Teaching and Equipping

The Obstacle Can Become the Blessing – Karen Austin

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We know the story of Moses in Exodus where he was given the assignment to set God’s people free. He was well aware of his shortcomings and bravely stated them to God, as if God didn’t already know. Moses was given an assignment that was so big, that it would have to take the supernatural to fulfill it. Time after time, God showed Himself greater than any acts the magicians of Pharaoh could perform. He allowed calamity and even death upon the Egyptian’s first born, yet all the while keeping His people safe. He even caused the Egyptians to give them gold, silver and clothing as they exited that place of slavery. All was looking good to the Israelites. After over 400 years, they were finally being set free from slavery.

We read that Moses and his people set out from Egypt and came to the place where they knew they had to cross. All they saw was an obstacle in front of them…the Red Sea. I would say that is quite the obstacle. Then they heard the hoof beats of the Egyptian army horses coming up behind them! Six hundred of the finest warriors were now coming in from behind. Once again, the Israelites forgot the bigness of their God.

Exodus 14:21 “Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove back the sea with a strong east wind that turned it into dry land. So the waters were divided,”

That body of water was holding them back from crossing over into what God had promised them. But God dried up what was holding them back. The Israelites had to make a decision to cross over as Moses held his staff over the sea. God made a way where there was absolutely no way, but it took faith for them to make the step.

Another place we read of water being an obstacle is in 1 Kings 17. Ahab was the most evil of the kings of the land. Elijah was told by God to flee after he pronounced a drought in Israel until the Lord instructed him to decree the drought be lifted. He was instructed to go and remain by the Brook Cherith. At this place the ravens would feed him and he was to drink water from the brook. But after a while, the brook dried up.

God told Elijah to camp there. The ravens were feeding him, but the brook dried up. Elijah had not been disobedient. But God had a purpose in drying up the brook. He had another assignment for him. Elijah was told to go to the home of a widow in Zarephath. There the widow had food. Elijah had a roof over his head.

Some of you may have recently experienced that which was going well in your life or ministry just dry up. You were obeying God and kept your heart pure. It could very well be that God is drying up that which is holding you back. There may be something even better that before you, a Zarephath, but you have to release that which was and step out into that which will be.

All of us will face obstacles before us as the Israelite’s and Elijah. But as we put our faith in the One who knows our destiny, we will be given a way to cross over and enter in, regardless of what we are facing. The Father knows how to dry up that which is holding you bank and He knows when to dry up that which has been your sustenance so you will go on to your next place of assignment

The Consistency of God – Karen Austin

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Life is filled with so many twists and turns. Even those who love to plan believe things will go on as they are if they remain diligent in our efforts. But things happen we never imagine happening…the job ending, a spouse wanting a divorce after many years of marriage, family moving, unexpected illness, Covid. Each of us can all fill in the ____ of life events you did not expect.

None of us know how many “new beginnings” we will have in our lives. We can reason, pray, plan or be stubborn and try to hold onto what was. Although, if we do this, we may very well miss the next step in this journey called life.

One thing I have found in life, the only thing that is consistent is God. His love for us never changes no matter what we do. There is nothing you can do that would make Him love you any less. His Word is always true. When people failed me, when jobs transitioned out, when a health crisis in our family lingered on, when my child and my father passed within twenty-two months, when I didn’t know how I could make it…through every one, He was faithful. That is who He is, faithful.

When you have relationship with Him, you know He will be there for you, even when others are not. He will make a way when there seems to be none. If we choose to yield our lives to Him, He will orchestrate all things to the counsel of His will. Which is always better (even though it may not look like at the time). There is not one thing, not one thing that has happened or will happen that He is now aware of and has a way for you to come out on the other side. Things may not look the same as they did, but you will see a stronger, more resilient you facing your next “new beginning”.

Isaiah 40:2-3 “When you pass through the deep, stormy sea, you can count on me to be there with you.When you pass through raging rivers,You will not drown. When you walk through persecution like fiery flames, you will not be burned; the flames will not harm you, for I am your Savior, Yahweh, your mighty God, the Holy One of Israel!”

Anchors in the Storm of Life (Part 2) – Barbara Potts

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This is the conclusion of Barbara’s article “Anchors in the Storm of life. If you haven’t a chance to read part 1, you can find it here, Anchors in the Storm of Life (Part 1)

Anchor 5: The deepest darkness cannot overwhelm the Presence, peace, or the love of God.

Verse 5 of Psalm 23:  

“You become my delicious feast even when my enemies dare to fight.
You anoint me with the fragrance of your Holy Spirit;
you give me all I can drink of you until my heart overflows.”

John the Baptist said to those gathered to hear his message of repentance, “I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” (Luke 3:16) Jesus is not only our Savior, but the Baptizer of power that the enemy cannot withstand.  

Paul said to the Corinthian Church that the Holy Spirit in us is to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. (2 Corinthians 2:15)

Isaiah speaks for the Lord: “Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’(Isaiah 41:10)


Anchor 6: He anoints and empowers me, and surrounds me with His comforting, strengthening, and overwhelming Presence.

Verse 6 of Psalm 23

“So why would I fear the future?
For your goodness and love pursue me all the days of my life.

Then afterward, when my life is through,
I’ll return to your glorious presence to be forever with you!” 

Isaiah prophesies to us: 

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by your name;
You are Mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned,
Nor shall the flame scorch you.
3 For I am the Lord your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” (Isaiah 43:1-3)

Psalm 136 is a psalm of thanksgiving to God for His enduring mercy.  It begins with:

“Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.”

The Apostle John  tells us of God’s unfathomable love:  “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

Anchor 7: My future is safe and secure in His goodness and love – and I will be with Him forever! 

In summary, as we embrace these ANCHORS of FAITH we will find stability through the storms of life:

1- Our God is a God of Safety and ABUNDANCE! – With Jesus as my friend and shepherd I will always be safe in his arms and have what I need; even more than enough!

2 – God offers me a quiet place of peace and rest in Him at all times, for His Presence restores and revives my life.  Do I go there often to commune with Him?

3 – God’s pathways bring pleasure and joy, and His Word lights my path with revelation. He leads me on a path of righteousness so I can bring Him praise and honor 

4 – I am empowered by God to endure and prosper in every temptation and trial of life, and to navigate through the deepest darkness.

5 – The deepest darkness cannot overwhelm the Presence, peace, or the love of God.

6 – He anoints and empowers me, and surrounds me with His comforting, strengthening, and overwhelming Presence.

7 – My future is safe and secure in His goodness and love – and I will be with Him forever! 

What Happened to Being a Light? – Frank Work

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I watched an interview with the rapper Snoop Dogg concerning the remake of the movie “Roots”,  that really spoke to me about a mindset of how we view a past that we were never part of. And how that past can affect a culture that is hundreds of years removed. Snoop Dogg goes on to say;

“I’m sick of this. … How the heck they gonna put Roots on Memorial Day?” a subdued Snoop Dogg asks in the selfie video. “They just going to keep beating that stuff into our heads as to how they did us, huh?”

He goes on to say…

“I don’t understand America. They just want to keep showing the abuse that we took hundreds and hundreds of years ago. But guess what? We’re taking the same abuse,” he says. “Think about that part. When you all going to make a series about the success that black folks is having. The only success we have is Roots and 12 Years A Slave?”

Now don’t get me wrong, I in no way thinking that we should be oblivious to our past, in fact I know we can learn many things, both good and bad, from our past. I remember in Orlando Fla., we saw a very great tragedy. Anytime human life is lost, its a travesty against us as a nation. It wasn’t LGBT’s who were lost, it was people, lives, living, breathing, human beings who are now lost because of one man’s inability to see past his own hate, or should I say, his own self taught hate. Look I am not advocating a lifestyle here, I am advocating my belief as a Christian that Jesus views all life as sacred. Again I say, let’s remember what Jesus said in John 3:16-17

16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

Somehow those words, “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world” are lost. Jesus reprimanded the disciples for judging wrongly when they wanted to call down fire, Jesus said in Luke 9;

54 And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?”
55 But He turned and rebuked them,and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of.

Which to me means, we don’t really have the mind of God and what His purposes are in many area’s of our lives, I know I don’t. Chick-fil-a helped the victims of the Orlando shooting during a time when the light of Christ needed to pierce the darkness. If your conviction is to not associate with people differing from your belief system, and anything associated with them, then I guess your time at Chick-fil-a is done. Again, this isn’t agreeing with a lifestyle, if anything this is being in agreement with the word of God.

Let’s just remember who we are really fighting here. It’s not a people group, it’s not a person, it’s Satan. It’s the accuser of the brethren, it’s the hater of our souls and the who despises our love for God and the love God has for his children. Time to grow up people, we aren’t fighting a natural war here, we are fighting a carnal war, we are fighting a spiritual war, a war that is claiming lives everyday. Doesn’t God have a desire that ALL should be saved? How are you going to do that when condemnation is the first thing we speak when we wake, and the last thing we speak when we sleep?

I for one am not going to put up with it, you want to vomit your hate monger words across your Facebook page, feel free, it’s your page, I will kindly remove you from my feed. Seriously, let go of your hate, we aren’t called to hate, but to love. Stop using the Old Testament mindset to justify your abuse of God’s people. Stop prostituting God’s grace and embrace the cross for what it really means. It’s a sacrifice we can’t repay, an embracing of death that we don’t have to walk through. A gateway to God that we could not find, except through the blood of Christ.

What’s going to happen when the pagans, the witches, the satanist, the LGBT community, the lost in Christ, come banging on the doors of your church, wanting to be saved, wanting to know Jesus. When they are drawn to the power of His blood and are seeking redemption and healing? Will you turn them away? Will you tip your cap of pride and tell them to go away for they are “unclean?” Remember we are being watched as Christians. When you tell someone you are a Christian, or profess that you are a follower of Jesus, you are being watched and observed on how consistent you are to His word.

That big building you go to every Sunday is not a fortress to keep you safe from the world, it’s a place that is suppose to be a city of refuge to the lost and broken who want to find Jesus, and HIS BRIDE WITHIN. Stop holding on to the gift of salvation like it is yours to hold. It’s not. Remember what Peter said in Acts 3:6

6 Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”

Be a light that those in the dark who want to come and see. Thank goodness that Jesus didn’t respond to the lepers, the harlots and the tax collectors like we do to people in today’s world. Who can be saved indeed.

The Crowd and the Crown (Conclusion) – Karen Austin

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In conclusion to the messages regarding the “crowds” that come against us in life, I submit this word to you. We are to not only bring words of encouragement, but at times, we are to sound the alarm, which is released as protection and to bring an awareness. As we are coming out of this time of quarantine, know it is a time of passing over and we do not want to take any of the baggage of the latter day with us. It’s a new day, it’s to be a new way…a coming out of the wilderness and entering into our promised land. My prayer is that this will encourage you, while awaken you.

“A stampede of a variety of crowds are coming against My people in this hour to cause them to lose faith, to lose courage to stand up against the battle that is being waged against them. But I release this alarm to cause My people to awaken to the reality of the pressure of these crowds and to understand the significance of this hour.

The purpose of the crowds of the enemy is to lead My people down paths that I did not intend them to follow. The enemy desires to bring condemnation upon My people at the place where they have stopped and compromised, saying “Look at where you are! Look where you have failed.” But know this, the enemy is a liar! I will always have a plan of redemption for you, a plan to bring you back to My plan of life for you.

There has been a distinct attack of compromise and lethargy that has come against My Body. Be wise My people. Do not conform back to this world, but be renewed in the spirit of your mind. Follow the leading of My Spirit in all matters of your life. The price is too costly to submit to compromise… to remain complacent…to not recognize the lateness of the hour. For the enemy will attempt to bring one thing and then another to slowly move you from your place of abiding in Me. Just as a pioneer who would wander away from the camp would be open game for the enemy’s attack, so also will you be if you move from the place I have called you to stand.

Hear what I say to you this day. Know that the enemy is very subtle. His suggestions always sound good. They always have, but know he is a deceiver and a liar. There is not truth in him for he comes to steal, kill and to destroy. But I have come to bring you life and life abundantly!

Press on My children for I have the victor’s crown waiting for you. Know that I am for you and not against you. I have given you all that you need for the battle. I have overcome the world and you are more than a conqueror because of the victory that I have won for you. Walk in it. I have given you the power and authority to walk away from the crowds that seek to draw you from My best for your life.

I have a place of peace for you and in this place, you will see clearly – where you are to go and what you are to do. Receive My strength today. Receive My grace today. I love you and I call you an overcomer! You can do all things through Me, the OVERCOMER who strengthens you!”

The Crowd and the Crown (Part 2) – Karen Austin

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Yesterday, I wrote about different types of crowds that keep us from God’s plan and destiny for our lives. Another type of crowd is the crowd of life. Even though we are in a time of being shut-in, we can still be busy. There is a crowd of false belief that pressures us to feel as if we are not valuable if we are not productive. There always seems to be one more thing that must be done. There are pressures to obsessively throw ourselves into our jobs. Now, we should work if able but not to the extent that that is all we do and all we talk about. I know you have met some of these folks. I walk away feeling tired just listening to all they have accomplished and what is yet on their “to do” list. We must have balance in our lives. One of the most productive times you can have is when you sit before the Lord and listen to His instruction and direction for your life. We will avoid many missteps if we will take this time to be still. Listen and then obey.

“Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10

Pressure will come to tempt you to perform for another rather than God. Anything that you put before God is an idol. What is it that you bow down to that you know you should not? What gets in the way of you doing what you are called to do? What causes you to compromise walking in the ways of God? This is a type of a crowd coming against you to press you out of the will of your Father.

“Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” James 1:17

Hebrews 4:15-16 “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weakness, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” This verse tells us that Jesus, our High Priest, is a feeling person. He feels your pain and your struggles. He was temped like we are and He knows what it is like. The next verse says “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

When you feel the pressures of any of these crowds, I encourage you to go boldly to the Father. Tell Him the things on your heart. Tell Him the pressures that you are facing…your hurts, worries, anxieties, fears, disappointments…the things that you are struggling with. He will give you guidance, peace and strength to overcome and obtain victory.

“No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.” Romans 8:37

Overcome is a military term which suggests combat. We are combating against forces of evil and, at times, our own flesh. These have purposed to keep us out of the place of receiving that crown of victory.

You and I must press through every one of these crowds. He has already given the crown of righteousness to those who are His. Press on to receive your crown. Every one of these crowds that you overcome will give you the fortitude, strength and courage to overcome the next crowd that comes against you.

“He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be His God and he shall be My son.” Revelation 21:7

~~to be continued

Once Upon a Time – Gary Florence

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I am sure we all have read “Once Upon a Time” stories, like once upon a time there was a king who lived far, far, far away in a kingdom etc. Did you know before Christ was born there were Greek philosophers who believed that there was a “Supreme Being”? This Supreme Being”  lived far, far, far away in the heavens, where his kingdom was, and that mindset has been passed down to the western church even to this day but now people refer to Him as God.

In order to build muscles in the natural you have to stretch them until they tear and they will then rebuild themselves even stronger. Can we allow our spiritual muscles to be stretched to where we can tear away from vain philosophy and the traditions of man?  What if God is but a breath away? Remember when Jesus said “Some will say that the kingdom is here and others will say no the kingdom is over there but I say to you the kingdom of God is within you.” Christ inside of us the hope of glory. Where the king is you will also find His kingdom. So what if this King Jesus’ kingdom isn’t in a far, far, far away land but is inside of us?

When Jesus was born didn’t He bring His kingdom with Him remember the angelic ( who are part of His Kingdom) gathered on the hill side to sing praises to God because where the King is so is His Kingdom. Just saying that statement causes my natural mind to rise up and rebel, but the things of the natural mind cannot comprehend the things of the spirit. Jesus told His disciples “I go to prepare a place for you so that where I am you too can also be” I am just asking a question here? What if that place He is preparing is us so that we may mature into sons and daughters and manifest His kingdom here on earth? Remember where the King is so is His kingdom.

When Jesus died on the cross, the temple’s veil was ripped from top to bottom exposing the Holy of Holies. What if, because of Christ inside of us, the Holy of Holies (Christ) can be exposed to the world for all who freely want to come, and see clearly this Christ inside of us?

What if now you and I can become the stories; “Once Upon a Time there was a King (Jesus) who did not live in a far, far, far away land but instead He lives inside of us and we are privileged to allow all who desire to come and read and partake of this kingdom that is available to them not when they just die but in the here and now.” Knowing where the king is you will find His kingdom. That kind of puts the ball in our court doesn’t it? Let me ask you a question, are you ready to play some ball???

Spiritual Seasons: Which One Are You In? (Part 2) – Frank Work

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We continue our teaching on spiritual seasons with Autumn and Winter. Also I would like to point out that these examples are more general in nature than exact. Your walk with the Lord is different than mine, and you will view the world you live in differently. My only hope is that these examples will you give a path to start on, in which you can continue your journey with the Holy Spirit and He can give you wisdom on what your spiritual seasons look like.

During spiritual autumn, our spiritual growth will be shrinking back but the demands from us increase.

It is interesting that the greatest harvest of fruit comes when the tree is heading for a season of rest.

-It is incorrect to say that a person in spiritual autumn does not have God’s anointing; God anoints all the spiritual seasons.

-On a personal level, during spiritual autumn you may be feeling a need to return to the basics of the faith, or a new commitment to the spiritual disciplines of fasting, praying, solitude, individual worship and devotion; things which in themselves, seem to produce little fruit but are essential for our Christian walk.

– In ministry, you might have to cut back your commitment. There might be external factors like time commitments due to family, work, etc.

-Winter. Spiritual winter is the most uncomfortable time for many Christians, especially in the western church.

– In our western society, we tend to value people based on how much they produce. If you don’t believe me, look at who gets recognized in the western church. Usually it is the people that seem to live at church and are committed to many different activities. This work=value culture is not Godly and it is wrong to applaud people who are over committed as much as it is wrong to applaud people who are under committed. God values people, not works and we should to… but that is another discussion.

-Spiritual winter is like the Sabbath. Let’s talk about Sabbath rest. It is not doing nothing. It’s not taking a break from God. During the Sabbath, God instructed people to keep the rest holy to God and reflect on the things that God had done for them. God says in Lev 23:27 we must “deny” (NIV, NASB) or “afflict” (KJ, NKJ) ourselves when observing the Sabbath. What would be denied?

-Whatever keeps our minds from reflecting on God’s good deeds and keeping holy attitude before God are the exact things that we must deny.

-They might include watching TV or reading that novel. They could include sports or shopping. They might even include catching another bible study or getting involved with another ministry. We need to discipline ourselves to stay connected with God during our rest because our natural inclination is to wander spiritually when we are in a season of rest.

-During spiritual winter, it is normal to feel like God is not hearing our prayers or speaking to us. We may feel like we are having a “wilderness” experience.

-We may feel like our ministry is unfruitful and assume it is dying. But during winter, there is no fruit bearing and it is a time or spiritual rest.

-In winter, reflect on God and God’s faithfulness to you and maintain an attitude of reverence before God. It is God’s perfect order that all creation rests periodically.

-God thinks so highly of rest that on the seventh day of creation, He rested too.

-When we don’t rest, we’ve made our service an idol above God. When we squirm away from spiritual winter, we squirm away from Godliness.

Spiritual seasons are not spiritual conditions of the saint nor a way of measuring Godliness.

God ordains spiritual seasons to provide the greatest spiritual fruit bearing and the greatest spiritual growth.

-God’s seasonal plan includes periods of growth and periods of rest. Recognizing the season you’re in and responding appropriately to that season, is the best way to insure continued spiritual growth and a life that bears Godly fruit.

Also spiritual seasons apply to a congregation as well as the individual. Knowing what season our congregation is can really help in understanding how we should direct our worship and praise in song and prayer.

Spiritual Seasons: Which One Are You In? (Part 1) – Frank Work

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Spiritual seasons can be much like natural seasons. Through our life in Jesus we can ebb and flow dependent on many aspects of our lives. We seem to be more ruled by our emotions and surroundings than led by the Spirit of God. I believe that if we can understand what season we are walking we can better understand why we do what we do and why certain aspects of our spiritual walk will rise and fall. In the kingdom of God there is always a specific reason why walk through different seasons of our lives. Hopefully there is no confusion in what I am trying to convey.

Understanding the seasons we walk in.

Seasons of God are not defined by human time frames. God’s seasons move in and out spiritual time according to the plans and strategies and the timeline for which He has established.

The importance of knowing the correct season we are walking in allows us the freedom to be released in the correct direction of prayer and action for which God wants to us to go.

When we don’t walk and correctly discern the season we are in, we will stifle the place where God wants to take us. We will over extend a season for which we are no longer supposed to be in. We will hamper that which the Holy Spirit is trying to show us through the season for which we are walking in and the season we are going into.

Here are some scriptures to start off with;

Isaiah 50:4 “The Lord GOD has given Me The tongue of the learned, That I should know how to speak A word in season to him who is weary. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear To hear as the learned.“

2 Timothy 4 2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.

Eccl 3:1 1 To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: There is a time to…born, die, plant, pluck, kill, heal, break down, build up.

What is God saying? Basically he is saying that He has an appointed season for everything to happen, in its due time. If we do not have a spiritual understanding of what season we are in, then how will be able to correctly discern the exact season God has established?

When we begin to walk out of the season for which God has us in, then the anointing of that season is evident in our relationship with Him. Whether we are walking in a spring, summer, fall or winter season. I am using the created seasons as a reference only.

Seasons of our Faith

Daniel 2:20-22 20 Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,
For wisdom and might are His.
21 And He changes the times and the seasons;
He removes kings and raises up kings;
He gives wisdom to the wise
And knowledge to those who have understanding.

Deuteronomy 11:14“ then I will give you the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain, your new wine, and your oil“

Deuteronomy 28:12
The LORD will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.

I will use the natural seasons established by God to set our minds to an understanding of “The season we are in”

Example of the farmer and knowing when to plant, when to tend and when to harvest. The land hibernates during the winter months.

Jesus used the parable of the fig tree (Mat 24:29-31) to illustrate that we need to be aware of our spiritual surroundings and seasons.

One of the greatest tragedies for Christians is they do not recognize the season they are in. For example, if a Christian is in a winter season and becomes nervous that there does not seem to be any fruit appearing in their life, they may commit to new ministries in order to force themselves to produce fruit. No matter how hard they try, they won’t produce fruit until God produces it in them.

But what is worse is that sometimes we blame God for the lack of fruit. God does not fail. However we fail to recognize our seasons and we can actually work against God.

What should Christians do in the different seasons? In every season, being in touch with God is essential. Let’s start with Spiritual springtime and end with spiritual winter.

During springtime, look for the leading of God in new activities and ventures into new opportunities.

-On the personal level, these can be activities like new ways of doing your daily devotions or new relationships with encouraging saints. New understanding of prayer between you and the Holy Spirit. Visions being released in your spirit of what God wants to do in the coming seasons of your life.

-Regarding ministry, springtime can bring new ministry, more attendees or new ways of serving God. Be careful not to invest too much of yourself in all these new things because, just like a fruit tree, not every blossom will lead to fruit. These temporary blossoms serve to pollinate other blossoms. They are also signs to show us that it is springtime.

-Which means God will show you and allow you to be part of many things in the spring season, but these things will only serve to strengthen you in the exact thing God is planting in this season of your life.

Summer is a time of spiritual development and fruit bearing.

-Applied to your personal spiritual development, you might find yourself learning to study scripture better, having deeply significant devotions where you feel God’s presence more regularly.

-Applied to your ministry, you might find God giving you strategic insights, you seem to be more effective in your ministry or you have a new sense of anointing.

On the other hand, Satan will attempt to divert you; to cause you to put your energies into non-fruit bearing activities. Some of these activities could be attempts to maintain some of the things God showed you in the spring season for which we in our own strength are trying to keep alive and blooming. Some flowers only bloom in one season.

Part Two will cover the Spiritual Seasons of Autumn and Winter. Stay Tuned!

Don’t Be to Hasty About Saul, the Not Paul – Frank Work

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You know when you read a portion of scripture and the Holy Spirit drops something into you about what you just read? You know it has to be God, because of the impact that scripture, or that story has on you. Sometimes it can alter the way you look at God, and your perception of His love for you totally changes.

That just happened to me recently while reading the story of Saul, not Paul/Saul, but King Saul, the young boy who was the first king over a nation of people who wouldn’t allow themselves to be governed by the Creator of the universe. The only God who is God, the one true King who led their ancestors out of Egypt, which I have to believe at that time, was still fresh history to them. The Father of heaven had led them through the times of the judges who brought order to a people of chaos. The people of Israel wanted a human king, like the pagan cultures around them. They wanted to have someone to rule them who they could see, because the unseen was too much for their minds to handle, similar to how the human race has been, and continues to even to this day.

Let’s imagine for a moment when Saul, the tall good looking young man, full of energy, full of life. 1 Sam 9 says this about Saul the son of Kish, “2 And he had a choice and handsome son whose name was Saul. There was not a more handsome person than he among the children of Israel. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people.” So as you can see, he is everything that a carnal world is looking for in a leader, so far.

Obedient to his father when asked to search for the families lost donkeys. Armed with good intentions and enough food for a two day journey, Saul heads out with a faithful servant to retrieve his father’s lost animals. Let’s first approach the question that eluded me until revelation came concerning this question. Did the donkey’s wonder off by happenstance or did God lead the animals out into the wilds of Israel? I believe the animals were heeding the beckoning call of the Lord.

So here we have young Saul, with no aspirations whatsoever of being anointed king, let alone being called by the one true God of Israel, by name. It’s amazing what happens when we finally realize that God really does know who were are, and is concerned about our destiny in Him. Much like Samuel, he calls us by name to Himself, so that through us, we can walk and move and have our being. For the first few years of Saul’s life as the first king of Israel, he did the job asked of him. It wasn’t til later in his reign did he falter from the path that God has originally ordained for him, and the kingdom was “torn from him.” It even states in scripture in 1 Sam 10

6 Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man.

Also this was said about Saul;

9 So it was, when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, that God gave him another heart; and all those signs came to pass that day.

So Saul had become the man that the Lord had intended Him to be all because Saul was willing to be led by the Spirit of God, and not the spirit of man, which is the flesh.

Fast forward to my life today; All God is asking is that we become the men and women of God He has called us to be, both individually and corporately. Saul was a transformed man when the Spirit of God came upon Him. I believe that if Saul had chosen the fear of the Lord instead of the fear of man, he would have remained on the throne of Israel as their earthly king.

Lastly, before we are too harsh on Saul and the choices he had made, remember that Saul, nor anyone around him save Samuel, knew anything about being a king. Not to mention being a king so quickly and at such a young age. Saul had no idea whatsoever what it was to be a king over a nation that God deemed as His own. That’s why it’s vital that we listen to what the Spirit is saying in any given moment in our lives. I firmly believe that if we looked to God instead of looking to ourselves, we will draw closer to the heart of Christ and the destiny He has ordained for us.