Let the Lion Rise in You! =)

Stand By Me!

♫ When the night has come

And the land is dark

And the moon is the only light we'll see

Oh, I won't be afraid

No, I won't be afraid

Just as long as you stand, stand by me

If the sky, that we look upon

Should tumble and fall

All the mountains should crumble to the sea

I won't cry, I won't cry

No, I won't shed a tear

Just as long as you stand, stand by me ♫

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah" (Psalm 46:1-3) *A Call for Intercession*

For Spring break I was at my sister Yvonne's house in Anaheim then I was about to leave for my other sister's house in Murrieta when I passed by the printer and this caught my eye. The Kenyan flag hoisted and the American flag down, lying beneath it. Yvonne's house always had the Kenyan flags and I had seen Zoey playing with the American flag with Trevor and I guess she left it there. Actually the night before I left we were talking about the end times -- Yvonne had actually initiated it with her hubby's sister who's a christian but didn't know about rapture then I joined in their convo. Anway, back to the story, so the first thing this 'vision' triggered is a movie I had watched last Fall, "Olympus has fallen"[Synopsis: When the White House (Secret Service Code: "Olympus") is captured by a terrorist mastermind and the President is kidnapped, disgraced former Presidential guard Mike Banning finds himself trapped within the building. As our national security team scrambles to respond, they are forced to rely on Banning's inside knowledge to help retake the White House, save the President and avert an even bigger crisis.] It reminded me of that movie and a lot of prophecies about a lot of stuff that's gonna go down soon in the endtimes we're living in. "You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes."But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs." ~ Jesus (Matthew 24: 6-8)

PREPARE FOR WAR: UNITY

So throughout this break everything I kept watching with my nephews and niece and sister was about *UNITY* ~ that's what kept jumping at me. "All for One and One for all"~ when I was watching Mickey mouse with Trevor. "We're all in this together" song when my sister was watching High school musical. And "team-work" and "Dora working with her friends to solve problems" when Zoey was watching TV and everyone on facebook was watching Frozen and talking about it. Why am I making a big deal out of this? Coz these are the kinds of visions I get. Yes God speaks to us in different ways. And what really gripped me was this song below (I heard it when the Brick Mansions trailer came up on youtube. Also the words"Prepare for War" stood out to me) --there's an urgency to it, like a war cry and call to action. And yeah all the other movies I watched with my sis were super hero movies trying to save the world from massive destruction. It's time for Boot Camp! <~Mulan style :-)

WAKE UP WATCHMEN!!! SOUND THE ALARM!!!

The First call of action goes out to the watchmen. I read this verse today: “So you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from My mouth, you shall give them warning from Me" (Ezekiel 33:7) God was reminding me to be myself...coz it's not the sake for myself but others and more importantly Him - my relationship with Him."But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, that person is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman's hand." (Ezekiel 33:6) So this is a call for people like me, obedience in sharing His Word. A call to have the fear of the LORD and not to fear man.

The watchman replies, "Morning is coming, but also the night. If you would ask, then ask; and come back yet again." (Isaiah 21:12)

"THE SKY IS FALLING" A CALL TO PRAYER!

Yesterday we drove into Anaheim, and it had rained in the morning so there were huge clouds in the sky which just attracted my eyes to the skies. I wanted to take a picture but my phone was dead so I borrowed my sister's phone and here's one of the shots I took. My niece was playing with the American flag so I decided to use it in the picture. This shot reminded me of the stand by me song and of "The Sky is Falling" post in my drafts which is basically about how the heavens and earth will be shaken in the last days. And later that night I read Isaiah 33-35 and I think it's a warning for America and a call to prayer and repentance for everyone. Also the same day I saw this youtube video titled: "The Skies are Falling" about lawlessness in America.
"If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:14)

*Please interceed for America. I mentioned earlier in the vision of the Kenyan and American flag that it reminded me of the "Olympus has fallen"movie (which also reminded me of the Fall of Babylon prophecy in my REVOLUTION post) and I first thought it just meant that God is calling me to rise up and interceed because I can see what's coming. But I also just realized that last summer Kenya experience a terrorist attack at the West Gate mall which was horrible but people also noted that though it was heartbreaking and devastating it caused different Kenyans from different backgrounds to work together. That's great but also some months before that, different apostles and prophets had called for fasting and praying and unity in worship during the election season and many Kenyans heeded and there was no election violence. So prayer is definitely powerful when it partners the prophetic. So what's the connection to America's situation? Many people have been prophesying America's Fall, and not just through prophecy but many scholars just through analysis of the times and trends... so what I'm saying is let's not wait for some disaster to happen for us to be united... united in love and in prayer and worship. Whether or not you see or believe what I'm saying Let's Rise up now and seek God's face. 

More Confirmation: This is urgent! God has been telling people to pray for America, it's at great risk of being attacked by it's enemies. And some people God told them to watch out for the end of March onwards. We are at the end of March so let's not just "wait and see" let's "watch and wait"--> Wake Up and Pray! Check out the confirmation links below:

Prayer Alert for United States Locations - The Lord Says, "Shields Up!" <- Go to that link to read the rest of the message. "This is what I am hearing today: For the Lord says, "Shields up! This is the time for the watchman to have keen eyes and discernment. The enemy is at the door and wants to stir up havoc, but I will give My people eagle eyes to see what is being planned."

Last thing, this is not a call to fear but to return to God with our whole hearts, be grounded in love  and to really pray for this land. Read Psalm 91 and Psalm 46. Though times are changing. God is our shield and security and He still has great plans for us and so much purpose for our lives especially in this season. So let's return to the first Love.
Jesus is all that we need.
K thanks for reading and praying!  Peace =)
 (Posts: Full Armor of God and Shelter)
{Feel free to share questions or comments if you have any :) }

The Elephant Princess :)

"People of Manjipor your beloved queen is dead. This is a time of great sadness for our world but it also a time of Renewal. Though the queen is gone the royal tradition will continue. Many years ago a princess was born. To keep this baby safe she was sent far from this world but now the time has come for the royal princess to return home. 

    A girl of Wisdom,

              A girl of Power,

A girl who is destined for Greatness."

Hey =) Guess what I was up to last weekend? (I started writing this on 10/14/13)Well as you know I've been couch-surfing #JonahStatus (that's another story lol). I was at Rahel's for the past week and a half and I had my own room! coz the other RA quit or something. That was perfect coz I got sick with a cold and it was nice having my own space. So anyway, last weekend I was really overwhelmed with stuff I had to do and I was having a hard time just resting in God so I decided to watch a movie to take my mind off stuff. I went on netflix and picked "The Elephant Princess" but it turned out to be a show and not a movie. So what did I end up doing for most of the weekend? I ended up watching the whole thing! :o 2 seasons (like 26 episodes each). I don't usually follow any tv shows these days and I barely watch any tv when I'm at school, just movies once in a while so that was unheard of for me... I guess I really got into it but also I was procrastinating, so yeah... Anyway I learnt stuff through it and it was encouraging and insightful! (If you are new to my posts: My writing style is... well I'm a story-teller so yeah I'll just share my observations first then give the interpretation/explanation later so just hang in there. For corporate application please read the last section: A CALL FOR UNITY! The Emergence of the Real Enemies and especially the SB Application portion)

Here's the wikipedia summary of the show: "Alex Wilson thinks she is an average suburban girl living in Melbourne, until her 16th birthday when exotic visitor, Kuru, shows up in her backyard with a magical elephant, Anala. He informs her she is the heir to the throne of the magical kingdom of Manjipoor. With his help, the reluctant princess will master her magic powers and defend her royal inheritance against her devious cousin, Vashan, whilst balancing the pull of both worlds to find her true destiny. In the second season Alex and her family have moved to the Gold Coast. Her friend Amanda has followed her there, where they plan to find a new drummer for their band. Meanwhile in Manjipoor, Diva has returned to take over Manjipoor and learn the secrets of The Book."

"Even the greatest tree in the forest must start it's life as a seedling."-Omar.

So the quote I posted is from the beginning of the first episode, "Coming of Age" whereby the destiny of the princess is revealed to her and she's in denial. (Some of the episodes are on youtube and all of them are on netflix) So Kuru and Anala the elephant leave Manjipoor the magical kingodm, enter into Alex's world to train her and remind her of her real identity, a princess! It's funny I just realized this but her name, Alexandra means "defender of man" or "protector of man". The name was one of the titles ("epithets") given to the Greek goddess Hera and as such is usually taken to mean "one who comes to save warriors"(wikipedia). So the first season is Alex going in between two worlds, she's trying as best as she can to maintain her normal life and the priorities she had (friends, her music band, family, boyfriend) but she is slowly learning the ways of a princess. It's a long process but Kuru and Omar as well as the rest of the advisors back in Manjipoor, as much as they would like her to accept her identity and take on the resposibliities of a princess, they are patient with her. "In time you will embrace your destiny and you will learn not to be afraid of your powers."- Kuru.

 "Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin." (Zechariah 4:10)

***Time to Commit***

But not everyone is cheering her on in her journey to accepting her identity. She has opposition from her cousin, Vashan who doesn't want her to assume her responsibilities so that he, the only other member of the royal family, would take the throne and rule Manjipoor. That reminds me of this verse: "a man's enemies will be the members of his own household." (Matthew 10:36) But it's not really the opposition that's keeping Alex from her destiny coz she did show Vashan that she had the power to take him on, it's her priorities. Her band is a huge priority for her and in episode 21 Anala the magical elephant steals her guitar to teach her a lesson. Alex goes searching for Anala and the guitar and she's really pissed coz that was the day of their big recording gig. Anala teleported her to this random alley which frustrated her but when she stopped whinning, memories from her childhood came back to her. She remembered how when she was a little girl she ran away from home one day and was about to get hit by a truck but Anala saved her and teleported her to the Manjipoor forest for a while before returning her home safely.  This touched Alex knowing that Anala had always been watching over her all her life.

In the next episode, everyone is on Alex's case for not being responsible and not being able to commit. Her parents complain about her slacking off her responsibilities at home, her teachers complain about her school work, Marcus and the band dump her and at the end of the day she asks Kuru: "Am I self-centered? Am I irresponsible? Everyone seems to think that I lack commitment!"And Kuru is like duh! coz he has been waiting for her to take on her responsibilities as princess all that time. Later that night, Alex has a disturbing dream that Vashan is arguing with Omar, he wants to take up the throne but Omar defends her," The princess will fulfill her destiny when the time comes."So first thing in the morning she hurries over to Manjipoor, interrupts Vashan and Omar's argument (just like she saw in the dream) and says, "I am ready to take over as ruler of Manjipoor... I mean now."

So she finally commits to her destiny but things don't get any easier. Vashan commits to making her royal life difficult so that she will miss how things were before and leave Manjipoor. But some information is revealed that really hurts her... Alex finds out that she was lied to about the identity of her real father (who happens to be Omar) so she abdicates the throne and swears off magic forever. Kuru tells her that he is leaving to go back to Manjipoor and she will need to sign papers to give owenership of the throne and Anala to Vashan. "So signing these papers will get Manjipoor off my back? Fine! I'll sign them. Anything to be normal again." It's in episode 23 that she goes back and doesn't give Omar the time of day to explain anything, quickly signs off all the papers to Vashan and storms out of the room with tears in her eyes.

***Hold up! So how does all that relate to me? Process. Journey. I really like how the first season shows the process that Alex goes through before accepting her identity, all the setbacks, opposition and challenges she faces. This just reminds me of my own process and that we are human, we make lots of mistakes but there's room to bloom (post: BLOOM). The last scene I talked about reminds me of my summer experience (actually this whole past year... and my whole life lol), I came back to SB #EstherMode (another story in my drafts) finally seeing the bigger picture (more of my identity and calling and the previous obstacles that I fell for). Things were difficult for me coz of depression and doing things with my own strength and when it came time to operate in my calling I would simply give up, not give my all hence not obey God. So I'd keep bailing out on the vision -pretty much reject myself- and leave and it was so painful to do and unsatisfying especially because my goal shifted from pleasing God and following my heart's desire to "get through with this." But yeah God is so gracious He didn't give up on me even when I disobeyed Him by giving up on myself so many times. This quarter (Fall) I went to prayer and prophecy and the words they spoke over me reminded me of this post. They said that God is patient with me, He is waiting for me to obey and He already knows how long it will take for me to obey and yes to the calling on my life. (You can listen to the rest below).

How does this apply to US? I'll tie it all together in a little bit bear with me please :)

A CALL FOR UNITY: EMERGENCE OF THE REAL ENEMIES

So I mentioned earlier that other than Alex's priorities, the greatest opposition that she faced that was from her own family, her cousin Vashan, who fought against her ever since she received the calling to take her place in the kingdom of Manjipoor. But towards the end of season 1 a shift happens that causes Vashan to actually work with Alex! Amazing right?! So what went down? You see it was out of pride and jealousy that Vashan wanted to sabotage Alex so that he could take the throne for himself. He had a side-kick, his servant Diva, whom he promised to share the throne with if she helped him out but when Alex abdicated the throne he went back on his word and totally disowned the deal he made with Diva but he picked the wrong person to mess with! It is then that Diva reveals her real identity... a powerful sorceress who has been waiting for centuries to get her hands on the throne. Her magic is more powerul than Vashan's so she overpowers him and throws him in the dungeon then tries to take over the throne by hook and crook. She couldn't do it right away though since there's a protocol that one has to follow to get the crown and the last step involved being crowned by Anala the magical elephant.

So anyway, Alex hears about all the madness, goes back to try and protect her kingdom from Diva but she also ends up locked up in the dungeon with Vashan. So they are in the dungeon together, both powerless  (Diva drained all their powers from them and added them to her own) and it is then that Vashan decides to help Alex out since they were fighting a common enemy. Vashan taught her the destroy spell - the magic spell that could destroy Diva. Since Alex is powerless she has to rely on Kuru and her loyal subjects to stop Diva's coronation. Kuru got her out of the dungeon, she got hooked up with a magic carpet from the palace and went off to face Diva, got into a heated battle and it seemed like Alex was going to loose but just in the nick of time Anala appears and restores Alex's powers then Alex quickly uses the destroy symbol to get rid of Diva. Yay teamwork! Well it was really Anala who saved the day, if she didn't show up and restore Alex's powers all that team effort would  have been futile. So at the end of all that drama Alex goes through coronation ceremony is officially the ruler of Manjipoor.

Opps! sorry for too much summary... so in the SWORD of the Spirit post, I talked about the visions people had at the InterVarsity's Pre-Fall Leaders Retreat don't read the second half of that post (just rantings) what I wanted to highlight that the analogy of the role of Macbeth waging war and that paving the way for a new era of peace. And at the retreat those were the main themes of the many visions people got, there would be conflict and disunity in SB and even in the body of Christ (In InterVarsity) then there would be unity in the body of Christ at SB (unity between different groups) and then revival would happen after that (post: Let there be light). So this whole post is simply a call for unity. Yeah it's mostly about me coz this is my blog but I'm sharing coz we all have different gifts to be used for the building up of the body of Christ and it's good to get to know each other's gifts. I now know my gift is apostolic thanks to friends at Prayer and Prophecy, here's another video about how with the apostolic gift I'm meant to be like an eagle to fly above the city and have aerial view: Fly!

"Morning's Coming but also the Night": Real Enemies Emerging

So yeah the message is simple, unity.... then what's with all the urgency?? So in The Elephant Princess , Season 1 concludes with Unity (Alex functioning in her calling and so everyone is using their gifts --> equality leads to unity) and at the start of season 2 (a new season and also the last one) everything is new... You can tell Alex is more mature (she graduated high school) she moved out of her parent's house to a new town by the beach, she left some old friends behind and makes new ones... but something that's not new is... her enemy, Diva resurfaces (she was not totally destroyed like Alex thought, she was just bound but was able to escape and she was after dark magic to give her stronger powers... and yeah she was able to get a hold of it and she shared it with some of her followers... so in a sense she was building an army and sent them to attack Alex and her friends. And another thing about that is they are sent after "The Book" which is full of secrets that could help them retrieve more dark magic.

K what am I trying to say? So I have a seer gift, I wasn't trying to learn anything when I was watching this show, God was just showing me stuff through it... and yeah in the same way that God is preparing an army - people united and equipped by and with love (post: BootCamp!)... the devil, who has strong influence over the kingdom of the world is also preparing his army yup the darkness is getting darker (post: The Beast and the Big Boys). So that's why there's an urgency to this unity message... coz the devil aint slacking off at his game, lots of evil stuff is already in the mix and on the roll as we speak... I'll give you an update to that post later. But yeah this is not a call to fear but a call to love. A call to unite. I heard this song the other day not just with my ears but with my spirit.... ♫ When the night has come and the land is dark... Oh I won't be afraid as long as you stand by me... ♫ It reminded me of the time we're living in and that this earth is going into and also Psalm 46.

"

For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God."(Romans 8:19)

"So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him." (Isaiah 59:19)

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SB APPLICATION: SING A NEW SONG!! :D

So yeah in season 2 things got tough when Diva and her crew got their hands on dark magic... with that power Diva was planning to destroy the barrier between Manjipoor, the magical kingdom and Alex's world, the real world which would then destroy Alex's world bringing everything and everyone under submission to Diva. Oh yeah, another thing to note is, Alex is a singer and musician and in season 1 music-- the powerful soundwaves-- helped her cross the barrier to the magical land to save her friends who got stuck there. So music is one of the powerful weapons that helped Alex fight the dark forces. Another is the power from Anala and her own magical power that she discovered she has and strengthens through practice. And in season 2 what really saved the day was sacrificial Love. Towards the end of season 2 Alex realized the reason why she was sent away from Manjipoor to grow up in the real world... she had fought her double identities for a long time but in the end everything made sense... she grew up in the real world so that she could care about it, so she could care about both worlds, both people groups... so she could love them enough to want to sacrifice her life to protect and save them... and in this season it's all about teamwork, Alex wouldn't have gotten this far without the help from her friends.

And how does this apply to the body of Christ in SB? ... Everything happens for a reason... You are where you are for a reason. The people you have in your life and around you are there for a reason. The experiences you went through happened for a reason. Your life is so full of purpose. You are unique and there is a destiny you were called to fulfill. And now is the time. It's time to unite and fight for Love. Yes it's time to come together and worship God as One Body. It's also time to love each other deeply from the heart and sacrificially. Coz in the end, it's only Love that changes the world. 

It's time to sing a new song! Let us prepare the way for the LORD. Let's unite and ask Him to build His Kingdom here =)

ONE Body (United for Christ) is planning a unity night called ONE VOICE on Saturday May 17th at 7pm. You'll hear more details about it, we're still in the planning phase and we'll need all the help we can get. But yeah we don't want this to be just another event but a time of worship and renewal... coming together with love, thankfulness but also needy-ness coz we do need an explosion of God's glory in this urgent hour. Yeah we don't need to wait for an event to go to God with repentant hearts and in intercession - yes let's keep that up - but there is power in corporate application if you look through Scripture... God is the same God who worked those wonders back then in the times of King Asa, King Jehoshephat, Prophet Samuel and Queen Esther. We are ordinary people but we serve an POWERFUL SUPERNATURAL GOD who is ready to show us His wonders. K for summary we need to:

• Put on the Full Armor of God - We need to be in His Word and abide in His Spirit. Rest in Him. We also need to serve each with all the spiritual gifts God has given each of us. Check out the Book of Nehemiah it's all about teamwork and rebuilding and it reminded me of this post.
• Praise the LORD- Praise is a weapon against the enemy. Sing and make music. Rejoice in the Lord =)
• Love each deeply from the heart with actions and in truth. Practice hospitality. Forgive and reconcile.
• Come together and seek God together: fasting, praying, praising.

Sorry I started off this post last Fall so usually when I wait too long before posting it dampens the excitement from the new revelation... but yeah, I am really excited for God bringing us thus far and all He is doing and about to do in SB and around the world. Glory to God!!! May Your Kingdom come and Your will be done!! Please help us yield to Your Spirit! Please mend our hearts and heal our land. Yay Jesus! :D

Spring Cleaning ~> ReNeWaL! :)

♥ Psalm 51 ♥

1 Have mercy on me, O God,

according to your steadfast love;

according to your abundant mercy

 blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!

3 For I know my transgressions,

 and my sin is ever before me.

4 Against You, You only, have I sinned

 and done what is evil in Your sight,

so that You may be justified in your words and blameless
in your judgment.

5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.

6 Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. 7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,

and renew a right  spirit within me.

11 Cast me not away from your presence,

and take not your Holy Spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,

and uphold me with a willing spirit.

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,

and sinners will return to you.

14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, 

O God, O God of my salvation,

    and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.

15 O Lord, open my lips,

    and my mouth will declare your praise.

16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;

    you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.

17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;

    a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

18 Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;

    build up the walls of Jerusalem;

19 then will you delight in right sacrifices,

    in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;

    then bulls will be offered on your altar.

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*SPRING AND RENEWAL* 

I went grocery shopping with my sis the other day and when we were buying laundry detergent these words on the tide bottle stuck out to me: "Spring and Renewal." Then this morning when I woke up I was a bit disappointed. I went to bed earlier the night before coz I wanted to get up early to take some time alone just to be with God (coz I haven't done it consistently in a while) but I ended up waking up late and feeling alone... far from God, not saturated and refreshed by His presence like way back in the day. But I decided to pick up my Bible and opened it randomly to Psalms and my eyes were drawn to Psalm 51:10-13 which were highlighted then I read the rest of the chapter. Then I remembered those words, "Spring and Renewal" and I feel like that's what God wants to do in us in this season. He wants to do an internal work in us coz He wants to be with us, to saturate us :) and also to prepare us to do greater works, for His glory to overflow to everyone around us =) This is the longing of my heart and I keep hearing it from many others around me: 

• "Be Still and Know that I am God"~ Hannah and Matt lead a prayer meeting every Wednesday at 12.30pm at Storke plaza. During dead week I made a facebook event "We Are One: Praying for Peace" and invited people to that prayer meeting... at the prayer meeting Hanna asked me how I was doing spiritually and I told her that I've just been tired and I like what she said, God is calling us to rest, really rest so that we can also invite others into this eternal rest. And yeah I do feel like I've been restless and striving a lot and I need to slow down, be still and remember my identity as a daughter of God is not a result of what I do but who He is and what He did and continues to do. My life is in His hands :-) 

My friend Tarra posted this as her status: "We often think.. "Do you really want me? Are you sure there's not something I can do for you? What do you want from me? There's gotta be somethin'." And Jesus replies, "Nope. Come be with me. Allow me to look at you with approval. Allow me to hold you while you say nothing. Allow me to sing you a song and you only smile.. Will you let me enjoy what I created to enjoy? Will you let me love you just because I want to? If you want to give me something, give me your permission. Give me your 'yes' to look at you while you don't move or cover anything up; give me your 'yes' to keep telling you what I like about you, and not stop for hours.Will you give me your patience, your permission to waste away the hours being happy to call you my friend?"(post: Be Still and Know)

• "Create in me a clean heart"- So yeah being still is important, we need to rest and let God do what only His Spirit can do. We usually don't like to hear about purification because it may shed a spotlight on our flaws and shortcomings, and yeah our sins but we don't need to draw back in shame (post: No Shame! ). In the tide bottle that my sister bought it had a label that said, "For high efficiency machines" then below that "Spring and Renewal" and it reminded me of this verse: "...while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful." (John 15:2) God does not want to condemn us since there is No Condemnation for those in Christ Jesus but He wants to purify us further so that we may look more like Jesus and bear more fruit. Here are some posts I did a while back about the purification God wants to take us through: Pruning, Search Me. Test Me. Lead Me, You are the Potter, I am the Clay and *Pimp My Ride*. And I just read this one: Seasoned by Fire by Matt Pevarnik. Love this song: Purified by Cece Winans :)

  

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RENEW-ALL / RENEW- WALL

That whole idea of "Tide" and "Spring and Renewal" made me think of these pictures. God is renewing our hearts individually but on a corporate level as well. I had recently read 2 Chronicles 14-16 about Asa King of Judah the third king of Judah after the division of the united kingdom of Israel which occurred after the death of King Solomon.

"And Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. He took away the foreign altars and the high places and broke down the pillars and cut down the Asherim and commanded Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, and to keep the law and the commandment. He also took out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the incense altars. And the kingdom had rest under him. He built fortified cities in Judah, for the land had rest. He had no war in those years, for the Lord gave him peace. And he said to Judah, “Let us build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours, because we have sought the Lord our God. We have sought him, and he has given us peace on every side.” So they built and prospered." (2 Chronicles 14: 2-7) // "And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and those from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who were residing with them, for great numbers had deserted to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him. They were gathered at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. They sacrificed to the Lord on that day from the spoil that they had brought 700 oxen and 7,000 sheep. And they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and with all their soul, but that whoever would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, should be put to death, whether young or old, man or woman. They swore an oath to the Lord with a loud voice and with shouting and with trumpets and with horns. And all Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and had sought him with their whole desire, and he was found by them, and the Lord gave them rest all around." (2 Chronicles 15: 9-15) // "For the eyes of the LORD  range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him." (2 Chronicles 16:9)

***RENEW- ALL!  = So this corporate renewal thing is pretty serious (hence the death sentence they choose to include back then if it wasn't followed. Yikes! We are a obviously living a time marked by grace but that's not an excuse to abuse it) This unity thing though (seeking God with their whole hearts and also uniting as a people ~ the various tribes that were around coming together as One before the LORD who is ONE) was really important and it resulted in God fighting their battles when their enemies who outnumbered them came against them, and giving them rest on every side and making them prosperous.

On March 20th I saw that Hope Curran posted this on her fb wall and wrote: "Hundreds of college students gathered outside on sproul plaza to worship, pray, and commit to serving Jesus! I feel so blessed to witness the spark of what I believe is a spiritual revival that will sweep colleges and our nation. Oneloveus.org" So exciting right!!! When you see *UNITY* happen in the body and *UNITY IN WORSHIP AND PRAYER* that should ring like a WAR CRY! and signal the VICTORY that God will give us and mass REVIVAL that will break out :D (This also reminds me of the research paper I wrote-- my very first in college-- "Reforming the American System. Reforming Education"<- that's the first post in the blog series but read through them to the conclusion of how a spiritual revival is necessarry to reform America.)

You can check out the video about the March to Mayday tour that ONE LOVE is putting on or go to their website and it's cool how I've gotten lots of confirmation from different people around the world that God is doing and is about to do a mighty work in and through the church in this season.  Check out the encouraging video below about how this is a season of redefinement in the church, the body of Christ :)

***RENEW- WALL! = Earlier this week I flipped to the Book of Nehemiah and I knew I was meant to read all of it and it was all about re-building the wall of Jerusalem. And I had kept reading verses in the Psalms and in Isaiah about the same so I knew it was important. Let's start with the basics... what's a wall and what's it used for? A wall is a high pile of rocks, joined together and sealed with cement, enclosing a city to protect it's inhabitants from outside dangers such as enemies attacking (charlenediaries dictionary lol). So when you think wall you should think defense. So if there was a breach in a certain part of the wall it endangers everyone in the city... not just the people closest to the breach... coz that could be the gateway for an enemy army to attack through and bring down the whole town, so yeah, the state of the wall affects us all. 

The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the citadel, that Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.”As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven... (Nehemiah 1:1-4, Read the rest of the prayer).... "And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' graves, that I may rebuild it.” (Nehemiah 2:5)

"Addition and Renewal"

In the Fall of 2013 when I came back to SB they had started the construction at the library and as I was walking by the Arbor I noticed the words "Addition & Renewal" on the banner and I feel like this is a work that is happening spiritually in the body of Christ at SB and in general. So this "Spring cleaning" business is not just about God removing stuff out of our hearts to make us more pure but He is also adding... In Ezekiel 36:26-27 God says, "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone 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 be careful to observe My ordinances."

Okay that's individually but what does this mean corporately? And in our time? Coz we're not talking about literally building walls (the context is not about expansion but about defense)... So if you've been following my blog over the years you should already know what I'm talking about...  Oh and wait a minute...how does this tie into the book of Nehemiah? ...Ok let's go beyond the surface... So I've noticed that Judah came up in the Nehemiah verses above also in the story of King Asa that caught my attention coz of a couple of reasons...

1. First, Judah means "Praise" and in the chapter right after the King Asa story- his fall- is the story of King Jehoshephat and you may know that he is the king who lead the Israelites to victory through praying, listening to God's instructions through the prophets, and putting the singers and musicians on the frontline.. And by doing so he actually built a wall of praise... the praise that they lifted up became a shield for his people while God went ahead and fought the battle for them. 
2. Judah is also one of the tribes of Israel. So Judah is a group of people. Nehemiah wasn't weeping because of a broken down wall. He was weeping over the condition of his people who were in "great trouble and shame" and were left vulnerable to future attacks when the walls and gates were burnt down. And what do we see in chapter 3? People from different parts of the city working together to rebuild the wall. And the teamwork that happens in spite the opposition in chapter 4 is just beautiful :') "From that day on, half of my servants worked on construction, and half held the spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail. And the leaders stood behind the whole house of Judah, who were building on the wall." (Nehemiah 4:16-17a) It's so awesome how this is a different story yet the same thing... in the first point the entire army stood behind the singers and musicians (Praisers) who led them to victory... and now the leaders stood behind the people of Judah (wall of love and support) literally showing them that "I got your back," knowing full well that their victory was connected. This is a wall of intercession. A wall of unity.

Do you know see what I am trying to say? Do you see the breaches in the wall? Do you see the people who are left vulnerable and most affected by the walls and gates being burnt down? Yes I'm talking about within the body of Christ you don't need to look to far... focusing on defense will be our greatest offensive move coz that's when we let God fight off the massive enemy armies and we all win and get to plunder the enemies camp together. K, I'll leave with that for now. You can refer to my old posts or wait for This Time For Africa and other posts that have been in my drafts since the Fall. But the main point is: It's time to go all out and love each other, pray with and for each other and support the worship movement. K, peace and love :-)

And please pray for me, I'm .....a work in progress. I don't share stuff like this coz I know it all... I don't. I share coz I want us to help each other apply God's Word together... I would like to share the journey. And as far as being a messenger, I'm so unworthy but hey, Glory to God!

So yeah, Jesus please lead us, renew us, revive us, restore us, unite us. Just have Your way. Amen.

Jonah - Bounce Back! \o/

*JONAH 2*

Then Jonah prayed to the Lord His God from the belly of the fish, saying,

“I called out to the Lord,
out of my distress,

    and He answered me;

out of the belly of Sheol I cried,

    and You heard my voice.

For You cast me into the deep,

    into the heart of the seas,

    and the flood surrounded me;

all your waves and Your billows

    passed over me.

Then I said, ‘I am driven away

    from Your sight;

yet I shall again look

    upon Your holy temple.’

The waters closed in over me to take my life;

    the deep surrounded me;

weeds were wrapped about my head

 at the roots of the mountains.

I went down to the land

whose bars closed upon me forever;

yet You brought up my life from the pit,

    O Lord my God.

When my life was fainting away,

    I remembered the Lord,

and my prayer came to You,

    into Your holy temple.

Those who pay regard to vain idols

forsake their hope of steadfast love.

But I with the voice of thanksgiving

    will sacrifice to you;

what I have vowed I will pay.

    Salvation belongs to the Lord!”

And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.

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Introduction: I came home last Friday coz my sister asked me to babysit while they were out in Fresno scouting it out in preparation for their big move in June (I'll catch you up later). Saturday night my lil sis, my mum and I did a movie marathon (watched 3 movies!! which I'll blog about in a bit) so when it came to Sunday morning I didn't feel like going to church in the morning - well for that reason (sleepiness) and also coz I'm always wanting more than that... more than what it has become -♥-> (post: What is the Church?) But I'm glad I went... We were late but we got to come in for the last worship song before the pastor came up ~"All my Fountains"~ and it totally spoke to my soul (take a listen in that link). It was my first time hearing it but music has a way of penetrating straight into the heart by passing all other barriers and so it always has a powerful impact on me when God uses it to speak to me ~ so yeah that song just put me in a state of praise-- and in that state nothing else mattered - it didn't matter how I came in, what I did in the past, it immediately set my gaze to the One who sits on the throne, my Maker, Father, Redeemer, Hope and Joy. So yeah it's always a good thing to gather and worship God, next was the sermon...

 "How to Bounce Back After Rock Bottom"

So I guess that church (Calvary Chapel Murrieta) had been going through the Book of Jonah which is pretty short and they were in Chapter 2. I have a relationship with this particular book and it's complicated :P but having it come up again at this service made it clearer - coz I was forced to face it again. So this is how chapter 1 begun: "Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord."

The subtitle above was the title of the sermon. The pastor shared this quote, "Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom."- Gen. George Patton then he gave steps on how to bounce back when you hit rock bottom which he then expounded on in the remainder of the service... wait a minute the only step I wrote down was: Cry Out and the 3 questions to ask ourselves and God which are: 

1. Where am I? So in chapter 1 Jonah fled from God on a ship then God sent a storm after him, Jonah knew that he was the cause of the storm so he told the men to throw him overboard (they were praying to their gods and nothing was working which is when Jonah 'came out'). So yeah when he was thrown into the stormy sea he thought that he was going to die but he found himself in the belly of a great fish.
2. How did I get here? I kinda explained that in the previous point but why was he on that ship in the first place? Oh yeah he was running away from God. But he had to realize that God brought him to the belly of that fish not to destroy him but actually to help him. Sometimes we need to hit rock bottom so that we can look up to the source of our help, God. So that's why God let's some stuff like this happen, to humble us and to equip us with His strength so all the glory goes to Him. 
3. What's my next move? Jonah decides to turn to God in prayer -check it out in chapter 2 above. By the end of the prayer Jonah is ready to sacrifice His will for God's will. Cool that was the end of the sermon- well that's all my notes but how does all that apply to me and to us?

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He Won't Relent Until We REPENT!

"Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.” So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord." (Jonah 3: 1-3)

So after Jonah's crazy experience and God's grace and deliverance, once he got on the dry land he choose to obey God. So here comes my complicated relationship with this book... so after the summer I went back home coz I was done with my major so automatically I was done with UCSB though I clearly knew that I had not done what God told me to do, what my heart was yearning for... So when I went back home I knew in my heart that God was calling me back to SB and indeed He was (post: Last Holiday). When I turned to His Word, I opened to a verse in Jonah and I knew what God was telling me through it: #DestinationSB. I also saw Victor Bell's fb status, something like: "It aint over when you say "I'm done" but when God says "Well done."

To be honest, I wish that God would just give up on me coz I've failed so many times... for Jonah he ended up doing God's will the second time around which resulted in the salvation of an entire city (120,000+ people!! Revival!!) and just as important if not more, his own restoration to God's presence- relationship with God- and awakening to God's real identity (LOVE~ fiery, relentless, merciful, unconditional, great! post: GOD is). God's call is irrevocable but yeah we do have the free will to choose how we will respond -- and the consequences of our decision could be devastating!! This morning while lying in bed I turned to Luke which was another serious wake up call from Jesus -I had read Luke 12:28-59 but I'll highlight these verses for now:  “Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning... You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. Peter said, “Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for all?” And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful. And that servant who knew his master's will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more."

I have been restless because each time I go to God He fills me up by refreshing me with His Word but at that point I also need to obey it (share it) and if I don't I'm literally running away from God's presence just like Jonah... the sharing part is what has been hard for me coz of relationship issues (relationship with myself and others... and also just being disorganized. This song says it all: (I sung it with Maria while couch surfing in her room. I hadn't heard it before but it was what I needed to hear) ♫ If you're scared that you don't matter, if your lost and need to be found. If you're looking for a savior, all you gotta do is turn around. No one listens to you anymore, and your heart has broken down. You don't need to move, love has come to you, all you gotta do is turn around. All you gotta do is turn around. ♫

So yeah God has grace for us so we don't need to live with regrets about our past mistakes but when He does convict us and pursue us with His love we need receive his Grace and repent instead of taking His Grace for granted... that's when God gives me stricter warnings like the one I've shared above in the book of Luke.

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CORPORATE APPLICATION: ARISE! PREPARE THE WAY FOR THE LORD!!

JESUS IS COMING REALLY, REALLY, REALLY SOON!!! The Signs are all around us and I've shared some of my visions and other people's as well (and I have a lot more to share coz I'be been silent/rebellious/restless for a little over a year now yet I've seen so much confirmation and some of the visions from the past already took place). We are in a NEW ERA, we have been hearing the groans of creation and it's about to get LOUDER especially in America (huge earthquakes, tsunamis, signs in the heavens....) So Church, it's time for us to WAKE UP!! Our salvation is so much nearer than when we first believed. Many people don't like to hear about judgement coz they don't think God can let such things happen... God tells people to share hard stuff like these not to bring fear but the fear of the LORD which leads to repentance ...but believe it or not we all want to see revival in our land--the masses coming to Christ - but we shall not see such great awakening unless it starts with the church. Look at all the revivals in the past- it begun with repentance and reformation in the church. We need more of God- we need to admit that through fasting, praying and interceeding and He shall come through and show us His glory!! And errrrbody will behold it! :D This message of encouragement and warning is not just for me, not just for church leaders but for the entire body of Christ for both individual and corporate application. We really are living in and going into an exciting time - yes the warning and reality of consequences of our actions, and even the extents that God is willing to take to pursue this nation is real serious and urgent- and it's time for all of us to confess and repent on behalf of ourselves and our nation. I am so full of HOPE though we are living in a time of urgency and distress we have security in the peace of God and we will see His glory descend in a greater way than never before.

So what's the application: Repentance- It's time to give our whole hearts and all that we are to God and His Kingdom :-)

1. Watch and pray- When Jonah was in the belly of the fish for 3 days he prayed and probably was fasting (unless he decided to have sushi lol) and after he repented he went to the city of Ninevah and shared the invitation to repentance and it says the city believed God and caled for a corporate fast- they mourned over their rebellious ways, confessed and repented and God relented from the judgement He was going to bring. And in the New Testament, Jesus kept telling His disciples this in the Gospels when time came for His death and also when He was prophesying about His return. So yeah prayer and intercession is crucial in this hour. Praying for ourselves (talking to God. It's all about relationship and intimacy) and praying with each other, for each other and others is also super-important. We need each other, there's no other way to get through this next season... God is making us One (We are One body of Christ after all) and One with Him -purification which also involves being married to the Lamb) so this involves refining/purification for us to be able to live in Love (Fullness of Love= Fullness of God). So yeah, let's make prayer (individual and corporate prayer) a priority and a habit. Start a prayer meeting, join one, pray all the time, about all things, with and for all people  near and far =)

1. Love Boldy and Sacrificially- So in Acts 1 the reason Jesus told his disciples to wait on Him was because He wanted to baptize them with the Holy Spirit and fire so that they could not only proclaim the Kingdom of God with boldness, signs and wonders following, but also that they could live it, live in love --radical love that attracted people daily, and love that took great risks for the sake of the Gospel being spread to all. Love deeply, especially the body of Christ, and especially out of your clique. 
2. USE YOUR TALENTS AND SPIRITUAL GIFTS FOR THE KINGDOM- Do you have a  voice? Can you sing? rap? spoken word? write? dance? act? blog? Use facebook? Tweet? Instapost? And all the other social media stuff? Are you alive? Whatever gifts and talents you may have - yes even natural like the ability to speak or write... you don't even have to be super-creative, just as you are You are important! and God made you the way you are for a reason. And You are also living in this time and place for a reason and now is the season to Arise! We need to die to ourselves and make Jesus famous! Yes now especially because He is coming SOON! also tomorrow isn't promised to anyone and though we have our eternal security in Christ, things in the world are changing and stuff's gonna go down  and yes it will be a life and death situation for many people :'''((((( (Once again this is not a call to freak out but to first of all repent, then interceed for others and spread the Gospel (Truth and Love) to our loved ones and everywhere! For real, start a blog, post videos on youtube and such... It's time to extend worship outside the 4 walls of the church or our rooms. Let us worship the King of Kings boldly and with great joy and expectation! K, let's do this!! It's TIME to SING A NEW SONG! =D

So I've been feeding you posts in the *meantime* as I gathered courage to share what's actually on my heart (which is what God wants me to share as well) but that turned into * MEAN TIME* coz I was straight-out being selfish (thinking about myself- how people will receive what I have to share... but no, really how they'll receive me) so I'm sorry for the selfish procrastination of this act of love, I'm super-sorry to God first and foremost then to y'all. K, let's cross-out the *mean* coz it's *!*TIME*!* #AriseAndShine #LetMeHearYourWARcry!! "Awake, awake, Zion, clothe yourself with strength! Put on your garments of splendor" (Isaiah 52:1a)  It's Time to Put On the FULL Armor of God!