November 2003 archives

well, not quite... but after a three-month labor we are relaunching thebearablelight.com tonight! We are both very excited about it, since we love to make homes, and this is our first real virtual house. For the past 3 or so months both of us have felt commissioned to write a lot, and the new site features many of the themes and pieces that we have been refining. We pray that it brings life, and life abundant to everyone who reads it, whether it is in passing or in depth. Here she is! { Lady Amy}

Sirs and Ladies...it's a baby--no. It's a new book--not quite. It's a plane--sort of. Ok it's a new web site!
It's like making a baby, but less expensive and much less bloody, and no flourescent lights! We hope you like it, and if you don't. We hope it still touches you. We feel like it is the start of many such birthings, publishings and proclaimations. We try to never take ourselves too seriously, but be responsible with what we are carrying. It's like when Samuel got left with Eli, his mom didn't know what he would become. And we don't know what this will become, but in God's Hands who knows! Many blessings as you read! May all of our minds and hearts keep opening more and more to the wonder of His Ways! {duke derek}

Over the past few years, God has been speaking to me about a new level of incarnation in His People. I have had repeated experiences of being completely centered in God Himself. He first started teaching me about this from scripture. The first image was that of the temple veil on the holy of holies being torn at Christ death. This was added to the image of His People actually BEING His living temple, so that this veil was torn open internally in us, offering us open access to this sacred space. He then taught me about what it meant to be baptized INTO His Name.
I believe that we are entering an hour when God desires to be more manifest in His People-God in man on a newer level. There is a great shifting occuring in which God is incarnated Himself in us on a newer level. We are having visions of many on this brink-some are not entering, other are.
This weekend, I again had a spiritual experience of God centering Himself within me. I believe that these experiences are getting us used to living in His Realm more and more, and living from heaven down.
His Church is a spiritual organism and is to be living firstly in the Spirit.
As this newer level of God in man increases many will come to know the atmosphere of heaven on a newer level. For as we more fully enter The Son's Life-and this sonship phase of our collective and personal journey, we are becoming more and more accustomed to His World. This is part of the reason you see prophetic experience increasing among His People. We are learning to live in heaven in our daily lives!
No longer is this an "upper story" experience, but it is becoming more interfaced with the daily.
Many of us are being refined to have less resistance to God entering us on a new level. His Kingdom is becoming the kingdoms of this earth. And this is occuring within us.
This process began at the reformation-what He calls the "formation" (of His Son in us!). But it is being completed in our lifetimes. How exciting is this-to become His Actual dwelling places on earth!

God is showing us a helpful way to look at generations. He calls generations: “generations of My Purposes”. Looked at this way, we focus less on simply natural generations in terms of age, and start to look at seccessive and linked purposes of God.The enemy of life, tries to place wedges between natural generations, for He knows that God has them in order for a progressive revelation of His Purposes. But God always fulfills that generation of His puposes. You see this in Joshua.

Joshua’s natural generation, for the most part, did not fulfil the generation of God’s purpose of them, but through Joshua, God did.

Generations of God’s purposes fit together each supplying what is needed in succession. it is not a question of whether God can fulfill his Own purposes in order, it is a question of whether we will join Him!

Joshua’s generation was to carry the vision of Sinai and the rememberance of slavery into the promised land. So that through the meditation on the law and words of God, the people would stay connected to God, as they battled for the land. Here is another parallel-this next generation is one of possesing the land, we are to through vision to help keep them anchored in the word and equip them with His Plans. Also like Joshua, to call them forth, as we “muster” the general Body. You see joshua going in between the levites or front runner artisans and judahites; and the general body of the tribes of Israel. He reveals God’s will and Vision to both-telling the general Body what is going to happen and when to move, while going to the front lines and instructing and naming the levites and those getting their backs, the Judahites.

The levites and the judahites have always had these identities and been in relation to one another. Levites are to be the place of meeting and carry the ark; Judah to war from worship. This is who God sent in first then, and it is now!
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But God was also concerned with gettng the whole of Israel across the jordan! So you see Joshua like water running back and forth getting everyone informed-and you see the general Body’s respect for him.

OUR GENERATION and its prophetic purpose:

it is hard for our generation to imagine receiving this level of respect-as we feel mislabeled and cynical towards the preceeding two generations in the natural. But God is healing us and them! And these geneartions of His Purposes will work together in a harmonious and powerful pattern to prepare the way for The Lord!
Many in Joshua’s gen. did not get to fulfill God’s purposes on them collectively. Joshua did, however, for the purposes of God do not die with man, but get fulfilled. In this sense it is less about us and more about generations of God’s Purposes.

I think our generation-what is called gen X-must be looked at in terms of God’s purposes. What is God’s purpose for this gen.? I think it is very similar to that of Joshua’s. It is to come through the in-between experience of the church’s wilderness, and carry the revelation of Sinai into the land. It is also, as you see, in the life of Joshua to name others-to be a people of revelation. We have been given a unique awareness of overarching systems, and an ability to name them in a way which is authentic and fresh. Our eyes see both the systems and what they are serving. So we are in a unique position to help things see what they are. We are in this way, a generation of clarifying identity by naming it from this larger awareness or scope. We are not merely “players” but are aware of the rules of the game itself. We can deconstruct or construct with this unique gifting.

At the crossing of the Jordan, you see also that Joshua is the one who is given the instructions from heavenly vision as to who goes where, and when to move. It is a military vision, but also a priestly one. He tells both the priest and the leaders of the tribes what is to happen, and when to move. So there is a naming from vision here. You see that Joshua’s gen. suffered from grumbling. They had seen so much and were to carry it into the land, but began to complain about, what seemed to be the slow fulfillment of the promises.
How similar is that to this genereation. And yet, Joshua made it to carry that generation of God’s Purposes. And so will we. It is not a matter of whether, but who will join and partner with God. The purposes of God will be fulfilled, but will we repent of all cynical complaining and give him our anger at our elders for misjudging us, and move on with the purposes of God?

I am finding it helpful to articulate stages in our spiritual journey. Part of this is about having a clearer understanding of where I am personally and where the church is as a whole, so as better to understand how God is parenting us.
There are so many hidden and not so hidden metaphores for maturation within scripture. But the one that God is impressing on me is about coming to know and enter the Life of Christ. First His deliverer/ saviour aspects; then His Teacher/Rabbi parts; and then into His Sonship and out into His Kingship. Jesus is subtle and complex and there are many more parts of Him which we will only barely grasp as we pass over more completly into His World. But these I believe we can begin to enter here.
I am focusing a lot on the sonship phase of development currently, as I believe it is where He wants His Church to be now. It is in this stage that we enter more of His Inheritance. It is the stage of posessing the lands which are the pleasant lines of our own inheritances. The Church has historically come through its first two stages of knowing Him as Deliverer, and then teacher, but since the reformation it has been asked to come more fully into His Sonship. This is His Priesthood as well.
God is growing up His Church. It is progressive, so it is not the right course to want to go back to earlier developmental stages. We are to be in the one He is revealing and completing in our day. This is our sonship phase. God is able to accomplish the generation of His Purposes even when many do not enter them. But I believe in our day, He is asking us to enter this sonship phase, which has to do with coming into the fulnes of the Head, and having the joints properly fit together.
I will be writing more on the spiritual development of the church as a whole, and try to fill in a historical perspective. This is largely the desire to know the whole story of His People and see where we are at in this story, so as to receive the things we need for this chapter of it.

America-My eagle..
my young song--so many have hated you
for what I placed on your young chest-a sign of My Favor.
America, I gave you a covering for all the nations
In the mornings, I love the way you come to me and sing
freshly laden praises to Me
my teenager, my dreamer, but also my prophetic voice
into the nations-calling forth in joy
protecting in power-freeing them up by imparting
your faith to your fathers...but...
oh, how she has lacked the wisdom to ask for wise counsel
how at times she has acted as a father-builder in trying to build, when I
was asking her only to protect the birthing of, to use her wings to protect
(let England father while you sing)
(let Germany thrust forth europe as you dance)
America, you have written Me so many poems
i keep them all in a huge pile on My Desk
America I loved you even as you have mistaken blessing and resources
for your own power--all the glory and gold is Mine!
America when you grew greedy I cried for you, and
when you thought you knew too much i weeped.

America I am releasing the spirit of Wisdom onto your capital Hill
I will show you, Myself, how to use your abundance to bless into being the nations.
I am blessing.
America, your prophets make me happy in the dew of the morning!

But America, when I allowed you to be hit, you did not turn to Me and humble yourself
but for that I will not yet judge you, for My Purposes grow on your wings
About Iraq... I am loosening her-that is, my parenting right now is to give her
room to grow and find herself. You will see this America. You have not sinned, only lacked
the wisdom to parent.
America, you are a faith nation. I am able to birth my plans within you, and you have guarded my people the Jews. For this reason I will not curse you. You are a nation of great faith.
America I told your prophets that this economic resurgence would occur to vindicate your president. He is My Man for your hour-not unlike Esther was in hers. America, your call excites me, and your houses of prayer, and your willingness to build anything I mention-but you must learn My Wisdom and My Ways so i am downloading them into your bloodstream-starting at the top in Capital Hill. I have gathered my leaders there and they will recieve My Voice into their ears and plan accordingly.
Many more will hate you for My Face in your midst. And others will fall in love with your shores.
I will use you to awaken europe spiritually, for she sleeps under a dark and heavy cloud of traditionalism and humanism which starts with its own understanding and builds from below not above. I cannot move as I desire in europe, so I will send My Prophets from your land into her and awaken her slumber.

America your dry lands spiritually will not always be so. I am lighting a fire in spaces which have been spiritually cold. Places like New Hampshire will spur many to real leadership morally. New ³england² will not always sleep under the seeds of the enlightenment in her pride, but will once again sort and discern truths in My Body. Montana will see a growing sphere of My Presense-look to her arts. Mississippi will come out from her depression. Texas is Mine says the Lord! But its pride must be lowered, so its resources can ³flow²-it needs more watery parts of My Church to rise up. The men need to turn from power games to gaming resources out into the nations.

America I am not done with your president yet. I will use him mightily for My works before He is finished. He is My Man of the hour.
I am about to drop a spirit of wisdom over your capital hill, and into those offices great changes in thinking will occur-I am not done rooting out that spirit of haman, that anti-jewish spirit which has secretly crept in. It will not last much longer as it is exposed.
Your nation must find peace in Him alone in order to stand for the last parts of the final hours. I¹m not done refining My Own House there, but I will no longer withstand injustices on the city levels as well.
Houston-fix your corruptions! Arkansas-clean up your leadership! New Orleans, uncorrupt yourself from these present perversities. And many other cities and states, He is calling out for a cleansing of the house at the leadership and community level.
This economic resurgence will not stop, and will astound those who wear a critical spirit against this president. I am speaking in world language on this one, so that My Purposes will be accomplished.
I am restoring the wholesomeness to your shores for Christmas. Even california will know My Purity. I am not angry at you America, but want you to come along in your maturation. I am not asking you to be ³adult² about it all, for I have in many ways made you a free spirited youth. But you must exercise wisdom on these things.
Idaho-how I long to hold you in My Own Hands. City of Pittsburgh-clean My Rivers outside your city and I will lend My Passion into your stewardship of My Power.
LOOK TO DETROIT FOR EMERGING LEADERSHIP!! My weaponry is there, and I am raising up black men of God who will be shown how to use it! I am healing the anger and hurt and making an african american force second to none through My Body!
I am also not done with your first lady. She is mine and will be used mightily to PURIFY unclean spaces throughout the world. She is truly pure and wholesome, and the magazines which copy her words should be humbled to be scribing such pure thoughts onto its pages. I am using her on many fronts to offer a model not only of womanhood, but of purity among leadership. The enemy¹s hand will not flourish against her. She is humble and pure-these weapons do not break under pressure, nor will they! My Own Arm is Mightiliy over her. She will be spared the trials.

To look at warfare is to look at parenting. God's warfare interventions are only part of His overarching parenting of a person or nation. Spiritual warfare cannot be separated from who God is, for what He does rest in who He is. So as the church starts to look more and more at warfare these days-as the spiritual reality makes itself more and more unavoidable in the day to day, it also must enter His Life as Father. How is He fathering this person or nation? And then we begin to see why He is using this or that particular warfare tactic. To have His authority to take dominion over local evils in our lives is basic, but to start to do so AS HE IS starts to move us into His Wisdom. Force should always be used with wisdom. Warfare requires this heavenly wisdom.
Colossians 3:16 (another of the great 3:16s) tells us to, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in ALL WISDOM.." Wisdom has to do with how to apply knowledge. We are to let His words in us do the work, and we are to release these words in us AS HE IS RELEASING THEM ABOVE. That is aligned use of weaponry, and it will keep us from many unnecessary casualities.
You see this played out among the nations right now. Force needs to be aligned with heavenly purposes for it to accomplish its purpose. We need The Father's wisdom in order to war as He is. We need to become good spiritual parents with His words within us!

I am actually more and more shocked at how few men of God are standing and speaking truth in our day. This is not a matter of negotiation. We are men, and have a responsibility to stand and protect and call forth what god is up to right now. Tell me who else is going to do this stuff. Who will speak the truth in our churches. Who will take dominion over the house of God and clear out all unclean things in our midst. Look God is bringing things to light-it is on the front page of our papers. We see the sex scandals, and gay ³rights² in the church issue, and we see the general lack of strong clear vision from the church on the key issues of our time. One example is that no one really interpreted 9-11 for the nation, or the nations. The Church just lost a great opportunity for harvest there.
I was personally at 9-11 when it happened. God had told me to fly there just before it happened. And it was a horrific alarm of what happens if God lifts one finger of His cover. This was just a warning-imagine a full judgment. I was shocked that the church did not stand and interpret this event. America has a destiny in Him. She is prophetic and for God to allow her to be hit was supremely important as a signal to the other nations. God has blessed, but we must humble ourselves and turn and seek His Face, throw off our religion as culture and get down on our knees and come to know Him. What looks secure is not. And God will use whatever spirit He chooses to shake us awake.
It was interesting to me that one of the few people to stand and interpret (speak truth) after this even was ruth Graham Lotz. Her voice was loud and clear, but so few took note of it-there really should have been a flood of clear voices to interpret this event, and a great spiritual awakening would¹ve opened over america.
I was physically shaken by this event for some times, and expected it to lead to a revival in the church. It did not. The church returned to habitual spirituality after this huge shaking. How could this be? Men did not stand and seek His Interpretation of this momentous occurence. We must come to be the ones who interpret things through the spirit.
i believe that another great event is coming which will offer us another chance to stand and be part of a great harvest of souls. Let us get ready and remain that way!
I live part of the year in Czech Republic. the history there is hard to look back on, and few do. Almost no one in the church is bold enough to look back and see its own faults in the history there. No one stood against the spirit behind communism, and so it took right over and has kept that nation in fear up til the present time. Democracy will not save it, God will. The church is the one to play the role of priest among the nations and get up in the spirit and stand in that gap, and then turn and interpret from heaven down. Tell the nations what His History of them is. It is not enough to do social relief projects, we need to be taking bullets in the spirit-standing between the enemy and these countries, so there can be healing and reconciliation. We cannot just sit and watch.
The masculine parts of the church should¹ve stood in czech republic-that part of His Arm! needs to show itself not just remain spiritual debilitated.

This morning a cool wind from the east blew in on Austin Texas where I live. I had a vision of the men all across america at the altars crying, and seeing The Captain of the Host. As they saw Him, they were empowered to grab their own swords and take up their positions holding a circle around their sanctuaries. I believe that God is releasing this call for men right now to stand looking straight at Jesus, and take their postions. We will be allowed now to move in the ARM of God and know the strength of The Almighty if we do.
Many women have been holding our postions and doing a great job of it, but it is time for us to relieve them and take our post, so that the whole can be safe to grow and receive Heaven into its Midst!