Prophetic Gifts in the Everyday Life

Prophetic Gifts in the Everyday Life

This Christmas I found the most beautiful prophetic gifts at a Christmas ornament store. I found gold glitter encrusted crown ornaments with red stones pressed into the sides and a cross on top. They were the perfect gift to represent the kingly authority that God has given to us in the land. The kingly authority is the ability to direct actions for the kingdom. The gold represents the purity of the authority. The cross obviously represents the cross of our Lord Jesus and the red stones represent the blood shed for our salvation that allows us to enter the kingdom. By giving pastors these ornaments, I gave a physical representation of what the Lord was doing in their everyday life. When they see it they will be reminded that the Lord has given them authority in the land to make decrees in the heavenlies through the blood of Jesus Christ.

I learned how powerful prophetic gifts are however from an example that was just the opposite of the beautiful gold crown ornaments that I gave this Christmas. It was my 40th birthday and my husband had planned a sweet tea party for me at a local tea room. He had invited friends and family from many arenas in my life as well as ladies from my church. The gifts were all sweet and precious as you would expect for such a special occasion. All except one gift that came in a plain gift bag. I opened the bag and pulled out a dog muzzle. Immediately repulsed I read the card and realized it was from the ladies on church staff. The spiritual significance of such a gift in such a public setting could not be overstated. I had been told publicly that my voice was to be silenced in the congregation. That my prophetic gift was considered a threat to the congregation. I quickly put the muzzle back in the bag and literally threw it out before I ever took it to my home. It was one of my first experiences with a gift that had spiritual connotations.

Living in the everyday prophetic life means that decisions are made on a daily basis to encourage and uplift or to discourage and press down. The gifts that we give and receive as prophets should be prayed over before both the giving and receiving. Think about it the next time a birthday, holiday, wedding or shower gift is needed. It can be a chance to bless with a visible reminder a prophetic word for the life of another. Think about it. This is Pastor Susan Living the Everyday Prophetic Life.

It's Cold Here in the Parking Lot

It's Cold Here in the Parking Lot

It was a bitter cold night. We were once again in the parking lot near the stores in our small suburban town passing out free pizza. Every Friday night for months, we had come to the parking lot to share the love of Jesus. We brought a fold out card table, 15 pizzas, cans of pop and the love of Christ. Sometimes, we were there in the rain, passing out pizza to kids as they drove by in their pick ups. Completely drenched, we stood in little riverlets of water and gave the kids pizza through the windows of their cars. They knew we would be there no matter what. And we were. We were there the night after a local high school student had been stuck on the train tracks and didn't make it. We shared the love of Jesus and watched broken hearts come to Jesus for salvation. We were there when it was so cold we couldn't feel our hands an feet.

And then came this night. Pastor Susan will you pray for my friend, the young woman asked. Of course, what's up? Her dad died. Oh, I am so sorry. When? They buried him today. What?? What, I thought, are you doing here in this frozen parking lot on this day of all days? But she was there and I was glad that I was too. So we prayed and I listened to how much her dad had meant to her. And we prayed again. And God met her. I can't remember her name but I will never forget her story.

It wasn't too many months later the merchants grew tired of the ever growning teen population. The police came and asked us to leave. So we left the parking lot that had been warmed by the love of Jesus that fall, winter and spring. And that summer it was colder.

Get Me My Shoes

Get Me My Shoes

It was dark and cold in our little New England house. Mom had left just a few minutes earlier. She was walking to the local police station. All the shouting had stopped. The thumps of things being thrown. The sound of breaking glass. I was remember being very still and just wishing it would all stop. But then my dad was calling for us. And three little girls in their flannel night gowns peeked around the corner. "Girls!" my dad called, his voice thick from the alcohol he had drunk at the local bar. We crept slowly into the living room and tried to avoid the broken glass on the floor. "Girls get me my shoes, the police are coming and I need them." I remember going into the bedroom, past the big Catholic Bible perched on the dresser, and kneeling down to look under the bed for my dad's black shoes. Finding them, I brought them to the living room where my dad was solemnly explaining that the police were coming to a take him away. And then the policeman was at the door and he seemed like the hugest man I had ever seen. Dad went with him and the policeman said Mom was on her way back home. We waited quietly on the sofa and then mom was home. "Go back to bed girls", she said. And so we did and it was quiet. And it felt safe. And I was glad I had found Dad's shoes. In the snow he would need them. Who knew when he would return and shoes were important. Even a little six year old knew that they were.

I have thought about that night many times since I lived in that cold New England house. I will find myself searching for my own shoes under my own bed and somehow my mind wanders to that night and reaching for that pair of black shoes. I learned a few lessons. One was that broken people need help. And you can help them if you are brave. ( I was always terrified of the big Catholic Bible and having to go past it to get the shoes was a big task for a small child) Another lesson was that when you are getting help for someone else you need to be careful of how you proceed. (Broken glass on the floor is dangerous if you are not wearing your own shoes). And I learned that compassion can overcome fear. Compasion is powerful. Think about it. This is Pastor Susan Living the Everyday Prophetic Life.

Don't Let Them Stand Alone

Don't Let Them Stand Alone

One of my favorite scenes in any movie ever is the scene from the Lord of the Rings trilogy where Frodo tells Sam he is going off alone to Moldor and Sam replies of course you are, Mr. Frodo, and I am coming with you. Then he wades into the river even though he cannot swim and with his unrelenting loyalty to his friend somehow manages to get to the boat and help him fulfill the quest. J.R.R. Tolkien captured the essence of friendship in that moment. Don't let your friend fulfill the quest alone. Don't let them float down the river alone. Don't let them stand alone.

Recently at a women's conference, a new friend opened her heart and she shared her pain about her child who had recently left home. The entire conference was about Removing the Veil, becoming real in our relationships and honest in our faith. Not allowing our pride, embarrassment, fear to keep us hidden beneath the veils or our own weaving. And then my sister shared her personal pain. And I heard the Lord say, "Tell her". No I replied. "Tell her." came the command again. I don't want to, I don't know her well. "Don't let her stand alone." Ok. "Don't let her stand alone in her pain." I looked at my new friend and said, " My daughter left home six years ago." I shared the story with her very briefly. She cried. Tears poured down her cheeks. She looked at me and knew that she wasn't alone. And I was less alone because I had opened the crack in my personal veil up just a little bit more. I had let someone peek in on my pain. And so we looked at each other, two struggling moms, and I had told her. "Of course you are going on your quest to defeat the evil that would destroy your life and your home, but you are not going alone friend. I am going with you. This is Pastor Susan Living the Everyday Prophetic Life.