Learn the lesson of the Salmon  -

  A Salmon must return to the stream where it was spawned  - or die trying. It cannot mate - it cannot  bear fruit  - anywhere else.

   We too, if we wander, if we stray, from the river of God's Spirit  - from the Holy Spirit's presence   - wherein we were "spawned" (born)  - must return  to whence we came from  - or we will die. And we cannot bear Him fruut, apart from Him. It is only in His presence that His presence can be in us. We must abide there  - in that river, that mighty river. 

   Built into each of us, spiritually,  is the path home. If we'll choose it.

"NEVERTHELESS,  I HAVE SOMEWHAT AGAINST THEE, BECAUSE THOU HAST LEFT THY FIRST LOVE"

"RETURN TO ME AND I WILL RETURN TO YOU" says The Lord. 

 Your first love is calling out to you  -

 "Who does your heart belong to? "

  "Where is it your heart flew?"

  "oh My love

         come back to

                   the love

                        you once knew"

"Return, oh return to Me,

     and I'll return to you       gladly

Unlearn, oh unlearn  -

  the fruit of that rebellious tree

        and I'll rejoice 

        at your choice

             to forsake the call of your flesh

              that lrads you to your death"

"I'll forgive 

  every kiss

     you gave to another. 

 Remember this  -

     each new tryst

          with each new lover

could never satisfy

what only I

was meant to give"

"Come back to Me,

   that you may live"

 We are livin' with hearts wide open

 lovin' and hopin'

 livin' and copin'

 for I've  got a notion

 God loves us this way too

 There's nothin' he won't do

 for me and for you

So don't be surprised 

 when love gives you wings

 and you rise and you fly

 to better things  (to better things)

Feel your heart getting lighter

 as His love takes you higher

Far above  the pain of this life

 far above to where you'll see His light

 and there He'll whisper better things

 of which your heart will rejoice and sing

 where your heart has already gone.....

and you'll find too

 this isn't some idle song....

 

 Are we like cats when we're born again? Are we initially blind? Paul  - when he encountered Christ for the first time  - was blinded. His outward, physical blindness was a powerful witness to him of his inner, spiritual blindness.  Certainly,  all of us who come to Christ  are blind when we first meet him.

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to recover the sight of the blind"

Like Paul, we have no idea who our Christ is when we first meet him. We can no more understand what's happened to us than a baby born in the natural understands what's just happened to it when it exits the womb  - but it's spirit can understand. 

The thing of it is  - the experience we call being "born again"  - we are entering the womb, not leaving it. It's our moment of conception  - we still must remain in the womb of the Spirit  - growing and maturing  - surrounded by the love of God  - the water of the Word and the river of the Spirit  - till he deems us ready to be "born again".

When Paul, who thought he could see  - who thought he had a proper revelation and understanding of God, was blinded, he had to be "led by the hand" by the men he was previously leading. The spiritually blind always end up being led by man  - they become dependant on man to show them where they should go  - spiritually. They become the blind that are being led by the blind  - of whom Jesus so eloquently spoke. 

It was only when Paul encountered a prophetic disciple  - one who could hear God and one who would obey God  - that Paul had his sight restored.  Today, God will use all his disciples in the same way, who listen to him and obey him. He will fill their lives with Divine appointments  - setting the captives free  - binding up broken hearts, recovering the sight of the blind and giving Divine liberty to the bruised.   Like Paul, we too will never be able to see properly  - to have the spiritual eyes of our understanding opened   - until we encounter the prophetic aspect of the Holy Spirit's ministry to us. We begin our new life in Christ with a prophetic encounter with God - and we must continue therein - we must not quickly substitute man's voice for God's after we first hear him.

When Paul met Christ  - he found out what his true identity is  - and so shall we  - men, flesh, called him "Saul" but God called him "Paul" - meaning "small", or "humble"      - Paul was ministered to by the disciple Ananias  - after three days  - the same amount of time Jesus was in the tomb  - "Ananias" means "The cloud of The Lord". It's in the glory cloud of the Holy Spirit's presence that we receive our sight  - spiritually, and we lose sight of the flesh and the ways and thoughts ofvman. When Paul met Jesus  - he switched trees. He went from the Tree of knowledge to the Tree of Life. He went from hate to love, from persecuting Christ to serving him. God chose to turn the Church's greatest enemy into it's greatest blessing.  All of us are opposed to Christ until we surrender to him, then we too become his willing servants  - Paul, while he was Saul  - persecuted the Church out of ignorance.  His heart was to bless God  - he just didn't know how. He didn't even know who God was. Today, many "Christians" are in the same situation  - they have a heart to bless God, to serve Him, but they don't know him. As Paul didn't know Jesus - they do not know the Holy Spirit.  Like Paul, though, many of them are destined to have an encounter with their own Ananias  - with the Holy Spirit  - and they too will become completely different people - instead of persecuting their brethren who have accepted  the Holy Spirit  - they will join them. Paul became the very thing he hated! Oh may all God's people have a life changing encounter with the prophetic anointing of the Holy Spirit! May they meet their Ananias on the road of life - on the street called Straight.  May every crooked way in them become straight! May they walk the straight and narrow path that leads to Salvation! 

"Straight is the gate and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life  - and few there be that find it"

Part two

 

Fig leaves or fruit  - which will you choose? For if Jesus meets you on the Day of Judgment and you present to Him only leaves  - and no fruit  - you will hear Him say  - depart from Me.  Religion is a Fig tree without fruit, bearing leaves only. It looks fine until you get close to it: then you see that all the promise,  all the expectations you had  - are denied  - for it's barren....Jesus cursed it for "he was hungry: and seeing a fig tree afar off ( Jesus and religion are far apart from one another) having leaves, he came, if haply he might find anything thereon: and when he came to it he found nothing but leaves, for the time of figs was not yet and Jesus answered and said unto it  - no man eat fruit of thee here after forever. And his disciples heard it."   Immediately after Jesus went and cleansed his temple  - throwing out the money changers. This, all of it, is a prophecy for us today  - Jesus is cursing religion- man's efforts to hide from his presence but look like (outwardly) he is seeking God. Jesus' true disciples will hear this word. They will obey Jesus' command to not eat it's fruit  - "here after forever" . They will recognize Christianity as a religion  for what it truly is  - a barren fig tree. They will say with me to The Lord  - "Master  - behold, the fig tree which you cursed is withered away" -  they will see religion dry up from the roots  -  THEY WILL NOT EAT OF IT'S FRUIT  - for the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil is cursed. They will follow Jesus "out of the city" - THEY WILL NOT LIVE (remain) IN BABYLON  - only visit it to win souls. They will have true faith, faith that bears the fruit God is satisfied with  - for "if a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered  - for herein is My Father glorified   - that you bear MUCH fruit  - so shall you be my disciples" .

My disciples are those who allow me to make them whole  - who do not hide from My Presence   - who do not hide behind fig leaves  - for you cannot bear fruit unto Me while avoiding intimacy. You must become naked before Me, to enter into intimacy  - clothed only in humility and my righteousness.  Make haste my beloved, be like the a young hart (heart) upon the mountains of spices. Do not deny Me the pleasure of your company now  - or you will be denied the pleasure of My company later  - when you cry out for it, weeping, and I will not answer.

 "....and they sewed fig leaves together.....and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God...."

How is it you've managed to avoid God's presence all these years?

   I don't avoid God! I go to church every week!

Yes you do  - and your religion is your fig leaf that you are using to avoid Me. Do you want to hear Me say "depart from Me" on The Judgment Day? 

  Then hear Me well oh one I never knew  -

                                              Adam, where are you?

When the Lord God called unto Adam and said unto him, Where art thou?, he was calling out to all mankind  - all who sprang from the loins of Adam  - all who ever lived who came after him, including you and I. He's asking us today  - "Where are you? I miss you. I miss your company,  that I haven't had since you were a child....unless you again become like a child  - you cannot enter My Presence, for a child does not make fig leaves into a covering to hide from Me  - yet that's exactly what you've done with your religion   - you've taken what I've made, you've taken My blessings and My gifts and you're using them to hide from Me  - all the while making it appear to men, who look only upon the outward appearance,  as if you're embracing Me, but I know better. All your rituals and ceremonies cannot hide the fact that I'm not present among you. You use My good Word for evil when you use it to convince people they know (and you know) Me, when you only know my written words, never My spoken words.

Adam, where are you? Why are you avoiding Me? Why are you pretending to know Me when we haven't met privately for years? Will you be made whole? I see you lying there  - crippled by the sins that so easily beset you. I've found you after all these years  - an afterthought to your peers, but first and foremost in My mind. I've sought you out but I ask you again  - Adam, will you be made whole? Will you allow Me to heal you? How will you respond to My Presence, My touch? Will you run and hide again? 

Part two coming soon

 I heard The Lord say to me  -

                                             "Pleasures beyond measure"

My spirit began to leap within me! I began to rejoice.  I immediately thought of Psalm 16:11  - (i could hear Marty Goetz singing "at Thy right hand are pleasures  - pleasures forevermore") Oh what a simple truth that my heart is so needy of  - "in Thy presence is fulness of joy". The more of Him i know (and the less of me), the more joyful i become. His presence is everything to me  - it's the difference between (eternal) life or death. Corporately too  - it makes all the difference between whether a fellowship lives or dies. I want to rejoice in, and take more pleasure in, His presence, than i do in sin. O Lord,  I want to "be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of Your House" - I want to drink deep of the river of Thy pleasures. I believe the Holy Spirit is "The river of Your pleasures"  - I believe you quench my thirst and satisfy my soul and another i will not follow. In Your light shall we see light  - in man's light is darkness. 

 More - "Throne Room perspective" -

This verse will epitomize every Throne Room gathering   - "AND JESUS CAME AND SPOKE UNTO THEM" Hallelujah!

   We don't want even a single meeting to go by without hearing The Lord speak to us. We are never to force the issue  - we are never to turn His voice into a format or formula  - we aren't ever to feel as if we haven't "had church" unless he speaks to us  - we are, however,  to eagerly anticipate His wonderful voice, His words, recording each one. Our faith comes by hearing the Word of God  - we must never quench the Spirit, nor despise prophecyings. We should seek to avoid having one or two people do all the prophecying.  For some it comes easily,  quite naturally,  the anointing to do it is obvious.  For others, it's a struggle, nevertheless, we want all to become adept at prophecying by reason of use. No one, not one single believer, is exempt from hearing His voice  - from the impartation of the Holy Spirit within them. All can  - and all will, prophecy in our gatherings,  because He, not man, wills it. 

 Your words, God, are as

   kisses upon my heart

Your words of comfort 

   are as darts

That pierce my armor of despair 

For Your words, Lord, reveal that You care

You speak so tenderly 

    so gently,  so sweetly  -

all my fears flee

when I hear and I see

just how much You love me.

Like a lover whose only goal

  is to be with the One

who satisfies their soul

This too is my one desire 

to draw near to You

The One I most admire

Hold me close and do not let go

for it's You I need and You alone

 The following was written in 2018. I quit watching TV back in 2006, but happened to be back in the States visiting relatives, who watch TV incessantly,  so i couldn't help but watch some......

Sat watching some TV last night  - with commercial after endless commercial.  We're constantly bombarded with one Ad after another  - we're urged to buy this, buy that and the thought occured to me  -

In Babylon there will always be one more thing to spend our money on  - one more new product,  new invention  -  or "new and improved" old product  - anything to get us to keep earning money and spending it, earning and spending   - it becomes the rhythm of our lives. Each new year brings with it a newer model car or phone  - always better than the last  - hey, got to keep up with the Jones's! 

It starts when we're children.  Got to have the latest toy, the newest craze! Johnny's got one! I want one too! We quickly become segregated into the world of "haves" and "have nots". It gets worse as teenagers   - when fashion is everything.  Got to have the latest model sneakers, or Jeans, or whatever all the other hip, cool kids are into. The point is  - it's never enough.  There's always a bigger house to buy, a better car or shoe or phone or gadget. As Christians we don't need to buy into it (pun intended). We need to " Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand".

What are Churches most known for by the lost in Babylon? Greed and excess  - lust for more  - money, buildings, etc.  - the exact opposite of Phil: 4:5  - but notice, when Paul says we should be known by our modesty  - our "moderation" (the avoidance of excess) he immediately points out  - "The Lord is at hand" - in other words, unlike the world, who are consumed with greed and lust, who constantly indulge the whims of the flesh  - we have the Lord with us  - so we don't need to spend our lives pursuing material things  - clothing, or even food and drink because He knows we have need of them and He's at hand  - He's right here with us, aware of every need, and providing them, so we are free to spend our lives pursuing Him! And souls, Amen! After all, "Naked I came out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither" - you can't take it with you!  Only your soul  - and the souls you've won for Christ, can you take to heaven with you. 

This constant pursuit of products is madness  - it's a blight upon our Christianity if we go along with it  - it's an unworthy pursuit to focus our lives on. "LAY NOT UP FOR YOURSELVES TREASURES UPON EARTH....BUT LAY UP FOR YOURSELVES TREASURES IN HEAVEN  - FOR WHERE YOUR TREASURE IS  - THERE WILL YOUR HEART BE ALSO". 

Ask yourself   - what is it you treasure? What do you value? Do you spend an inordinate amount of time with your personal possessions? Do you spend more time with them than you do with The Lord? Waxing your car, repairing your house, watching your TV? If the only time you spend with the Lord is a few hours on Sundays  - He isn't what you most value  - that's for sure. If all you do is give Him lip service once or twice a week  - the Song of Solomon means nothing to you  - in fact, you haven't read it for years, if ever. 

"SEEK THOSE THINGS WHICH ARE ABOVE"  - He is above. "SET YOUR AFFECTION ON THINGS ABOVE, NOT ON THINGS ON THE EARTH". He is above...now in your earth below.

 If people believe a deception to be truth  - then the truth won't affect them at all, in fact, they will believe the truth to be the deception.  Only by humbling themselves and submitting fully to the Holy Spirit can they become free of their deception.  Jesus said

"You shall know the Truth and the Truth shall make you free"

He did not say  "you shall learn the truth" or "you shall understand the truth", he said "know" as in "Adam knew his wife", as in "depart from me  - I never knew you" - for the Truth is a person  - the person who is Jesus the Christ.  Contained in Jesus  - The Truth  - is all the knowledge and wisdom we will ever need on this earth  - but knowledge does not, in and of itself, set us free, it is Jesus himself  who frees us, by His Spirit, for it is by his Spirit that we come to know Him.