From the authors: Ann Maria Mora and Lynn Donovan and their book, My Child Sees Monsters - Simple Steps to Send Them Away.

This video is SO GOOD: 

Image credit testimoniesofhisgoodness.wordpress.com

Jeanne here.  Last June (2021) I had a strong leading from Holy Spirit to learn what it means to be seated with Christ in the heavenly places.  Over the course of the next 7 months, the topic was brought to my mind many, many times.  But I never sat down and studied it out.

God (in his mercy) did not wait until I got around to studying it.  After work last night, I was making supper (tater tot hotdish – shout-out to my Minnesota readers!) Pandora was playing a contemporary Christian song that I’ve heard dozens of times before.  Suddenly I was struck with powerful revelation… it’s hard to put the experience into words. I stood in my kitchen weeping, and when I had pulled myself together, I grabbed the nearest piece of paper – a grocery list – and wrote down what I suddenly knew:

We are seated on the mercy seat with Jesus.  We can extend his mercy, grace, and forgiveness to our fellow humans.  We can exercise his authority over the demonic.  We can calm the storm and move the mountain.  We can heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons.  IT IS FINISHED.

Yesterday morning I believed all these things were true because God’s word says so. But now I know they are true in every cell of my body.  There’s nothing left to wait for.  It’s time for us, if we call ourselves followers of Jesus, do what he told us to do.  He gave us everything we need.  We are seated in the heavenly realms with Christ Jesus. As the Father sent Jesus, now Jesus sends us.  We are sent to preach the kingdom of God and to take back all the ground that the enemy has stolen. 

We are simultaneously seated in the heavenly realm with Jesus and walking this earth in physical bodies.  We must do the work of Jesus, to carry out his will and enforce his decrees, because we – believers -- are the only body he has on earth now.  We must preach the gospel.  We must comfort the brokenhearted. We must declare freedom from darkness for those bound by the chains of deception. We must bind every lying spirit of suicide, depression, anxiety, lost identity, and fear.  We must loose the Spirit of love, mercy, and forgiveness.  We have been given the ministry of reconciliation, not just a cessation of hostility, but rather bringing people back into an intimate relationship with the God who created them and has loved them from the beginning of time.

There is much talk these days of the end times.  In Matthew chapters 24 and 25 Jesus talks about the signs of his return, and also what he expects of us in the meantime.  He repeatedly warns us to be ready.  If you knew Jesus was coming next week, what would you do?  If you knew Jesus was coming in a year, what would you do?  It seems many of us, including myself, have been concerned with all sorts of things that won’t matter a bit when Jesus returns.  I am haunted by Luke 18:8: Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?

The conflict between the kingdom of God and the powers of darkness is not some spectator sport.  There is no point in sitting on the sidelines, cheering for good and decrying evil. That’s not what Jesus meant when he told us to announce the kingdom, heal the sick, raise the dead, and cast out demons.  We aren’t seated in the heavenlies with him so we can have a better view of the game!

There is a fire in me that wasn’t there yesterday, and I pray it lights you up too.  One of my former instructors says, “Don’t worry about what people will think if you don’t get it exactly right. If you’re on fire for Jesus, they’ll come watch you burn.”  I pray Holy Spirit fire falls on everyone who reads this.  I pray that wisdom, discernment, and above all the incomprehensible love of God fills your hearts and minds.

I’d love you to share in the comments what you would do differently if you knew Jesus was coming on a particular day in the near future, or what it means to you to be seated in the heavenly realms with him. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

By Martha Bush

Let’s take a stroll today and see what it's like to walk in God’s favor. For a reference story, I want to draw your attention to a man in the book of Esther - Mordecai. Let's start with Esther 6:3.

The king said, “What honor or dignity has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?”  Then the king’s servants who attended him said, “Nothing has been done for him.” 

The story behind the above verse goes like this:  One day, as Mordecai was on duty outside King Ahasuerus’ gate, two of the king’s guards became angry at the king and plotted to assassinate him.  Mordecai heard about it and passed on the information to Queen Esther who told the king, crediting Mordecai with the information.  An investigation was made, the two men found guilty, and impaled alive.  This was all recorded in The Book of Chronicles, the history book of King Ahasuerus’ reign.

Five years passed and it would appear as though the king had forgotten all about Mordecai saving his life.  But, on that night, the king could not sleep and asked for The Book of Chronicles to be brought to him, and he read the account that had been recorded of how Mordecai had saved his life.  The king decided it was now time to reward him for this.

And thus, plans were put into motion for "A royal robe be brought which the king has worn, and a horse on which the king has ridden, which has a royal crest placed on its head. Then let this robe and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king’s most noble princes, that he may array the man whom the king delights to honor. Then parade him on horseback through the city square, and proclaim before him." "Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!’”  (Esther 6:6-11)

You gotta hand it to God.  He knows how to have a grandeur performance that glorifies His name. What a class act He performed. An interesting little tidbit of information.  You probably have noticed that The book of Esther does not even contain the name God. I don’t know know about you, but to me that shows how God works behind the scenes, and when He gets everything lined up like He wants it, He carries out His plan.

There is much written about the story of Mordecai and the events leading up to the night the king asked to read from The Book of Chronicles. But, may I draw your attention to three take away points in Chapter 6:  (1) God Saw Every Aspect of Mordecai's Life (2) God Didn't Forget Him (3) God's Timing Was Perfect. 

The Results--- 

Mordecai had the honor of Walking in God's favor!

What about you?  Do you ever feel that the dreams you have for your family have not been fulfilled? Do you ever feel that there is more God has for you to do? Do you ever feel that it is time for God to show up on your radar screen?

My friends, I can’t explain it, but I just feel it in my bones that something “BIG” is on the horizon for all God’s people - - new assignments, transitions, prophetic words coming to pass. As a matter of fact, it seems to be the "Hot Topic" among God's children.

Just like Mordecai, He has not forgotten us, nor has He forgotten our nation. So…….

Receive it in your hearts, and by faith, begin

Walking in God’s Favor!

I can’t wait to hear all of our stories that will surely come out of this time in history.

What are your thoughts on the story, as well as your own life.  You might can add more takeaway points than the three I listed.

*****  

If you haven’t watched it yet, check out Lynn’s video on what the Lord shared with her from Isaiah 61 concerning  The Year of The Lord’s Favor.  See video here.

Greetings dear readers, this is Jeanne.  I want to apologize for not identifying myself in previous posts, and I have a confession.  When Lynn asked me to contribute to her blog, I was really nervous! I feel this is a sacred community and I don’t want to harm it in any way.  I want to be one of the conduits through which the Lord blesses you.  He does have good things for me to give you, if I can keep my flesh out of the way!  With that said, on to today’s post.

A few months ago I heard the song “Thy Will” by Hillary Scott.  It’s a beautiful, haunting, heartbreaking song.  I don’t have permission to quote it here, but if you get a chance to listen to it, please do.  She wrote it after losing a baby to miscarriage.  The most heartbreaking part for me is that she seems to believe that God caused or at least allowed her baby to die, for reasons she might never know.

We all have tragedies in our lives that leave us asking “Why?”  You probably know people who have turned away from God because of a painful event or a prayer he didn’t answer.  If you are like me, you have also gone through times when you weren’t sure you wanted to serve a God who lets bad things happen to good people.  Or perhaps you have believed that he has some unknowable reason, and the painful experiences are part of his plan for you or for them.

Please know that I am not condemning this thought process; trust me, I’ve been there.  It is one of the most insidious lies of the enemy that God controls what happens on this earth.  You may have heard it taught in your church, but it’s still a lie.  God gave dominion – power, authority, jurisdiction -  over a perfect earth, in which there was no death, to human beings made his own image. When they chose to obey the devil instead of God, they handed that authority over to the enemy.  

               The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth he has given to mankind.  Ps 115:16

Don’t you know that you become a slave to whomever you choose to obey? You can obey sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteousness.  Romans 6:16

Jesus came as a man because that was the only way he could get the earth back from the enemy.  He came to destroy the works of the enemy. To get mankind out from under the yoke of sin, Jesus had to lead a perfect life, never once obeying the enemy instead of God.  What an incredible task!  He did exactly what the Father sent Him to do, and in the end sin and death had no power over him. 

Jesus gave that power and authority over the enemy to his disciples (that would be us.)  He gave the church (us again) power to bind and to loose, and he said the gates of hell will not prevail against us.  What happens on earth is our will, not God’s.  He allows what we allow; he won’t interfere with our free will.  God’s will is that every one of us would choose life, love each other, and spend eternity with him.  But the choice is ours.  Each of us has free will and the choice of how to live and whom to serve, every moment of every day.

Back to the tragedies that fill our lives.  If it wasn’t God’s will that the Scotts lost their baby, why did it happen?  God breathed life into that baby at the moment of conception.  He had a plan for that child’s life.  It was cut short by the thief who comes to kill, steal, and destroy.  The devil and the effects of sin are all around us.  People blame God for what man does or does not do, which is exactly what the devil wants.  The good news is, we have the power and the authority to rebuke the devil, to walk in the power Jesus gave us, and to bring the Kingdom of God to earth.  The bad news is, it won’t happen if we don’t do it.

Today, let me encourage you to search the Scriptures and ask Holy Spirit to show you the authority you have and where he wants you to exercise it.  Our prayers are powerful; our words are powerful; our actions are powerful.  Don’t let the enemy deceive you into believing what you do or say or pray doesn’t matter.  Leave a message in the comments about what He shows you.  Remember, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!” (Phil. 4:13)

Jeanne

Holy Father, who is in Heaven, Jesus our Messiah and Holy Spirit who moves in our hearts and in our lives, we come before you in obedience and love. We seek Your perfect wisdom. Lord, we plead like Paul, in Ephesians 1:17 for the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation to know Your will for our country, for our future leaders and to help us to bring unity to Your Church and to our country.

Lord, You knew before time began whom You would appoint as our 45th president. You ordained that this person might be a tool of Your purposes, judgement and or mercy. We ask now that you would bring that person forward and fill them with Your Holy Spirit. We stand in prayer and faith that this person will be humble and submitted to Your Son, Jesus.

Father, right now we come against the powers of darkness, principalities, and rulers of evil. We stand as Your Children, given gifts and authority to cast down all arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. And we declare that this land, the United States of America, will be a nation dedicated to God. We pray you move with great power to defeat the powers of darkness. And we will pray the heavens open and place angels on assignment to defeat evil intentions, lies to the public and deceit. In the name of Jesus.

Lord, we seek your favor and turn from wickedness. We repent on behalf of our brothers and sisters in this country that have aligned themselves with selfish and evil motives. We repent for lies that spew forth from our televisions and in the public square. We beg your forgiveness. Lord, now we ask a fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit to sweep across our land and change the atmosphere from division, fear, and hatred and then release love, healing and kinship. Lord, we ask that truth prevail, Your truth. In Jesus holy name.

Father, let your people rise and see their enormous importance to humble themselves and pray this very hour for Your hand of mercy and grace. Let us storm the heavens with petitions that move all of heaven and that defeat hell with finality.

Lord, defeat the devil’s schemes. Remind us to armor up daily and to walk in the Spirit of 2 Timothy 1:7. For you did not give us a spirit of fear but one of power love and sound mind. Grant us a supernatural mind to know exactly how and whom to vote. Lord, let us become warriors, bold and valiant, for Your Kingdom. Let us not shrink back from attacks of evil but rise up and share Your truth with a world that is blind, naked and dying.

Lord, let Your banner over us be love and kindness. You know who our next President will be. We ask that You would bless our county with a humble person who will seek Your face for wisdom as they guide us in the days ahead. Place a covering over this person and family. Place a covering over American and bring about Your perfect plans for this Nation.

We pray all this in the name above all names, Jesus. Christ.