity and compassion, and shield our hearts from offense.

I truly believe that such a lifestyle will be our protection from the dark schemes and evil strategies of the enemy in the end times.



Watchman Nee has such a beautiful term for this kind of life. He calls it "the life of the altar and the tent."

The life of a Christian is the life of the altar and the tent...

An altar calls for a tent, and a tent in turn demands an altar.

It is impossible to have an altar without a tent, and likewise to have a tent without a return to the altar.

Watchman Nee, The Life of the Altar and the Tent

The altar is the place where we worship, where we draw near to God in communion, where we offer our prayers and intercessions. It is our Tent of Meeting, where we go in to meet with God, to pour our hearts out to Him, to listen to Him speak words of life and hear Him tell us the directions that we need for the journey, one step at a time.

It is in this place that we are transformed, where our priorities are weighed, and where our motives are exposed for what they are. It is a place of sifting, and renewal.


The tent goes hand in hand with the altar. It stands for the life of simplicity that we have chosen to embrace. Like Abraham we are asked to make a choice - to leave behind our comfort zones. To live a life that is not centered on self, but on God... that we may not be encumbered by the things and the cares of this world, and learn what it means to live our lives as an altar builder, a worshiper of the One True God.

The altar doesn't have to be a literal physical place, but it helps to have a tangible place to go to - like a special room, or a special spot in our home.

"Living in a tent" helps us to let go of our encumbrances, to value what truly matters, enables us to travel light, to have a lifestyle of simplicity...not weighed down by things and worldly comfort.


But what is it that will motivate us to live a life of worship like Abraham?

Watchman Nee says that:

A turning point in our spiritual history does not come through our decision to do something for God; it comes when we see Him.

When we meet God, a radical change takes place in the life. We can no longer do what we did in the past..

If God appears to any man, the whole course of his life is altered.

Oh, it is not my decision to serve the Lord that enables me to serve Him.

It is not my will to build an altar that produces an altar.

It is when God comes out to a man that an altar is built.

This explains why a person can go to church Sunday after Sunday but never become a true worshiper. Never become hungry or thirsty for God.

And it explains why people can call themselves Christian and yet never have a deep longing for the things that are on God's heart.


It is when God comes out to a man that an altar is built.

It is when we get a revelation of the glory of God that we are forever changed.


These past weeks, God has been impressing upon me, reminding me, that He is not after what I do.

He is after my heart.

He wants me to live up to my holy calling. To be a worshiper, an altar builder.

He wants the same of each one of us.


Father, unveil my eyes, show me Your glory...

Help me to press on, to live a life in pursuit of You!

Unveil my heart, the dark areas there that keep me from beholding You!


Related post: All I Want Is You


I dedicate this post to these five blog friends:

Matt and Amy of Perspective from the Summit and Blessed Descent
Kat of Heart to Heart
Teresa of Too Many Heartbeats
Jennifer of More Than Just Adam's Rib

By dedicating it to you, it means that as I was writing this post, you were on my heart. I pray that as God allows you to go through times of sifting, the eyes of your hearts will be opened to behold His glory, and lead you on deeper to a lifestyle of worship that you have never had before!

Like the Spring Rain...

Spring Rain

So let us know,
let us press on to know the LORD.
His going forth is as certain as the dawn;
And He will come to us like the rain,
Like the spring rain watering the earth.

- Hosea 6:3




Ask rain from the LORD
in the season of the spring rain,
from the LORD who makes the storm clouds,
and he will give them showers of rain,
to everyone the vegetation in the field.

- Zechariah 10:1




And it shall be said,
"Build up, build up, prepare the way,
remove every obstruction from my people’s way."

For thus says the One who is high and lifted up,
who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:

"I dwell in the high and holy place,
and also with him
who is of a contrite and lowly spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly,
and to revive the heart of the contrite..."

- Isaiah 57:14-15

You do not delight in sacrifice,
or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart,
O God, you will not despise.

- Psalm 51:16-17

For I desire mercy and not sacrifice,
And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

- Hosea 6:6

It has been very dry here the past weeks. In the previous years, the months of December to February would be cool and misty, even slightly rainy. But these weeks, there has been no rain at all.

A water conservation alert is being circulated; we are being asked to use water wisely.

In the midst of this dry spell, thoughts of heaven and true worship have remained on my heart.

Last Sunday our guest speaker Ray-an Fuentes, a Filipino performing artist who ministers through music and anointed teaching, spoke words that cut through our hearts.

In May this year, we Filipinos will be choosing the next president of our republic. A nation of about 90 million, our country is plagued by corruption and poverty, among many other things.


Ray-an spoke on this passage from 2 Chronicles 7:13-14

When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain,

or command locusts to devour the land

or send a plague among my people;

if my people, who are called by My name,

will humble themselves

and pray

and seek My face

and turn from their wicked ways,

then will I hear from heaven

and will forgive their sin

and will heal their land.

The physical circumstances we find ourselves in often have a direct connection to our spiritual conditions.

First the natural, then the supernatural.

To us, the people called by His name, God's name, have been given the mandate to perform certain spiritual requirements before God hears from heaven, forgives our sin, and heals our land.

Much as we look to our government leaders to work towards the solution of our nation's ills, the Bible states it clearly: the healing of the land depends on the Christians, the people called by His name.




Not only are our regions facing the prospect of a literal drought in the coming months, I believe we are also in a season of spiritual dryness...

threatened by spiritual locusts...

and a spiritual plague of blindness, apathy, and wrong focus.

It has been said that any chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

The same might be said of society. Being made up of families, the society in which we live is only as strong as its weakest family.

I realize that the analogy can't be completely correct.

Nevertheless, lately I've been aware of my heart's deep desire to lead my own family in the paths of righteousness. To make sure that at least I do my homework in this department - standing guard so that my family will not suffer from spiritual dryness, that there will be no access points for spiritual locusts to enter and eat up our spiritual gains, and that no spiritual plague comes near our tent.

We truly are three families now - each of my two married sons now head one small family unit, leaving me and my daughter as the remaining members of the original nuclear family.

Understandably I could never impose my own spiritual standards on any of them! Much as I want them to have a heart like mine for worship, for intimacy, for intercession, for seeking kingdom secrets by drawing close to God, putting Him first on the list of their daily priorities, it is not my position to legislate any of these things in their lives.

When the children were growing up, many valuable seeds were already planted in them.

Today each one of them, together with their spouses, is in varying stages of spiritual maturity, with their own sets of experiences, spiritual perspectives, and personal goals.

The most I can do is to be a model, to be around when needed, providing encouragement, and faithfully praying for them. May each son and daughter desire to truly go deep, growing closer to God, and taking the corresponding action in that direction.


Tozer is right, "You are as holy as you want to be."


The end of year 2009 saw me pondering these things in my heart. A string of events as the year came to a close led me to seek God's face and draw very near to Him.

Indeed, the best thing I can do is to have a heart like Mary, observing, taking note, and treasuring in my heart all the things that my spiritual eyes can see.

There is a vigilance required of me these days. God has spoken this direct word to me before, "Contend for the destiny of your family."

It is in this sense that I believe any nation is as strong as its most faithful prayer warrior and intercessor.

The words of Jesus have to be held on to as being true and powerful: Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them.

The enemy would love to have us believe that our nation is going down the drain, and that our prayers are not availing much, or not powerful enough. But my faith never wavers in this area. God sees my heart and hears my prayers.

The enemy should never be given the opportunity to discourage or dishearten us.

This is the year of breakthrough...there are many answers to prayer coming our way! God would still have us view the past, current and future events of our lives from the perspective of heaven!

Yes, I desire to be vigilant. And yes, I know that as the doorkeeper, I must know how to contend for the eternal destiny of my loved ones.

But God reminds me that He desires mercy, not sacrifice. Whatever spiritual investments I make must never be done in a religious, self-righteous way. Done in the wrong spirit, they will only end up becoming a heavy burden to carry.

Jesus says, "My yoke is easy and my burden is light."


Yesterday in church I was misty-eyed as we sang the song that never fails to stir my heart each time I hear it...

You are forever in my heart...
You see me through the seasons...
Cover me with Your hand
And lead me in Your righteousness...
I look to You, I wait on You...

I'm carried in everlasting arms
You never let me go
Through it all


God has remained faithful to me through all the seasons of my life.

The weight of my family's, as well as the nation's, spiritual responsibilities on my shoulder would be too heavy for me to carry.

God has called me to be an intercessor, the one who will stand in the gap. He has not assigned me to be the redeemer!

Don't carry the weight of the world on your shoulders, Lidj. This is what my husband Ernie would often tell me when he was still here on earth. Ernie would always be my balancer, my neutralizer. He had such a joyful and light-hearted way of looking at life.

Sometimes I can be like Chicken Little.

But God reminds me of His faithfulness. Once again, He says, It's not about you...it's all about Me!

Hearing this takes a big load off my chest!

I have been turning to God's word more and more these days.

How refreshing His words have been...as I've been drinking them in like a thirsty wayfarer in the desert.

His words speak so clearly!

Just press on to know Me, and I will come to you as the spring rains.

Yes, ask Me for rain...and I will send it.

Humble yourself. Just admit your need of Me.

Pray.

Seek my face.

Turn from your wicked ways.

For I am an approachable God. I dwell in contrite hearts.

And I desire mercy, not sacrifice.

The sacrifice that is acceptable to Me is a humble heart. A broken and contrite heart I will not despise...

Francis Frangipane once said that humility starts when we admit our need before Him.

So, as this day ends, I gladly run to my Father and pour my heart out to Him, drawing near, lifting up to Him my family, and my nation...

Thankful for another opportunity to worship Him...in spirit and in truth.

Letting His word speak to me, even in the historical circumstances that my nation is in right now.

I cannot remove my self from the context of my nation's history, but God is fully capable of being God over my life, my family, my country!

And as I draw close to Him, I can hear the sound of rain!

Embracing worship as a lifestyle does bring us under the rain of His presence and favor...and these days I am re-discovering the joys of worship.

It is a progressive experience of learning, unlearning, re-learning.

It is not an escape mechanism as some think; I believe it is one real way of escape provided by the Father from the traps that the enemy puts before us.

Drawing near in worship opens our eyes to see things from the Father's point of view. There is always hope, there is always a sense of good things happening!



Lindell Cooley is one of my favorite singers. He has written many songs that are truly relevant to the times and the seasons that we find ourselves in. I share here one of his songs, It's Time.

Listen to it and be moved by his passion!

it's time
time for the dead and gone
time for the broken ones
to live again

it's time
time for the dead to rise
time for the wings to fly
to live again

Chorus
i can hear the calling
i can hear the sound of rain
over the mountains and over the valleys
i hear the calling, it's time

it's time
it's time for the dead to sing
it's time for the walls to ring
the songs of freedom

it's time
it's time for the numb to feel
it's time for the wounds to heal
with songs of freedom

it's time for the tide to turn
it's time for our hearts to burn
with the desperation

it's time
it's time for a sacrifice
it's time that we pay the price
for our generation

i can hear the calling
i can hear the sound of rain
over the mountains and over the valleys
i hear the calling, it's time



it's time for the dead to rise
it's time for the wings to fly...

it's time for the numb to feel
it's time for the wounds to heal...

it's time that we pay the price
it's time for the sacrifice...

over the cities and over the nations
i hear the calling, it's time

it's time for the children to return home
it's time for the prodigals to come back...

it's time to break down the walls
it's time to see them all fall down...

i hear the calling, it's time

Excellent Worship, Radical Obedience

God-Centered Worship


"But you have come to Mount Zion
and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem,
to an enumerable company of angels,
to the general assembly and church of the firstborn
who are registered in heaven,
to God the Judge of all,
to the spirits of just men made perfect,
to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant,
and to the blood of sprinkling
that speaks better things than that of Abel."

Hebrews 12:22-24

The passage above is one of my all time favorites. It speaks of things so exceedingly glorious, something beyond my human imagination, and yet each time I read these verses I can sense that my spirit comprehends!

And today, with just four days remaining before my 56th birthday, I woke up way before dawn, and realized that God was once again calling me to renew my commitment to intimacy, seeking Him, coming to Him with my heart wide open to receive the throne room secrets that He has reserved for those who search for Him with all their hearts.

These past weeks, it's been easy to be distracted, and to listen to the false voices of the urgent.

"Do this first before going to your prayer room... then do this, oh, and don't forget to do this as well... oh, look, this one needs your attention, too... and oh, there's that other thing over there, well, okay, I guess there's still some time for that... and so on, and so forth... "



After Ernie's passing away, there were even more matters to attend to, a lot of unfinished business, the home repairs, the old clutter, and now, added to all that are his personal things, his books, his files, boxes and boxes of important documents that we removed from his office...

Even before we left for Thailand we had begun sorting through our closets. It was going to be our downsizing and de-accumulating season, in preparation for our eventual home-going... and then God called us to Thailand... and when we came back a year later, within just six weeks, Ernie did go home, leaving me alone to do everything that we had planned to do together.

Honestly, I have accepted all these things with a sense of joy. But they have been crying out for my attention these past months, not to mention the going from government office to government office to pick up legal documents pertaining to his death and other things...

I had already decided that I wasn't going to be pressured in any way, and in fact, I wasn't. But daily, my desire has been to clear up more and more space, to restore the sense of neatness, order, and beauty that my family and I have been used to.


But today, I bit the bullet. "Enough is enough. No more lies, " I told the enemy of my soul.

Getting up very early, I went back to commanding my morning, something I used to do in months past, but somehow, the practice got lost along the way.

In Job 38:12-13, God speaks these lines to Job:

"Have you commanded the morning since your days began,
And caused the dawn to know its place,
That it might take hold of the ends of the earth,
And the wicked be shaken out of it?"

A few years ago, I realized that there is a reason that I am awakened in the middle of the night. I began studying the different watches, I began to understand that there is a dynamic to the four prayer watches of the night, and that we are called to re-claim the night from enemy hands. Now is the time for the maturing of the "watchman anointing," and committed prayer warriors and intercessors are taking their positions and rising up to their divine calling.

Part of this is declaring, during the fourth watch, also called the dawn or morning watch (3-6 a.m.), that the destiny God has prepared for me for this day will not fall into the hands of the enemy.

There is a compilation of faith declarations taken from a book written by Dr. Cindy Trimm, found in various sites on the web. I share portions of it below:

I stand to command my morning and declare it is a new day.

I take authority over my day in the name of Jesus. Every element of my day shall cooperate with purpose and destiny.

Today is the dawning of a new day. My season of frustration and failures is over, and I walk in a season of success and prosperity. Old things have passed away; all things have become new.

Today I press toward the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Anything or anyone assigned to undermine, frustrate, hinder, or hurt me, I command to be moved out of my sphere of influence in Jesus' name.

I command my day to fully cooperate with Your plan and purpose for it.

I decree and declare that a new day is dawning for my ministry and job (or business), for my finances, for my relationships, and for my health.

I download success, prosperity, health, wealth, vision, direction, ingenuity, creativity, spirituality, holiness, righteousness, peace, and resourcefulness from Your Spirit into my day.

By this anointing, every yoke is broken off my life and is destroyed; every burden is lifted. For His yoke is easy and His burden is light.

Taken from Strategies of Power

As the morning songbird warbled its lovely melody just outside my bedroom window, it was to me a precursor to the dawn of a new day, indeed a new day, a new season, for me.

And I was reminded of a song I wrote in January 2005.

I read it, and the lines I had penned four years ago, struck my heart anew with a resolve to NEVER let anything, anyone, steal my worship.

Excellent Worship
(written by Lidj on January 18, 2005)

Many times I've had my way
In the things I do and say
In the choices that I make each day

Though they don't seem wrong
Yet my days just fly away
Lord, forgive me, as again I say:

"I didn't really mean to make
Wrong and empty choices
Didn't really want to speak
Hollow, shallow words..."

'Cause I hear my King
Gently callin' me
Yes deep within my heart
I hear His gentle voice:

"Come up higher, nearer to My throne
You've been set apart for greater things
Your heart hungers, yes your heart cries out
For radical obedience to Me."

"Come up higher, nearer to My heart
You've been set apart for things untold
Your heart longs, for secrets to unfold
Through a life that's intimate with Me."

And I know it's true
Yes, my heart longs for
Radical obedience and deep intimacy

I just want to please You
How I long to honor You
Am so tired of livin' only for myself

So I come before You now
And lay before Your throne
Excellent worship flowing from my heart

Here's a life of excellent worship
Flowin' from my heart for You.

This post was re-published on June 10, 2009 for Donna's Blog: Wednesday Poetry Corner.

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Here's another brief excerpt from Louie Giglio's book, The Air I Breathe.

I want to share it here because I believe what he writes is so valuable, and many of us need to hear what he has to say. The book is powerful in its simplicity. Louie is direct to the point and writes from the heart of a true worshiper. This little book is a must read, definitely.



THAT THING WE DO

You, my friend...are a worshiper!

There, I said it.

Everyday, all day long, in every place, you worship. It's what you do. It's who you are.

...We are all worshipers, created to bring pleasure and honor to the God who made us.

You may not consider yourself a "worshiping" kind of person, but you cannot help but worship...something.

It's what you were made to do.

Should you for some reason choose not to give God what He desires, you'll worship anyway--simply exchanging the Creator for something He has created.


Whatever's Worth Most
Think of it this way. Worship is simply about value. The simplest definition I can give is this: Worship is our response to what we value most.

That's why worship is that thing we all do. It's what we're all about on any given day. Worship is about saying, "This person, this thing, this experience, this whatever is what matters most to me...it's the thing of highest value in my life."

That "thing" might be a relationship.

A dream.

A position.

Status.

Something you own.

A name.

A job.

Some kind of pleasure.

Whatever name you put on it, this "thing" is what you've concluded in your heart is worth most to you. And whatever is worth most to you is--you guessed it--what you worship.

Worship, in essence, is declaring what we value most. As a result, worship fuels our actions, becoming the driving force of all we do.

And we're not just talking about the religious crowd. The Christian. The churchgoer among us.

We're talking about everybody on planet earth. A multitude of souls proclaiming with every breath what is worthy of their affection, their attention, their allegiance. Proclaiming with every step what it is they worship.

Some of us attend the church on the corner, professing to worship the living God above all. Others, who rarely darken the church doors, would say worship isn't a part of their lives because they aren't "religious."

But everybody has an altar. And every altar has a throne.

So how do you know where and what you worship?

It's easy. You simply follow the trail of your time, your affection, your energy, your money, and your allegiance. At the end of that trail you'll find a throne, and whatever, or whomever, is on that throne is what's of highest value to you.

On that throne is what you worship.

Sure, not too many of us walk around saying, "I worship my stuff. I worship my job. I worship this pleasure. I worship her. I worship my body. I worship me!"

But the trail never lies. We may say we value this thing or that thing more than any other, but the volume of our actions speaks louder than our words.

In the end, our worship is more about what we do than what we say.




Louie Giglio is the author of the book The Air I Breath from which the above excerpt is taken. (Originally published in the USA by Multnomah Books a division of Random House, Inc., Colorado Springs, Colorado 80921 USA and in the Philippines by Acts 29 Publishing, Sucat, 1700 Paranaque City.) Louie is the founder of Passion Conferences, a collegiate movement calling people around to world to lives that make much of God. He and his wife, Shelley, live in Atlanta, Georgia.

We Become What We Worship

There's a little book written by Louie Giglio on worship. It's entitled The Air I Breathe. The book talks about worship in practical, everyday terms.

In today's blog entry, I want to quote a portion that tells us why it is so vital that we worship in the right way.



Be Careful What You Choose

There's one more reason worship should really matter to you--whatever you worship, you become.

You can worship whatever you want, but there'll always be a last twist to the story: Whatever you worship, you imitate; whatever you imitate, you become.

In other words, whatever you value most will ultimately detemine who you are.

If you worship money, you'll become greedy at the core of your heart.

If you worship some sinful habit, that same sin will grip your soul and poison your character to death.

If you worship stuff, your life will become material, void of eternal significance.

If you give all your praise to the god of you, you'll become a disappointing little god both to yourself and to all those who trust in you.

Listen to the psalm writer:
"Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name be glory, because of your love and faithfulness."

Then comes this observation: "Our God is in heaven, he does whatever pleases him."

Then, by contrast, he supplies this expose of the idols men make and choose:

But their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men.
They have mouths, but cannot speak,
eyes, but they cannot see;
they have ears, but cannot hear,
noses, but they cannot smell;
they have hands, but cannot feel,
feet, but they cannot walk;
nor can they utter a sound with their throats.

Not too high of a score for man-made gods. But here's the clincher:

Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.

Simply put: We become what we worship.

If you don't like who you're becoming, take a quick inventory of the things on the throne of your heart.



An excerpt from the book The Air I Breathe by Louie Giglio
original edition published by Multnomah Books, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80921 USA
Philippine edition published by Acts 29 Publishing, Sucat 1700 Paranaque City