Monday, May 26, 2014

Cross reality

the Cross
a man nailed to it... a King... the Prince of peace... the Son of God... suffering the imaginable...
the One who had at His disposal legions of angels in a blink of His eye
but why did He not call them? why did He keep silent? why did He endure?

the depth that He endured is overwhelming in the physical realm but in the spiritual....
Christ, being a part of the Trinity, did not want to be separated from His Father. He did not want to be ripped away from the Father, Holy Spirit, Himself. It was unheard of, unthinkable, impossible to do... but He is the One of impossibility. 
Why did He allow it then?
As much as He did not want to be separated from the Father, He saw it worse for YOU to separated from the Father because of your sin nature. 
He laid His life down- to take on ALL sin- past sin, present sin, & future sin. 
When Christ was nailed to the cross, you were nailed there with Him- Your sin, your sin nature, the old way. When He rose, you rose with Him. Raised to life with Christ, a new life, a new man. 
There is no prayer for salvation. Salvation is believing in Christ as the One who died for you and gives you life. Salvation is walked out, continual process, dying to self, humbling yourself before The Lord  walking in reverence and fear of who He is. 

Christ gave up His full inheritance for you. Not because you deserve it but because He loves you that much. He loves you so much to lay His life, His place in heaven with God, His everything  so that you would be able to come before The Father and stand. So that you could spend eternity with God. 
Risen... Defeated death. Making those who believe in Him and what He did immortal. 

What then is stopping you from giving up things to God? Why are you holding on to things that don't really matter? 
We should be so willing, so addicted to Jesus, to give all things up for the sake of His name. 
Does this mean we quit our jobs and sell everything? For some who are called to do that, yes. But for the rest of us- we need to adjust fire. Readjust our lives. Focus our gaze on the ONLY thing that matters, the only thing that gives life. The cost for your life was priceless, what then will it cost you to get closer to He who gives you life? 

What do you fear more- not having what you think you need or desire, tangible in your hands or life OR not having what you know gave up everything for you to have life? 
This is reality- Christ gave all for you, what will you give up to allow Him to be the priority? Will you return to your first Love? Or will you continue to walk in adultery? 









Your house of vision & peace

Two years ago, James & I had 48 hours to search & find a house in Lancaster, PA, our new home. I had to fly back to Augusta GA to finish up my active duty & James had a few weeks to get out the lodging paid for by Armstrong. We looked at 24 houses in one day & had 4 more to go. We tossed a few houses out off the bat, liked 4-5, & we were getting tired. 
We came to Kauffman road. We looked at a big house that had a shared driveway then we looked at the house 2 down from it. 
As I walked into the house behind the Realtor & James, I immediately had a vision. 

Kids were running up & down the foyer staircase & in & out of the kitchen & backyard, & the living room was filled with people. I knew in that moment that this was it. 
We could stop looking at houses now. 
I kept quiet what I had seen & how I felt about the house. 
Later that evening, James & I agreed on 5 houses that we liked the best. Then the weeding out began. 
We narrowed it down to 2 houses. 
Then 1. 
We were unanimous on the Kauffman house because of the location & resale. 
I finally spoke up about the picture I saw. I immediately thought the children were our children running through the house & it was our biological families in the living room. It was what I desired. 

As time went on, I quickly realized & felt the unrest in our home. Then things began to change as God began to change my heart to how He originally designed it. 
How does this house become a place of peace, rest, love? What needed to change?
EVERYTHING!!!!
I remember one day as I was on my face before God, the revelation came that this is not mine. This house belongs to God. 

Present day... Resurrection Sunday 2014
As I entered the house after letting the dog out, I turned and looked...
children running up & down the stairs, in & out of the back door through the kitchen; the living room full of chairs & pillows for people to sit & hardly any room was left open. 
I was hit with... this is the original vision given when I first walked into the house. 
Oh My Goodness!!!
God- You are amazing how You just fulfilled what You allowed me to see 2 years ago.
How creative You are & how surprising You are. 
They were not my own children by James, nor were they my biological family flooding my living room. 
It was my spiritual family!!!!

Thank You God for using the Johnson home for Your purposes & for Your place of Peace to others & myself. I stand in awe of who You are & what You do.

Isaiah 54...

Thursday, May 22, 2014

heartbeat

Hit with a heavy heart today.
After an interesting conversation with a girl about who God is & what He was saying to her through me, I was hit with the revelation again that I should be praying for the hastening of the Lord's return coupled with that none should perish.
This is the Father's heart.
He desires each one of us- we were each predestined to Him. It is our choice to respond rightly to that predestination.
People are being disillusioned to who God really is. There is light & dark; right & wrong; true & false. There is no gray area with God.
The Enemy is out to kill, steal, & destroy. He is out to create chaos for everyone, but even more so if you believe in Christ. He can come as the angel of light; he can deceive with what appears to be blessings; he will lie and create illusions that God is not true; he knows the scriptures & can use them & twist them.
This is happening all around us. We are just so distracted by the busyness of our day and things that he doesn't have to do much to get us off track from the Lord.
That's how it was with me.
I thought I had life planned. I was independent, smart, self-reliant. I knew what I wanted & I would figured out how to get it. Type A personality who could make things happen. I grew up Christian, was saved, went to college, joined the Army, married, no school debt, I had a plan for my life. I was in control.
HA!
I was crawling with disillusions of who God was to me & about my relationship with Him.
I knew God as my personal Lord & Savior. I knew He died for me & took my sins. I knew what was right & wrong. I was a good person, I helped people, I didn't get drunk too much, I didn't curse all the time, I asked for forgiveness for all my sins after I did them. God was my fire insurance.
I never figured it would look anything like it does now.
God is jealous for me. So when He began to tell me so & show me, my heart began to change. My eyes were opened to who He really was. 
The revelation of Jesus. 
It is the most beautiful thing. To know that the One sent from glory and an unspeakable inheritance from God, willingly came to earth (the ungodly wrenched place it has become) to live life pure and holy, so we would have an example of what it looks like. Knowing from day 1 that He would be rejected, beaten, spat upon, ect... ByHis own family, His own people, with the end result of being sacrificed for each person, for every sin committed, every soul - so that we might share in what He has. So that we would be able to come before the holy God and be looked upon and loved. Through Jesus' blood, He riped the physical veil to create a supernatural veil (His continuous flowing blood over us) so that our Holy Father would be able to see us- complete.  
When you chose Christ, you chose life. You were nailed to that cross with Him. Your old nature, sin natures died. Now the new way- life and light- lives. There is no death for you. There is no reason to live under the hooves of condemnation if you have truly been saved and surrender- learning with each day what it looks like to walk out your salvation.
Christ defeated death for you. Christ took your sin and shame. Why hang on to it? He knows every detail of your sin. He took it upon Himself & dealt with it.
What's next? How do we live?
We live the new life. A new way of thinking, being, acting, existing. Not of the world, just in it. There is no striving for it, no act of good deed, no number of hail mary's... just believe and walk.
Surrendered.
 

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

faith waits

Despair... the complete loss or absence of hope.
How great is the temptation of despair at times. "Your soul becomes depressed & disheartened, & your faith staggers under the severe trials & testing that come into your life."
You begin to hear in your mind... I cant bear this any longer!
God tells us not to despair.
      
So, what am I to do?
When you are physically weak what do you do... lean on the shoulder of a stronger loved one; completely rely on, become still & trust the other person's strength. 
Why do we find this difficult to do with the only One who will always be there, will always be strong enough, who knows why the weakness, who loves unconditionally? 
Tangibility...  ability to be touched or felt
We are so consumed with immediate gratification, feelings & having what we need or want in hand 24/7 that we find it more difficult now to believe; To  believe in what we cannot see... Faith. 

When you become weak through fires of affliction, don't try to be strong... Know that He will sustain you & bring you through the fire.  
A person who is at rest has only achieved it through conflict...
            the serenity & quietness following the storm brings fresh, purified air!
Once the initial shock is over & you look up, you can say, "it is the Lord." 
Faith begins to lift our shattered hopes & securely bind them to the feet of God. The result is confidence, safety, & peace

Mark 9:23 " everything is possible for him who believes"
This does not always come by asking, because God is always seeking to teach you the way of faith. Your training for a life of faith, discipline of faith, the patience of faith, & the courage of faith comes in many stages before the final result. 
When you have made your request to God & the answer still has not come, what are you to do? Keep on believing His Word! 
When you remain unswayed from your stance of faith, even in the view of supposed contradictions to God's Word, you grow stronger on every front. Only through discipline will you then be equipped for the work to which God has called you. Times that try your soul are times of spiritual growth & development. Only He has spoken His promise to work, it is truly hard to wait as you see the days go by with no fulfillment... but wait!



Sunday, May 4, 2014

you are loved

Beloved,
God wants you to know that you are His. He wants you for Himself- as your FIRST love.
A young girl once told me that every other lover would fall away. I had no idea what the meaning behind it was... Until it began to happen!!!!
Commandment #1: love the Lord your God with all your heart mind soul & strength.
"place no other gods before Me."

God as my first love... does this remove completely the love for my husband or family? No... it actually enhances it, brings a freedom or ease to loving someone.
I have only ever known one way to love. This way is how the world says we love. What culture states as the norm. The love is physical, romance, a feeling, happiness, emotions, butterflies... should I keep going?
We have it all wrong.
"Love... is patient, kind, it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud, it is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs, it does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth, it always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. It never fails." (1 Corinthians 13)

Each description is that of Christ. He was all of these things here on earth & remains all these things in Heaven.
If we were to grasp this concept before we began to search for the love from another human or things- everything would be different
Searching for the feeling someone else can give you but always knowing they will at some point disappoint because, face it, we are all human.  BUT
God will never fail you nor will His love for you ever cease!
We were created to love God first.

So how do we manage to not love God first?
idols:
"an image of a deity other than God"
We become distracted with other things... cars, money, jobs, popularity, success, shopping, stuff, people, food, marriage, children, love,  ect...   anything can be an idol.
We begin to depend on these things over the One who made them. 
Why... because we do not stay connected with the Creator of the things we so long for.
We doubt that God will actually provide the things we long for or need or want. 
"no good thing will He withhold from those who seek Him"
God promises time & time again to take care of you- He has plans to prosper you, plans of good. 
He made us in His own image, for His purpose & glory... do we not think the One who created us will take care of the things He made for Himself??
Stop fighting and let yourself be loved by the One who is Love.



Friday, May 2, 2014

reminder...

At the National Day of Prayer tent yesterday, we began to pray for family- spiritual & physical, I was reminded of what the Lord has already done in my family so far.
I grew up in a Christian home, but at the age of 9 my parents divorced. I remember my parents tolerating each other as my brother & I grew up & had events for the families to get together. Realizing there really is no side to take & finally being able to forgive them both, I began to pray differently for them both- waiting expectantly to see what God was going to do.
Remembering back to just short of a year ago- I came home from Austin Tx to find the normalcy of my home in dysfunction. (I will remind you that- dysfunction & confusion is not from God but from the enemy who only seeks to destroy & kill.)
I was shocked at what was happening, the lack of communication, & my flesh was yelling at me to take control. Knowing I was in the least bit of control of the situation except for my own actions, God continued to hold me up.
I hit my knees as I found all of my husband's belongings removed from our room & placed in the guest bedroom. I fell face down before the Almighty, unsure of what was happening & what was coming next. All the while, I felt Him holding me, picking me up, doing the next thing. I was the puppy on the end of the leash in constant dependency of the Father.
My mother knew something was happening, but didn't know how to help being so far from me & knowing that the Lord was present. My mom picked up the phone & made a call to my dad. "Something is happening with April & James. I cant get there fast enough to help them. Can you help?" My dad called me shortly after. "What is going on April?" "Dad, I really have no idea. Everything is changed & everything is in chaos." I heard a difference on the other end of the phone- one I had never heard before. He was on a mission, but what sort?
The next afternoon I received a knock on the door. It was my dad & mom standing at the door. Together.
My dad began praying & covering holy water over each doorway & through the house. He had bread & wine set out on the table, then asked me to fix lunch.
As James sat & ate lunch with my parents & I, the small talk was very awkward.
"So, I need to ask for forgiveness, James & April," said my dad. "I have not been actively involved with your lives & have not been praying for you in the way a father should. I also want to ask you, Evelene (my mom), for forgiveness of all the wrongdoings & unforgiveness toward you for all these years."
"Thank you Roy, (my dad), & I want to ask for forgiveness for all of my faults & wrongdoings for all these years."
I was speechless. Was this really happening before my eyes?
The conversation continued till James had had enough & left.
We facetimed my brother- who was shocked that mom & dad were at my house together.
The 4 of us began praying & praising God for what He was doing.
With tears streaming down our faces- we praised God for restoring a broken home after 20 years. My parents were friends again, & my brother & I felt as if there was a new wholeness that happened.
The Master Creator designed family a certain way & for a certain purpose. It is our own selfishness & sin that creates the disfunction, but I have witnessed what the Father can do to bring His family back to its original design.
Oh to be a member of the greatest family in the universe- the Family of God.
I can attest that God makes all things new- we just have to be patient.