The Gifts of Christmas: Find your Key

Gifts of Christmas – “Tree”

My alarm went off at 5:30 this morning. A few minutes later, I opened up my Jesus Calling devotional and proceeded to dig into scripture.

The passages referred to were Isaiah 41:10, Psalm 9:10 and James 1:2

Isaiah 41:10New Living Translation (NLT)

¹⁰ Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.
    Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you.
    I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

Psalm 9:10New Living Translation (NLT)

¹⁰ Those who know your name trust in you,
    for you, O Lord, do not abandon those who search for you.

James 1:2New Living Translation (NLT) Faith and Endurance 2 Dear brothers and sisters,[a] when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.

I spent some time meditating on those verses. Really letting them sink in. Immersing my being in the richness of the words. If you’ve kept up with this blog for any length of time, you know why I write; out of obedience.

I recently started searching for a “real meaning” of Christmas. I wasn’t sure what I expected. I didn’t know what I would find, if anything, or if my search would end in frustration. Leaving me grasping at straws.

It was in the middle of all this that God spoke to my Spirit.

“You are troubled, Child but you need not be. The answers you seek lie within. Tell me, wasn’t the Christ Child was my gift to you?”

“Indeed, Lord.”

“And, what was His purpose?”

“Salvation and Grace”

“True, Dig deeper.”

“Deeper, how?”

“You feel like the meaning of the season is lost on this world.”

“Yes.”

“It’s not. You hold The Key….

I gave you and ALL my Children The Key long ago. Jesus is my Gift to the World. Obviously not everyone embraces or accepts His Gift. But my Gifts are presented with multiple purposes. Jesus was just the start. Jesus Birth is a celebration. But the celebration you seek is not one most people look for. The true meaning of this season (not holiday) is FOUND in the Holy Spirit. You remember the first time you EVER felt the Spirit?

It was the first Christmas after your Mother had just died. You were at Christmas Eve Candlelight Service with your Father, and Grand Uncle and Aunt. You were singing hymns; “Silent Night” and “Little Town of Bethlehem.” Not coincidentally, you were holding your candle, “Shining a Light in the darkness.” You gazed from the candle to the Altar and while standing in the pew you felt that slight breeze blow past and threw you. It gave you goose bumps.”

“The Holy Spirit…”

“Yes.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“You asked, you’ve been searching. You’re heart aches, wonders and pleads. Yes, I see it ALL.”

“You also see my sin then…”

“I’ve seen sin that I’ve since washed white as snow…you are sanctified. You cling to it in shame and fear which impedes my purpose, WE are working on that TOGETHER. Time is my device. Focus on ME. Jesus changed the world but I need YOU.”

“Me? Why me?”

“Why? Because you are Willing. Because you WILL listen. Because you LOOK for me. For those reasons you fulfill a purpose in my plan.”

“What can I possibly bring to your plan?”

“Do you remember how My Son said:

John 16:7New Living Translation (NLT)

⁷ But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate^[a] won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you.

The Advocate he referred to is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is what you felt that Christmas Eve. The Holy Spirit is REAL and powerful. The Holy Spirit IS what gives this season its meaning. Your struggle to find fulfillment this Christmas. Christmas in this world is also real but it is  carnal and THAT is the reason your soul has been troubled. It’s the Spiritual Gifts you have, that I have blessed you with that MAKE this season the reason for celebration.  Each of you, EACH of MY Children has a Gift. In your case, I had you picked from before birth to write.”

“But I’m not that good at it…”

“You sound like Moses. You are listening to the wrong voices, Child. I have equipped YOU. That is ALL you NEED. I do not make mistakes.”

“How do I…?”

“Come find me and seek me, just like you have been. You will find me in MY WORD. The more time you spend there, the more often you will receive. I will Bless you often and abundantly.”

“But writing is so hard for me. And there are other challenges creating barriers.”

“It is hard because I want to stretch you. Stretching you will benefit others reading this. And I know of your barriers. Don’t let them distract you. FOCUS on ME. All things are possible with ME.”

And

YOU have found the meaning of Christmas. It is within you.

It is the Holy Spirit Living in YOU; The tingle. The warmth. The Truth.

YOU are LOVED.

Of all the songs that Pentatonix has released, this is the one that resonates within me. I feel like The Little Drummer Boy. I have little to give, but what I give, I give with my whole heart. A truly humbled heart.

Dear God,

Thank you for today’s Blessings. Moments like this move me. I pray others will be Blessed by reading this. And that as we approach the celebration of our Savior’s birth our hearts are filled with gratitude…for All the Gifts you’ve given us.

And ALL God’s children said: Amen

May the Holy Spirit reveal the Gift(s) you’ve received this Christmas!

Blessings,

-Kenzel

(And Meg, He wants you to know…He is by your side. Always, to the end of time).

“LifeStyle Fasting”

 

I’d felt a burden last week to do something I’d never done.

I felt The Lord calling me to Fast. I’ve heard about fasting and I know it’s Biblical; I’ve read about it.

I really need to hear from God. I really need to receive His wisdom and clarity. I can’t imagine anyone wouldn’t!?

Well, actually….I know that’s not true. I know the idea of hearing from God scares the pants off of a lot of people. Some agnostics, some new believers…

However, I’m not writing to make friends or “tickle” ears – I’m writing to Shine the Light of God’s truth. The truth that will set us all free….

There has been a lot happening around us as I’ve mentioned.

Trying to make sense of it, we’ll that’s another story. Sometimes, we won’t be able to make sense of anything. And sometimes, the only thing we’ll get is the Peace of God that He allows to fill us and keep us calm in the midst of the storm – that is if we ASK for it.

I believe there is a storm coming, friends. I don’t think there’s any other way to say it.

I know I’ve mentioned on previous blog posts the book, “The Harbinger” by Jonathan Cahn. Well, in the years ’01 and ’08…those events happened during a Shemitah year cycle. The Shemitah is part of the Hebraic calendar. If you haven’t read The Harbinger, I encourage you to read it.

Right now, I am in the middle of the sequel: “The Mystery of the Shemitah.”  To be honest, I’d never heard the term Shemitah before last year.

Even before I started reading the Shemitah I felt the call to fast, but once I started it I knew I had to try. The reason is that God is working on me. He wants every part of me. He wants me to lean on HIM fully and completely. He wants me to know what it feels like to TRUST him and have no hesitations in doing so.

Whatever is coming our way in the next 12 months…I pray that each of us is ready for it. I have asked God for mercy and for his protection. That being said, nothing may happen…but that’s not what history of the Shemitah has shown.

If God’s Word is true, if what I’ve learned about the Hebraic calendar is correct…based on the patterns that have been laid out so far – then I am going to do what God has asked of me and be the “watchman” on the wall and sound the “WaKE UP!” call. Get to know who Jesus is – T O D A Y.

Back to FASTing:

Anyhow, as I “entered” my feeble attempt at my fast last week…I felt like I didn’t know enough about it to do it successfully. That I didn’t understand the mechanics of doing it right.

I shared my first attempt with a friend, expressing my dissatisfaction with my effort. Fortunately this friend is both grounded in Christ and has fasted a good deal, because her words kept me from feeling defeated.

“There is no right or wrong way to Fast. Follow the direction of the Spirit. Let Him lead.”

I also hadn’t had a clue as to how to pray as I fasted or what to pray. I wasn’t sure how God wanted me to worship Him, or how to present myself to Him; for him to know I longed for his presence.

What I didn’t know kind of surprised me.

Prayer and Fasting do go hand in hand but they don’t always have to.

Prayer isn’t limited to bowing your head, hands folded, sitting in a church.

PRAYER is conversation with GOD.

A N D

Fasting isn’t limited to Food. It’s not limited to the time of Lent.

Fasting is about putting aside that which we idolize or depend on – and REFOCUSing our minds on Christ. Seeking Him to help us, feed us and nourish ourselves through HIS WORD.

Now, when matched up side by side, Prayer and Fasting are a combination that touch the heart of God – Right where HE is sitting on his Heavenly throne.

The real point of fasting is to take our WORLDLY focus and fixate on HIM.

Allow HIM to fill us UP completely and in doing so remaining prayerful that HE will speak to us and confirm within us, what we need to know.

What I didn’t realize is the way I live is more or less a form of “Lifestyle Fasting.”

I don’t need much…I am a simple person. The only thing I crave is to know Jesus more….

I am now looking to him to help me write this blog because I just can’t do it justice solo.

I listen for his voice throughout the day.

I’m mindful that with every bite of food I eat, someone somewhere has none.

I’m more fully reminded as time marches on that the enemy is out there on the prowl, scheming to steal, kill and destroy – And that is what keeps me going here…because

above all, I recognize how many lost souls there are, everywhere. Maybe reading, right now….

People who are willing to “put off” and procrastinate on the “Jesus” thing because they are too wrapped in THIS world to learn about HIS world.

The World HE made for You and me. To share THAT world with HIM.

 

Fasting and praying may not be for everyone…but Jesus is.  He’s here, today.

What will you do when you can no longer procrastinate, because the opportunity to say YES to HIM is gone?

Scoff if you will, But Jesus didn’t turn his back on the cross.

and Jesus wouldn’t turn his back on YOU – Just give him a chance.

Give Him a chance to change YOU and then go change your corner of the world!

 

Allow God to change you and discover the Light you were made to Shine!

Wherever you are, I pray you discover who you were meant to be as a Child of God….

and that you are blessed by HIS presence,

-Kenzel

 

 

 

 

Feeling The Spirit: On The Move

Who among us doesn’t have questions about God?

• Who is He?
• What is He like?
• Why can’t we see Him?
• Where is He?

One question that He’s had germinating in my thoughts for a couple of weeks is different. God wants me to write about what He feels like, to me. Not HIS feelings about us but what He, truly might feel like to us…in this case my interpretation of identifying God in my life, living inside me.

• How do you know if He is WITH you?

• What factors might indicate HIS presence?

• Should we be able to feel God and what if we don’t?

When I pose this question: What does God “feel” like, I am actually asking a much broader question. I am saying that He communicates with us. And when it’s God, that means his methods could encompass – Anything.

God is powerful.

He knows HOW we would best respond to him.

I cannot explain why He he does, what he does. Yet I cannot ignore His promptings. Holy moments can and do happen to each of us.

Whether we are privy to those moments or we have been blinded and do not hear – God is working for us, waiting on us and providing for us.  This statement alone can cause a lot of fear and anger.

I didn’t always recognize these experiences as God. In fact it took a conversation with a theologian friend just a couple of years ago to help me see what I had been missing.

God doesn’t want us frightened by his presence. Even in his mightiness, he still loves each of more than anything. But, our feeble minds are not always prepared for the contact God may be having with us. God works best invisibly and quietly. His Holy Spirit also accomplishes HIS greatest in us during both or DARKest hours and moments of weakness. God’s Holy Spirit is always present near us but He waits to BE with us, to ENTER us until we approach him. It’s only WHEN we approach him that He will prepare to “commune” with us but it has to be because we WANT to.

Before I actually move forward to take this question on let me say… What we’ve got to understand is that with OUR feeble minds WE may not always be able to identify/understand not just when BUT what he wants us to know, or to say or to act.

As Genesis 1:27 says:

“So God created human beings^[a] in his own image.
In the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.”

Depending on how well we know HIM will depend on how TUNED in we are to the ways HE talks to and to HIS recognizable contact with us. Yes, it can be a two way conversation – (not usually audible,) and that’s what makes the relationship both unique and completely contrary to THIS WORLD.

Honestly, it has taken me years to realize – well RECOGnize that God has been trying to get my attention…to WAKE UP to his nudges! Those nudges are the Holy Spirit. The “invisible wall” that separates us from the “OtherWorld” – just beyond our mortal VIsION.

Yes, we have to work harder to keep our focus on God. We can’t see the battle that is raging on just beyond of field of vision…but that doesn’t mean it’s not real. If we knew how real it was…it might be worse than the movies that scared us as kids.

God is God: He is Unchanging.

A bit about where we are:

We are living in what is known as the “Age of Grace.”

The Age of Grace is all about God having “given” us the Holy Spirit.

This is the time we still have the opportunity to let the Spirit LIVE to within US.

When Christ ascended to Heaven (Pentecost) he “exchanged” places with the Holy Spirit.

Jesus needed to leave the earth before The Spirit could arrive

We can choose to have the Spirit live with us or live without.

Because of that Presence (The Holy Spirit) …God has given us powers most of us may 1) know nothing about or 2) don’t know how to use them/wield them. The Spirit is invisible and many unbelievers refuse to believe simply because they do not have physical proof of being able to see or touch him/it. (Think of Thomas – aka: “Doubting Thomas” from John 20:24-29).

What’s really important for you to understand is God is ALWAYS Good. God does know each of us better than we know ourselves. He knows exactly how we need to be spoken to. In what “framework” and what style we will best receive his message. The problem is, he may know HOW to talk with us but WE may not BE ready to hear him. Are our hearts hardened to HIS hope. Are we deaf because we don’t want to make a decision that is OURS alone to make?

God gives you One chance to make the decision to find out WHO HE IS. If you don’t find out before you die, it’s TOO LATE.

Scoff if you must about seeking SALVATION because it’s counter cultural. But accept HIM / or don’t.

God is Creator, Christ is Your Savior, The Holy Spirit is your COUNSELOR — They are all working together for your benefit. They are your Eternity TEAM

UsE YOUR ETERNAL lifeline. Get it Right NOW —- WHY DO YOU NEED A LIFELINE?

The reality is there is a Heaven and a Hell. You might prefer not to think about it now…but if not now, when? The day your heart stops beating and you die…you will go to one of the two places. Isn’t it better to TALK and learn about them now than not?

It’s better to learn HOW to avoid Hell than just hope that you might go to Heaven and not be SURE.

God set me up for this mission so let’s get to it. What I am going to describe is just my observation. This is a very individual “thing.” Not everyone is going to experience somethings and some will never experience anything.

When I ask the question what does God feel like, it may not always be about a physical manifestation. It could be that on some level he has connected his message to me intellectually and that knowledge provided a burst of emotion: elation/grief/peace….security. God works both inside us, through us and using us to help others!

So, if you’re still wondering: What can God FeeL like?

A gentle reminder: Not everyone feels God’s presence (at least in the same way) or ever gets to FEEL his presence And some wouldn’t want to. But if you are wanting to know what HE feels like here are some identifiers:

* tingling sensations: The tingling sensation can be a mixture of coolness and/or warmth. I’m firmly beginning to believe the level of “cool’ or “heat” may have to do with how God has determined to create the smallest changes within our souls to be adjusted so we GROW.

* Some people may fall asleep, depending on the nature of the situation

* Some may laugh or weep, situation dependent and you don’t know why you’re doing one of the other!

* Some may feel a warm embrace “wrapping” you up….providing a source of comfort – A Big Hug

* Or an uncomfortable feeling…if you are “under” construction…….like a surgery.

* yOu may also feel a need to pray, you don’t know why – for whom or for what reason. But The Spirit needs you and believes you can comply.

And this is barely scratching the “iceberg” of possibilities. God is infinite and so are His Ways.

Key Notes on God’s Holy Spirit

God is not stagnate and HE doesn’t wish for us to be either. I’m finding the adjustments happen with greater frequency depending on HOW much I look to LEAN into Christ and my dependency on him.

• The more I look to him for the needs in my life, the more he will present himself and work with me.
• If I forget to give him “my time” it will feel like distance has grown between us..even though that’s not the case because HE IS.
• The point being, the more I give him of my time…the more he will SHARE with me. He will keep me FED if I’m HUNGRY.
• His goal is to help me GROW.

While the Holy Spirit is always on the move our enemy is on the move as well. We’ve got to be cautious. It can be comforting to feel God close to us but even God admonishes us to be sure and TEST The SPIRITs. We want to believe that we are always feeling God near but Satan is cunning and mean. He’s out to trick us, as sad as that is. Always ask God for confirmation on what he’s telling you – and be certain that the message is a directive from HIM and not Satan. Satan will try to deceive us just like he deceived Eve in Eden. Do you part to put him in his place: HERE’s HOW!

Discerning False Prophets

1 John 4:1-5

New Living Translation (NLT)

4″Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. ² This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet^[a] acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God. ³ But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here.

⁴ But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. ⁵ Those people belong to this world, so they speak from the world’s viewpoint, and the world listens to them.”

Prayer:

Lord: Thank you for the gift of now and today. Thank you for this life. I don’t understand a lot of things but I want you to help me understand you. Help me find you. Help me to feel you and draw me closer. Fill me with your Spirit to overflowing. Show me what your love is about and help me to see beyond the darkness of invisibility. Amen

-Kenzel