King Jesus came with the policy of completion and not destruction of the old policies and procedures… And yet, how do we reckon with the fact that He did in a sense destroy the “shadow” of what He was coming to fulfill. The Pharisees looked at Him as a heretic to the Mosaic standards. Stephen was stoned as a rebel against the current system, and Paul was a huge menace to the old patterns of expression, even amongst Christian brothers. If we look at the seasons of God and especially the old covenant, we can see His Spirit driving the contents of the letter towards His Promise for all humanity, His Son Jesus. When the Completer comes, (the consummation of the law and the prophets), the letter is now replaced by the Life in the new and final covenant between God and all mankind. And yet while the letter is replaced, the Spirit of the letter remains in a perpetual continuum, represented in the fullness of Christ.

There was a young man once long ago, who grew up in a wealthy household. He had all the luxuries of wealth. He also grew up in the fear and knowledge of the Lord. He was not ensnared by many of the trappings of wealth as he was taught from a very young age, the virtues of God. As the young man grew, he finally replaced his father David on the throne of the family kingdom. Because he was taught well, and knew the God of His father David, he began to talk to God often as a new king. The Lord loved his heart and his communication and wanted to bless him with any desire of his choosing. This new king could have asked for endless wealth, or long life, but instead asked for wisdom. He asked the Lord for help in ruling the people with godly wisdom and understanding.

We have often heard the truth, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. As I looked at the world around us, creation, people, it is amazing how beautiful it all is. God calls it good. And when we look at His most prized creation, people, He has many wonderful things to say. He knew us before He formed us, He formed us in His image, we are fearfully and wonderfully made, the apple of His eye, and all kinds of wonderful things. So we know that God places value on each one of us. Dirty, clean, saved, unsaved, Christian, Muslim, Jew, or Atheist, God sees value. That value will never diminish from his eyes or His hope for each one. The value may never reach the promise God had planned, which is culminated in the Lordship of Christ, but yet the value seed remains in every human being. Whether we see the beauty and value or not, there is no doubt in how Father God sees it.

Many things that have come up unexpectedly have kept us on this narrow path from month to month, but the Lord has been so faithful. Had many of the things happened along the way that we “expected” to happen, we would have missed seeing the Lord intervene on our behalf, again and again. From two people who had been taught “to make it happen”, we are learning to be content in the place we find ourselves and not lean on our own understanding. We have become accustomed to, and even comfortable with “going without knowing”. We believe God has more for us, and we are not pretending to think that we have done all the right things, or, that we have not missed His voice from time to time. We are thankful for those dear friends who have loved us, believed in us, and listened to the Father on our behalf, helping us to go and do His bidding.

So as we move boldly in Him we can now approach His throne of grace on behalf of those we love, and those we are called to intercede and stand in the gap for. Yes that is right, we are the "gappers" that the Father has chosen to come before Him on behalf of others. The current shaking has caused many to be operating out of fear instead of faith, and we must lift them up. We need His effectual empowerment daily, and we need our brothers and sisters to rise up in His overcoming strength. The Body of Christ must realize how much we need each other. We all have gaps and we all need them to be filled and the Father has called us to fill each others gaps not only in prayer but in supernatural "one anothering" I am reminded of the first "Rocky" movie when Rocky says to Adrian, "I got gaps you got gaps, and together we fill each others gaps". It is a great way to serve, and a great way to show His Apape love.

“The shaking we are experiencing today is a move of God, who wants to live and move and have His being through His people. He wants to change the world through us!” God is bearing down upon established systems of men, whether it is government institutions, or institutional churches. I must include organic gatherings too, because humanity often has it’s grip in those gatherings as well. He is truly shaking all things so that all that we can look to for security is Him. He is making it clear that He is a jealous God, jealous for our love, our affection, and our very lives. During this season, He is giving us a tremendous opportunity to go a better way, to walk in His eternal ways, and to love in His supernatural and transforming love.

Do we really want the truth? Jesus says you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. It seems that many believers simply desire to live out of compromised paradigms, traditions, and religion, rather than seeking after the truth that will set them free. They say truth hurts, but it “hurt is so good”, when it can set someone free. If we are serious followers of the King and His Kingdom, it would seem to be a high priority for all of us to passionately go after truth. We must constantly declare, bring on the truth Lord, set me free to know you more and bring you glory through my life. Psalm 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

Here are my What Ifs as we move into 2009: What if we prayed for our leaders rather than complain about who we have or didn’t have in office? What if we realize that God is on the throne and will have His way regardless of who is in office and that we are called to pray His will and purposes for the nation? What if we gave to Caesar (government) what is Caesar’s, and gave to God what is His, which is our very lives? Jesus was consumed with His Father’s Kingdom being brought to the earth, what if we focused on that rather than our political processes and gave that burden to Him? What if we were using what we do have, and quit wasting time worrying about what we don’t have? What if we did not fear any longer, no fear of life or death, because we are in His hands? What if we heard the words “Stop it, just stop it” and began to truly stop the negative thought patterns? Stop it, just Stop it, thinking that way, in Jesus name!

Have you been noticing lately how we as Christians can get caught up on the peripherals of our faith? We get so absorbed in non essentials that we miss essential foundations like love, forgiveness, and even how practically the Holy Spirit desires to be in everyday life with us and through us. We can all miss the basics sometimes. You have heard the term, “Being so heavenly minded, but doing no earthly good”. We have been taught mostly through religion, that we are saved for the afterlife, when in fact, Jesus made the way to save us now, and for NOW. We are saved completely and wholly now by Him to engage in His life, and labor for His Kingdom. Throughout Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, the message is very clear. “This present bodily life is not valueless because it will die. God will raise it to new life one day, it is of great value to Him and the world around us. What you do in your body today matters, because God has a great future in store for you.

God, the Lord took us out of the Matrix several years ago. Through continued trials and tests, Father has forged in us a resolve, and a faith in Him, that otherwise had been and would have continued to be minimized. As we travel, we see common patterns that limit our effectiveness and ability to be Kingdom ambassadors to the world. If we do not pause, reflect, and hear correctly, we will often look back and say, wow, so much time has passed and very little of what we had intended to do, ever got in motion. PAUSE… Be Still and know I am God “Pause”, “Be Still”, can that really happen in our lives on a regular basis? We all know it should, and should know that it is vital if we want to be “Father Pleasers”, and hear from Him on what He has to say, and how He sees things going. This does not have to be in the form of a ritual, but just time with Him. He will take every moment you give to Him and make something good out of it.