Hi all,
One
of the things the Lord told me just this week He is doing in the body
of Christ is a quality of the heart that is so subtle many will
not realize it is the Lord. He said,
The visitation
“Many
are wondering about the coming year, but I am working in hearts to the
degree that many have determined they will no longer chase spiritual
butterflies, but will center in on the core of who they are in Me and
what they believe, and seek out those who have the same spiritual
priorities.”
I
chuckled out loud when He said “spiritual butterflies” because He is the
Master of parables and analogies, and when He spoke a vision of
children running through a field nets in hand, swatting at one after the
other elusive butterflies came up before me, perfectly communicating
what He was saying.
The vision
In
the vision He was watching from the side of the field, the girls with
flower print dresses and boys in jeans or shorts, running around in no
particular pattern, giggling and laughing in a field full of flowers and
grasses roughly knee to waist high. The children were chasing
butterflies in the full sunlight, but were enjoying the chase and
running around with no particular direction as much as the
butterflies, enjoying the zigzags they made in the grass. Some had their
arms out like they were airplanes as they ran, imagining great things
of themselves.
As a
new butterfly came into a child's view they'd break off chasing the one
they had been in favor of running after the new one, and every so often
they'd accidentally hit, and sometimes hit on purpose, another child
and then run off giggling after having done so, enjoying the chase for
the chase's sake.
They
enjoyed each distraction as much as chasing a butterfly - I never saw
them catch one - but they swatted their nets at a few.
What was outside the field
The
field was square and He was standing on the edge of one side, and I was
next to him, but adjacent on the other side of a corner of the field.
As I looked at Him, then to the children, and back at Him, out of the
corner of my eye I saw what was bordering all around the field, and it
startled me.
All
was dark around the field, and there were people with mouths gaping
open, begging for food and water as far as the eye could see, people in
rags looking to the kids for some sort of help or relief, but the
children were only focused on themselves. I was horrified and looked
back at the Lord who's emotionless face caught me off guard.
And then God turned...
Then
it was like He took an unseen action, an action born of a decision
forced upon Him. Some of the children stopped chasing butterflies,
breaking off from the chase as if directed in an unseen way, as their
friends continued chasing butterflies without them, barely noticing they
were gone.
The
ones who broke off did so without a word, and began sitting
cross-legged on the edge of the field, still on the grass but facing
outward, crossed knee to crossed knee in an unbroken border around the
field, and started giving water and food that somehow suddenly appeared
from their pockets, to those on the outside who were directly in front
of them.
The
sitting of the children indicated they were at rest, and what they were
doing was a matter of life and lifestyle out of that which they had in
their possession, and not 'work of the ministry' as the auditorium
church defines it. This is meeting needs from a position of rest and
normal life's activities, taking time and setting priorities to help
those in existing spheres of relationships.
Many
children were still chasing butterflies, that was the amazing thing.
But soon the whole field was ringed with children sitting cross legged,
facing outward, knee to knee, giving water and food to those in rags
outside the field. These children had turned their backs to their
friends who were caught up in distractions, in favor of pleasing the
Lord, who now beamed as I followed His gaze along the sides of the
field, no longer watching the butterfly chasers.
Invisible expansion
As
each child helped a person in need, the field of grass and flowers under
them expanded outward to occupy the space the person in need had just
occupied, so that the patch of darkness now became a living field in the
full sun. For as their needs were met each one stood up and crossed an
invisible threshold as they stepped onto the field, their rags becoming
clean fresh clothing like the other children's as they did so.
Amazingly, these adults who had been in rags, as they stepped across the
thresh hold were restored to childhood and even younger looking than
those who helped them, some were about the same age.
Then
each one turned and sat down next to the person who had helped them,
for the borders had just expanded which made more room of course, and
together they each started helping another person in need, and so on and
so on until the field was growing exponentially with increased speed it
seemed. Yet at the same time, the pace for each person was very normal,
at the speed of life, routine almost, yet the overall affect was
exponential growth of the field and numbers in that field.
After the vision
And
after a few seconds, it disappeared and it was just He and I again. He
said the coming year will see many who have been chasing spiritual
butterflies break off from the distractions, even breaking off
friendships, knowing they can no longer be that way. He said 'Notice
that each child only had to care for the person in front of them, which
represents a person or people already in their life."
In
the Lord's eyes, many of His people are little children while thinking
themselves mature, enjoying the various distractions and the latest news
from heaven, or at least marketed as such. And He is so gracious He
will do what He can, because the people running after the distractions
often truly need Him, so He does what He can. But it isn't necessarily
an endorsement on a minister or ministry, nor sign of a new move of the
Spirit - it is just His graciousness to His children in action. He made a
donkey talk after all, so He will use what He can to meet needs.
Why many have had a year of emptiness
He
went on to tell me that it was necessary these children realize their
emptiness as they went about chasing spiritual butterflies, and that
this year has been a year of emptiness and lonlieness for many in His
body, but that the coming year will be notable for the maturity it will
bring to many.
He
commented that the many leaders over the last year who have died, and a
few in the next couple of months who will die, as well as those who have
resigned as part of that turnover He had mentioned last summer and I
have talked about since, was needed. The cumulative effect is that that
many feel leaderless, causing them to realize their immaturity and
causing them to turn to Him (finally), directly. He said, "Some of
those who have been distracted with other things are now being
distracted with Me, and not only distracted, but consumed with Me, which
is how it should be."
He
said that while many have wondered what is wrong with them that they
feel so empty as they find themselves lacking distractions and leaders,
it has been needful for they would seek Him directly no other way. Many
have thought they were following the cutting edge only to discover they
were deceived.
How He ended the visitation
His final statement shook me and stays with me:
"There are many who have discovered they
don't really know me. They believe and are born again, but they don't
know Me. They have discovered some of what they think they know about
me is incorrect, but they are only now turning their hearts away from
those distractions to get to know Me and walk with Me. (and many are
asking how to do that)."
He gave me some instruction on what to teach in the first half of the coming year, and then disappeared.
Chris’ room
– It is functional, slowly gathering the material needed so we can call
the framer and tile guy in to finish. We’ve got all the doors needed,
and once we get the wood trim they can finish some ceiling and tile
work, hang doors, and then we can start looking at carpet for the hall
and Barb’s office…progress! The next item is fashioning a double sink
cabinet for his bathroom with the right sink able to roll a wheelchair
under – that has to be custom made, so we are saving for
that.
The
biggest change is the ease with which I can care for Chris. I don’t
have to lift his 180 pounds out of the old bath tub, he just slides into
the new one directly from his wheelchair. The new doorways are wide
enough I can roll him to bathroom and bedroom, instead of me grabbing
him from behind under his arms and walking him through the doorways, a
bit sideways and hitting our elbows because they weren’t wide enough.
You just don’t know how thankful we are, and some of you have helped us
in this change to our lifestyle. It is SO much easier on me and Chris,
thank you so very much!
For us
– Barb is more than ready to be done with the remodel that started in
May, and we both need to be able to put the boxes we had to put things
from that end of the house in to be removed from our bedroom and put in
place – we have a path through a canyon of boxes! I’m just tired. As the
network has grown, so have the Skype and regular phone calls. Most
people want/need to talk 30 to 90 minutes, and I can only do 1 or 2 a
day. Any given morning has me talking or Skype instant messaging with
leaders in 5 or 6 nations and the topics range from needing money to
theological questions to health related to persecution and talking in
code – Not a complaint, just a report of an average morning. I’m looking
forward to recharging the next 2 weeks.
Thank
you for remembering us in your prayers and giving - know that each
prayer request whether received by mail or email, is prayed for, and you
all are prayed for daily.
Merry Christmas!
John and Barb
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