The Lord has brought the shaking to the earth - to the household of faith, we are to embrace the shaking. Our idols in babylon are falling (Isaiah 21/Amos 7) - man will try to prolong the inevitable, but it is falling. It is actually His mercy that He is doing this for us. We must embrace the trials as they are perfecting our faith. Our high places where we have sought refuge in the past are coming to ruin. He is our strong tower (Proverbs 18:10). Even the "good things" must be brought to ruin. We are seeking the "all these things that will be added unto you" and not first His kingdom and His righteousness. This will change. It is also interesting to note that passage in context - Jesus followed by saying to not worry! There is plenty to worry about in the natural, but we are to be at peace in these troubled times by the Spirit. We must recognize the season in which we are in - this is the final hour. Luke 21:34 says to be watchful that our hearts are not weighted down by the anxieties of this life - we must walk "above" the trials by walking out in the spirit when the natural world seems to be falling apart. In doing so, we will become like that plumb wall - straight and true with the Father. Jesus was crucified at Golgotha (the place of the skull). The skull houses the natural mind - we must take our thoughts captive and make them obedient to Christ. The natural mind will see despair, but in the Spirit we'll see opportunity. Just as God parted the Red Sea, fed the Israelites in the desert, had ravens feed Elijah and so and and so forth, His provision at times won't make any sense to the natural mind and at times will come miraculously - the point being our eyes will be taken off of our circumstances and on to Him as we walk out in the Spirit and learn to trust Him more fully. This time is not only preparation for us individually, but also as a body.
He is also shaping the body - we need each other! Proverbs 18:9 tells us of the need for each other - he who is slack in his work will destroy many. We must labor not only for ourselves, but for the very welfare of others. We must get plugged in - though the church is still blemished, it is partly blemished because it is missing those who are either offended and on the sidelines or ill-equipped for their purposed job. Either way, as a result, they are slack and we all suffer.
In recent weeks, we've been hearing the word "interfaces". To Perry and I, an interface has meaning for us (him in telecommunications and myself in software) in that an interface point is a point of connection in which information transfers from one interface to another. We are to be "interfaces" for the connecting of the body - i believe that was a word not for Perry and myself, but for all believers as He begins to shape the "city-wide" church. To follow up on the word about "interfaces", Matthew 13:47-52 talks about the kingdom of heaven being like a net - the kingdom is the connecting up or the interfacing of us in preparation for the end time harvest. As we walk these things out, we will walk into the "greater works" - the raising of the dead, healings, and miracles should and will become common place. Now is the time!
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