September 12; Day 61; Psalm 61; RESERVED INHERITANCE

Key Verse: “For You have heard my vows, O God. You have given me an inheritance reserved for those who fear Your name.” (v. 5)

Key Theme: Acknowledgement of God’s start to finish faithfulness.

Key Descriptives of God: Rock; Shelter; Strong Tower; Heritage Giver.

We have a short Psalm with no precise context today. The wording of it—“prolong the kings life” (v. 6)—would imply it was later on in life. David seems to have no actual matter of need to be addressed but is reciting the faithfulness of God. He speaks of “WHEN my heart is overwhelmed” lead me to the Rock (v. 2)—and how God HAS BEEN a Shelter and a Strong Tower from the enemy (v. 3). If the tenses in the chapter have been properly translated it is almost as if David is praying a forward-thinking prayer for something he does not yet need. In doing that he declares an ahead-of-time, “I will trust” (v. 4). There is value in learning from everything David did.

LEAD ME TO THE ROCK

This chapter is always special to me because the one song my dad did write called “Lead me to the Rock” came out of verses 2 and 3. We sang it throughout Peru in Spanish as well—as that is where we lived at the time (I was a teenager). When my dad passed on in 2005 he was honored as the man who brought the things of the Holy Spirit to the nation. He died and was buried in Peru. He was always a rock of strength himself, and I remember almost being surprised that this would be a song from him. It seemed like some of the other “needier” people might more identify with needing Him as “Refugio” (shelter in Spanish) and “Torre Fuerte” (strong tower in Spanish). You know, strong believers like my dad didn’t really need Shelters and Strong Towers—I thought. Later on after a few “storms” of my own I better understood that my dad’s strength was not his own but came out of his Shelter. The “Lead me to the Rock” line is so key as well, as it showed David had discovered that getting rid of whatever “overwhelmed” him was not really the issue, but that finding Him as the Rock was always the “cure.”

RESERVED INHERITANCE

From our key verse 5: “For You have heard my vows, O God. You have given me an inheritance reserved for those who fear Your name.”

This and verse 6 “span the generations” show us a David-thinking legacy and having been assured of it in some way. We now know he for sure received that blessing, but it is possible at that immediate time his children weren’t exactly doing him proud. Absalom and Adonijah weren’t an initial encouragement that he was releasing a legacy that would “span the generations.” By Jesus Himself being called “Son of David” we know his legacy only progressively increased in the coming generations. Part of maturing is realizing we are not just living and contending for ourselves but for our children—and their children, and their children, and their children. Natural inheritance is great, but spiritual inheritance is so much greater. My parents, being faith missionaries their whole lives, had nothing to leave us in the natural. However, what they left of spiritual inheritance has been immensely more valuable, and I still feel its strength and rewards.

MY VOWS

One of those mysteries I want to inquire of David one day is to explain about his “vows.” Throughout the Psalms he will speak of “performing his vows” and he never specifies just what they were. It seems they always had to do with giving thanks or praise to God publicly, but little else is told us. Obviously he, at some point or points, made some “deal" with God that if God did such and such that he would do his part. Over and over he will make it clear that he is still “performing his vows.” This was not unusual to do in Old Testament times, as we saw that as well from Jacob, vowing to give 10% of all if the Lord would have it go well when he re-encountered his brother Esau. In general the scriptures do not encourage making these kind of vows, and especially so if there is any chance of not keeping them—but here David even connects some aspect of his inheritance from God being tied into those vows. As it shows us in the last verse of this chapter, some of those vows were daily. I neither recommend nor don’t recommend David’s vowing, but it is another of his unique realities not to be ignored. Like I said, there is value in learning from everything David did. Public acknowledgement, thanksgiving, and praise of God was a repeat theme and focus for David, as was doing so exuberantly. There is something not insignificant in all that as well. Today, as we continue to allow His face to shine upon us may we receive and secure for the future reserved inheritances.

September 13; Day 62; Psalms 62; POWER AND LOVE

Key Verse: “O my people, trust in Him at all times. Pour out your heart to Him, for God is our refuge.” (v. 8)

Key Theme: Becoming secured in God.

Key Descriptives of God: My Salvation; My Defense; My Refuge; My Glory; The Rock.

What a most appropriate chapter for these times. All of 2020 has been a storm of sorts, but the last couple of days have been particularly rattling. We have three children, a spouse, and a grandchild in California and have been sent picture after picture of the most incredible scenes of fires and darkened skies. We have good friends in Oregon and the fires there have been astonishing. The ANTIFA component of fire-starting, even with drones, only adds to the insecurity of it all. California passing the most horrible law imaginable (SB-153) only adds to the swirl of trouble. It would be very easy to just agree with releasing judgment on California and the West Coast— unless you have any discernment at all :) It is a relative handful that are the “gates of hell” and why would we side with them in their destruction? It is clear to me that California is being brought through the “eye of the needle” into a great day. But until that “great day” this Psalms 62 is a securer of our hearts. I will go right to the key verse, “O my people, TRUST IN HIM AT ALL TIMES. Pour out your heart to Him, for GOD IS OUR REFUGE.”

YESHUA!

“I will wait quietly before God, for my VICTORY comes from Him. He alone is my Rock and my SALVATION.” (v. 1, 2a) 

4 times in this chapter David will call the Lord his VICTORY or SALVATION. All 4 times that word in Hebrew is YESHUA, which is the word for JESUS. We have known to look to Jesus as our source of eternal or future salvation, but He is to be looked at as our present salvation as well. He has always been Emmanuel, meaning “God WITH us”—and not just “God going to be with us.” Yes, the fire, the violence, and the mayhem seems random, but God is greater than “randomness.” A pastor from Oregon showed a picture of his town totally burned down except for his untouched church—and that picture is emblematic of what God can do. If you did lose a house He was still YESHUA for you as He helped you escape. If you also lost your life, you don’t care, because you are then reading this from heaven and YESHUA took care of you that way. YESHUA has three ways He is always able to save us, and I list them in the descriptives of God. FROM something (My Defense), THROUGH something (My Refuge), AFTER something (My Glory). This is our confidence and how He becomes our absolute Refuge. We can TRUST HIM AT ALL TIMES because the one constant is He is the God who is THERE.

WAIT QUIETLY

“Let all that I am wait quietly before God for my hope is in Him” (v. 5). WAIT QUIETLY is also in verse 1. The word “wait” here is DAMAN in the Hebrew and it also means “be silent, be dumb, grow dumb"— by implication, “to be astonished.” This is a very real WAIT for our day. It is a “wait” because we are astonished at all that is going on and astonished at all the unknowns. The “deep state” is clearly in panic- mode as the take-down of the ages is taking place and they are unleashing hell as they go down. Let me assure you—they are going down. They will not rule us anymore. God is not about to abandon His great rescue operation any more than He was going to let Israel be overtaken by Pharaoh—after having initially led them out of Egypt by hand of Moses. The “chariots” that are chasing hard after us to re-enslave us will soon be stuck in their own mud and drowned by the "Red Sea” of Yeshua’s blood that was shed—that we might be FREE. The “wait quietly” for us is “be astonished—in confidence.” Remember, the children of Israel and their first Passover because we are STILL in Passover 2020. Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horses are everywhere—but they soon won’t be. Our HOPE is IN HIM. He is rescuing us— but like them we don’t just remain in our tents but move when He says move.

THEY PLAN TO TOPPLE

“So many enemies AGAINST ONE MAN—all of them trying to kill me. To them I am just a broken-down wall or a tottering fence. They PLAN TO TOPPLE me from MY HIGH POSITION. They delight in TELLING LIES about me. They praise me to my face but curse me in their hearts” (v. 3 and 4).  

Has there ever been a more applicable verse for what President Trump is enduring at this time? I am sure during Pharaoh’s day that his advisors all spelled it out for him as well. Just take out the 83-year-old (Moses) and this venture into freedom is over for these “slaves.” They couldn’t take out the instrument of deliverance for that day—and the enemy still can’t take out God’s instrument of deliverance today. HE who begins a good work FINISHES what He starts. Whether it was Moses, Joseph, Gideon, David, Elijah, Esther, or Daniel—God’s deliverer always finished his or her deliverance assignment. Of course, our confidence is in God—but to ignore that God always uses instruments for His deliverance is truly ignorant. Don’t be ignorant 

 TRUST GOD, but recognize His instrument. If your car broke down on the highway and you prayed to God to rescue you, you would not refuse a car stopping to help just because you “trust only in God.” You recognize what and who He has sent to your rescue and thus cooperate with your own rescue. I am continually amazed at how many believers are still dulled to who President Trump is because “he doesn’t act presidential” or some similar goofball reason (sorry :) ). Come on show some discernment. This “deliverer” may talk or tweet more than you like, but the deliverer of that day (Moses) couldn’t even talk at all. He only wished he had a Twitter account.

POWER AND LOVE

The last two verses of this chapter say something very important.

“POWER, O God, belongs to You. Unfailing LOVE, O Lord is Yours.” 

POWER AND LOVE are both His, and BOTH of these are what He is now going to reveal in this new era as never before. The Hebrew word for power is OZ (interesting word) and it means “strength, might, power, boldness, loudness.” God is exposing “the wizard of OZ" who with smoke and mirrors and shadows has been controlling the people with fear. God is ripping down the curtain on “the deep state wizard” and after our initial “rude awakening” at who was there and how he deceived us, we will progress into a Great Awakening. He is barely known as the God of Love and almost totally unknown as the God of Power—and I am talking about even in His church. That is all about to drastically change. His LOVE testifies of His POWER and His POWER testifies of His LOVE. They cannot be separated anymore in any discussion of who He is. Get ready for encounters with both.

September 14; Day 63; Psalm 63: THE KEY OF DAVID

Key Verse: “My soul follows hard after thee; Thy right hand upholds me” (v. 8).

Key Theme: The Key of David at its’ best.

Key Descriptives of God: O God; My God; Helper.

Our 67-day journey is winding down. It has been surreally awesome. Though we have decided to turn this into an ebook (available in October) it will always miss the comments and interaction on Facebook which has been a highlight for me as well. I read at least scores of your comments every day and they are life-giving. Today’s Psalm is so appropriate for being the first day of the last week on our journey. Friday sundown begins Rosh Hashanah, otherwise known as Feast of TRUMPets. Psalm 67 will be our reading of that day.

THE KEY OF DAVID

Years ago I asked the Lord about what “the key of David” was. Was it that he was a shepherd, that he was a warrior, that he was a king, that he was a worshiper? The answer I received was that DAVID himself was “the KEY of David.” Like a real key you have many niches and grooves and he had them all. Study David to get “the key of David.” We have been doing that this summer and getting the full picture on him. Psalm 63 perhaps condenses it best, and “the key of David” is compressed into 11 powerful verses.

O GOD; MY GOD

“O God, you are MY God” (v. 1). So much here. First let’s establish that this Psalm is probably written one of the times David was on the run (“But those plotting to destroy me...” v. 9) and so is in the wilderness of Judah (no conjecture here). This chapter would be amazing if he were mighty King David and regally ruling from his palace—but it is not, and that is what makes it even more “the KEY of David.” This is David under the contradiction of circumstances. "O God, MY God" is powerful. “O God” is a God not too familiar and made in our own image. There is awe and understanding that you interact with the Creator of the Universe. MY God still makes Him personal. People who easily personalize God often are TOO familiar with God. People who see Him too Majestic often can’t personalize Him. In the first niche of David’s “key” we see both AWE and PERSONALIZATION. It's a key component.

EARLY

“Early will I seek You” (v. 1). The second niche of his key, we hear of this repeat theme of David. He has previously told us he “awakens the dawn.” Nothing legalistic here, but David is just letting us know he finds it important to set the tone of every day by seeing HIM first. Like Caleb, see the grapes before seeing the giants and then the giants are in perspective. Bread. Imagine the discipline to be on the run for your life and this is still how you choose to start the day. This seeming discipline is a niche on the key. It unlocks things.

GAZING AT HIS POWER AND GLORY

“I have seen you in Your sanctuary and gazed upon Your power and glory” (v. 2). David in the desert and on the run still has access to His sanctuary (QODESH—“holy place”). It is easier to find that secret place if you go for it before looking at the daily news or your own daily planner. David is then going to especially seek to gaze and focus on His POWER and His GLORY. What you focus on you make room for. Even the mysterious quantum world shows we activate what we magnify. In other words, what seems tiny and hard to see, when magnified exponentially, suddenly blinks on and is reality. David immersed himself into God’s POWER and His GLORY. He dug deep to understand each, and as he did, it would “blink on” for him. In the desert, on the run—but saturated in His power and His glory by reason of intentional focus. There is another niche or groove on David’s key.

BETTER THAN LIFE

“Because Your lovingkindness is BETTER THAN LIFE” (v. 3). 

He calls the discovery of His power and His glory BETTER THAN LIFE. He is not just saying that. His life is genuinely at risk, but David has already decided that he has already encountered what is better than even living. What a sustaining grace that is to encounter Him at that depth.

THE RICHEST FEAST

“You satisfy me more than the richest feast. I will praise You with songs of joy.” (v. 5) Wow. Before David even starts his likely-to-be-troubled day (think facing an IRS audit; or your child is facing a sentencing, etc.), he stays with God until he knows he has “feasted” on who He is. As we have earlier read, he is then likely to pull out his harp, and right in the desert praise Him with songs of joy. Praising while contradicted—now there is an important niche on that key of David. This really unlocks things.

MEDITATING TROUGH THE NIGHT

“I lie awake thinking of You, meditating on You through the night.” (v. 6) 

I really relate to David here. This is actually my primary way of receiving revelation. I awaken and know He is there, and so I just think about Him—and meditate on Him. It is not a discipline, but just a desire. As the next line says, “Because You are My Helper…” He just helps everything. I find that those times with Him in the night don’t subtract from my sleep. In other words, my body gets the same rest when I am awake thinking of Him as if I were asleep. This is more of that key.

FOLLOWING HARD

Our key verse: “My soul follows HARD after thee; Thy right hand upholds (secures) me” (v. 8). 

I went to the old King James Version on this one as I love the language here of “my soul follows hard.” This sums it all up. None of the above are from a to-do list. They become things that happen when you follow HARD after God. Nothing legalistic here. The Hebrew word used here for “hard” is DABAQ. It means “cling, stick, stay close, cleave, join to, catch, adhere, to be glued.” Figuratively “to catch by pursuit.” In Genesis 2:24 where it says a man will leave his father and mother and CLEAVE to his wife, it is that same word DABAQ. David got so used to doing this while things weren’t so challenged that when he was challenged it was still what he did. His peaceful shepherd days became revisited as the Lord made him “to lie down in green pastures” in the midst of a dry desert on the run.

LIARS WILL BE SILENCED

This is the last line of this chapter. It comes right after “all who trust Him will praise him.” It has many applications. The devil is the ultimate liar and always talking whenever we are in a moment of trusting God. “Hath God said?” or, “Did God really say?” is his lead-in lie. Follow HARD after God and just don’t quit following hard, and you will find the devil’s voice silenced in your own life. In the last three verses here, it’s also easy again to see a present-day reality associated with President Trump. “But those plotting to destroy me will come to ruin” (v. 9) is surely something applicable and coming about. In my Bible notes, I already had written the words FAKE NEWS underneath the last line of “liars will be silenced.” Part of whatever David was facing involved dealing with “liars”—and we know that is the great battle of today through the media as well. As we come into the Feast of Trumpets may a Trump-blast silence them. For each of us, may this key of David silence the enemy’s lies in our own lives. His face is shining on us.

September 15; Day 64; Psalm 64; BUT GOD HIMSELF

Key Verse: “But God Himself will shoot them with His arrows, suddenly striking them down” (v. 7).

Key Theme: David seemingly in an identical situation we are in.

Key Descriptive of God: The God Who Suddenly Shoots Down Evil.

Good Morning Saints! Today we have a chapter that I don’t know could ever have more resonated with our own reality. In fact if we didn’t have our present reality to apply to it, this Psalm would seemingly be barely relevant, other than verse 1—with its always relevant “Preserve my life FROM FEAR OF THE ENEMY.” Let’s address that first and then get to the core message.

FEAR OF

David already knew he was protected from the enemy but here asks to be preserved from the FEAR OF the enemy. Isn’t it something how that happens? Once we are in heaven’s perspective we will look back and realize that better than 90% of our battles on earth were the FEAR OF something rather than the something itself. Based on an initial challenge, the enemy will have presented before us worst-case scenarios, and that is what really sucks the life out of us. In 2020 almost everyone has been faced with the FEAR OF Covid, the FEAR OF losing a job, the FEAR OF going bankrupt, the FEAR OF civil war, the FEAR OF evil actually triumphing in our world, etc. The FEAR OF the “what if’s” has ruled us in so many ways, and what a great prayer to say to God “Preserve me from the FEAR OF…” That is the pandemic of life itself and the pandemic gone turbo in 2020. We submit to crazy things because of the FEAR OF. Overwhelming data shows that it is senseless and useless and even more dangerous to wear masks for an extended period of time to protect from Covid—  yet the whole world, like dumb sheep, bows to the FEAR OF (I know, sometimes even when you are not “dumb sheep” you have to mask just to do business). It has been massively manipulated by the enemy through sinister Media and Government, but believe me—by this time next year, we and the whole world will look back and collectively shake our heads at how we allowed FEAR OF to cause us to lose our brains. The enemy is “great" primarily through his manipulation of fear. We truly have almost nothing to fear—but fear itself.

PLOTS, TONGUES AND GANGS

Verses 2 through 6 almost perfectly describe matters today. David says, “Hide me from the PLOTS of this EVIL MOB,” and, “GANG of wrongdoers.” 

“They sharpen their TONGUES like swords”…“aim their BITTER WORDS like arrows”…“they shoot from AMBUSH at the innocent, attacking suddenly and fiercely”…“They encourage each other to do evil and PLAN how to set their TRAPS in secret”…“As they PLOT THEIR CRIMES, they say, WE HAVE DEVISED THE PERFECT PLAN.” 

Does this about cover what we see and what our president sees? The media “tongues”—the deep states “plots.” ANTIFA’s ambushes and their mutual encouragement in it is all covered by these verses. But very good news for us! Psalm 64 is going to be prophetic for our day and it is why the Lord has it in our reading for the last week of “The Summer of His Love.” The next two verses (v. 7, 8) stop doing free commercials for the devil and now tell about our God. I really like God-commercials.

BUT GOD HIMSELF

I love those three words! “BUT GOD HIMSELF—will shoot them with His arrows, SUDDENLY striking them down.” Can we pause, do a jig, let out a yahoooo, and celebrate just the declaration itself? Oh yeah, the enemy has a FEAR OF coming that will be followed by the TERROR OF REAL CONSEQUENCES. The enemy has NO DEFENSE against fear and has GOOD REASON to fear. History has taught them that against God they NEVER get the last laugh. They may laugh early in the game, during the middle of the game, or even late in the game—but NEVER when looking at the final score. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, "He makes EVERYTHING beautiful in its time.” 

"If it ain’t beautiful, it ain’t over”—that from our Papa’s own mouth. Yeah, a lot of us have some games in the 3rd or 4th quarter that don’t look good—but “it ain’t over until its over!” Our God loves to come in and save the day (sometimes it seems He EXCESSIVELY loves to do that :) ). He seems to have a “Messianic complex” :). 

MEDIA THAT BOOMERANGS

“Their own tongues will ruin them,” (NLT) or, “He will make them stumble over their own tongue.” I think that is where we are right now. BOOMERANG time on the enemy and on its “false prophet”—the mainstream media. Our God is going to make them eat their own words. This too gives Him particular pleasure. “All who see them will shake their head in scorn” (v. 8). Their polls on everything are about to give great cause for “scorn” from ALL. 

ALL MEN SHALL FEAR?

“All men shall fear, and shall declare the work of God; For they shall wisely consider His doing” (v. 9). Suddenly the only good fear will be rightly restored—the fear of the Lord. As it says in the NLT, they will “realize all the amazing things He does.” This is not a fear brought on by a despot, but a fear that is the amazement at a plan gone right. Ours and the world’s proper God-view is restored not because He slammed us with hurricanes and devastated us with earthquakes, but because He so brilliantly takes down the enemy. Our formerly masked mouths will become agape with awe—and then praise. This is straight ahead for us. Our God had it played out for us in the Super Bowl (for those not too “spiritual” to see it) where the commander (quarterback) of the Chiefs led a 4th quarter drive to defeat the team from the San Francisco Bay Area. Ultimately, a rather comfortable 11-point win. Our Commander-in-Chief is sounding His Trump (our human Commander-in-chief) and leading a shocking 4th quarter rally. Our God had it played out early in the year in a football game watched by the masses so that we wouldn’t all have to bite our nails the whole game. Even deceased prophet Bob Jones told us years ago to watch with anticipation a year when the Kansas City Chiefs would win the Super Bowl—but many of us still have no nails left. Oh well.

THE GODLY WILL REJOICE

Last verse. “THE GODLY will rejoice in the Lord and find shelter in Him. And THOSE WHO DO WHAT IS RIGHT will praise Him.” This is our “end game” for 2020. The “godly” rejoice and then even all who “do what is right” praise Him. There are those who know they are His (“the godly”) and there are those who don’t yet know they are His (“those who do right”), but are drawn towards “what is right.” They are still connecting the kingdom dots that lead to the King—but what plays out will greatly assist them on their journey to Him. I believe this whole Psalm to be a powerful prophetic word for our day. May the anticipation of it all cause your face to shine with His shine and then spread like a good wildfire.

September 16; Day 65; Psalm 65; RIVER OF GOD 

Key Verse: “You visit the earth and water it, You greatly enrich it; The river of God is full of water; You provide their grain for so You have prepared it.” (v. 9)

Key Theme: Revival, Reformation, and Harvest!

Key Descriptives of God: God of Our Salvation (Victory, Deliverance, Jesus).

I am seeing the amazing God-setup in how our 67-day journey concludes. Yesterday’s Psalm 64 was so prophetic and relevant, and now these last 3 chapters are all fascinatingly prophetic. Almost as if specifically written for us in 2020. Psalm 65 begins with the word PRAISE and ends with the word SING. In between is an awesome feast of promises from our God and we will just have to skim it for time’s sake, as there is so much. Here we go.

YOU WILL PROVIDE ATONEMENT

“As for our transgressions You will provide atonement.” (v. 3)

  This is just pure revelation that David had somehow received. The order of the day was bringing sacrifices and burnt offerings to atone for one’s own sins. David had prophetically seen God Himself making provision for our sins in Jesus. What insight he had into the character of God that He would ultimately ask for nothing that He didn’t also provide for.

FESTIVITIES AWAIT US

“What joy for those You choose to bring near You, those who live in Your holy courts. What festivities await us inside Your Holy Temple.” (v. 4) 

I see this verse telling us two things. One, that God who provides atonement (Jesus) for us then has heaven for us with “festivities” awaiting. Two, this was a present reality for David and why he so saw and lived in “the age to come.” Throughout the Psalms, there is enough language to leave us concluding that David frequented heaven. He understood it as a sovereign choice of God to allow him to be brought to His presence—and that perhaps later in life it was so much so that he felt as if he were LIVING in His holy courts. If there is one thing we receive from David it is permission and passion to pursue God, His presence, and His power at seemingly unavailable levels. Ripping lions with bare hands, running unscathed through troops, leaping over walls, chasing a thousand, beholding the beauty of the Lord, the festivities of His Holy Temple, etc.—these are all partaking ahead of time of heaven’s realms of possibilities. There is no door of heaven withheld from him or her who relationally will pursue HARD after God. We are usually satisfied with His hand, when His face is still available. No guilt or shame, only a notice of more. Many “unknowns” find the David levels. Most of us so need everyone around us to know when we have made it to His front yard and so never get to His den. Applause of man satisfies our aching sense of insignificance and so we don’t even see Him at the front door beckoning us in. New “festivities” await at every level. As David would tell us in Ps. 84:11 NO GOOD THING will He withhold from those who will keep walking into God.

AWESOME DEEDS OF JUSTICE

This is from verse 5, but I had to go to my Spanish Bible to see it said rightly—JUSTICE versus righteousness. 

“By awesome deeds in JUSTICE You will answer us, O GOD OF OUR SALVATION.” 

We see that word “salvation” (YESHUA) again—also meaning VICTORY, DELIVERANCE, and JESUS. Just so powerful. We are all needing to see these “awesome deeds in JUSTICE” for what has been exposed in our day. Our Jesus comes to save the day in every way. VICTORY and DELIVERANCE are what you experience when going THROUGH something and are not synonyms for ESCAPING something. He is the “though I walk through the valley” Savior and “awesome deeds in justice" only satisfies if you get to live in the aftermath of it. David confirms all this with the second half of the verse, “You are the HOPE of all the ends of the earth.” Yes, He is the ultimate HOPE but He also is such a HOPE “in the land of the living.” A story for another time, but it is from here our daughter Justice Hope gets her name.

CLOTHED WITH POWER FOR THE MOUNTAINS

“Who established the mountains by His strength, being clothed with power” (v. 6). The full God-narrative continues. The 7 mountains of society connect to the 7 spirits of God and the 7 blazing flames of fire around the throne. This is the stage for the display of His rainbow-colored beauty. He has nuanced beauty and power for every mountain. He is Savior but expressed as Communicator in Media, Papa in Family, Creator in Arts, Provider in Economy, Redeemer in Religion, Teacher in Education, and King in Government. He saves us in every way imaginable—past, present, and future. He was, and is, and is to come. We each carry some measure of His image and that is what we “Arise and shine” with when darkness seems intense. Nations will walk to this light in and through us.

SILENCED THE SHOUTING OF THE NATIONS

“You quieted the raging oceans with their pounding waves and silenced the shouting of the nations.” (v. 7) This is prophetically what we accelerate into through this watershed 2020 year. The taming and subsequent reformation of nations is straight ahead. Atonement, Festivities, Justice, the Mountains and Nations. God our Salvation provides ALL of these through who He is. Enough with celebrating Him only as a future Santa Claus. We faint unless we see Him displayed here and now. It is this full display that ultimately satisfies this “shouting of the nations.” HE is the desire of the nations (Hag. 2).

THE RIVER OF GOD HAS PLENTY OF WATER 

“You VISIT the earth and water it. You greatly ENRICH it. The river of God has PLENTY OF WATER. It provides a BOUNTIFUL HARVEST of grain. For so You have prepared it” (v. 9)—Our key verse and how KEY it is. It is why I stated our theme is Revival, Reformation, and Harvest. It is NOW. The River of God has PLENTY OF WATER for all three. We are at the Ezekiel 47 next measuring of that River of God. Prepare for a verse 9 reality. 

“And it shall be that EVERY LIVING THING that moves, WHEREVER THE RIVER GOES, WILL LIVE. There will be A VERY GREAT MULTITUDE OF FISH; because these waters go there; for THEY WILL BE HEALED and EVERYTHING WILL LIVE WHEREVER THE RIVER GOES.” 

Obviously, I needed to capitalize EVERY word of this verse but had to do something to highlight the incoming River of God and the PLENTY water it brings. As it also tells us in Ezekiel 47, this River causes many trees (Oaks of Righteousness) to grow, and the “leaves” on these trees are for “the healing of the nations.” This is a total “full-metal-jacket” description of Revival, Reformation, and Harvest. The River of God has plenty of water and so much so it is incoming as a tsunami. Everything has been shaken, the sea has pulled back (revealing its “swamp") and the tsunami River of God so many have been seeing will soon be the story of 2020. We are still in the contradiction of it all—but the best is yet to come.

YOU CROWN THE YEAR 

“You crown the year with Your goodness, And Your paths drip with abundance.” Wow, this is like a second KEY verse of the day. The Rosh in Rosh Hashanah means HEAD—as in head of the year. It starts Friday the 18th. We have a coming “crowning” now and then another at the end of 2020. Want to know what calendar God uses? All of them. Every calendar He can make an excuse to show up on. Heaven is just a special holiday (holy day) every day. In His presence is fullness of celebrations. He knows we have our calendars set for Rosh Hashanah and are expecting something big from Him. The enemy has an interruptive plan for the holidays as well. Guess who is going to win? Paths that “drip with abundance” are what He has for us. In 2021, all faucets from His throne room will be on. The enemy had a sophisticated, long-planned goal (“conspiracy theory”) of having us all as slaves by 2021. He was laughed at by our Maker. Full derision is next. The River of God has plenty of water. God wins.

September 17; Day 66; Psalm 66; SONG OF AWAKENING

Key Verse: “Come and see what our God has done, what awesome miracles He performs for people!” (v. 5)

Key Theme: A song of definitive breakthrough.

Key Descriptive of God: AWESOME.

The last two days have been particularly special. Reading your comments alone tells what God is doing. The River of God with Plenty of Water is clearly coming in TO us and THROUGH us. So many experiencing tears and presence of our great God. Something heavenly is clearly breaking through. This 67-day journey began as an initiative from God and He is going to leave us in a high place. We started 7/14 to go with 2 Chronicles 7:14 and Luke 7:14. I now see we could add Mt. 7:14 to that. It is about the narrow gateway to life. The narrow gateway is focus on Him. We have been on it for 66 days so far and it has been the path of life.

PSALM 66, ROSH HASHANAH, YOM KIPPUR

This chapter is clearly a post-breakthrough chapter and again seems perfectly placed for us at this time. It has 20 verses as if highlighted for 2020. 66 is a number of completion and this is the last full day before Rosh Hashanah (the Feast of Trumpets)—the Head of the Year. The Bible has 66 chapters. The most prophetic book in the Bible, Isaiah, has 66 chapters, 39 which are more about warnings and 27 which are good news. The connection of 39 books of the Old Testament to 27 of the New Testament is unmissable, though no human orchestrated it. 

In my friend Brian Simmons’ Passion Translation he has titled this chapter A SONG OF AWAKENING and that is appropriate for our journey as well. Tomorrow’s final Psalm 67 is titled A DOXOLOGY in my NKJV. We have been on an intentional and fruitful path and the thousands of you who have joined us on this journey have now become outlets for the River of God flowing through you. It has been a delight doing this with you. I know many are asking that I continue this Psalms journey but we are coming to a finished cycle. After Rosh Hashanah there comes the 10 Days of Awe that precedes Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement). That 10 day period could not have been better set up by this 67-day journey of His face shining upon us. The 10 day period is designed to be one of humility and introspection. We ultimately come under the Shepherd’s gaze as He places His rod of inspection over us and He chooses for us our next pasturing strategy for the year. It is seen as a time when promotions are determined by our Shepherd and I can say with full confidence no one will be disappointed who has been on this journey with us (and yes even if you missed a day or two).

COME AND SEE WHAT OUR GOD HAS DONE

“Come and see what our God has done, what awesome miracles He performs for people!” This, our key verse, sums up this chapter. In our world, in our nation, and in us—He has already done so much more than we imagine. There is evil that has been judged and good that has resurrected that is not yet known by most. Sometimes when both of those matters are in process and even accomplished most are unaware. Jesus died and resurrected and very few knew that it had even happened—especially the resurrection. Yet a major judgment of evil had been finished, and a transcendental resurrection that would lead to a present day reality of 2.4 billion followers had taken place. Even now in 2020 something much bigger than imagined has already taken place. Behind the curtain of obvious we will be shocked at what our God accomplished during this Summer of His Love. We will get progressive viewings as the curtain will be pulled back and we will be invited to “Come and see what our God has done.” Awesome miracles have taken place and are being orchestrated. He is doing this not just for “His people” but “for people” in general. A worldwide kindness from God is in operation. To Him, all are His sons and daughters—and He is ramping up His targeting of them all.

YOUR ENEMIES SHALL SUBMIT

“Say to God, How awesome are Your works! Through the greatness of Your power Your enemies shall submit themselves to You.” (v. 3) This has happened, is happening, and shall yet happen. 2020 is a marker in history and it will not be known as the year of COVID, quarantines, and economic crash, but a year God forced some longtime principalities on earth to submit. Go ahead, say it to God—You are Awesome!

ALL THE EARTH SHALL WORSHIP YOU

“All the earth shall worship You and sing praises to You.” (v. 4) As the progressive “Come and See” curtains become opened for all to see what God has done, we are going to see worship explode around the planet in dimensions never seen before. Impromptu crowds and multitudes will burst with praise for the awesome things He has done. We are entering into a very desirable version of Hab. 1:5: “Look among the nations and watch—Be utterly astounded! For I will work a work in your days which you would not believe though it were told you.” Multi-generational evil is being astounded at how it is being taken out and then a coming good astonishment at what He is doing for us. The praise is already starting but just wait until we actually see what He has done.

LET NO REBEL RISE IN DEFIANCE

“For by His great power He rules forever. He watches every movement of the nations; let no rebel rise in defiance.” (v. 7)  I can assure you that this has never been more true than right now. He is allowing the rebellion of anarchism, socialism, nazism, communism to rear its ugly head—not because it is going to now rule, but because it HAS been ruling and is now being unmasked and beheaded. “He watches EVERY MOVEMENT of the nations.” God has only been dethroned from power in our own minds—but not in reality. Any prayer that we do to make up for the apparent slackness of God is not really a prayer of faith. Faith is a byproduct of seeing a BIG, PRESENT, and INVOLVED God. Prayer meetings devoid of that will just be corporate fear-processing engagements. Prayers of fear don’t really move things. It’s okay though. He knows it has been a tough season for us.

YOU HAVE TESTED US

“For You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us as silver is refined.” (v. 10) Speaking of the “tough season,” here it says it all. 2020 we experienced a full frontal assault from the enemy, but as always, God uses the enemy’s “fire” to accomplish His own purposes. We are being refined as silver. Silver cannot self-refine. Silver can not think better thoughts to refine itself. Silver can not upgrade itself through intention. Only fire refines silver. The fire (and fires) that seem like they are destroying us or our nation are only refining the silver. The fire destroys the dross but only upgrades the silver. This is happening personally, nationally and ultimately it will be globally. America is just the lead domino and then catalyst. He is coming after the nations. They are all loved equally.

YOU PUT A LEADER OVER US

“Then You put a leader over us. We went through fire and flood, but you brought us to a place of great abundance.” NLT (v. 12)  

This sentence also says it all. He put a leader over us. HE is God. The leader is Trump. We have been through fire and even in the last two days through floods. But He is bringing us into a place of GREAT ABUNDANCE. What was prophetically spoken before 2020, shall yet be. 

Now for those following in your Bibles verses 11 and 12 are translated so poorly it can be confusing. Some version of “You captured us in your net” is how verse 11 starts in many translations but the Hebrew word used here for “net” is MATSUWD which throughout the Bible was translated as “fortress” or “hold” more than anything as well as “castle” and “mountain peak.” Somebody didn’t understand which translatable word to use. For our purposes, verse 11 essentially means “You have cornered us into a tight spot and allowed us to feel the oppressive control of what has been ruling.” Then read verse 12 in the NLT and it matches up with our present reality perfectly. In the NKJV “great abundance” is translated RICH FULFILLMENT. Either one is in our forecast. The rest of the Psalm is just a PS that is either obvious or too complex to explain in an already extended devotional. 

Be encouraged. I see already that great angels with trumpets have begun to fill the heavens. Tomorrow they begin to blow announcing a New Year. Surprises are in store for us all. We shift into the Authentic. (for more on that read my word on The Elijah List released today :) )

His face shines upon us.

September 18; Day 67; Psalm 67; ROSH HASHANAH 5781!

Key Verse: “May Your Ways be known throughout the earth, Your Salvation among all nations.” (v. 2)

Key Theme: His face shining upon all nations.

Key Descriptives of God: Merciful; He Who Governs the Nations with Justice.

We did it! We have arrived at our desired destination! We gazed at His face for 67 consecutive days as He asked us to and it was life-sustaining and life-changing. We focused on Him and surprise!— more of Him became flesh in us. Boy did He reward us! No more fear of fear! No more yielding to dread, anxiety, or worst-case scenarios. David modeled for us and gave us his "key" on how to be daily under duress while being daily in YESHUA. Jesus, Victory and Deliverance!

HALLELUJAH ANYHOW!

We enjoyed God and life right in the midst of riots, fires, mayhem, hurricanes, plandemia, wildfires, lies and more lies from mainstream media, being censored on social media, fear porn everywhere, and that not even getting into the personal challenges and contradictions each of you had. We found out things don’t have to be all perfect in order to have peace and joy and hope and love and presence within. What a most valuable life-lesson. So ANTIFA, Marxism, Communism, Nazism, and general evil may not go away quietly, and perhaps are still going to fight back. Well, praise the Lord anyway! As a song I learned back as a kid said—Hallelujah Anyhow! It was a song about “never let the devil get you down,” and when life’s challenges come in “Just lift your head up high and sing, Hallelujah Anyhow!” I think now that it was a more powerful song than I had realized. Arm yourself now with "Hallelujah Anyhow" and you can stay above the dread-line all through the end of 2020—come what may. Psalm 67 will confirm to us that it is the best that is yet to come and not the worst. Everything bad that comes will end up being swallowed up by a much greater and more powerful good—and I mean here IN THE LAND OF THE LIVING. He is the God who delivers us either FROM, THROUGH, as well as AFTER—and so we will not bow to fear and will give ourselves only to raging hope.

PSALM 67

The 67 itself is very powerful. The 2017 eclipse "path of totality" across America, from sea to shining sea, was 67 miles wide and looked like a seat belt when seen on a map. As I said then, it is a Psalm 67 promise over our nation. In 1967, Jerusalem was suddenly and unexpectedly restored to Israel after 2000 years. In 1967 “the Jesus Movement” began. In Bob Jones' vision of Gulliver the giant (“the Body of Christ”) being awakened and arising across the whole eastern half of the United States, he said that Gulliver had been asleep since 1967. That for us, day 67, from 7/14 (2 Ch. 7:14) would take us to the first day of Rosh Hashanah 5781 (Feast of Trumpets), is quite significant. We enter a new day. In the NKJV the chapter is headlined by “A Doxology.” Praise God from whom all blessings flow! We are at the end of something but there is no retreat as we head into the new. In YESHUA we go only from glory to glory.

HE’S COMING AFTER THE NATIONS

12 times in just 7 verses the words “nations”, “whole world”, “the earth”, or “people everywhere” are mentioned. This is what marks this new day in this new year. Nations will shift this year as we have never seen before. We are already seeing almost unbelievable peace treaties and accords take place—and believe me, this is just the beginning. Don’t be one of those who says, “beware when they say peace, peace,” as this has been used by believers to continually sabotage pursuits of peace. He is still the Prince of Peace and the Bible still says “Blessed are the Peacemakers.” Oh yes, the enemy will be working to sabotage peace as he always does, but let’s not assist him. Beyond the recent peace tokens there is just so much good about to be rolled out among the nations that most of us will be in incredulity about it. Wasn’t the new world order just about to take us down? Weren’t we all about to go into next level bondage and death? Well, yes it was, BUT GOD LAUGHED! Then He made a move—and now He is going into full derision, followed by a divine rebuke to the impostor powers. He’s coming after the nations and woe to those who stand in the way. 

MAY YOUR WAYS BE KNOWN

“May Your WAYS be known throughout the earth, Your SALVATION among all nations.” Both of the capitalized words are significant. His WAYS speaks into the Reformation of society. It goes into a Hab. 2:14 reality of the glory of the knowledge of His ways covering the earth as the waters cover the sea. His SALVATION speaks of what we might call Revival. As we have learned the Hebrew word for “Salvation” is YESHUA and it means Jesus, Victory, and Deliverance. It is all a bowl that overflows now and it is for ALL NATIONS. Want to know why it is so intense out there? This is why. He is not giving the nations to Lucifer’s "new world order.” ENOUGH! He is bringing in “new kingdom freedom.” He has always been more about FREEDOM than ORDER. When we finally get that in our churches as well that will be something special. Remember, Lucifer is the author of fear-based ORDER. Where the Spirit of the Lord is—there is FREEDOM. Even God’s "social justice" is about punishing those who violate others' freedoms. Preserving and demonstrating His WAYS on the public stage of the 7 mountains are a next priority. Let HIS WAYS versus Marxism be highlighted and compared before all nations and all people. They will chose HIM. HE is the desire of the nations, both as a person, and as a way of doing things.

LET THE WHOLE WORLD SING

“Let the whole world sing for joy, because You govern the nations with JUSTICE, and guide the people of the whole world.” (v. 4) 

Almost every verse of this Psalm 67 invokes the nations to praise Him, be glad in Him, or sing to Him with joy. It seems so unrealistic apart from the return of Christ huh? Or at minimum “in the millennium” which is the magic dust pan we sweep everything into that requires faith. Whether it gives you cognitive dissonance or not this is directly ahead of us in the KAIROS time of God. What is next is not all final “end-time scenarios” playing out. That is the error of every generation that has missed out on what God had for them. Kingdom DEMONSTRATION is next. Heaven’s SHOWTIME is next. Serving and loving God is going to go global and be very popular. No it is not the end—just what’s next. And it is going to be multigenerational. You are not to plan or process final “end-time scenarios.” That would be giving yourself to speculating. The Jesus-mandate is “occupy until I return” not “speculate on when I will return.” Psalms 18 is next. Isaiah 60 and 61 is next. Much of Hab. 2:14 will happen by a generation or two or three. By 2050 I was shown that 50 nations would operate primarily to the light of the children of God. 

THEN THE EARTH WILL YIELD ITS HARVESTS

“Then the earth will yield its harvests, and God our God WILL RICHLY BLESS US. Yes, God will bless us and people all over the world will fear Him.” (v. 6, 7) This ending of Psalm 67 confirms the above joy among nations will not be just an event but an extended period of time. “The earth will yield harvests.” Plural. Multigenerational cycles of the blessing of His face shining upon us are coming next. The kingdom of God is sweeping in and it is highly disruptive. “The swamp,” the NWO, the illuminati, the “deep state,” etc. are not just all rearing their ugly heads because they are evil. They are in deep panic. They are being massively disrupted right at the execution moment of their ultimate power grab. They thought the God-box was checked off. They had crowned Lucifer ruler of the earth and submitted to all his requirements and he had given them power. God was not to be worried about because His people were so clueless, so easily led into sin, so easily distracted. As in Noah’s days, the “righteous" had again failed the Creator and these evil ones were the new flood. They forgot about Jesus. His blood spilt on earth is what demands attention from the Father. Jesus asked the Father for the nations and He agreed to give them to Him. That “debt” to Jesus is now to be paid. The kingdom is being generated by a pact between the Father and His Son. The earth can never again belong to Lucifer and his past hold was just temporary. The River of God has been measured another 1000 cubits in depth (about a third of a mile deep) as it shows us in Ezekiel 47. This is PLENTY of water. They never thought they could lose. And now massive, desperate panic. They know it now. They cannot co-exist with the next measure of the incoming River of God.

ON YOUR FAMILY AND THEIR CHILDREN, AND THEIR CHILDREN…

It all began with the song “The Blessing” sung by Kari Jobe and others. It is a song that came right at the start of the quarantine. It came together entirely from the Psalms with Psalm 67:1 being a highlight verse. “And cause His face to shine upon us.” It has gone around the world into multiple languages. It carries the heart of our God for us in the midst of a year of great challenge for the nations. There is a reason the line “on your family, and their children, and their children, and their children” was so powerful. This is what He is preparing us for and how He wants us moving forward. Embrace His new script! 

This has been a wonderful journey. You will still hear from me especially after the 10 days of Awe leading to Yom Kippur. We will see what new pastures He has for us all. I feel His love for all of you and I feel my own love for all of you :)

May His face shine upon us as He blasts His trumpet over us today. Remember it is a feast and not a fast.