Enlightening Ideas

Dynamics of having a growing relationship with God include the discovery of new dimensions of His character, new aspects of His Kingdom, and new truths hidden in His written word. That which is new revelation to me may also be new revelation to you. Glean from these blog entries whatever fans into flame your desire to live a life set apart for Him.

Comfort in Times of Turmoil

/ Fire Starter for Jesus / Leave a comment
nature texture sugar luxury

Photo by Magda Ehlers on Pexels.com

Enjoy, meditate on, receive encouragementy from, and even memorize this promise for the righteous. It’s so appropriate for  this stormy time in history: Isaiah 54:11- 15.
This morning a scripture came to mind and this evening I heard another read it elsewhere on a prayer call as a promise at this time. So I take that as confirmation this is a NOW scripture for this turmoltious time. Here it is:
Isa 54:11-15 KJV
(11)  O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.
(12)  And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones.
(13)  And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children.
(14)  In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee.
(15)  Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake.
God wants to be your stable place in the midst of the storm. Say ‘yes’ to him. Follow him. Trust him and fear will ease its grip on you. Believe his promises. Yield to his leading. Then you will find his peace. The peace of his presence will surround you and increase upon you as you continue in your direction toward knowing God; this in which you have begun. Your choice will have a postive effect on the generations to come.

Be Transfigured! What?

/ Fire Starter for Jesus / Leave a comment

The Bible could have translated it that way! Instead Romans 12:2 usually reads “be changed” or “be transformed by the renewal of your mind” but they could have written “be transfigured.” It’s the same word in the Greek!

butterfly-4847628_1920

The Greek the word is Strongs #G3339 – “metamorphoo.” Our word metamorphosis is related to it. This power packed word is only used five times in the New Testament and three of those times describe what happened to Jesus during a supernatural encounter when he met with Moses and Elijah on a mountain top in view of three of his disciples. Jesus face shown like the sun. Father God spoke. Jesus’ disciples became terrified and fell on their faces. That’s the word being used! The other two times the word is used, it’s translated as “transformed” and it’s directed toward believers. We are instructed to receive transformation from the LORD.

Let’s expand our understanding of this amazing word. It’s describing metamorphosis of soul; making God’s kids into people of excellence, beautiful, pure and holy; perhaps barely recognizable in comparison with the way folks started out. We’re not talking about just a wee bit of change here and there, a new idea or two. Transformation is to receive an entire makeover; day by day becoming a mature new creation reality, a mature son, more and more displaying the character of Christ, walking out his heart, mind and actions in the way we live our lives.

Continue reading →

Prophecy from God? Today? Let’s Talk!

/ Fire Starter for Jesus / Leave a comment
                          males-2373737_1920
Some folks claim there is no longer a legitimate prophetic gift of God in operation among Christians. They say Christ came and the gift of prophecy stopped right away or shortly thereafter. Have you ever heard or perhaps even yourself said, “We have Jesus. We have the Bible. So we don’t need prophecy any longer. God doesn’t do that anymore.” This perspective is called cessationist and it’s sometimes backed up with scriptures such as the one below.
harold-933746_1920“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.” (Heb 1:1-4 ESV)

Continue reading →

“A Yielded Life” Prayer

/ Fire Starter for Jesus / Leave a comment

Listen on YouTube as you read along.

Somebody posted, “The Other Serenity Prayer,” on Facebook. Feeling a bit poetic and creative, it inspired me to write my own, so here goes. I hope you like it:

human-854005_1920

A Yielded Life

God, grant me eyes to see the love you already have for me, so I’ll stop trying to earn what I have already been given for free.

Continue reading →

Conditions Ripen for Spiritual Harvest

/ Fire Starter for Jesus / Leave a comment

wheat-field-1081803_1920

Listen on YouTube as you read along.

It’s been a drippy wet 2017 so far. Bounteous quantities of rain continue to fall locally and in states where drought had ruled for years.  During dry spells, the ground can become hard like a tabletop. This is especially so, when it sits undisturbed for long periods of time and there’s been little or no rainfall to soften it. Farmers and gardeners break up hard ground using various tools before they plant seed.

watering-can-326617_1280Rain is generally considered a blessing in scripture. In the natural it soaks in and softens ground, giving seed the moisture it needs to grow. Unless the ground is too dried out and packed down; in which case, water runs off and often takes topsoil away with it. Gardeners till the soil, loosening it using simple tools such as a trowel, or a shovel, or a hoe.  Farmers plow ground with bigger machinery to accomplish the same objective faster and on a larger scale. When circumstances are right, soil, moisture and seed combine to produce a crop. What is true in the natural is applicable to the spiritual realm also.

Jesus drew a parallel between human hearts and ground, with the gospel being seed. earth-337123_1280

Over a period of years in the USA hearts have become hardened to the gospel of Jesus Christ, even antagonistic in much of mainstream society. God seems to be working to change the conditions out there to make room for greater receptivity. Societal unrest is apparently shaking up stiff human hearts much like a gardener swinging a hoe breaks up hard ground to dig rows before planting.

Continue reading →

Restoration of Glory ~ God’s Eminence is Imminent

/ Fire Starter for Jesus / 6 Comments

pocket-watch-1637392_1920.jpg

Listen on YouTube as you read along.

During a phone call meeting for intercessors in Lamplighter Ministries on February 22, 2017, Jon Hamill interviewed his guest Bonnie Jones about an event that occurred to her late husband, Bob Jones, nearly 40 years ago. As she told it, the Jesus People Movement of that era was in full swing. Revival was flourishing in America. At that time Bob Jones carried a powerful Presence of God upon him that would elicit a response from folks as he went about his daily activities, even shopping. He walked in a prophetic Samuel anointing where none of his words fell to the ground; in other words, everything he said would actually happen; his words came to pass.

candle-1239970_1920During that season God gave Bob Jones an unexpected, startling, even distressing prophetic word. He told Bob he was writing “Ichabod” across the church in America. Ichabod means the glory of God has departed.  The LORD told Bob he was removing his glory from the American church and disciplining her because church leaders were profiteering from the glory and taking the credit for what God was doing. Church leaders did not have the character to properly steward the fabulous things God was doing. They didn’t give God the glory, so God decided to remove it.

Continue reading →

Mentored by the Best (Who? God!)

/ Fire Starter for Jesus / Leave a comment

 

Listen While You Read by Opening this Link.

father-1004022_1920

 

It is such a delight to watch a little child with his dad or mom. The child carefully observes every move the parent makes with admiration in her eye. Then the child gives it a go, trying to do the task just like Dad or Mom. In a parent–child relationship this type of learning goes on over much time in many contexts. The child learns a myriad of different skills and all in the context of an ongoing committed love relationship. Mentoring is typical of what good parents do. It’s potentially part of our relationship with God, too.

 

Continue reading →

Mercy! Forgiving When It’s Hard

/ Fire Starter for Jesus / 7 Comments

Listen Along while You Read by Opening this Link.

fire-8837_1920

We need to forgive. It sets us free. It’s basic. It’s crucial. It’s one of those MUSTS of the faith. If we want forgiveness we must forgive others. It can be hard. Something important to know:  Forgiveness is not reconciliation. You don’t have to reengage in relationship with every person you forgive. You just need to quit trying to make them pay for what they did. The decision on what sort of future relationship you have with someone you have forgiven, or whether or not to have one at all; that is a different subject.  Ask God for wisdom on that. Remember, forgiveness is about getting free of the past. It’s not about where to take the relationship in the future.  Here are some tips to help with forgiveness:

 

Continue reading →

Be Unstoppable! Overcome Inaction Now

/ Fire Starter for Jesus / 14 Comments

Listen as You Read Along by Opening the Link.

fire-549103_1920

Have you ever read “The Parable of the Bags of Gold,” as it is called in the NIV version of the Bible? That parable suddenly came to mind the other day. With a revelatory jolt, I suddenly realized that you and I have something of substance to learn from the servant who buried his talent rather than using it. The potential danger of ending up like him is more feasible than I’d ever considered.

 

Now, I tend to prefer to identify trouble ahead of time whenever possible, as to avoid it; rather than to race blindly into it. A bit of foresight and purposeful choice making can do a lot to steer us around pit falls, away from dead ends and toward a prosperous result in our lives. Right now, let’s learn an important lesson from the servant who did NOT prosper in the end. Let’s examine our ways and position ourselves for joy rather than for regret on that all important day of reckoning, shall we?

Continue reading →

Influence the KING of Kings

/ Fire Starter for Jesus / Leave a comment

Listen as You Read Along by Opening this Link.

field-601209_1920

Does what you want matter to God or does God just do whatever he’s planned no matter what?  If you believe your prayers are of no consequence to God then you probably won’t pray much. On the other hand, the more convinced you become that you have influence with the LORD of all things, the more you’ll exercise that influence. And the more you exercise your influence the bigger a difference your life will make.

 

In the world’s system we often feel like we’re miles away from the power brokers; so far away that we can’t do much to change things. Not many of us can sit down for dinner with the President of the United States or the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, our favorite Hollywood star or professional athlete. Getting the ear of these kinds of powerful people seems a long way off to most of us. We can conclude that what we want will never get heard by those who can change history. That may be true in the world’s system but it would be an erroneous conclusion to make in the Kingdom of God. Any of us, who care to do so, can develop a relationship with the God of Creation and exercise influence with him to change things for the better.

Continue reading →