Tag Archives: commitment

Footprint

14 Tuesday May 2019

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Henry Wadsworth Longfellow used the phrase “Footprints on the sands of time” in one of his poems to describe the mark that great individuals leave on history. You may say that you are not a great individual, but I would argue that we all have an opportunity to be great in some way and to someone. With that thought in mind, I want us to consider a very important question. What impression is your footprint leaving behind?

The word footprint can be used many ways.

  1. In detective work, a footprint can be evidence that is left behind to show what happened in the past.
  2. In archaeology, footprints have been found preserved in fossils that document prehistoric life.
  3. In the Tech world, we have a digital footprint that we usually unintentionally leave behind that often opens us up to identity threats
  4. Today we hear much about our Ecological or Carbon footprint in understanding how our earthly resources will last
  5. The one I am most familiar with is a corporate or business footprint

I completed my college degree and spent the majority of my career in Health Care Management, so this was a common focus for me. From a business footprint perspective, I want to share a quote from an article in the Wall Street Journal entitled “A Strategic Guide to Adjusting Your Corporate Footprint”.

“Assessing the enterprise footprint and executing the recommended realignments are not small endeavors. Footprint optimization can be costly and time consuming. But companies able to do so are realizing short-term financial benefits and are likely better positioning themselves for long-term success.” 1

Why did I share this? Because every single one of us are leaving behind a footprint, if at the end of this blog you realize that you want to change your footprint, the good news is, you still can!

This article states that from a business perspective, it can be costly and time consuming but worth it to realize both short term and long term benefits. In our natural and spiritual walk, we too have an opportunity to assess our footprint and determine if realignment is needed.

Our lives and how we live them, all fashion a series of footprints we leave everywhere. Additionally, our spiritual lives also leave an important footprint. Perhaps you don’t feel that you were provided the kind of legacy that you want to pass on, or you feel like you are currently failing in some area, but the good news is today is a new day and the changes you make today can positively impact everything that comes after this. If you didn’t have good footprints left for you to follow, don’t let that become an excuse. Let your footprints be the ones that change the course for all future generations that follow you!

I want to consider four of the important actions we can take to assure that we are leaving behind the optimal footprint God desires us to leave.

  1. We should live a life of godly character and conduct.

Basically, think about the example that you are setting.

Proverbs 13:22 NLT

Good people leave an inheritance to their grandchildren, but the sinner’s wealth passes to the godly.

This text deals with leaving an inheritance to our children, which is a good thing, but if all you leave your kids is a MATERIAL inheritance without leaving them a SPIRITUAL legacy, they will be impoverished, no matter how large the inheritance.

Proverbs 22:1 NLT

Choose a good reputation over great riches; being held in high esteem is better than silver or gold.

We live in an age of moral decline, where it seems like character hardly counts anymore. Sadly, this general lack of character and proper behavior has crept into Christianity. The character and behavior of Christ-followers is often hardly distinguishable from that of unbelievers today.

2 Peter 1:5-9 NLT

Make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. 8 The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins.

Our character and conduct should be so exemplary that we shine as lights in a dark world. As a Christ-follower, we should be different and we should act different than those who don’t know the Lord as their Savior.

Our speech should reflect that, our work ethic, and even our fiscal responsibility should be above reproach. We are a King’s kid and we should act accordingly!

1 Peter 2:9 NASU

But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light

  1. Love extravagantly!

The second important actions we can take to assure that we are leaving behind the optimal footprint is to love extravagantly. Jesus defined this kind of love as being willing to lay down your life for others (John 15:9-10; 12-13).

Jesus displayed the ultimate love when He laid down his life for us.  For most, we will never be in a situation where we will be required to lay down our life for our family, but if faced with the choice most would do it without hesitation. Extravagant love takes this kind of love and expands it across the sea of humanity.   It requires our hearts to love others as we love our immediate family, even the unlovable and our worst enemies. Look how Jesus describes it in this passage.

Matthew 5:43-44 NKJV

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you’”

This kind of extravagant love requires God’s love to flow through us. We have to ask for help from the Lord to love this way, but it is this kind of love that will provide an optimal footprint. In the last verse of the famous “Love chapter” found in 1 Corinthians 13, we learn that three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.  I particularly like the way the Message Bible translates that verse.

1 Corinthians 13:13 Message Bible

But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.

  1. Model Commitment

The third important action is to model commitment. Commitment is dedication to a particular organization, cause, or belief, and a willingness to get involved. People who are committed to an organization or effort truly believe that it is important, and they show up, follow through, and stick with it. With commitment, comes greater momentum to get the job done.

It seems that commitment is not as important to most people as it once was. This is especially true for the younger generation.  We seem to struggle with commitment because we live in a time that has so many choices. The fear of making the wrong choice puts people in analysis paralysis and they end up not committing to any choice.

Another reason for lack of commitment is we have trust issues. In order to trust people we have to connect with people and open ourselves up to love people. We live in an age where most are only connected with their phones and pretend to be connected with people on social media.

The problem with commitment is it requires reciprocity. That means mutual exchange or giving as much as you are receiving.  Too often, we fail at commitment because we are only interesting in receiving and not giving.  For example, I am committed to God and that makes me want to give Him praise, I want to give Him my life, my time, my talent, and my obedience. I am committed to my husband.  I strive to give in that relationship as much as I expect to receive. I am committed to my job. I don’t just show up expecting to receive a pay check when I don’t commit to perform my job. I am committed to my children, to my grandchildren, to my family and friends, and I am committed to my church! I don’t just show up when I feel like it and I try not to show up expecting to receive more than I am willing to give!

Paul describes commitment as keeping your eye on the prize and pressing toward the goal, look at how that passage reads in the Message Bible.

Philippians 3:13-16 Message Bible

13b By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward — to Jesus. 14 I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back. 15 So let’s keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision — you’ll see it yet! 16 Now that we’re on the right track, let’s stay on it.

Commitment leads me to the last action I want to discuss in aligning our footprint.

  1. Contend for the Supernatural

Contend is a strong word and it means to strive or to fight even against difficulties.  We need to contend or fight for the faith or the spiritual legacy that we must leave behind.

Jude 3-4 NKJV

3 Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. 4 For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jude is specifically warning to contend against distorted or deceitful teaching in this passage. I think the verbiage here “certain men have crept in unnoticed” is interesting, because that is exactly what happens when we don’t contend for the supernatural, things creep in unnoticed that take priority over the things we should be contending for!

At the beginning of this year, the Lord told me to contend for the unprecedented. The things which eye has not seen, ear has not heard, and our minds have not imagined. There is such a temptation presented to us to just settle, to accept the status quo, but if we will do what Jude tells us to do and build ourselves up in our faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keeping ourselves in the love of God, we will be empowered to CONTEND FOR THE SUPERNATURAL (Jude 20-21). It will provide the spiritual footprint we want to leave behind!

There are some spiritual things we cannot afford to stop contending for!

    • We need to contend for the lost souls all around us to be saved
    • We need to contend for revival and for a move of God to sweep this world
    • We need to contend for the unprecedented

THERE IS TOO MUCH AT STAKE FOR US TO SETTLE!

I want to close by asking you a thought provoking question. If you are on Social Media of any kind, I want to challenge you to scroll through your timeline and ask yourself, “What does your Social Media footprint look like?”

Long after we depart earth, messages, actions, and images will be left behind for future generations to see. If this social media footprint of yours was the only information the world had about you, ask yourself,

    • Is the footprint represented accurate?
    • What does it say about you?
    • Is it the footprint you want to leave behind?
    • Is it the way you want to be remembered?

While I think we could all learn a lot about our priorities by reviewing our social media posts, more importantly I want you to think about your personal and spiritual footprint. Is it the footprint you want to leave behind? If the Lord tarries, what will your children, grandchildren and even great grandchildren tell about you? What stories will those who know you as a friend or coworker, or fellow church member or neighbor say about you? This question is important not only because we are concerned about what people will think and say when we are gone, but more because we are still here and have an opportunity to make adjustments if they are needed.

    • We have an opportunity to inspire, encourage, and motive others to live godly lives.
    • We have an opportunity to make a difference in this world and for the Kingdom of God,
    • Our decision can please our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ so we will one day hear him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant”!

I ask you one more time to consider this important question. What impression is your footprint leaving behind?

 

References:

  1. wsj.com 5/6/19 (Wall Street Journal April 9, 2012)

 

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Day 4 Devotion: Don’t Settle!

03 Thursday Mar 2016

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This week I have been sharing the first 7 days of a 21 day devotional made available at Grace Community Church.  It was produced by Pastor Charissa Morgan and written by her and other co-laborers in her family in Christ. She shares that it is commonly thought to take 21 days to make or break a habit.  She is believing that this devotional will be the launching pad God uses in individual lives to catapult each one into a deeper, more meaningful relationship with our Savior, Jesus Christ.

I pray you will enjoy each day’s insight from different authors.  You can go to the web page at  gracecommunitysalem.org to learn more about our amazing church family at Grace.

Day 4: Don’t Settle!

By Christa Barnes

In Ruth, chapters 1-4, we read of Ruth’s love story with Boaz, which parallels our relationship with our Lord on so many levels. Ruth entered the homeland of her mother-in-law, Naomi, as a foreigner. As a widow trying to survive, Ruth asked to glean behind the harvesters in the barley fields. Boaz, the owner of the field, went to his young men and graciously ordered them to let Ruth glean among the sheaves—that is, right where they were working and where the pickings would be the easiest. He even told them to subtly drop handfuls of grain where she could find them.  Ruth could have settled at that point. She went home with more than enough and would have been allowed to continue to glean…but it eventually dawned on her that there could be so much more!!! Ruth went against socially accepted norms of the times, seeking out Boaz in the middle of the night, and planting herself at his feet to show her commitment and desire for a deeper relationship with him. Because of this, instead of filling her pockets with mere seeds day after day, she moved from GLEANER to OWNER when Boaz married her!

Let’s follow Ruth’s lead. We, too, are foreigners that have been accepted and allowed to partake of the bounty of the land, thanks to the generosity of the landowner. Titus 3:4, 6-7 says, “But after that the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared…Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior; that being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs.” Although we have no entitlement or expectation of fair and equal treatment, at His invitation and His redemptive work at the Cross, we have been given much more than we deserve; we could settle as “gleaners” of the spiritual realm…running from service to service, trying to pick up seeds to fill our pockets and just surviving…but, if we’ll position ourselves at His feet and desire deeper, we will enrich our spiritual inheritance to a level beyond our wildest dreams! Don’t settle!!

 

Perseverance – The Final Part to a 90-Day Journey – Unleashing the Potential of the Cross

16 Wednesday Sep 2015

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285050_1729563818721_3038664_nIn this final part of the series, “Unleashing the Potential of the Cross”, I want to focus on the third month of our 90-Day Journey. The first month of this journey was about intimacy. In month two, the warfare became intense, and then there was month three, which was about perseverance.

Perseverance was required to stay committed to prayer and communion two hours each day, especially day 60 through 90! The last leg of a trip is when weariness tends to set in. Additionally, those who were faithful to the challenge had to contend to keep the passion and not get ritualistic.

It is easy to stay committed and pray when you “feel” like it, when you “sense” the presence of God, and when you can clearly hear His voice and are witnessing your prayers being answered.

Perseverance is needed when God SEEMS to be absent and SEEMS to be silent! Scripture tells us that He will never leave us or forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5) While I know that to be true, there have been times I have found myself asking, “Where are you?”

A very familiar scripture found in Galatians 6:9 AMP reads:

“And let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint.”

Let me tell you two of the greatest enemies in this season….doubt and disappointment.

When you are in a season where you have been believing and standing in faith for a long time, and your answer has not yet manifested, it is tempting to begin to question if you really heard from God, or if this commitment is really worth it.

In some situations, the risk of disappointment is so great that people give into hopelessness instead of standing in faith. In these times, you must contend!

David shows a great example of perseverance when he was running for his life. An interesting part of this story is found in 1 Samuel 21: 1-9. Let me summarize it for you.

David and a few men who ran with him left with nothing but the clothes on their backs as they ran for their lives when Saul decided to kill him. David went to the temple, and found the priest and asks if there is anything to eat. The only thing that was there to eat was the Bread of Presence, and the priest gave it to them for nourishment. Then David asked the priest if there was a weapon, because he left without one. Look at the priest’s response in verse 9:

“Then the priest said, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the valley of Elah, behold, it is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod; if you would take it for yourself, take it. For there is no other except it here.” And David said, “There is none like it; give it to me.” 1 Samuel 21:9 NASU

David was certainly not a perfect man. In fact, he wasn’t totally honest with the priest in this very story. However, David was a chosen man with a mighty destiny, and I personally believe it was that call on his life that made him a target to all his enemies.

This story so relates to the 90-Day journey I have shared about in this series. David is persevering, running for his life, with only the clothes on his back, and he chooses to run to the temple. He is nourished by the bread of presence, which is very closely related to our first month of our 90-Day journey where the focus was on relationship with God’s presence.

In this place, David was reminded of his greatest victory when he defeated Goliath. David was also now armed with a sword that originally belonged to a giant. I suppose that it was huge…..but now in this place of perseverance, in the presence, David is equipped with a weapon that should be too heavy for him. I feel it was his journey….first in relationship, his contending in warfare, and his perseverance that brought him to this place where there was a new anointing, a new empowerment for him. He developed character that would take him through this difficult season and eventually become the king.

David went to the temple.

  1. He received nourishment.
  2. He received encouragement being reminded of his greatest victory.
  3. He received equipping with a weapon to fight in the next season.

We can go to the cross.

  1. We receive salvation, healing, and provision.
  2. We receive encouragement to be victorious through every season of life.
  3. We receive equipping with the armor of God to withstand all the wiles of the enemy.

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As I close this series on “Unleashing the Potential of the Cross”, let me remind you that we are living in a unique time. I believe any moment the trumpet could sound and we who have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior will be out of here.

In the meantime, as the world gets darker, we the church must become a beacon of light. The Word from the Lord I shared in part one said that we are to be His hands, His feet, and His mouthpiece in these final hours.

How are we equipped to do that? Be spending time in His presence in close proximity to the cross. Yes, the cross purchased your salvation, but there is so much more available to us through Christ’s sacrifice. We can live victoriously during every season we face, and we can be territory takers for the kingdom.

Unleashing the Potential of the Cross – A 90-Day Journey (Part 2)

07 Monday Sep 2015

Posted by in Christian growth, Encouragement

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11800202_886003528102473_5943722319461091719_nIn the first part of “Unleashing the Potential of the Cross”, I shared the inspiration and purpose for the 90-Day journey of prayer and communion. As I stated then, I feel there were specific insights learned in each of the three months of this journey that apply to seasons we face in our Christian life. In parts two through four, I want to break down these three seasons I feel the journey represents with the examples from the life of David.

Month one of this journey was all about intimacy and all about spending time with God. The presence of God was so rich every time I set aside time to meet with Him. It was a time to reconnect with the Father and not ask for anything but just focus on my relationship with Him.

When Jesus walked on this earth, He scolded Martha saying she was troubled and worried about MANY things, but Mary chose the ONE thing that was important…..time at His feet. (Luke 10:38-42)

If we want to walk victoriously in our Christian life, the very first thing we must learn is to consistently stay at His feet – stay in His presence, and focus on our relationship with Him! Our relationship with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is what will get us through every season we encounter!

David understood relationship and fellowship with God. He was the least likely choice to become King of Israel, but what qualified him was he learned about the presence of God in the sheep field. Scripture tells us “…the Lord has sought out [David] a man after His own heart….” (1 Sam 13:14 AMP)

David was human and made significant mistakes, but when he did, he did not go to the people to look good politically, he went to the Father.

Ps 51:10-12 AMP

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right, persevering, and steadfast spirit within me. Cast me not away from Your presence and take not Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and uphold me with a willing spirit.”

I recently heard a minister say this, “Politicians always want position. Prophets always want presence. When politicians get in trouble, they try to preserve the position, but prophets preserve the presence!”

David knew the power of God’s presence. When you read the story of him bringing the Ark of God’s Presence back after it had been stolen by the Philistines in 2 Samuel 6:1-11, it paints a picture of the three-month journey I am describing.

If you know the story, the first time David attempted to move the Ark he tried to do it a new way, with a new cart. Uzzah reached out and touched the Ark to stabilize it as it rode on the cart and he died.

Here is an interesting thought…..Perhaps Uzzah became too familiar with the Ark of God’s presence since his father Abinadab’s house is where the Ark had been housed.

I have heard this said, “The same sun that melts wax hardens clay.” The Bible tells us that in the last days even the very elect will be deceived. I believe one of the greatest deceptions is becoming too familiar with the presence of God! We should never take the things of God lightly or for granted, especially in the days we are living in!

After Uzzah died, David took the Ark of God’s presence to the house of Oben-edem for three months. David was still determined to bring the Ark back, but he had to be willing to do some things differently to get it done. He learned some things during his 90-day journey as well. The second time David did some things differently.

  • The first time he tried to do it the convenient way…with a cart. The second time he followed the pattern of less convenience and the priests carried the ark.
  • The first time he chose 30,000 choice men, the second time “all the house of Israel” participated.
  • The first time there was just worship, but the second time there was sacrifice….there was blood!

Scripture tells us after six paces they sacrificed an ox and a fatling. (2 Samuel 6:13) Most commentators will say this happened after the first six paces only, but many think that they sacrificed every six paces. If that is true, they left a blood trail all the way back! In the same way, we must make much of the blood of Jesus who was our sacrifice. His blood gives us permission to go to dimensions we have never been before.

David had the priest bare the weight and do it the inconvenient way and they had to kill some things along the way! We need to be willing to do some things that are inconvenient and we need to let go of some things to experience this new dimension!

When David came into the city with the Ark of God’s presence, his wife had hatred for him because of the way he was acting as he was dancing before the Lord. She did not understand or think it was necessary. We see the same response when the woman brought her alabaster box and poured it out on Jesus’ feet and washed them with her tears and her hair. (Luke 7:37-38) Many thought that was not necessary.Many do not understand walking in close fellowship with the Father. They are critical of acts of worship or a commitment like communion and prayer two times a day for 90 days, because it is heavy and it is inconvenient. I believe these types of commitments equip us to be mighty men and women of God in every season we face!

So in summary, month one was a reminder of these importance points:

  1. Our relationship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – we should always make time for Him.
  2. A reminder that there is much power available through the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross and through the blood He shed.
  3. Sometimes a commitment to relationship is inconvenient, it is at times sacrificial, but it is worth it!
  4. In His presence we are strengthened, empowered, and equipped to face all other seasons.

As you focus on spending more time developing your relationship with God, I would like to recommend a great resource, “The Pleasure of His Company, A Journey To Intimate Friendship With God” by Dutch Sheets. This book makes a great 30-day devotional and will help you learn to experience God’s presence in a whole new way.

Unleashing the Potential of the Cross —— A 90-Day Journey

29 Saturday Aug 2015

Posted by in Christian growth, Prayer

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At the beginning of April this year, while traveling very early in the morning, I was challenged to embark on a journey as I listened to a sermon by podcast. The minister was discussing many topics that I had been studying and praying about since the beginning of the year. He was encouraging this church to begin a 90-day journey of dedicated time of pray twice a day, which would also include partaking of communion. As I listened, the Lord began to urge me to make this commitment as well.

I thought that these three months would be a personal journey for me, beginning April 11th and ending on July 11th. However, the second day of my commitment was a Sunday, and at the end of our church service, I felt compelled to share briefly with the people at my church about this challenge and encourage others to join if they felt inspired to do so. Our pastor immediately determined that this needed to be a corporate commitment and he said we would have the church open at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. every day!

Now the accountability became very real! It was one thing to tell the Lord in the privacy of my car that I would pray and take communion twice a day for 90 days, but to do it publically added a new level of commitment that made me thankful. To be honest with you, I entered into that time knowing it was an appointment, but unsure what the purpose or outcome would be. One thing I can say is that if you set aside two hours a day to meet with the Lord, you can expect there to be revelation. It would be impossible for me to share everything about this 90-day journey, but I do want to try to articulate some strategies I believe the Lord showed me that will be critical for us to understand during these final days.

This commitment seemed extreme to many, but I believe we are living in extreme times. We are seeing thing unfold that I never thought I would live to see. Signs of our Lord’s soon return are all around us. However, as darkness gets darker, we the Church are to shine forth bright, this is the time for great visitations, people are looking for a solution, people are looking for deliverance, and Jesus is the answer!

We are living in a time like never before and it is very important that the church wake up and the lost come to Christ. I am not sure how much catastrophe or how much of God’s glory we will see to bring the end time harvest of souls, but I believe we see this time defined in Scripture.

The Bible warns us in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 NASU

“But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power.”

But in contrast to the great difficulty, look at what we read in Acts 2:17-21 NASU

“AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,’ God says, ‘THAT I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND; AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY, AND YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS, AND YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS; EVEN ON MY BONDSLAVES, BOTH MEN AND WOMEN,I WILL IN THOSE DAYS POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT and they shall prophesy. AND I WILL GRANT WONDERS IN THE SKY ABOVE AND SIGNS ON THE EARTH BELOW, BLOOD, AND FIRE, AND VAPOR OF SMOKE. THE SUN WILL BE TURNED INTO DARKNESSAND THE MOON INTO BLOOD, BEFORE THE GREAT AND GLORIOUS DAY OF THE LORD SHALL COME. AND IT SHALL BE THAT EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.’”

I believe that the time we are living in will require us to enlist and engage as the Army of Christ on a different level than we have in the past. I also believe that that each month of the 90-day journey painted a picture of the seasons we must learn to navigate. In this post, I want to provide the introduction, and then I will post insights from each month in parts two through four.

For me personally, the significance of the beginning of this 90 days on 4/11 can be referenced in the below scripture.

“And He said to them, to you has been entrusted the mystery of the kingdom of God [that is, the secret counsels of God which are hidden from the ungodly]; but for those outside [of our circle] everything becomes a parable.” Mark 4:11 AMP

When Jesus walked on this earth, He often taught by using stories, analogies, or parables. These stories often concealed the truth from those who would oppose His message. However, those who were closest to Him could understand the truth behind the comparisons.

Another way to say it is, Jesus veiled the truth in parables and then looked for treasure hunters who could reveal the story in the story.

The thing about a treasure hunt is it requires perseverance and commitment. This leads to the significance of the end of the 90 days 7/11….

“If you then, evil as you are, know how to give good and advantageous gifts to your children, how much more will your Father Who is in heaven [perfect as He is] give good and advantageous things to those who keep on asking Him!” Matthew 7:11 AMP

If you consider this scripture in context going back to the previous chapter there are many wonderful nuggets….

Matthew 6:19-21 AMP

“Do not gather and heap up and store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust and worm consume and destroy, and where thieves break through and steal. But gather and heap up and store for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust nor worm consume and destroy, and where thieves do not break through and steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

This 90-day journey was not about treasure on earth it was about Kingdom treasure. The kind of treasure that is found with perseverance, commitment, and sacrifice and through methods that was inconvenient! Many, like those who did not understand the parables, do not realize that these treasures are even available. They are hidden unless you seek and ask for them.

It is critical for us to find them now, because I believe these treasures will enable and empower us to navigate the unique times we are living in!

Matthew 7:7-8 AMP

“Keep on asking and it will be given you; keep on seeking and you will find; keep on knocking [reverently] and [the door] will be opened to you. For everyone who keeps on asking receives; and he who keeps on seeking finds; and to him who keeps on knocking, [the door] will be opened.”

Asking implies consciousness of need and belief that God hears our prayers. Seeking implies earnest petitioning along with obedience to God’s will. Knocking implies perseverance in coming to God even when He does not respond quickly.

90 days of asking, seeking, and knocking through prayer and communion twice a day. 90 X 2 = 180! Many people need a “180” in their lives, and this 90-day journey was a dedicated time to seek direction and ask for that to happen.

So you may be asking, “Why communion?” I do not believe I fully understood this at the beginning, but I quickly learned that at least for me, and I believe also for the Body of Christ, we need a renewed passion for the power of the cross!

Perhaps you noticed the title is not “Unleashing the Power of the Cross”. This was my original plan, but through prayer, I realized it should be “Unleashing the Potential of the Cross”. Let me explain why…

Do you know what that word potential means? According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, it means, “existing in possibility: capable of development into actuality.”

We talk about the power of the cross, the power of the blood of Jesus, but we do not always walk in that power so it is actually potential.

It is easy to become too familiar with the cross and the sacrifice Jesus made on it if you have been a Christian for a long time. I began to be stirred about the power of the cross and Jesus’ blood a month before Easter this year. Our pastor had placed a big, wooden cross on the platform for his sermon series. The first Sunday it was there, I was sitting on the front chair, and while Pastor was preaching, I began to have a fresh perspective of the meaning. I began to thank God for sending His only Son Jesus to die on the cross for me – I thanked Jesus for that ultimate sacrifice and for shedding His blood for me, and for bleeding as he bore those stripes for my healing.

While sitting there looking at that cross, I got a glimpse of something in my spirit….You know how you can watch crime scene coverage or TV shows and they go to a place where they think someone has cleaned up the blood from a crime? They show the agent spray the substance called luminol. Then turn the light off and they see the blood that was not previously visible show up in a blue color.

That morning, looking at that cross, I got a glimpse of what the enemy and all his forces see when they come out of darkness to bring opposition to the child of God….they see the blood! It may have been shed 2000 years ago, many have tried to clean it up, but it is still there!

Just as the Children of Israel applied the blood of a lamb for protection, we in this age apply the blood of Jesus. We pray from the place of the power of the blood, the cross, and the resurrection. That same power that raised Christ from the dead dwells in us!

During this 90-day journey, I heard God say this:

My Son’s blood is more than enough to meet every need and break every chain!

My son’s blood purchased your salvation.

My son’s blood paid the price for your healing, but what you must understand is His great sacrifice also granted you access to heavenly places:

When He breathed His last breath on the cross, the veil of the temple was rent in two from top to bottom, granting you access to joint seating with My Son!

My son met all requirements once and for all!

Do not allow His great sacrifice to be taken for granted.

The door is standing wide open! Access has been granted for you to walk in all authority, power, and revelation…to be My hands and feet, and voice in this earth in these final hours.

THIS WORD CHALLENGES ME TO SEE THE CROSS AS MORE THAN A FIRE ESCAPE!!!

I believe this is why communion twice a day for 90 days was so important during this consecrated time.  I can tell you for me; it brought a brand new perspective of the potential of the cross.

Day after day, I came to the cross; I laid many things down at the cross, things I do not need to carry because He already carried them for me. I would pray, “Lord if you will take care of my business, I will focus on Yours!

Day after day, I not only laid things down at the cross, but I picked things up from the cross. He said, “Access has been granted to walk in all authority, power, and revelation.” Day after day, I picked up authority, I picked up power, and I picked up revelation!

I learned that the closer proximity to the cross, the greater the power.

Why am I telling you about this? Because it is available for each of us! I feel like this 3-month period was an ordained period for me personally and for our corporate body. We saw some of the “180’s” happen, but more importantly, there was a “180” in my perspective about the potential of the cross that is available to us! It is not limited to this 90-day journey, but is available for the remaining days we live on this earth!