Triumphant Reality

I don’t live in this reality.

I live in the Reality of my Father in Heaven. I don’t belong here.

I belong to my Redeemer who became a servant upon earth but rules from all eternity. When I live in this world, despair, self-pity, and fear flood my soul. When I lift my gaze to my Heavenly Bridegroom, joy, hope, and assurance pour into my heart. My mind is refreshed and renewed with Faithful Promises from Scripture and the sweet, gentle voice of the Holy Spirit.

He is in me. I am not my own (I Corinthians 6:19-20). I don’t belong to myself any more than I belong to the world or people like me. I belong to a Risen Savior, a Resurrected Christ who never sinned and didn’t stay in the grave. He defeated death and the fear of death for me. Hallelujah! “Oh, death where is your sting? Oh grave, where is your victory?” (I Corinthians 15:55).

I don’t belong here. I walk in flesh and blood, but this body is a garment that I’ll one day put off and exchange for immortality (II Corinthians 5:1-4). In the meantime, my spirit is being rejuvenated every day, transformed into the glory of God as I throw open wide the doors of my mind and heart to Him—His Presence, His Truth (II Corinthians 3:18). Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). He is a Person, and He is passionately pursuing intimacy with every person He created.

The Bible says, “Let all those rejoice who put their trust in You! Let them ever shout for Joy because You defend them. Let those also who love Your name be joyful in You. For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous. With favor You will surround him as with a shield” (Psalm 5:11-12).

Do you hear the exuberance in that? The utter triumph? David is rejoicing with all his might—David who brought down Goliath and hid from Saul for years before he was anointed king. God fulfilled His promise, but David learned to worship when nothing was going well. His wife and children were stolen, his men wanted to stone him, the Israelite army pursued him. How could he rejoice? What was going right? His relationship with God! His favor! His anointing! David believed in the faithful love of God, and he rejoiced in it!

Even later in his life, after he became king, circumstances seldom went smooth. He fell to temptation, his favorite son rebelled, his other sons were slain by an older brother. His land was plagued by an angel of judgment when he became proud and numbered the able-bodied men. God was moved by David’s heart, though, and forgave him and intervened time and again. And in the midst of it all, David praised the Lord. He LOVED the Presence of God. He knew that in God only were joy and pleasure found (Psalm 16:11).

David lived in a reality above the earthly realm. And he learned how to worship in the very middle of disaster and touch the Father’s heart. He knew how greatly the Father longed to fellowship with him, and he recognized rightly that the blood of animal sacrifices could never take away his sin. Rather, a broken and contrite heart releases mercy from the heart of God (Psalm 51:16-17).

Jesus said, “I Am”(John 8:58). He is the Reality Today that we’re called to abide in. Abide: Make our home, dwell, rest, remain. Why? Because He is the safety we crave. He is the Joy, the Peace, the Delight, the Freedom, and the Strength we desperately need.

We look for pleasure in sex, material possessions, games, and addictions. We look for strength in intelligence, body building, and weapons. We look for peace in compromise, control, and global treaties. But none of these things satisfy. Why? Because we were made for more. More goodness. More holiness. More glory than this world can imagine or ever offer. Only Jesus can.

All we have to do to receive these precious gifts is embrace His reality. Really. Just walk in. His arms are open and all the hosts of Heaven are holding their breath…

Waiting.

Identity in Christ: Heart Transplant

Becoming a child of God can happen in only one way: We must receive a new heart.


Jesus said that we must be born again in order to enter the Kingdom of God. He said very specifically, "You must be born of water and the Spirit." (John 3:3-6)


Ezekiel prophesied this occurrence in the Old Testament. As a prophet of God, he declared God's promise: "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit with in you. I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them."(Ezekiel 36:26-27)


The prophets Jeremiah and Isaiah made it clear why a heart transplant has to take place. "A man's heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked." (Jeremiah 17:9) "Our righteousness is as filthy rags."(Isaiah 64:6)


The Apostle Paul states clearly, "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new." (II Corinthians 5:17) Paul explains further that none of our attempts to earn heaven will ever cover up the sinful nature inherent within each of us. Nor can our good works even begin to compare to the holiness of God. (Romans 3:19-23)


Therefore, God offered a once-and-for-all solution: the death of Jesus on the cross as payment for our sins AND a complete DNA change: sin-riddled heart and dead spirit replaced with pure heart and spirit breathed alive by the indwelling presence of the Spirit of God inside us upon the moment of rebirth. (Ephesians 2:1-5)


Jesus promised to those who embrace Him, speaking of Himself and the Father, "We will come to them and make our home in them." (John 14:23) He declared irrevocably, "The Spirit of truth...dwells with you and will be in you." (John 14:17) The Apostle Paul declares the same truth after Jesus' resurrection, "Having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance." (Ephesians 1:13-14)


This heart transplant guarantees a new identity: Child of God (Romans 8:15-16). The Apostle John, who lived longer than any of the other disciples, rejoices in this amazing identity change: "How great the Father's love that He has lavished on us that we should be called children of God!" (I John 3:1)


Here then is Daddy's heart: That everyone who cries out for the mercy and covering of the Cross will receive a complete heart transplant! Jesus paid for it with His own life. The Holy Spirit performs the surgery and remains within us as the Absolute Guarantor that the surgery "took". He executes a complete coup on the enemy: delivering us out of the Kingdom of Darkness into the Kingdom of Light! (Colossians 1:13)


How amazing that the Father took full custody the moment, we said, "I want You in me!" He didn't just temporarily set up house to see if we mean it, which would put us back under the works of the law, because now it'd be dependent on our actions again instead of simply our cry for His mercy (Galatians 3:3). Rather, as soon as that cry for mercy bursts from the heart, He snaps His fingers and says, "Done! It is finished! The whole price was paid for every sin past, present, and future, and I'm never backing out of our deal. I'm taking that old sinful heart out right now--this instant--and giving you a brand new one. And I'm thrilled to live within you and begin the process of renewing your soul, so that your will, mind, and emotions will grow to reflect My new nature in you." (Romans 12:1-2).


I know there are some people who debate whether a person can lose this new identity, this new heart, and one's place in God's family. After all, there are many Scriptures that urge us to examine ourselves to make sure we are truly in the faith (II Corinthians 13:5). Paul spends several chapters in his epistle to the Romans explaining why we must not continue deliberately sinning, saying that it's not a big deal because we receive God's payment and forgiveness. His payment was His own life!!! (Romans 6) Not only was the payment extremely high and must be received with deepest humility and gratitude, but purposefully sinning brings us back under its power. Refusing to submit to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, who will always lead us into Godliness and holiness, opens us back up to the torment of the enemy within our souls (Matthew 18:33-34, I Timothy 1:20).


These verses give severe warning and appeal to our new spiritual DNA. Unbelievers must receive a revelation from the Holy Spirit to turn from self-righteous sufficiency to full dependence upon the redemptive work of Christ (II Corinthians 4:3-4). Scripture also warn us as believers not begin to think we need to earn continual infilling of the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul writes the entire letter to the Galatians to combat that heresy. We receive the Holy Spirit by pure grace, and He remains of His own great love for us--Praise God!!!


We humbly yield our lives to Him, and never is our efforts the cause of our salvation, godliness, giftings, or empowering. Obedience and salvation are both EFFECTS of the new identity we have as Children of God!!!

God's Heart for His Church

Dear Friends,

How amazing to be writing to you in the area of prophecy. Many of you have known me for years and have walked with me through hardship and adversity. I hold no ministry position, no prophetic office, yet the Lord speaks to me, at times in visions and analogies, which need much help with discernment to understand; at other times in words that He speaks plainly, to my heart and face to face (Exodus 12:6-8, John 15:14-15).

For those of you who are uncertain about the validity of claiming to hear a prophetic word from the Lord, I share quickly Amos 7:14-15: “I was no prophet, nor was I a son of a prophet, but I was a sheepbreeder and a tender of sycamore fruit. Then the Lord took me as I followed the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go prophesy to My people Israel.”

Concerning myself, the Lord says, “You are not prophet, you are bride.” This reflects the promise spoken in Acts 3:16-18: “It shall come to pass in the last days says God that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants and on My maidservants, I will pour out My Spirit in those days and they shall prophesy.” A bride listens to her husband’s voice and responds wholeheartedly to His smallest whisper, even as sheep listen to their Shepherd (John 10: 3-5). How wonderful to know that everyone of us who believes in Jesus, our risen Savior, is also His Bride (Isaiah 54:5, John 3:29, Revelation 19: 7-8)!

I’m writing to all of you now because of several words I’ve received that are much bigger than me. As I’ve trembled and sought the Lord concerning them, He has said this to me: “When a farmer hits oil in his field, what does he do? He calls for the big oil rigs to come, otherwise the oil sprays over the field and hurts both animals and grain. Without the skills and expertise of the oil riggers, the oil cannot be contained, refined, or distributed to those who need it. When will the big oil rigs come? When they are summoned by those who have struck oil.”

I do not know what this black oil is in the Spirit, only that in the natural world oil is turned into kerosene and gasoline for fuel for both private and corporate use. So I am sharing these words and visions with all of you because I sense strongly in my spirit that the Lord is giving them for His Church on a worldwide scale. When I pray, “Lord, heal our land!” immediately the Holy Spirit says, “The land of the Church is the world.” Please join me in prayer concerning these visions as dear friends in the faith whom I greatly respect and love. I am so excited about all the Lord is doing in us and through us--our individual lives, our fellowships, and the world.

January 6, 2012

The first vision is this: I am standing at the edge of a great forest. Fire has consumed the sacrifice upon the altar near me, and I take a burning ember from the ground. I stare at the forest, and the Lord says, “When an ember is not sufficient to draw attention, it is time to start a fire. Let it blaze and consume the forest, these great oaks planted for My righteousness. Let the fire blaze out from the edges into the deepest parts, leaving no tree untouched, fanned into engulfing, wild flames by the wind of My Spirit. Let the fire declare My great glory, My jealousy for My people, My burning passion for them. For I am a consuming fire, and My glory I will not give to another.”

The next word is similar to one He gave me over a year ago, but I didn’t have the strength then to speak. Now I’m sharing so that we might lift up our churches and fellowships together. The Lord said to me: “My Church is selling bottled water. They have bottled it up from the springs I opened for them years ago, but now the water is going stagnant and in some places has even become contaminated and polluted. Oh, My Church, open up your veins again and let My fire run through you! I tell you, now, in this day, I am going to do a new thing. Where there has not been clear, fresh water, the people have begun to slip back into atrophy. But I am stirring up My passion and My zeal as before. I am coming into your midst, and I am burning up for you like a mighty man. Behold and watch the new thing I will do—I will burst forth fountains of water in the backyards of ordinary men and women. I will shoot forth My water out of the ground in the individual prayer closet and small group gatherings so that My Church will again become alive. Yet I have not forgotten My oaks, planted for My righteousness. Yes, I would spare you too, so repent and cry out for the latter and former rains once again. Then My fire will burn but not destroy the great forest of many generations, which has declared My glory. My Spirit will burn as He did in the burning bush, and the trees will blaze with holy fire yet not be consumed. And then My Spirit will be well-pleased. Yes, I Myself will rejoice exceedingly and be greatly glorified. This is My word for My people. Oh, My people, hear Me!”

I also saw a wall—a great wall, the wall of Berlin, which came down many years ago. I said, “Lord, this wall is torn down.” Then He showed me that towering walls still exist in the hearts of His people, one group against another. He pointed at the wall, commanding in strong warning, “Tear down the wall. Tear it down with your bare hands in the power of My might. Do I not have the right to give to one group the faith to suffer and to another group the faith to stand in healing? These walls are not of Me, nor the accusations, fears, shame, and jealousies that exist in the people whose hands built the walls. Repent and reach out to those who are weaker than you. You who have great faith, would you condemn your brother who has only a small measure? Have I not given to him the faith to stand as well as you? Why do you boast about what you have not earned? Are you not all equal in My sight? Is not My blood alone the way of access into My presence? Who are you to set up boundaries and laws and decrees that are not of Me? Offices of prophet, apostle, teacher, and shepherd are all very well, but today I say this: I will come into your midst as a consuming fire if you do not repent. I am coming into the homes and fellowships of My Church as Her Husband, and she will be My Bride. There will no longer be any distinction between one who is appointed into spiritual office and one who labors alongside children or who kneels to repair kitchen sinks. I am Almighty God, and I am zealous for My Bride. I am zealous for her with great zeal, and it is My fierce intent that she become One once again.”

Even as I go to send this email, the Lord is opening before me a word that sends me to the floor, weeping. I share it now from the very depths of my heart, and I believe from the Lord’s, though of all the words, it is the most disturbing. Please seek the Lord concerning its meaning in your personal life since it utilizes incredibly sensitive and personal imagery.

January 7, 2012

“Oh, Church! Oh, Church! You’re My Bride, but you won’t even take off your wedding garments for Me. Where was the passion you once had to sit and wait for Me to come to you? Where has the passion gone that you once had as a young bride who yearned and ached for the Lover of her soul? I tell you—I want you--body and soul. And don’t just flash your wedding ring at Me. It’s glorious, I know. I gave you the very best. In My passionate love for you, I went all out and splurged lavishly on you, My bride. But now tell me, you who desire My presence, why do you cover up when I come near? Why are you hiding in shame in the closets of the homes I built for you? Don’t you know that the bathroom is necessary and good? But you refuse to enter it, to go into the inner prayer closet and empty yourself out completely of both good and bad. You say, “I’ll hold it; I’ll wait. That will make a mess.” Oh, My Bride, how I long for you to come to Me as in days of old! How I long for you to let me wash you and purge you with the water and wine of My love instead of tightening your sash around your waist. Dearly Beloved, should not a man see his wife? Should not a lover see his mate? But you have hidden yourself from Me in the folds of your righteous acts and well-meaning intentions. Enough! I’m overturning the temple tables once again—the long banquet tables you have set up in your souls and your churches between you and Me. I kneel beside you, but you don’t even slip off your chair to cradle My face in your hands as you did in days gone by. I yearn for you, but I must cut up your food into tiny pieces for you to digest. Ask, therefore, for the apples and raisins of our first love that the wounds within your stomach might heal. Ask for love and I will give it—the sweet, honeyed wine of My presence. See how I long for you!

“And so I am doing a new thing, a thing to astonish and horrify the proud and self-righteous, the ones who have not dealt with their hidden sins and outrageous lies. I am stripping Myself down and walking among you naked. Yes, I am coming among you utterly naked with not even a loin cloth on, and I will fight for you as a berserker in the days of old, clad only in the zeal of the Lord of hosts. Do you doubt this? Look in My Word and see. See for yourselves the Mighty Man I have vowed to be when My Church wanders in her heart from Me. Have you prayed for revivals? Good! I am glad that you call out to Me to come again with a downpour of My Spirit. So know this—I will surely come, but not until you have thrown off your linen garments for Me. Yes, even your good reputations and righteous deeds which I have given to you. I want it all—I want you! Make an altar—pile up the stones, pour water over the wood. Call out to Me as Elijah did. Call out to Me before all the world and tell them—The God who answers by fire is God! Would you discard your reputations for Me? Surely I discarded Mine for you when I hung upon the Cross at Calvary. Will you cease selling bottled waters from My wells? For surely, I see what you do and it greatly displeases Me when you charge your neighbor to drink from My fountain. Do you know what I speak of? You charge them a visit to the bathhouse, a change of garments, and a scented bottle of ointment to come see Me. Oh, My Church! NO, NO, NO!!! I want the poor, the unclean, the naked, the abused. I want the dirty, the ragged, the boisterous, the maimed, the ugly! Don’t charge them to enter My dwelling place! Fling open the doors and let them come! I am telling you now, if you do these things, then, then heaven itself will not be able to contain Me. I will burst open the floodgates of heaven upon your families, your little ones, your fellowship gatherings, and your fields. I will pour out such blessing that there will not be room to contain it! Test Me now in this and see, see if I will not do all that I have said. Lest when you walk in your proud finery, your wedding robes that you donned for Me, your enemies come and strip you naked and mock you before the eyes of all. But you were made for Me, Beloved. Your nakedness is for My eyes alone. Only come to Me. Let the pretenses fall, the good works and reputations you depend so heavily upon. Cry out to Me, and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things which you did not know. Cry out to Me and I will water the vineyards with My presence and gush forth in every valley My overflowing springs. For I am the Lord!!!

“And now I say to you who have courage, to you who desire to take heart: Strip away the soiled garments clinging to you that they might be washed in pure water and I will give to you the robe of many colors—the beautiful radiant colors of the soul when you are purified and healed and made whole. For this is the garment I want: the beautiful gown of light that exudes from a soul in which I dwell without restraint. Then you will walk before Me naked and not be ashamed. Then you will go out before others to fight with Me and will be invincible in the mightiness of My Spirit. Not armor or weapons of flesh but the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. Do you not know what David did when he was offered the armor of another? He would not put it on.‘How can I fight like this?’ he asked. And so he went to face the giant with only his staff, his sling and stones from a brook, but I was with him. I was valiant within his soul, and he stirred up his passion for Me like a lion. So do not be afraid, you who yearn for My heart. Walk in boldness before Me, depending upon Me and Me alone to be your refuge and salvation. Will I not open the windows of heaven and rain down upon your land? Better than that, I will most surely walk among you, and I shall be your God and you shall be My people.”

Scriptural basis: Genesis 2:25, I Samuel 17:38-47, I Kings 18:21-45, Psalm 45:10-15, 68:7-11, Proverbs 28:1, Song of Solomon 2:4-5, 7:9-13, Isaiah 42:12-13, 59:6, 15-17, 64:1-6, Jeremiah 33:3, Ezekiel 14:4-7, 16:8-14, Daniel 12:3, Hosea 2:9-15, Zechariah 3:3-4, 10:5, Zephaniah 3:14-15, Micah 1:8-12, Matthew 5:40, Luke 14:13, 21-23, John 2:14-17, 3:29, Romans 13:11-14, I Corinthians 6:13-20, Philippians 2:5-11, Hebrews 4:13-16, 5:12-14, Revelation 3:17-22

How I love you all! May all these words stir up within us passion for the Lord to have His way in our lives, our hearts, and our churches, and may we see revival come!!!

All my love and prayers, Ayrian

Scriptures that accompany the January 6 words:

The Lord's jealousy and consuming fire: Luke 12:49, Isaiah 64:1-2, Amos 7:4, Zeph 1:18, Isaiah 10:16-19, I Kings 18:21-46, Song of Songs 8:6, Hebrews 12:28-29

Mighty Man and Roaring Lion: Isaiah 42:13, Hosea 11:10-11, Jeremiah 25:30, Zechariah 10:7-8

Wall of Division: Ephesians 2:14-18, I Corinthians 1:10-13, 3:3-11, Romans 12:3-8, 14:3-23, Hebrews 11:30-12:2

Selling Bottled Water: Jeremiah 2:13, John 2:13-17

New Fountains of Water: John 7:37-39, Acts 2:17-18, Isaiah 43:18-21, 44:3-4

Rain: Acts 3:19-20, Hosea 5:14-6:3, Psalm 68:7-11, II Chr 6:26-27, 7:12-14

Bride/Unity: John 17:20-24, I Cor 12:12-13, Ephesians 4:3-7, Revelation 3:19-22, 19:7-8, Hosea 2:16-23

Grace Like Oxygen

As a mom, I’ve changed a lot of poopy diapers, cleaned up a lot of messes. Very young children must eliminate waste the same as the rest of us; they just haven’t learned how to control when or where. They also aren’t able to clean up the mess they’ve made, so moms, dads, caregivers—we do it for them. We wipe bottoms and wash vomit from faces because we love them and understand that our toddler’s body is just doing its job: getting rid of unwanted elements. That’s how bodies stay healthy.

God has also designed our souls to eliminate waste, to reject the harmful substances we swallow. But like little children, sometimes we don’t know how or where to get rid of the waste. Hurtful words spill out of our mouths onto others; bad attitudes create messes nobody wants to clean up. But God does. And so do other loving, mature Christians who understand that “closet-time” must be learned. As we grow in our Christian walk, we discover that God is gently training us to expel our frustrations, self-pity, and angsts in time alone with Him. In the quiet of His presence, He helps us identify the things that harm us, eliminate them, and wash our hearts and minds anew in the cleansing water of the Word through the power of His Spirit.

As with physical children, if proper and private elimination of soul-waste is not learned, friends and family begin to express concern for their loved ones who are not progressing toward maturity. A pervasive illness of the soul often occurs from the intake of a toxin or from an untended wound that turns to gangrene. The soul warns us of its unhealthy state through symptoms that bubble to the surface, showing up in bouts of bitterness, anger, self-pity, and lack of self-control.

When we are not experiencing Christ’s peace, joy and love in our lives, do we submit to checkups from loving friends and family to help discern the reason for their absence? Can we accept others’ insights if they share concern about symptoms of illness? Even more, do we accept the medicine provided by the Master Physician, the Great Lover of our souls who sees the exact reason for our illness?

His truth “divides between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12) How wonderful to know the Counselor who never misdiagnoses a trauma, never prescribes a wrong medicine, and never turns His back no matter how nasty the smell and sight of our souls’ gangrene may get!

Jesus, thank You for loving me enough to peel back the bandages of works that I slap over wounds I don’t want others to see. Thank You for exposing the injuries inside me to the pure oxygen of grace so that infection loses its dark power. I praise You for the oil You pour over my heart, burning into my very core as Your love destroys the lies that contaminate my trust in You. And I bless Your name, precious Savior, for the price You paid so I can be laid upon a bed in Your Father’s house and receive the fullness of Your loving care!