Ginny Wall led worship.  We were a smaller group than usual because of all the sickness going around at this time.  We took some time to pray for healing and protection for the ones who are sick and prevention for those who are not sick!  We are so thankful for Ginny’s ministry to the Lord.  She chooses songs so prayerfully and they are always powerful to lead us in worship. 

We have been really digging into Revelation 4 and 5 to find fuel for our hearts.  On this night, Matthew shared about Revelation 5.  He began with words about why we are looking at Revelation 5 and how it fuels our hearts to understand this picture we have of what is happening around the throne.  He opened up the first half of this chapter talking about the details that God has chosen to reveal in these Scriptures.  These things really do make our hearts alive and bring steadiness to us in times of trials as we face difficulty in our lives personally as well as facing the Great Day that will come when Jesus returns to end this current age we are living in. 
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We prayed for needs we knew existed, particularly for health concerns. 
 
 

​What a great time gathering!  In the midst of a busy month full of holiday activities, we carved out some time to pray, worship, learn about the celebration of Hanukkah, and “gather some oil” for our own hearts. 
Linda Edwards began our time together with several Christmas hymns.  “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus” and “Angels from the Realms of Glory” were two not so familiar songs that struck our hearts this year with their powerful lyrics.    

After these songs, Matthew shared a great message helping us all understand the Jewish festival of Hanukkah.  We were in the midst of the Hanukkah celebration at the time of the meeting so it seemed an appropriate time to enjoy jelly donuts along with our coffee and learn about this Jewish festival that often gets confused as “Jewish Christmas,” which it is not.  We watched a helpful and humorous YouTube video (Hanukkah || Mayim Bialik), that explains this event on the Jewish calendar. 

Matthew then read from an article "Christ in the Feast of Hanukkah by David Brickner of Jews for Jesus) explaining not only the historical facts about the Maccabean revolt against the Greek rule of that day to purge the temple from Greek desecration, but also the connections Jesus had with Hanukkah.  Matthew also wrote some Hanukkah reflections in a December Blog, Hanukkah Reflections 2017

We watched a few fun videos about Hanukkah by the Maccabeats (Candlelight & Miracle & Latke Recipe).  The point of this was to see that Jewish people are faithfully remembering this historical event, but they are missing the LIGHT who has come.

Matthew’s main point in sharing all of this about Hanukkah was so that we would gain a heart of love for God’s people Israel.  We also gain understanding of the struggles they have faced as well as their culture and customs.  We realize the beauty of Jesus as the Jewish Messiah.  He shared a great word of wisdom that although we don’t necessarily agree with everything that the political nation of Israel does, we want to always be in agreement with God’s plans for Israel, the Land and the People.

In the story of Hanukkah there was a miracle of oil that Jewish history tells.  After the Jews drove out the Greeks who were polluting their place of worship, the Jews cleansed the temple.  They only had enough oil for 1 day, but the oil miraculously lasted 8 days, long enough to allow them to prepare more oil.  This has an application for us as we have talked about pressing out oil.  We do our part of seeking the Lord and studying the Word, but ultimately, we look to Him for a miraculous supply of oil in our own lives. 
Ginny Wall and Ian Wilson both led us in worship focusing on having oil in our lamps and on Jesus as our light.

We prayed for impartation of God’s heart for Israel as well as having oil.  

Hanukkah ended December 20th. This year, I have been more interested in this Jewish holiday than I ever have been before. I am not Jewish but a little research about it has led me on a treasure hunt, finding greater revelation and fascination with Jesus. In this season, where so many Christians are focused on the birth of Jesus, why is it important to look at Hanukkah?

Hanukkah means “dedication” and it commemorates the rededication of the Jewish temple after the Maccabean revolt.  This deliverance of the Jewish people from the tyranny of the Greeks came over a century before Christ was born. The Jews were greatly outnumbered and God brought miraculous deliverance through a family known as the Maccabees. 

I have to admit the first thing that fascinates me about the subject of Hanukkah is the celebration of the multiplication of oil. After the Maccabean revolt in 165 BC, there is a story that appears in the Jewish Talmud that the Jews cleansed the defiled temple and lit the temple lampstand with only one jar of oil that should have lasted only one day. That oil lasted 8 days until more oil could be readied for burning.

At the Lampstand meetings that we host at our house once a month we have talked about pressing out oil for ourselves so that we will have a reservoir filled with oil to burn brightly.  What is the “oil” we need in our lives? The oil of a history with God.  The oil pressed out by meditation and study of God’s word.  The oil of growing devotion and love toward Jesus.  Just as in that Jewish legend, we cannot get this “oil” in our own strength.  We also need supernatural multiplication of that kind of oil. We offer our small part and He adds the other 99%.

As I began to study Hanukkah even more I began to see that there was a greater miracle that the Jews experienced than the multiplication of lampstand oil. Jesus Himself and what He had come to do as Messiah and Deliverer was the greater miracle. 

The only time this holiday is ever mentioned in Scripture is in John 10. This is a fascinating passage in which Jesus is responding to the question asking whether He was the Messiah or not. I came across an article by David Brickner from a Jews for Jesus newsletter in 1998 that gives a simple and clear look at this passage revealing Christ in the Feast of Hanukkah. Below is one excerpt from the article. (The “Antiochus” mentioned was the Greek/Selucid ruler who declared himself “the manifest god.”)

“The rededication of the Temple was a reminder of God’s power to keep His promises and preserve His people Israel. But One greater than the Temple stood on Solomon’s porch that day. And He made an astounding claim. “I and My Father are one” (v.30). Remember, this is Hanukkah. Fresh in my people’s minds was the fact that they had rightly rejected the false claims of Antiochus. Now here is Jesus, standing in the Temple asserting His own claim to deity. The reaction of my people was predictable. “Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him” (v.31). And if He hadn’t been who He claimed to be, they would have been absolutely right to do so.”

To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.

The truth is Jesus is the Messiah, and He is everything He claimed to be, yet was missed as the “greater miracle” to the Jewish people. He was the one who could deliver them from more than the threat of Roman tyranny; He had come to deliver them from the guilt and punishment of their sin and to bring them back into right relationship with Father God.

We have a great opportunity to pray for Israel and join with the apostle Paul’s desire that all of Israel would be saved. Let us pray for the Jewish people in this Hanukkah season that they would see the Light of the World, Jesus as their Messiah who is the one who still has the power to keep his promises and preserve His people Israel.

Happy Hanukkah!

I am so thankful for these time to get together for the purpose of beholding and worshipping the Lord and pressing out oil to fill the reservoir that our flame draws from.

It is so valued and valuable to spend time in praise and worship, thanksgiving and adoration of the Living God. Not only does He greatly value it, we join with the worship that is happening around His throne day and night. It is not a superfluous activity to fill time or simply a means to make ourselves feel better. Worship is something He is worthy of and time spent doing it honors Him. Yes, it does change our hearts and encourage us as we do it, but ultimately worship is about Him. Oh, that our worship would get bigger!

This Lampstand, Ian Wilson led us in worship, it was a time of engaging with the Lord and He manifested His presence.

The Message
I (Matthew) shared briefly from Zechariah 4, continuing to remind us that it is the supernatural supply of oil that we need. We do our part to press out that oil and God supplies it supernaturally. What an encouragement Zechariah 4 is! Zechariah was a prophetic encouragement to those God chose to lead the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem in that day when the Jewish exiles had returned to the land. God was going to help! He promised He would be the supply. He does that for us in the assignments He gives us.   We depend on His supply and we are “wow”ed when He comes through.

Julie shared more from Revelation 4, specifically about the ministry of the living creatures around the throne. They sing, the great song of heaven, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God Almighty, “
The beauty of the heavenly throne room is truly our reality and it is so valuable to stand before this powerful picture and ask questions.  Why these details?  Why living creatures?  Why 4?  Why wings and eyes?  Why these 4 faces?

One possible connection is that the Spirit is linking the 4 faces of the living creatures with the 4 aspects of Jesus revealed in the 4 Gospels.  Each Gospel have things in common yet each has a unique purpose and message and they correspond to the faces of the Living Creatures around the throne.
These creatures never cease beholding the Lord and declaring what they are seeing.  We have a similar calling as worshippers to BEHOLD Him and to DECLARE! 

This kind of beholding and declaring produces a response; it brings forth the response of the elders falling down before the thrown and casting down their crowns and singing a new song!
The elders sing of the worth of Jesus.  We can’t even imagine what it cost Him to be slain UNTIL we know the Beauty He lived in BEFORE He was slain!!  We look at what He descended from and where He is exalted to and everything shifts for us!

Response:
We prayed for impartation for each individual!  I love these times where everyone participates in encouraging one another through prayer.  It was an especially sweet time for us (Matthew and I) as parents to see Issachar stepping out to pray for individuals and share encouragement. 
 
Stay tuned for the December Lampstand as we are going to be doing something different and talking about Hanukkah and the miracle of oil!

WORSHIP
We had the awesome privilege of having our friends, Samuel Knopp and his son Ethan join us for the Lampstand.  Samuel led us in worship and it was a powerful time lifting up the name of Jesus.  We truly were positioning ourselves before the throne and beholding the Lord! 

I love the powerful way the Lord can bring agreement as we worship.  I love that the Holy Spirit will speak the same thing to two different people in order to highlight something He wants us to see or understand.

The Lord was speaking to my heart during worship about being a Bride who has made herself ready.  I was reading Rev. 21 and 19:7.  Kim Ellis also came to Matthew during worship feeling a similar stirring from the Lord.  She shared that in thinking about Jesus coming back it is like engagement.  When people were engaged in Biblical times the man would go to prepare a home for his Bride, which is what Jesus is doing now!  And, women who are engaged do things to prepare for their wedding!  As the Bride of Christ, what are we doing to prepare?  Are we "waiting" for Him to come?  Like Esther who prepared for an entire year before going to the king...we need to be preparing ourselves with sweet fragrances of prayer, weeping for our loved ones, being prepared with oil.

Howard carter shared Psalm 77:11-14.  I so appreciate the Lord stirring His word in people's hearts.

MESSAGE
We have been focusing in these Lampstand meetings on getting oil, being fueled, learning to live with our hearts alive and connected to the Lord with His Word alive in our hearts.  We have specifically been pressing into Revelation 4 and 5 for the last several meetings because we feel like gazing at this "beauty realm" fuels and steadies our hearts in a powerful way. 

How many people can claim they have had a heavenly vision experience?  It certainly does happen, but it isn't necessarily a common experience.  Yet, we have this incredible gift in the Word of God of a "heavenly vision experience"!  We can choose to "go there" by asking the Spirit to open up understanding of this passage!  I'm going there!!  I want the reality of what is going on around the throne to touch my life.  I want to live daily connected to this heavenly reality!

At this Lampstand meeting, Matthew shared about Revelation 4 and how we get oil from gazing on the beauty of God revealed in this throne room picture.  He walked through the details that are included in this heavenly description and how and why these things are significant.

• The colors of God: each color described has significance in revealing something about God's nature.  What a fascinating study to search out the colors that are used in the Revelation description!
• The attendants around the throne: "Our destiny is to be enthroned with Him, crowned ones, dressed in white, priests before the Lord and kings with Him.  We have married into great wealth!"
• Lightning, thundering, sounds:  Oh the sounds of heaven!!  We don't want to just have singers who sing someone else's songs, but singers who have been before the Lord and sing the songs of heaven!  Oh that there would be worship leaders tapping into the sounds coming from the throne...
• Manifestations of fire: torches, burning ones (seraphim), sea of glass mingled with fire!  We need a fresh baptism of fire!  If there is fire all around the throne done' we want to go there to get it!!??

​RESPONSE
How can we respond to this consideration of God and His beauty other than in worship?  We took time to lift up our gaze and our voices again in song!
More on Revelation 4 in November.... 

It is interesting how the Spirit leads.  We had arranged for Ian Wilson to lead worship at this meeting, but earlier in the week, I (Julie) had felt like I should prepare to lead worship just in case.  And, that day we discovered that Ian was feeling under the weather and so I stepped in to lead with a thankful heart that the Lord had prepared me ahead of time!   I felt that there was such grace to enter in and to go before the throne boldly together.
Matthew shared briefly about being fascinated by the Lord and beholding him.   This has been our inspiration in digging deeper into some Biblical topics that will help us fix our hearts on Jesus and behold Him.

I shared from Revelation 4 and 5.  I gave a brief overview of these chapters looking at the context of them within the full picture of the book of Revelation.  John is in prison on an island and he has had an encounter with Jesus and then he is instructed to write messages to seven churches.  Then as chapter 4 opens, he sees an open door into the heavens and he hears a voice (it is Jesus) inviting him up to "see what must take place after this."  But, before John is given the revelation of the things that will come to fulfill all of history, he sees a throne. 

This is truly the kindness of the Lord that He invites us to see everything from the vantage point of His throne.  Once we behold the throne and really study this incredible scene, we have greater grace to see BIG things as BIG and small things as SMALL. 

So, why bother to study this rather fantastical scene in a rather fantastical book?  Because the Scripture makes it clear that we are destined for that place!  Colossians 3:1-4 says that we are seated with Christ in heavenly places, and exhorts us to fix our minds and hearts on those heavenly places.

 None of the details of that scene have changed since John caught a glimpse of it!  It is so worth our time to look at the details and the big picture of it in order to understand that this is where our hearts are called to be even now, but also this will be a beautiful familiar place to us for all of eternity.

Jesus, in Matthew 24:6-8, commands us not to be alarmed in light of terrible things that will occur on earth.  How are we not to be alarmed?  Even today we see so many troubling things happening around us and so how can we avoid a response of fear?  I would argue that fixing our gaze for significant amounts of time on the throne of God that is firmly fixed in the eternal places gives us confidence to stand firm in difficult times. 
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We will look again in more detail at these passages in our next Lampstand meeting! 
 
Worship response
We took time again to go before the throne, inviting the presence of the Lord to stir our hearts and seal His word in us. 
Prayer for needs:  We always take time to pray for personal needs, as we feel this is important that people can find encouragement in agreement.  We also prayed for our national leaders to have wisdom as hurricanes were tearing through parts of the country.
 
What a sweet blessing these times of fellowship with the Lord are for us!  Thank you to all who come and join us!

Race Weekend in Bristol and a week of moving bedrooms around in our house (read: CHAOS!), and then a Lampstand meeting!  Circumstances may not always seem ideal, but it is always a blessing to make time in our lives to stop and seek the Lord.

Worship:
Even  before we began to worship, we jumped right into a prayer time for God's people in this region to be a house of prayer.  We were meeting and worshiping that night at almost the same time as the Bristol Nascar race.  There was an encouraging story from years ago about a young girl who had a vision of a racetrack and a small house of prayer in the same area and that God heard the sound from the tiny house of prayer as being louder than the sound of the racetrack.  This is an encouragement to us that even though we may be small, God sees and hears from heaven.  We were praying that God would awaken ALL of His church in this region to be a praying people who would cry out to Him!

Ian, for those of you who don't know him, is an excellent worship leader (and a husband to Abbi and father of 2 cutie little girls).  He has written some songs that are among my favorites.  On this Saturday night, he was focusing in on Jesus.  We were really lifting Him up during worship and looking at Him and His work on the cross and His mercy and goodness.  It was so powerful.  There was truly a grace that was given to us to see Jesus, to behold Him, as we lifted Him high together. 

Matthew said that during worship he felt like the Lord was saying He would establish a "helpline" through our praise.  He read from Psalm 28 and said that as we lift up Jesus and make much of Him (praise), then we will see Him work on our behalf. 

Linda said she felt during worship like there was a portal open and the Bride was standing ready with voices filled with praise.

The Message:
We sometimes hear a message that so encourages us we know we couldn't say it any better so we share that with the folks who come to the Lampstand meeting.  This was one of those times.  We listened to a message from Times Square Church in NYC by Gary Ham entitled "Behold the Man."  He was looking at the passage in John 19 when Pilate brings Jesus before the people in the crown of thorns and purple robe, all beaten and abused, and says,  "Behold the Man!" 

This message went so much along with what Matthew has shared at the last two Lampstand meetings and what the Lord has continued to highlight to us that it was a powerful challenge to us to fix our eyes on Jesus.  Especially in the midst of challenges that we face, we must fix our eyes on Jesus.  We must answer the invitation of the Spirit to BEHOLD this Man.  This One who has created the heavens and earth, and performed so many miracles, who claimed to be God, who then took the punishment for our sins by dying on the cross.  This One who lives now to make intercession for us and who IS coming again to rule and reign on the earth.

Here is the link to the teaching...it is worth it to listen!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afWjdJCwBiM

The Response:
Before we moved into a response, Skip Cone shared a thought comparing Zechariah 6:9-13 with the John 19 passage.  Hundreds of years before Jesus came, Zechariah prophesied this invitation to behold by putting a crown on a man with the same Hebrew name as Jesus (Joshua, which means "salvation").  That Joshua received the word that God was sending forth, His servant "the Branch". It is amazing that word "Nazarene"  means branch. Jesus had the title of “the Branch”  declared over Him on the cross when he was crucified. The sign said, “Jesus of Nazareth, The King of the Jews” (John 19:19).   Amazing to see God's word declare Jesus from cover to cover!  The work of the Holy Spirit is truly to lift Jesus up and to draw attention to Him!

After the message, we broke up into groups to pray for one another and to share together anything that specifically impacted us or that we felt we needed to respond to. 
Let us all live our lives beholding Jesus and considering who He is, what He did, and what He is doing now and what He will do...  Let us be fascinated by Him all of our days!

​To the saints who are in Ephesus and the faithful who are in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 1:1
 
Identity is such a catch phrase these days.  Everyone is talking about knowing who we are and knowing our identity.  There is also so much confusion about identity.  Wouldn't it be helpful to know, to really know, who we are?  Especially as Believers?  Who am I?  And, how do I find out?


Well, maybe the answer is somewhere we wouldn't expect.
 To the saints who are in Ephesus and the faithful who are in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 1:1

These simple words at the beginning of Ephesians that you can read in chapter 1 verse 1 that are so easily skimmed over actually contain some important answers to the above questions.  If you are diving into a reading of this letter from Paul to the Ephesian believers, we usually skip over most of the words to see who is Paul addressing: Ephesians.  Okay, now on to the meat of the letter.

But, if we are going to zoom in a little closer and carefully consider each word as Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones is encouraging us to do in his sermon series on Ephesians, then we must stop and see that there is something much bigger here than what is visible in a quick glance.  

We are seeing something profound here: a statement of who we are as believers!  These few, brief introductory words highlight some keys about who we are at the very core before the Lord.  Let's take a look at each piece of this picture Paul is painting.

1. Saints
Paul is addressing this letter not to every single person in Ephesus, but to the SAINTS in Ephesus. 

What is a saint?  What does that word mean?  Who are saints?  Many people back up right then and think they can't be a saint because they feel average in their struggle to live for God.  Surely, a saint is a "special" Christian of some kind.  

But, let's look a little more carefully at the word.  Saint means "holy," which means “set apart."  So, a saint is someone who is set apart from the world, but also set apart FOR something:  for a specific purpose and for a specific relationship.

Would that apply only to a select group of Believers?  No.  Every Believer, every person who calls on the name of Jesus for salvation is set apart for God.  Which means every believer is holy, a saint.  Even the new, struggling believer.  Even the weary, doubting believer.  Each one who persists in following Christ, is a saint.
 
2.  The faithful
 
Paul doesn't just call the Believers "saints" but also refers to them as "the faithful." 
 
The faithful.  This has layers of meaning.  Literally "faith" and "full"... we are those who are full of faith.  We are full of faith in Christ, believing in Him.  ALSO, we are faithful in the sense of committed, loyal, or unswervingly devoted.

3. In Christ Jesus
 We are those who are "In Christ Jesus."

We are faithful in Christ, but we are also simply “in Christ;" we are those who are found abiding in and trusting in and leaning on Him.  Our lives as Believers, our very identity comes from knowing that we are in Christ.  Our identity is wrapped up in Him.  We now belong to Him.  We truly are not our own.  We have been "redeemed," bought back from the bondage of slavery to sin and we are now "owned" by Christ, our Redeemer. 
 
Stopping to consider and tear apart each of these phrases fills my soul with strength. Paul and the Holy Spirit who inspired his writing intended this letter to be for all Believers everywhere. 

So, put yourself in these terms.  I am a saint.  I am set apart for relationship with God and for His purposes.  I am faithful.  I am full of the gift of faith that only the Spirit can give.  I am true and loyal to Jesus and by His grace I will endure in my faith until I see Him.  I am in Christ Jesus.  I belong to Him.  I am hidden in Him.  I am abiding in Him (John 15). 

This changes the way I think about myself and makes me confident in my identity in Him.  I don't have to be confused about who I am.  I am a saint; I am faithful; and I am in Christ Jesus.

Worship:

What a beautiful time of fueling as we gathered on July 29!  Ginny Wall graciously led us in a time of worship together.  Ginny, if you don’t know her, is a soft-spoken person who loves Jesus deeply and has a beautiful folksy style voice.  She knows many Scripture songs and whenever she sings, it brings a peaceful atmosphere of God’s presence.  She was singing at this particular meeting about the Lord being a consuming fire and asking Him to ignite our hearts.  Through the songs she had chosen as well as her spontaneous singing to the Lord, we were singing about surrendering to the Lord and inviting Him to have His way in our lives.

I love these worship times and the opportunity to lift Jesus up together with others as well as the opportunity to be still and listen for what the Lord is speaking.  It’s awesome the way He will highlight something to different individuals during worship that He will weave together throughout our time together that confirms what He is speaking to each of us.

I had this experience as I knew the Lord was speaking to me personally about learning to really listen for His voice.  After worship, Matthew shared a passage from Kings about Elijah hearing the voice of the Lord not in an earthquake or a fire or a great wind, but in a still small voice.  This confirmed what I was sensing from the Lord that I need to learn to be STILL and just BE with Jesus and learn to discern His whisper. 
 
The Teaching:
Matthew reviewed what we talked about in June: Beholding the Lord!  There is a door standing open in heaven (Revelation 4) and that indicates an invitation to COME UP and see the One seated on the Throne.  He said that all we talked about last week was worth repeating because God has continued highlighting this message even since our gathering in June. 
Since that Lampstand gathering, Matthew shared the same message again at a church in Mooresville.  He and I also both had dreams in the same week about beholding the Lord.  In his dream, he was speaking at a conference and knew he needed to talk about Psalm 27:4 and beholding the Lord.  In my dream, I was also speaking to a gathering of people on a VERY high platform (about 50 feet or more up in the air) about seeking the Lord (the high platform would indicate that He is elevating this message in a pronounced way!).  Then more recently, he had another dream about a blue sheet we use at prayer containing “Hymns of Revelation” which are songs and pictures in the book of Revelation about Jesus, broken down into phrases so they can be prayed.  In the dream, he was praying from these prayer sheets and the words were being projected onto a dry erase board l and the letters were becoming BOLD and then the words were growing in size! 

Through these various encounters, the Lord is highlighting to us that it is truly critical to “behold Jesus.”  To fix our gazes on Him and be transformed because gazing on Him in love changes us. 
He felt like all of this, particularly the latter dream, was a challenge to go deeper in the word of God and to enter into a prayer journey with the Lord.  He quoted Skip Cone’s prayer from TRIHOP the previous night, “Open the natural mind of man and interpret the Scripture for us!”

We listened to a brief exhortation from Julie Meyer who has been with the International House of Prayer in Kansas City for many years and is a lovely worship leader, mother in the Lord, and prophetic singer.  In her message she was exhorting people to sing the word!  Singing the Scriptures over our own hearts transforms us and gets the word written deep within us as it becomes a tool to encourage others!

Response:
Our response time was worship, and in this time Ginny shared a song she had written from an experience she had when she lived through a hurricane in Florida.   She also led us in a Scripture song from Revelation, “The Spirit and the Bride say come!” This was a powerful time of agreement with the Lord and asking Him to encounter us in His word.  Also, asking Him to prepare and fuel our hearts for the “storms” we may be facing either on a large scale as a nation or in our individual lives.

Last month I shared about the Lord highlighting the theme of “Beholding the Lord” to both Julie and me. For some of that story, read Beholding the Lord for a little background to this blog.

It is clear to me the Lord is directing us to “Behold Him,” yet I struggle with practically how “beholding Him” would be fleshed out in my life.  Is there some specific aspect of Him or His word that the Lord is wanting me to focus on? It can seem a little overwhelming what to concentrate on. I am already in a couple other studies, and I want the time I have available to spend to count. Since I wrote the last blog, I had another dream with more Scripture in it regarding the subject of “Beholding Him” that answered some of these questions about specifics.

In the dream I was looking at some blue paper with specific passages from the book of Revelation on it. I knew immediately that it was a sheet titled “Hymns of Revelation” that are often available as a resource for people on our Friday night meetings with the Tri-Cities House of Prayer.  This is a collection of verses that either describe the character of God or are a proclamation of praise and worship. In the dream, I was looking at those blue sheets and then the verses would appear on a large dry erase board. Certain words would be highlighted (either appearing in bold print or becoming enlarged).  For example, the word “throne” would appear larger and bolder. When I awoke, I knew that it was an invitation to me to study these passages, even searching out meaning of phrases and words. But it was an invitation not to just study but to talk to the Lord and worship Him while I study.

Recently, at one of our Tuesday prayer meetings, I prayed through one of these passages on the microphone. Taking the description of God the Father and Jesus from Rev. 1:4-8 and asking for the Bride of the Tri-Ciites to have a greater revelation of who God is, I experienced the unction of the Holy Spirit!  As I prayed, I was receiving faith to believe for what I was praying, and there was greater boldness on my words. Oh, how God likes to breath on His word!

Then yesterday, I listened to a message by a man named Gary Ham from Times Square Church in New York City, entitled “Behold the Man.” Because of what the Lord had already been highlighting about “Beholding Him” I was interested in listening and I was greatly impacted, even weeping over the simple message about fixing our gaze on Jesus.  To listen to that teaching (I strongly recommend it!), CLICK HERE.

As I share all this I want to encourage you with three specific things:
 1) There is a journey that God wants to take each of us on that leads to greater and greater encounter with Himself.
2) He wants to strengthen us in His word and breathe life on His word so it becomes LIFE to us!
3) He is inviting us to BEHOLD HIM and experience life transformation and fascination. WOO HOO!