Rewrite the script

Stories to Inspire

God cannot be contained in time nor limited by time.  God is bigger than time because He made time!  He’s the God who can answer before we even call (Isa 65:24; Matt 6:8).   And since in the Spirit realm there are no space or time limitations, then it’s well within His capability to re-do or rewrite something in our past – and thereby set things in motion to change our future for the better.

Well, a good friend who wants to remain anonymous, had an unusual encounter along these lines.  Her story below serves to enlarge our faith that God is bigger and more unlimited than we imagined.  AND the cool part is that He wants to take US into these unlimited spheres with Him.  He’s freeing us up from being “mere humans”.  He’s untethering us from earth-bound-ness as we learn to ascend… and He’s introducing us to the expansiveness of the non-time and non-localized realities of the Heavenlies.
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Rewrite the script 

“Many years ago, when I was pregnant, I took a prescription drug for morning sickness.  It was discovered years later that this drug caused birth defects and serious health complications to the unborn babies. When my daughter was just three she had to have reconstructive organ surgery.  

“Shortly after she was married, she and her husband wanted to have children.  Earlier, doctors had discovered a congenital heart valve prolapse,  so they decided to do a battery of tests to evaluate her health for pregnancy. For approximately a week, she wore attached wired sensor pads and a monitor under her clothing to track her heart health.  

“One day during that time, quite by surprise, I was overtaken by the Lord.  In the Spirit, He escorted me back to some of my daughter’s early childhood experiences where I had not responded well to her.  One-by-one I relived each occasion.  Instead of having the response I had at that time, I ‘REWROTE THE SCRIPT’!  In each instance, I responded with compassion for her and the appropriate wisdom that met her where she was as a tender-hearted little girl.

“The encounter was uninitiated on my part, yet a very impacting, detailed and vivid experience for me.  I full-heartedly embraced what the Lord was doing through me, for my daughter.  Later, The Lord helped me understand that each of these occasions was a strongly impacting time where fear of surroundings, fear of rejection and fear of lack – found their way into her soul and even eventually compounded the severity of her congenital challenges.   

“Well, after the tests were completed, my daughter called and reported, ‘Mom, the doctors say that the issues that they had seen with my heart, ARE NOT THERE ANYMORE!’” 

“Thank God!  I believe He took me back in time… so that I could REWRITE THE SCRIPT and change the future.  Isaiah 57:15 says God inhabits eternity – and time.  By rewriting what happened in her past, it healed her heart in the present.  The lives of my daughter and grandchildren are living proof that God is bigger than time and He is not limited by time or our past.  He can work within it, or outside of it.  There’s no difference for Him… or for us… if we can just believe it.  That was nearly 12 years ago.  My daughter and son-in-law now have two amazing naturally-born children.  Thank God for His love and goodness.” – JS

— MLH

Leroy acknowledged my greeting

Stories to Inspire

We’ve been researching the idea of involvement with the ‘cloud of witnesses’.  Convincing current testimonies and newly revealed Scriptures shine new light on this once-taboo topic.  Interesting insight: All those who are “in Christ” and have passed through the grave, are not dead… they have been experiencing everlasting life from the moment of their salvation (Jn 3:16).
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Leroy acknowledged my greeting

This week a very dear friend of mine Leroy, passed on into his eternal reward.  He ran a trophy-filled race and is now receiving his reward — Jesus, face to face!  And He’s in the great cloud of witnesses now.  Wow!!!  Within a few hours of his passing, I sent the following text to a close mutual friend.

Leroy & Cindy Metzger

“Awww. My buddies… Leroy & Jesus.  I feel lots of love for Leroy.  He’s in the great cloud of witnesses now.  If you have time to look this way Leroy, Hi!!! Sending you my love.”

Well, something unexpected happened less than 30 mins after I sent that text.  I was out running and met a man on a bike.  He rode past me, shortly turned around, came back and stopped to talk with me.  Unusual!  So I stopped to engage with him.  He was the nicest cheerful and chatty 69-year-old man.  I asked his name and he said, “Roy!”  Before we parted, I asked if I could pray for him.  He agreed and we soon parted ways.

As I walked away, I remembered that just minutes before, I had solicited Leroy’s attention and conveyed my love.  Well, here’s something interesting: Many times I called Leroy, ‘La Roy’ which means ‘the king’ (roy means king).  What are the chances that the very next person I meet in this world, after I just greeted Leroy… is named Roy?

Upon realizing this, I quickly turned and watched the bicyclist in the distance.  He was already out of earshot, but I wanted to call him back because it just dawned on me, “La Roy, you just came to check in with me, didn’t you?  Wow!  Love ya, my buddy!  Thanks!”

Love the Fear of the Lord

Wow!  We’re on what seems like the ride of a lifetime, but I’ll bet that there are even better ones ahead.  Personally, I feel like I came to the Kingdom for such a time as this.  I’ve never been more gripped, more alive, or more inspired.  And frankly, even though I’ve walked with God all of my life, I’ve had more Heavenly experiences and activity in the last year or so, than most of the rest of my life.

David said, “He brought me out into a large place” (Ps 18:19), and that’s what it feels like.  The horizon is full of frontiers that are all begging for radical pursuit and euphoric discovery.  It’s all very invigorating and can be rather mesmerizing.  But there’s much more to this territory than just the rush of exploring the unknown and uncommon.

As we ascend into the Heavenly realms we’re finding ‘territory’ that is not inside contemporary mainstream Christianity.  Interestingly though, much of what we’re experiencing is not something new.  First, it is mentioned in Scripture, but you have to have eyes to see it… and that’s a whole subject in itself.  Second, most of the things we’re currently discovering have been experienced and written about by the old ‘mystics’ – Teresa of Avila, Joseph of Cupertino, Francis of Assisi, Catherine of Siena, and many others.

But my focus today is, that as we venture into ‘wild’ country, we must have much appreciation and even, reverence for the fear of the Lord.  This is paramount because some of the areas that we’re exploring won’t have common safeguards (books, peers, societal norms, etc) to keep us from going off on a dangerous sidetrack… there may be very few ‘police’ to ‘arrest’ us… or mentors to tap us on the shoulder, if we stray.  Avoiding shipwreck will require that our hearts be captivated by the fear of the Lord.

And even though the reverential fear of the Lord hasn’t been trendy to talk about, it is none the less, a vital necessity for every successful and enduring Christian.  Without it, we may be tempted to try to get away with as much as we can before getting into trouble.  For instance; this sentiment, “How close to the edge of the cliff can I play without falling?”… inherently signals that there is very little fear of the Lord in one’s heart.

When we were baby Christians, we had many tutors and caregivers to ‘call our hand’ if we strayed.  There were many people to help us in the elementary ‘rights and wrongs’.  Truth is, we desperately needed those tutors to help us find our moorings and the guardrails for life.  Those tutors served us well.  In fact, Paul affirms our tutors’ value.

But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.  But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. – Gal 3:23-25

When we graduate from our tutors, it is vital that the teachings of the tutors be written upon the tablets of our hearts… and that our current and vibrant relationship with God is poignant enough that our ‘inner governors’ will aggressively ‘arrest us’ if we violate our relationship with Him.

And it’s quite possible that as we continue to ascend, we will encounter frontiers that have no Biblical precedent.  Now I know that sounds sketchy or even heretical, but consider Jn 3:12, Jn 16:12, Eph 3:20 and I Cor 2:9-10, etc.  All of these passages allude to Heavenly things that are not mentioned in Holy Writ.

There may be times when there are no explorers ahead of you.  What will you do in the day that you experience a new revelation… or ‘stumble into’ an extra-Biblical experience?  What will govern over your heart and mind so that you don’t spin out or flame out in some heretical tangential doctrine?  I believe we must be:

1) firmly grounded in the Word of God and His ways
2) keenly impassioned in our relationship with Jesus
3) deeply embrace the reverential fear of the Lord

Here’s a simple and profound quote:

“A healthy fear of the Lord can cure the fear of anything else.” – Leif Hetland

A sad reality is that there will be casualties along the way.  Some zealous sprinters will think they have sufficient grounding to not come under the spell of a ‘shiny new object’… or think that they are capable of weathering any dark test.  But many will be bedazzled by the allurement… and/or succumb to the trauma.  Obviously, this grim fact shouldn’t deter our obedience to Father’s invitation to “come on up here”, but it surely does infuse a serious note of sobriety into the big picture.

Those who ascend… those who explore the mystic frontiers must be motivated by much more than the pursuit of knowledge and goosebumps.  They must willingly and voluntarily delight in ‘bond slavery’ to our most loving and wise Father.  This is the same Father who is ultimately good, delights to exhilarate us and longs to share His ruler-ship with us… and yet… HE IS TO BE FEARED!

We must not forget:

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom…” – Prov 9:10

You see, the fear of the Lord is really God’s gift to us.  It’s an invaluable treasure (Isa 33:6), given to us to establish and secure us through all of life.

This quote captures much of what we’re saying:

“Mysticism at the core is not about knowledge but being a Love Slave.  Like Paul who said “the Love Christ has for me, overmasters me and presses me on every side, leaves me no choice.  The very spring of my action is the Love of God”.  This is the purest form of mystical theology!” – Justin Paul Abraham

So, ‘gird up your loins’ you intrepid explorers, we’re headed into wonderfully epic times.  We have come to the Kingdom for just such a time as this!

— MLH

Transition, Ascension, Dominion… and Beyond!

Heaven’s desire is for us to discover our God-designed reality of being primarily spirit beings.  Dual realities… we still have normal earth lives but are primarily oriented in the Heavenly realm and living out from our spirit man.  And God’s desire has always been to share His rulership with us, from that place.

Take a look at the first mention of man in the Bible.

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion… – Gen 1:26

We can see that God’s original dream was for man to rule… yes, have dominion.  It’s stated even more emphatically in Psalms.

You have made him (man) to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet – Ps 8:6

And then Jesus expresses it in even more broad terms when He sent out the 70.

Behold, I give you the authority… over all the power of the enemy – Lk 10:19

Wow!  That is almost too huge to comprehend!  How can a mere human ever function in this level of partnership with God?  And if we are supposed to, why aren’t we doing it?  Well, I believe that we must learn to re-orient ourselves from earth into the Heavenlies.  We must ween ourselves from our earth-boundness and become familiar with our Heavenly inheritance.

Most of us will need help traversing the distance between earth and heaven (from our soul man to our spirit man).  Honestly, there is not much precedent for it in our society, nor is there much teaching about it in the Church… and there is far less modeling of it.  But there is a grass-roots movement emerging and it’s popping up everywhere. 

But the question is: “So how do I do that?”  Well, with the limited understanding that we have at this point, I’ve created a ‘road-map’ with ‘waypoints’ that are necessary to get to our desired objective.  And what is that desired objective?  It is to become even more familiar with the Heavenly realities… than we are with this natural world.

Follow this sequential process: 

Roadmap from Earth into Heavenly realities

Preoccupation with earth leaves us ignorant of Heavenly realities
Ignorance of heavenly realities leaves us in unbelief

Transition
But unbelief begins to yield to testimonies of those who transition
Testimonies inspire us toward a desire for change
Scripture gives God’s approval and validates that it is possible
Possibility begins to grow into believability
Believability mixed with the hearing of the Word produces faith
Faith, when applied, is expressed in action

Ascension
Action manifests in experimenting with ascension
Experimentation over time becomes proven experience
Experiences over time redefine our new personal reality
Visiting there frequently helps establish our new ‘address’
Our new address is now our new residence
Learning to reside there establishes a lifestyle of habitation
Habitation offers opportunity to develop friendship with God
Friendship gives access to His mind and heart
We learn to speak like He thinks and feels
Adopting His heart and mind leads to union with God
In union, God endorses us with favor in authority
Authority, well adjudicated, opens doors for rulership

Dominion
Ruling well, qualifies us to be granted dominion

Beyond
Exercising dominion well, opens new doors beyond

I’m confident that rulership and dominion are not just carnal graspings for something to elevate ourselves.  Notice that the issues of the soul had to be dealt with during the early stages of ascension.  The forging of character… the testing of faithfulness… and acquiring of understanding were all developed and established early on.

Jesus made Heaven’s protocol clear:

Well done, good and faithful servant!  You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.  Share your Master’s joy. – Matt 25:23

Authority is one of Heaven’s rewards for faithfulness.  At the beginning of this post, we found that it all started and was set in place way back in the Garden when God spoke His dream for you and me… that He wanted us to have… dominion (Gen 1:26).  So, we press in to fulfill God’s big-picture design for us and His joy-filled dream over us.

OK, now that we have a ‘road-map’ to get there, let’s put the rubber to the road!  Ready?  Let’s go!  See you there!

— MLH

First time experience… never to be forgotten

Stories to Inspire

Religion hasn’t done a great job of helping us experience the Heavenly side of our relationship with God.  But a huge door has opened to the body of Christ in the last few years… a door that invites us to ‘ascend’ into the Heavenlies to experience our inheritance, first hand.

Vicky is a wonderful and precious woman of God and when it came time to try something new, she was willing.  And what’s so cool is that God met her at that first gesture of willingness.  Without any mental ‘sweat’ she was immediately taken into her Heavenly inheritance – His Presence.  That kind of Heavenly encounter leaves an indelible impact on our lives… and many times, it’s deeper than we can actually articulate.

But isn’t that just one of so many things that impress us about our Father?  He’s able to change our hearts when our heads don’t even know what happened.  It just makes us fall more in love with Him!
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First time experience… never to be forgotten

“I’ve never had an experience like this before.”

“During an ‘ascension’ meeting with Mark at the Wilderness Prayer Center, I focused my mind on going to Heaven. I had a slight physical sensation of going up… and saw that I was approaching the Throne… and then Jesus came to meet me.  I didn’t see any facial features but just ‘knew’ that it was Jesus.  The feeling of love and acceptance and being completely cared for was the main way that I identified Him.  The ‘greeting’ was very short because as I drew near to Him, I saw and felt something coming from Jesus like liquid love pouring over me and inside of me.  I actually felt it go through me.  Then it seemed to change and it became a waterfall pouring over me, cleansing me completely.”

“It was a simple encounter but very powerful, refreshing and ‘filled my tank’, because I felt so valued that He would meet with me and pour His love in me.  I will never forget this impacting experience, which is now a significant ‘memory stone’ in my relationship with Jesus.” – VN

I believe it now… He told me so

Stories to Inspire

Ascension facilitates us to be where He is.

Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me… – Jn 17:24

Ashley’s experience made a most unforgettable impact on her heart and mind.  After years of prophecies, Ashley now believes her personal value to Jesus… Why?  Because Jesus told her Himself!  Maybe that is why Jesus wanted us to be where He is… so He could tell us personally!  Doesn’t that just make your heart smile?!  Selah!
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I believe it now… He told me so

“I had never experienced an ascension before.  When I closed my eyes and went into the Heavenly realm, I saw a very bright light, the kind where you have to squint your eyes.  As the light got closer to me I could see that it was the Star of David.  Immediately after I recognized that, I heard stadium lights being turned on.  All the lights were shining ridiculously bright… on me!  There Jesus was next to me, just staring and smiling with SO MUCH PRIDE and looking at me like, “I created you, I made you!”  I completely lost it and was crying and actually laughing… so many emotions.”

“I’ve struggled with so many insecurities and poor self-image.  I’ve tried to believe that I am His favorite!  For the past 11 years, He’s used numerous people to give me words or prophesies about me being His favorite.  And although my head knew that He feels that way towards me, I’ve struggled to fully believe it!  I believe it NOW!!!  He told me so!!” – AS

More in love with the One who loves me most

Stories to Inspire

It seems that Heaven’s opening up another way to access the heart and mind of God and the realms of Heaven.  As we ‘ascend’ more frequently, I believe we’ll find that it gets easier, becomes more normal… and we’ll spend much more time consciously aware of our Heavenly reality than our earthly reality (Jn 3:12-13)… of our Heavenly ‘real estate’ than our earthly real estate.   And I’m betting that once we get ‘untethered’ from this world the options are limitless!!!

But where does it all start?  It starts… and ends… with falling more in love with our Lord!

In an ascension, Sylvia’s first-hand encounter with Father God made her fall deeper in love than she ever had before.   But then, that’s the inherent power of an encounter… something transacts into the deepest part of our soul that bypasses the need for our intellect to comprehend it.  Isn’t God good that way?!

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More in love with the One who loves me most

“I’ve never had such an impacting or heart-wrenching experience like this before.  I walked into an area of extreme brightness and immediately felt my Lord’s sweet presence.  As I looked ahead of me there was the presence of Jesus, then I looked to the left and saw the face of my Heavenly Father.  When He looked at me, He smiled so big.  I could see his pleasure for me beaming from his face.  Then His hand reached out to me and I couldn’t stop kissing it, knowing it was the hand of the One who loved me most.  I was touched so deeply that tears flowed freely.”

“I have never seen God’s face with such pleasure for me… or kissed that beautiful hand.  I’m crying again, as I write this account.  It has surely taken me to a deeper place with my Lord.” – SA