Watch. See. Join

“Your people shall be volunteers in the day of Your power…” Psalms 110:3a

Father, thank You for sending volunteers with willing hearts to give of their gifts, talents and abilities to the ministry of Deeper Still.   Thank you for providing for every need of Deeper Still in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

“Watch to see where God is working and join Him.” – Henry Blackeby, Experiencing God

Less than forty-eight hours had passed since I made the long ascent up the mountain to my Deeper Still Retreat.  Twenty-four hours earlier, I was still wondering God’s purpose for bringing me to the retreat.  Much can change in twenty-four hours.

   

My entire body sank deep into the soft leather surrounding me.  My relaxed posture reflected the peace of my soul.  Gazing out of the pristine windows, the mountaintops danced with raindrops signaling a fresh cleansing.  Joy oozed from my countenance like the morning dew announcing to all a new day was beginning.

My eyes connected with Emily, my dear friend and Deeper Still Team member.  My heart was alive, full of experiencing God in a whole new way, and on a level unlike anything I had ever known in the past.   No words could fully express my gratitude to her for telling me about Deeper Still.  Stricken of words, I signaled the American Sign Language sign for “Thank you” across the room to Emily. She understood.  Tears filled her beautiful eyes.

Overwhelmed with thankfulness, I marveled at all the Lord had done not only in me, but also in all the other Deeper Still participants sitting in the room.  It had only been a little under forty-eight hours.  How could this be?  I knew all the Lord had done in me.  I was forever changed.  However, it wasn’t just me.  In every seat, every face was shining and radiant full of the beauty and smitten with joy.

At that moment, I knew.  I knew I had to be a part of whatever God was doing in this ministry.  Never before had I seen or been a part of God moving in this way.  Henry Blackeby’s quote played like a symphony in my newly opened ears:

“Watch to see where God is working and join Him.”

God just shows up at these retreats.  He just likes this ministry.  I can’t explain it.

This ministry is special and if you are around it for any amount of time, it is evident.  To see the team working together with various forms of spiritual gifts and talents all for one common purpose --seeing the captives set free—is beautiful to witness.  What a blessing it is to be a part of this unique ministry where God is moving!  And you, my praying friends, are a part of that move of God.

 

Thank you for being a volunteer in the day of His power.  Thank you for joining Him in His powerful work of setting the captives free and transforming His sons and daughters into the image of His glory. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of that?

Expectancy

“In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, and my cry came before Him, even to His ears.”  Psalm 18:6

Oh Sovereign Lord, we thank You that when we cry out, You hear us.   Father, this week 8 participants are going to the Illinois Deeper Still Retreat.  We cry out to You on their behalf.  We ask for You to deliver them from their strong enemy and for them to be set free.  In Jesus’ mighty and powerful name, Amen.

What parent does not go to his child when hearing him cry in distress?  No good parent would ignore his/her child’s plea for help.  God is a good parent.  He is our Father.  How much more will He answer when He hears His child cry in distress?

A couple weeks ago, we had the Deeper Still Retreat in Tennessee.  In one word…AMAZING!  Twenty-two participants were radically set free and transformed right before our eyes! When speaking to the Lord about these transformations and miracles on the mountain, I asked why we see so many miracles on the mountain.  The Lord answered…Expectancy. 

We expect to see those miracles on the mountain.  We expect lives to be forever changed.  We expect God to show up in amazing ways and do above and beyond anything we could ask or imagine.  We expect to see His glory.  And He never disappoints.

 

What if we lived life everyday with that kind of expectancy?

We can expect a mountaintop experience even when we are in a valley.

  

God is our Father.  He is a good parent.  He always hears us.  He always answers. 

The Lord will move heaven and earth to help His children.  His love is never failing.  Let’s run to our Father and expect Him to scoop us up in His loving arms and do above and beyond all we could ask or imagine in our everyday lives.

Miracles happen on more than just mountaintops. 

Our Kinsman-Redeemer

“For the Lord has ransomed Jacob and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him.  They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion, and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord,...their life shall be like a watered garden, and they shall languish no more.”  Jeremiah 31:11-12

Father, this weekend 6 men and 17 women will come to the mountain seeking freedom from the sin of abortion.  Father, thank You for rescuing and redeeming by the provision of Jesus on the cross.  We pray for a revelation of Your provision for these participants.  We pray they would come and sing aloud on the height of Zion, be radiant over the goodness of the Lord, and become like a watered garden.   In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

In the verse above, it says, “The Lord has ransomed Jacob and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him.”  The Hebrew word for “redeemed” is ga’al.  It means to act as kinsman-redeemer.

A kinsman-redeemer in the Old Testament days was a male relative who acted on behalf of a relative who was in trouble, danger or need.  The kinsman-redeemer had mainly three duties:

1     1.  Restore land/property

       2. Buy back the family member sold into slavery.

       3. Avenge the slaying of a kinsman. 

In the New Testament, Jesus is our Kinsman-Redeemer. 

Sin separated us from our rightly inheritance in the Kingdom of God.  Jesus restores our inheritance and brings us back into right fellowship and standing with the Lord God.

Abortion clamps unshakable chains of slavery to those who latch onto its lie.   Our Redeemer unlocked the shackles from feet that were too strong for mere mortal hands to loosen. 

 

Jesus restores us to our portion forever, the Lord God.  He bought us with His blood.  We are His property, reclaimed for His glory.  He freed us from slavery and bondage.  And He avenged us by conquering sin and death.

I am using past tense because it has already been completed.  It is already finished. 

   

May we sing and rejoice in this truth, dance with unspeakable joy and without hindrance, and be radiant over the goodness of the Lord.