Your Revelation - Understanding the Prophetic

I was reading in Revelation 11:1 "And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein." , and I was struck by the fact that the angel gave John a task to do. I thought now why would the angel who probably knows all about the measure of the temple give John this work to do. Frankly I thought that would be a lot of work since the temple was big and the reed was small. It made me tired just to think about it. Why Lord? Why couldn't the angel just tell him the measurements? And I heard the Lord say to me that we have to participate in our revelation. Oh! Our revelation becomes clearer as we participate in the process. And I remembered all the late nights of "participating in my revelation". And it made sense to me. How much I had learned in the process versus just being given the revelation.When you participate in it then it because your own. It stays with you and becomes part of your being. Question: What effort have you put forth to receive a prophetic revelation? This is Pastor Susan Living the Everyday Prophetic Life.

One More Night with the Frogs

One More Night with the Frogs

Scripture Reference

Exodus 8: 9-10

9: Moses said to Pharaoh,"The honor is yours to tell me: when shall I entreat for you and your servants and your people, that the frogs be destroyed from you and your houses, that they may be left only in the Nile?" 10: Then he said, "Tomorrow."

There was a children's song that we sang in the 90's in children's ministry called "One more night with the frogs." It was about Pharaoh and the plague of frogs that came to Egypt before the Exodus of the children of Israel. I have thought about it several times since then. If you have someone who can pray, will pray and then that which is a plague upon your house will leave, why would you ask them to wait and pray tomorrow? Why would you want to go home and have frogs in your homes and your yards for another night. Just think of the noise and the smell and the slime!

But deliverance was available and ready for you. As Moses said, "The honor is yours to tell me: when..."

Friends we often act like we have forever to make up our minds to be set free. We decide to think that we will make that decision tomorrow. Like Scarlet O'Hara in Gone with the Wind, we decide to think about that tomorrow, for tomorrow is another day. But the day of deliverance is at hand. God wants you to be set free. He wants you to run for the mercy seat. He wants you to cry out to Him in this day and in this moment.

Time is short and every moment counts. Let today be the day of deliverance from the plagues in your life. Ask and you shall receive from the Lord. This is Pastor Susan Living the Everyday Prophetic Life.

The Wild West

The Wild West

Why can't I live a nice quiet life that has all the grace and charm of a southern tea party? This is the question that I often ask myself when I am in the midst of some epic battle with the enemy. I see women who have lovely quiet demeanour's and who just can just smile and with grace and beauty lead quiet lives of peace and tranquility. But most of the time, I feel like Rooster Cogburn in True Grit in the wild west.

Women like Rooster Cogburn, are on a mission. And when you are on a wild west mission you have to learn to ignore the elements. If it's cold, you keep going, if it's raining you keep going. There are no fancy boarding houses with hot grub on the trail. You have to be brave when you are on a mission. If you are not then you will give up and turn back. You have to remember why you are out there. The Wild West had a special set of skills that were required. You needed to be able to ride, rope and shoot straight. You have to keep your boots on and your wits about you. Remember to watch out for snakes, outlaws and bad drinking water.

Well, I guess that's how a girl from the East Coast by the ocean ended up coming out to Oklahoma. She learned as the Apostle Paul said 'in every state to be content'. She remembered the words of Jesus that 'foxes have holes and the birds have nests but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head'. She remembered that Jesus taught don't put your hand to the plow and turn back. She learned to put on the whole armour of God including having her feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace. She learned that she could overcome the power of the evil one by the word of her testimony. And she learned that only the living drinking water that Jesus poured out could satisfy her thirst. This is Pastor Susan Living the Every Day Prophetic Life.

Lo the Winter is Past

Lo the Winter is Past

Wherever there is seed time and harvest there is always the season of the quiet. There is always the season of the rest. The incubation of going into the earth and dying to self. "For lo the winter is past and the voice of the turtle dove is heard in the land" Song of Solomon 2:11. The voice of the turtle dove is the voice of the prophet. And in the times and the seasons when God is beginning to bring forth a new thing, when the voice of the prophet rises up and you hear the voice of the prophet you will know that God is moving again in your life in a different way. Until we are in heaven where there is no night, no cold, no rain-there will always be seasons because that is the principle God has put in place for us in the natural seed time and harvest, winter, spring, summer, and fall. Until we are in heaven, we will go through seasons: the dry seasons and the rainy seasons and the hot seasons and the seasons when things fall away from us and we wonder where they are going and we think that there will never be new life again. But the life is in the seed and the seed is in the ground and the promise of the seed is in tomorrow.

The enemy of tomorrow, the enemy of the future is yesterday. The enemy of your destiny is where you have been. Because your destiny is where you are going and everything that is not God wants to tie you to your past and sit you down where you are and say that this is all there is ever going to be and things are never going to change. Because we a people of sight, we want to only believe what we can see. But the Bible says that faith is the expression of things not seen. Faith is the understanding that there are things that we don't see that are in motion. And in each of our lives there are things that are hidden in us that have not found their expression in the natural yet. There are seeds that have been planted in us from before the foundation of the world, that God wants to bring forth out of each of us. But as long as we stay where we are with what we have with the familiar and the comfortable. and the "this is the way it should have been" and "this is the way I expected", we are tied by our expectations of perfection and success to the place where we think it should be without being released into the river of God. We want to be released into the flow of the supernatural river of God. We want to be released into what God has for us and not what we expected God to have for us.

When the brothers went down into Egypt and stood in the courts of Joseph and everything that they needed was there, in front of them their provision, their salvation, their posterity, it was all there, but they did not recognize Joseph because he did not look like who they thought he would look like. They were tied to the past where the last place that they saw Joseph was the slave caravan. So in our lives we have to loose ourselves from the slave caravan of our past.

Not like those on the road to Emmaeus that walked with our precious Savior. They did not recognize their precious Savior Himself. He was what their hearts were talking about but consumed by sadness from the past they could not go forward into the joy of the future. Very often when the Lord would send an answer it did not look like the answer that the people wanted to look like. Saul the King not David the Shepherd boy. Joseph in the courts of Pharaoh not Joseph in the bottom of the well. It just doesn't look like what we think it is going to look like sometimes and we have to be able to give up our own natural expectation of success in order to find and loose the destiny of God in our lives. I believe that there are some reading this blog that are in the season of the winter, in the season of the quiet where everything feels like it is dead. But underneath the ground in the heart of your spirit there is a stirring of life and the word of the Lord for you is "Lo the winter is past and the sound of the turtle dove is heard in the land"

For lo the winter is past is from the Song of Solomon. It refers to the Bridegroom coming and when the Bridegroom comes He brings gifts. The key to the winter is past is to fall in love with our Bridegroom Jesus.

And so the Lord says to release the anointing to bring forth from barrenness. To release the anointing of spring, of life, to release the Hannah anointing, to open to life the place where life should grow. The Lord says that there will be a moment that the anointing for springtime will come forth; the anointing for abundance, the anointing for life from death will spring forth. There is a moment in the ground when everything changes. And the husks fall away and the flesh falls away. And the I wants and the I ams and I am going to be and our expectations fall away and the anointing that happens in the womb, in the ground, in the seed, God says that it is time to bring forth life from darkness, and light from darkness and peace from turmoil and prosperity from poverty. It happens in the quiet before it is manifested in the day. Things that grow quickly will be blown away. But that which is planted deep inside of us that which goes down deep like the Word that goes deep that is what lasts forever. That is the Word that grows and the evil one is not able to come and pluck that up. Ands so in the season of the quiet, the stillness and what seems like the forever dark, that is exactly when everything is being birthed and everything is getting ready to be brought forth, into the light into the day into the openness into the fulfillment of your destiny.That is when the root system of God is being put into place and is getting ready to take place so when the destiny of God is brought forth it is not easily plucked out by the evil one. In this day and this hour in these end times when everything we have is about to be questioned, we are going to have to know that we know that God is in the house that God is in the midst, that God is in the making, that God is in the doing, in the bringing forth, that God is in the coming forth, God is in the multiplying, in the growing, in the strengthening in the process of what happens under the earth during the winter.

There isn't a lot written in the Bible about the three days that Jesus was buried. But there was a lot that was going on. In those three days Jesus got the keys to death, hell and the grave. In those three days Jesus conquered your winter season. He took the keys of liberty. The river of God, runs through the New Jerusalem, where there is no more winter, there is no more night, and because the Lord God Himself is there-the Lord God Himself is the Light. So the Lord gives us our liberty by rising from the His ground, the winter experience that He went through so that our winter experience could bring forth the same result of resurrected life.

For lo the winter is past, for lo the time of springing forth is come. For lo the Bridegroom has come and He says arise, and come away with me my love. That's how you know it's over. It's over when you fall in love with Jesus.You know it's over when you realize you start to turn yourself and you start to look just as the earth turns itself on it axis and its springtime and harvest. You start to look again to the Bridegroom and you start to look again to the one who brought you forth. Jesus comes and He brings and gives gifts and He says come away, come away with me my beloved, come away with me, come away with me the time of singing of the turtle doves is in the land and the voice of the prophets is being heard again and the sound of the voice of the wisdom of the prophets is being heard again because the winter is past. This is Pastor Susan Living the Everyday Prophetic Life.

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.

The front door the gateway to your home.

When reading Scripture the emphasis on gates, doorways and portals cannot be ignored. They are critical and pivotal to influencing cities, states, regions and territories. As we know this is true in the larger sense we must realize that this is true in the microcosim. The front doors to our homes represent a spriritual entryway into the authority of the people who dwell there. That is way the assault by the cults on knocking on the front doors has been so effective for them and they have hijacked the whole concept of a spirituality entering in by that method. Recently when trying to rent a space for the meeting of a small church I was describing the event of going out to proclaim the Kingdom of God to the landlord and his first question was, "But you are Christian right?" and in that moment I saw the front door standing alone sort of like in a twilight zone and in this guys mind that entry way was a place for the cults and those with the untruth to arrive. Fellow believer's ALL gates and entryways and doorways and portals are to be under the authority of the believer because Christ has given us that authority over the everlasting gates because we are the ones that will lift Him up in them. Let's take back the most basic of gates. Our own front doors and those of our neighbors for the Kingdom.

Happily Ever After in the After Life: What? Part 2

Previously on happily ever after in the after life: I reported on my lack of desire and or ability to go out into the streets to pray for the sick, and offer all the promises of God through Jesus Christ. You can check out my Part 1 dated June 8, 2009 when all I was concerned about was the neighbor's gas mileage not his eternal soul. But it was recommended to me that I take this as a challenge and a learning situation and get out there to offer Jesus as the way the truth and the life. So one never to be challenged alone, and knowing that one of our network ministries in Altus was setting up a missions church, I decided to organize a power evangelism seminar. It was amazing! My friend Emily Havens came with her husband Jon and her three children and brought their friends Wesley and Mia and their three children and conducted the best most thorough explanation of going out into the streets to witness for Christ. Basically you knock on doors and offer prayer for the needs of the household. We sent out 6 teams into the surrounding neighborhood to see what would happen. And guess what.... God showed up and wow! Marc went with Emily and the second door that they knocked on and asked if they could pray for her the woman said yes! This was her need. Her husband had been murdered last year and she had to testify in court this week and she didn't think she could do it. She was overwhelmed with tears that God has sent someone to her door when she needed a touch from Him the most! Power evangelism Rocks!!! Justin led a team to a home where the husband had recently lost his job. He and Sandra and Dillon prayed for her and the tears just started to flow on her front porch! (Note to self bring Kleenix next time). God touched her for His glory! Several people asked the teams to come back for more prayer or when others would be home that needed a touch from God! We will be taking teams out in the Oklahoma City area this week and learning to hear the voice of God as we minister Jesus the author and finisher of our faith. I can't wait to see what Part 3 brings forth! This is Pastor Susan Living the Everyday Prophetic Life.

Summer Blessings

I feel like a kid who just got out of school for the summer. Yes, it is finally happening. Marc and I are taking the summer off from the pulpit and the pastorate of our little church. I am giddy with excitement. Now that doesn't mean that I won't miss our little congregation and our awesome worship and Marc's amazing preaching but come on now...Woo HOO! we get to travel, seek God on a personal level and get some much deserved rest. Yes, as much rest as you can get while working a full time job but rest nonetheless. Sunday was an amazing service. We licensed three new ministers of the Gospel. We passed out symbolic keys and we rejoiced in the Lord in the newness of what He is doing at PromiseChurch. Pastors Justin and Jaclyn Russell of Cloud and Fire Ministries are taking the helm for the summer and we could not be more grateful to them. We know that our flock is in good hands and we can't wait to see the favor of the Lord on this season in their lives. As for us, well you never know where we will pop into church this summer. But I will try to post it on my blog or on my Facebook page, which you can request me a friend by oklahoma_sweetheart_roses@yahoo.com That is my email address! Well be blessed, it just feels like I am running in the grass with bare feet or on the sand or well you get the idea..
This is Pastor Susan Living the Everyday Prophetic Life.