Solid Foundation – Part 1

The title of a sermon, I heard nearly two decades ago, has always stuck with me: It was Keep Your Tent Pegs Light.

While I don’t remember the sermon, I realize God has highlighted this title to me recently to remind me of an important message for this hour: 

That we are to continue to walk in holiness as we move forward with God and grow in His promises.

First, we must believe that we have one solid foundation, which is Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth and Christ’s resurrection life within us (Jn 14:17, 1 Tim 3:15).

1 Corinthians 3:11 AMPC tells us, “For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is [already] laid, which is Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).”

Acts 17:28 says, “For in Him we live and move and have our being…”

We know that Christ, as our firm foundation, doesn’t change; but He changes us. 

In this, we get to trust Him as we walk through the process of transformation to greater promise, which is God instilling His higher standard as He defines our path and delineates our boundaries—first inwardly, then outwardly.

Like Abraham and the Israelites, who moved with God into the unknown-to-them, we are to grow in the grace of pulling up stakes, departing from our past and moving from glory to glory as God continues to pour into us and out of us. 

We are to continually acknowledge Him and rely on Him during increase, as graciously held pegs re-set into holy ground (Is 22:23).

Move by move, every time the ancients of faith pierced the ground with their pegs of identity, purpose and commitment, their faith had an opportunity to grow; and their houses became increasingly established in a secure foundation of glorious new dominion with The Lord.

Like them, we are to go from Him to more of Him in our soul.

From more of Him to much more of Him.

And from much more of Him to much, much more. 

Psalms 18:31 TPT asks, “Could there be any other god like you? You are the only God to be worshiped, for there is not a more secure foundation to build my life upon than you.”

So, in this journey of consecration and fruit production, we are to keep our fierce focus on God and live in the honor of worship to Him alone, turning from all wickedness (Is 26:13, Pr 3:6, Is 19:13). 

As we align with our Chief Cornerstone, He will strengthen us, reveal what we need to know and ultimately deliver us into an expansive reward to make His Name great (Ps 119:38). 

Our full dependence on God invites His fulfillment of promise (Jn 1:16).

Just like Joshua, who was known to be carefully obedient, and Caleb, who was known to be wholehearted, our reality-walk will expand and go long from believing God’s promises; to acting on them; then to experiencing the manifest heart of God, which is to have and to hold Him in the possession of good, exponential fruit. For His glory.

It is a walk where we experience all the pieces come together.

We can be encouraged in this process by Ephesians 2:20-22 TPT, which say: 

You are rising like the perfectly fitted stones of the temple; and your lives are being built up together upon the ideal foundation laid by the apostles and prophets, and best of all, you are connected to the Head Cornerstone of the building, the Anointed One, Jesus Christ himself! This entire building is under construction and is continually growing under his supervision until it rises up completed as the holy temple of the Lord himself. This means that God is transforming each one of you into the Holy of Holies, his dwelling place, through the power of the Holy Spirit living in you!

So, in order for our reality to change for the better, we have to embrace The Lord’s higher ways and keep Him first and center as He reveals Himself and delivers us. 

We must believe God at His Word beyond our circumstances and trust that He sees us as deserving such an inheritance through Christ, our Savior, who makes a way by grace where we could not go otherwise.

We must willingly come to operate in the kind of balance that excels in both God’s Spirit and applied wisdom to the practical—remaining on solid ground.

This balance is the key to, and the fruit of, a life built on a firm foundation that is stable and, therefore, does not waffle or waver but produces what God intended.

For those who are not there yet, there’s hope for those who remember Him—the repentant and the willing.

He offers us an example in Isaiah 19:18-23, where we see people in five Egyptian (worldly) cities turn and commit themselves to God in worship and intimately knowing Him as their Lord. As a result, God revealed Himself as a promise keeper: He healed and restored them, and He called them His people. 

So, friends, how about you?

Are you ready to faithfully walk on the solid ground of wholeness, where you will see your life come together in purposeful ways?

Are you ready to trust God more in a greater role? To establish His Kingdom even more in the earth through you as you abide in Him? 

There is no need to fear; but there is a need for faith, as God raises a standard, does a new thing and helps us move past our past in His overcoming grace (Is 43:18-19).

Join me next week for Part 2 of Solid Foundation

This video-devo was graciously re-posted by the Salem Web Network, which includes iBelieve.com.

Youthful Resurrection – Part 1

Early in the morning, nineteen days ago, on May 19th of 2020, The Lord gave me a very succinct prophetic dream. 

In that dream…

I saw this Word of Knowledge: “Amen to the cavemen.” 

Then I saw a clear vision of two young adult men, who looked to be 20-years-old. I did not know them, and I had never seen them before. They were indoors, and I did not see any identifiable features of their environment, except a plain white wall.

These two young men seemed joyful, like happy, close friends, as they smiled and talked and walked alongside this wall. 

One of them held a simple round plastic container that looked to be about two to three gallons in size. The container had a lid (seal) on it. The container reminded me of a Tupperware® canister I had had for years and recently tossed out while packing to move one day. 

The two young men walked toward the corner of their room and sat down on the floor to open the container. 

When one of them took the lid off, their surroundings suddenly and completely changed. 

Their new place, position and purpose instantly manifested…

The two young men went from being inside to being outside in a split second. Once outside, they stood positioned on an expanse of green lawn with a tall, green forest in the background. 

It looked like a summer season.

Still, there were no other people around in this wide, open space. 

What’s more, the lid from the container instantly changed (form) into a Frisbee®. And the young men were joyfully sailing it through the air to each other in rapid succession.

There was no sign of the bottom part of the container in this new, expansive place. And at no point did I see anything material inside of the container. 

The container was just gone. 

The young men remained joyful the entire time—smiling and laughing, with not a care in the world as they flung the Frizbee® to each other. 

Then, after a moment, the dream suddenly ended. And I woke up and jotted it down. 

So, what was God revealing in this dream that contained so much symbolism?

I sought The Lord in prayer and carefully pored over scriptures, root words and reference books for several days. As I received revelation and confirmation, I believe this is The Lord’s foundational meaning, which reveals a significant message to all of us…

“Amen to the cavemen…”

There is a reference to the “God of Amen” in the Isaiah 65:16 TPT study note. Here, it can be interpreted as the “God of Faithfulness” or the “God of Truth.”

The Word “Amen” means “firm, trustworthy, surely, truly” and “so let it be” (Strong’s).

“Caveman” means “cave dweller” (Dictionary.com). And in regards to this dream, I sense it references God dwelling in the hearts of the two young men and they with Him in the secret place, such as indoors.

Ephesians 2:22 TPT says, “This means that God is transforming each one of you into the Holy of Holies, his dwelling place, through the power of the Holy Spirit living in you!”

And Romans 8:14 AMPC reveals that “…all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” 

Therefore, the young men in the dream represent those of us who have been transformed in the secret place and are led by Holy Spirit.

The container…

I believe the container in this dream is symbolic of holding the young men’s purpose until they were ready to step into their next glory of expansion. And I believe the lid (or seal) of the container was a merciful boundary The Lord set for them until they were spiritually strong enough in their souls to move forward and stand in it. 

Once the young men were re-set outdoors in their new expanse, the bottom of the container was no more. All that remained was mercy, which was and is new every day. This was illustrated as the lid (or seal) changing form into a new instrument of rejoice, such as the Frizbee®.

I believe the sailing of the Frizbee® between the two young men was an expression of their gratitude and joyous praise unto The Lord for His mercy in growing them spiritually and releasing them into increase.

Their position and purpose…

I believe the young men’s new position of opportunity and purpose with Christ is a reflection of their authority, power and privilege in The Lord as in Isaiah 22:22…

“I will place upon his shoulders the key to the treasure of David’s palace. He will open doors that no one can shut, and he will shut doors that no one can open” (TPT version).

I believe the God of Faithfulness and Truth helped those young men—who are representative of all of His faithful followers—begin to realize the dreams God purposed for them, by His Spirit.

The big picture…

I believe The Lord has heard our prayers for His merciful intervention and is revealing Himself as Faithfulness and Truth to deliver us into His promises and restore our land at this fitting time.

Here are two scriptures that reference this point:

Matthew 5:7 TPT, which says, “How satisfied you are when you demonstrate tender mercy! For tender mercy will be demonstrated to you.”

Jeremiah 33:11 AMPC, which declares, “[There shall be heard again] the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voices of those who sing as they bring sacrifices of thanksgiving into the house of the Lord; Give praise and thanks to the Lord of hosts, for the Lord is good; for His mercy and kindness and steadfast love endure forever! For I will cause the captivity of the land to be reversed and return to be as it was at first, says the Lord.”

I believe there are more keys to this message, especially for individuals. But I’ll address those next week in part two of Youthful Resurrection.

This video-devo was graciously re-posted by the Salem Web Network, which includes iBelieve.com.