When We Return
I’ve been sitting on this word for a couple of months now. I needed to let it develop in my spirit, marinate as I waited in His presence, and wait for the words to express what I was sensing. It’s come out of Ezekiel, and I was gutted in my reading of it in The Passion Translation. This is why I had to let it sit – I couldn’t write out of the grief I was feeling or out of holy fear.
I believe we’re being called into account for things we’ve done and left undone, yet God is merciful, and He’s always pursuing us with His heart of unconditional love. He has the end in mind when we’ll be presented as His pure and spotless Bride, but I’m getting ahead of myself.
I could write pages on what He’s shown me out of Ezekiel, but in favor of communicating the message in a readable way, I’m going to be briefly touching on several points. I really want to encourage you to read Ezekiel for yourself in a couple of translations. Use a literal translation, like the New King James, and supplement with The Passion Translation. Read the notes!
While it’s not an “easy” read, I love the KJV of 2 Tim. 2:15: “Study to shew (show) thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (Parentheses mine.) Be a student of the Word – God will absolutely speak to you through it!
When you read Ezekiel, an initial take on it can be one of seeing God as punitive. What we miss is the behavior of the people, and how God had done everything He could to draw them to Himself in love, but they chose everything contrary to His heart and His holiness.
He is a just God and after wooing and warning, He was left with judgment, the goal of which was to once again cause His people to return to Him. It was always for the sake of restoration of relationship. Destruction never causes God joy; it causes Him to mourn.
Ezekiel is called as a prophet and as a watchman. Most already know what a prophet is; a watchman is a lookout and in Hebrew, it means to lean forward, peer into the distance, observe, await (in terms of behold, look up, wait for, and watch). This was Ezekiel’s stance as God began to unfold visions and revelation to him. It’s to be our stance as well. What Ezekiel saw, had explained to him, and was asked to prophetically model to the world around him was hectic, to say the least.
God spoke to Ezekiel of the idolatry of the people and called them into account for it. The behavior of God’s people has never ceased to astound me, but there’s “nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9 NKJV). The truth is we do the same today and none of us is entirely free from being idol worshippers.
Britannica defines idolatry as “the worship of someone or something other than God as though it were God” and an idol as “an image used as an object of worship.” In Ex. 20:3, God tells us we’re to have no other gods before Him – it’s the first of the ten commandments.
Yet, we all have things we place before God in our lives. They’re the things we set our affection on - devote our time and attention to, above the affection we have for God. It’s the things we love and desire more than Him. We can place our spouse, children, ministry, work / business, and even doing acts of service above Him. Promiscuity, drugs, alcohol, and other addictions are idols, along with way worse things than that.
Do you know what came of their idolatry? Violence, plagues, and food shortages, to name a few (Ez. 6). Sound familiar today? Yeah . . .
All throughout the earlier chapters of Ezekiel when God was telling him this would happen, God would say something along the lines of, “And when this happens, they will be convinced that I am Yahweh!” (Ez. 14b, TPT) God’s heart was always to reveal Himself to His people and draw them to Him. It’s no different today.
The United States was founded on godly principles and Christianity. Our currency boldly proclaims, “In God We Trust,” yet we have moved further and further away from God, as have many other nations. Jerusalem’s corrupt leaders were called into account in chapter 11, along with the murder of children for the sake of honoring false gods in chapter 16. Many of today’s leaders are just as corrupt and the murder of children from the womb and beyond is an unfathomable atrocity throughout the world.
As we have all seen, today’s church is hardly a spotless Bride. In his day, Ezekiel was shown the “repulsive and loathsome things” His people were doing within the temple and the “despicable things” the leaders of the nation were doing in secret (Ez. 8:6-13). These leaders were the Sanhedrin, the ones who were chosen to instruct God’s people. God’s light has been shining in the darkness of the deepest recesses of our churches and ministries and more will be revealed in the days to come.
False prophets of Ezekiel’s time were also condemned (Ez. 13). As a modern prophetic company, it’s imperative we allow God to “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” (Ps. 51:10, ESV) We can’t give words in exchange for accolades, acclaim, “likes”, and popularity. They also can’t be given out of a wrong spirit – one with hidden agendas, an ax to grind, or one that’s divisive. We will be called to account for the words we speak and the platforms we seek to create. An idol is an idol and “truth in love” isn’t always from His heart.
Idols were built deep in the hearts of the people (chapter 14, TPT). We’re no different in this era and, just as in the days of old, we’re driving Him away. We can’t expect to continue as we are without repercussions. This is why I couldn’t help but grieve and mourn and sit in holy fear. We have positioned ourselves for what is already unfolding on the earth today.
In Ezekiel 10, I read how God’s glory left the temple, and I wept. God, please don’t remove your glory from the land and from Your church!
God does sprinkle and pour out incredible hope throughout Ezekiel. For instance, chapter 11 speaks of restoration, and chapter 43 speaks of God’s return to the temple with a renewal of worship. These are promises to us on which we can stand.
We read in Ezekiel 11:18 - 19 (TPT), “When you return, you will purge the land of all its filthy idols and detestable practices. I will give you a new, undivided heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will remove your stubborn heart of stone and give you a tender heart that responds to me—a devoted heart.” We can’t continue as we are currently. It’s not a popular message, but we have to repent – turn away from the ways in which we’re walking. The thing is repentance isn’t a bad thing. It’s empowering.
Christina Theodosiadis recently shared an amazing preach on “Repentance and Recalculating the Route.” In it, she defined repentance in the following way.
“Repentance is allowing Me to recalculate the route unchallenged. Repentance is not simply saying you’re sorry…Repentance is a much more empowering process…The Lord is always for us. He’s always fighting for us and sometimes we partner with things that aren’t conducive to those things and repentance is the agent that allows us to prepare the landing place for the Lord to usher in our verdicts on our behalf in our favor. It’s the move…that checkmates the enemy. It’s the greatest weapon we have against the enemy.”
Repentance is key. It’s imperative we turn our hearts back to Him, make Him our first love, and allow Him to purify our hearts and motives as we devote ourselves to Him once again or even for the first time. Revival will ignite. We’ll see the Lord in glorious and loving ways. His Spirit will come in power. Life and healing will flow. His blessing will be on us and on our land(s).
How do I know? I’ve read the end of the book.
Living for Him,
Andrea
Our Mission: Love Others Well & Empower Them to Do the Same
A Word from Hosea
This is something the Lord spoke to my heart recently and it's stuck with me. We've been seeing this happen, but as many have noted, it's only just begun.
In this time . . . There is a stripping away of structures and resources relied upon.
It will cause people to return to the Lord and seek HIM.
The King who will then sit on the throne will be Jesus.
From that foundation, things will be rebuilt.
I see this playing out through ministries and the body of Christ at large.
We have been the harlot - gone to other lovers. Too many are proclaiming the kingdom, but pursuing the enticing things of the world.
Out of His great love, He's drawing us back to Him, but it will be solely Him, so the rest has to be stripped away.
Living for Him,
Andrea
Our Mission: Love Others Well & Empower Them to Do the Same
June Prophetic Word: Summer Life
As we’ve entered the summer months in the States, I sense God inviting us to take a cue from the season. There’s a different rhythm to summer and with it, an invitation to slow down and unplug. With that change of pace, He’s inviting us to be intentional in drawing closer to Him, focus on the truly important things, let the rest fall away, and live life to the fullest with those we love.
“To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1Recently, the Lord led me to read the book of Ecclesiastes, authored by King Solomon, who was known for his wisdom. I love so much of what Solomon wrote. Reading “Song of Solomon” has massively deepened my intimacy with God, but . . . I really wasn’t excited about Ecclesiastes because it’s such a negative book, making it one I don’t often choose to read.
I discovered Ecclesiastes was written later in Solomon’s life after he’d turned away from God. It reveals the state of Solomon’s heart and spirit at that time, which is why it reads as it does – frustrated, futile, and gloomy.
In Ecclesiastes, Solomon wrote he hated life and saw everything as “vanity” – emptiness, transitory, and unsatisfactory. He had everything, yet no matter what he had or what he did, he was empty. The man who possessed the greatest wisdom in the world was left wanting because he’d walked away from the only thing that could fulfill him – a deeply intimate relationship with God.
I believe God’s invitation for the month of June has a lot to do with what we can learn from Solomon in Ecclesiastes.
Multiple times and in different ways in Ecclesiastes, Solomon urges us to live each day to the fullest with joy. Too many of us have had joy sucked out of our every day as our time has revolved around what’s screaming the loudest. Our days pass in blurry routine without us really noticing until a large chunk of it has passed.
God is inviting us to enjoy life with Him, not just toil for things that won’t satisfy our souls, let alone our spirits.He’s inviting us to live a “summer life” - slow down, unplug, and live in the moment. Let things fall away that we don’t need to have taking our time and attention. Allow our focus to shift to Him. Listen to His voice. Meet with Him.
Breathe Him in like you’d breathe in the salty sea or fresh mountain air. Hold your breath for a moment. Let Him permeate every part of your being, then slowly exhale in His presence. Live fully in more moments with Him. Make time to hang out with Him as the friend He longs to be to you.
You know what caught my attention when I finished reading Ecclesiastes? It was the fact Song of Solomon, the “Divine Romance” of the Bridegroom and Bride authored by Solomon, is the very next book that follows. That spoke to me of God’s invitation to delight in, savor, and take pleasure in intimacy with Him.
Lean into God’s invitation to live life more slowly and more fully this month. Let worship in His presence envelop you.
Here’s a playlist to help you out.
Living for Him,
Andrea
P.S. If you'd like to sow a seed into the ministry Brian and I are doing by "buying us a coffee," please click the link below (more information is included on the page), and thank you for partnering with us!
Our Mission: Love Others Well & Empower Them to Do the Same
This is NOT the Fool's Month!
A thought came to me this morning about how odd it is to start a month with practical jokes and fooling people. I was brought up short when I heard in my spirit, “This is NOT the fool’s month!”Sensing the Lord’s unhappy heart in His statement, I immediately stopped and asked Him why He responded as He did. I heard two things:
- I give wisdom - “For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.” (Proverbs 2:6, NASB 1995)
- Look up the history of April Fool’s Day.
The history of April Fool’s Day is a bit muddied with historians not certain or in agreement on where or how it originated. It may have originated as far back as festivals celebrated in Roman times or tied to the vernal equinox and Mother Nature being unpredictable, or instead, in the late 1300's with Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales. It could have been instituted as a result of a calendar change in the 1500's, or others have said it may have originated with Noah, coinciding with him sending the dove out of the ark too early. However it began, the day is marked by practical jokes, hoaxes, gullibility, mocking others, and no surprise – some explanations of its origins are rooted in the occult. The idea is to good-naturedly make a fool of others on that day.
The sense I was getting from the Lord for this April is He wants this month marked by wisdom, rather than foolishness. There are many needing wisdom and strategy RIGHT NOW for the plans of the Lord to be fulfilled in this season. There are outworkings of destiny and calling happening, including positioning in various realms of society (business, political, etc.), that are unfolding this month. We need His wisdom for the strategies for these alignments, as well as for walking in these new positions of leadership and authority.
I heard His words inside my spirit: “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” (James 1:5, NASB1995)
If you need wisdom, ask Him for it – He’ll gladly give it to you, but there’s another part to this passage that’s incredibly important to keep in mind when asking. Reading on in verses 6-8 we find: “But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”
"Double-minded" is another way of saying doubting or hesitating. When we ask God for wisdom, we need to believe He’s given it and when it comes with strategy or next steps, we need to act on those, rather than hesitating.God doesn’t want to leave us as “fools.” According to Merriam-Webster, a fool is “a person lacking in judgment or prudence, one who is victimized or made to appear foolish, a person lacking in common powers of understanding or reason.”
Merriam-Webster defines prudence as “the ability to govern and discipline oneself by the use of reason, sagacity (foresight, discernment, or keen perception; ability to make good judgments) or shrewdness in the management of affairs, skill and good judgment in the use of resources.”
This is NOT the fool’s month! What areas in your life need self-governance and discipline? In what ways do you need to apply foresight, discernment, and keen perception as you lean in and listen to the Lord for wisdom and strategies? Do you need to make any adjustments in your stewardship of the resources God has given you? Act on what the Lord shows you!I also felt it important to declare you are NOT victimized, and neither do you appear foolish! You think clearly, have deep understanding, and possess sound reasoning. Any words to the contrary spoken over you by yourself or others are broken off NOW, in Jesus’ mighty name!
God always gives us invitations to grow in our faith, which includes our trust in Him. (The two words are synonymous and often interchanged depending on the Bible translation you read.) This is a year of alignment in every way and this month has a particular focus on implementing the wisdom and strategies needed to move forward in the things He’s called you to in partnership with Him.
Don’t doubt. Don’t hesitate. Wisely implement what God shows you and take action by faith! This is NOT the fool’s month!
“See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise.” (Ephesians 5:15, NKJV)
“Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you. The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.” (Proverbs 4:6-7 NIV)
“Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you; Love her, and she will keep you. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding.” (Proverbs 4:6-7, NKJV)
I bless you with incredible wisdom! Please share any stories about how this word unfolds in your life this month - I would love to hear them! If Brian and I can pray for you in any way, reach out to us. We’d love to hold you close to the Father’s heart!
Living for Him,
Andrea
P.S. Brian and I are launching out more in the ministry realm, including me writing more and Brian working to end sex trafficking. If you'd like to sow a seed by "buying us a coffee," please click the link below (more information is included on the page), and thank you for partnering with us!
Our Mission: Love Others Well & Empower Them to Do the Same
Choose Love
A few years ago, we went to Easter service. By my side was someone I dearly love. She was new to church and hadn’t grown up with all the church lingo. I was singing the Easter songs with all my heart – then I realized she probably had no clue what the songs meant and was likely totally thrown off and confused by all the “blood of Jesus” wording. I stopped singing. I leaned over and began explaining the lyrics to her. As they repeated, I began to sing again, then did the same with the next songs. It became a favorite worship experience for both of us.I’ve invited so many people to Easter services. It’s a time when people’s hearts are naturally more tender and open to Jesus and the Gospel message and let’s be real, many people feel the “I should go” (sometimes out of guilt) nudge on this holiday.
If they aren’t “churched” people, it can feel like they’re listening to a foreign language as we sing and talk in “Christian-ese.” If they’ve grown up in church and are just coming because they feel they “should,” the words used can often trigger past church hurts, whether by church leadership or professing Christians.
I had a friend reach out to me yesterday to ask me what I thought about the “Steven Furtick / Elevation Church Easter Scandal” (my words, not hers). Thankfully, I hadn’t even heard about it. My response to her was this:
“How would Jesus invite people to church? Would He use "come and see" language (to quote ‘The Chosen’) or hit them immediately with language they might find offensive that would keep them from coming? I think a religious spirit likes to stir things up and cause division and draw attention away from what's really important to His heart - the people He loves and drawing them to Him. Jesus didn't hold back from saying what needed to be said once people were in His presence. I think this was an opportunity to stir up dissension. Those are my opinions and thoughts.”
Wouldn’t you know it? A great post by Joshua Reyes came across my feed later on and it was on the very topic my friend had asked about. My favorite thing Joshua said was, “People have lost their minds throwing accusations and calling for repentance because a church graphic doesn't include certain words. Y'all are messy and this is why nobody takes Christianity serious. People out here causing a stir over pettiness.”
AGREED!
Why??? Why do we do this? We’re called to be a united body in Christ, yet no one is better at throwing people under the bus, shooting their wounded, judging, and condemning than Christians! Yes, I’m fired up and yes, I’m angry – the Jesus turning over tables in the temple kind of angry.
We’ve got to stop this!
We need to listen to understand.
We need to LOVE like Jesus.
We need to stop dying on the hill of religion and live the life of freedom Christ died for us to live!
I WILL make Jesus relatable because I WILL give my life to bring people into encounter with the One who loves them deeply. That means I’m intentional about not using all kinds of religious wording as I connect heart-to-heart with people. As I reveal the loving heart of the Father, I’m going to use words that will mean something to the hearers. That’s exactly what Jesus did, and it was often through storytelling.
Does that mean I don’t share the message of the cross, the resurrection, and the blood of Jesus? Absolutely not! It just means that when I share about those things, it’s in a way others can embrace it, rather than run from it in confusion, shame, or condemnation.
Church, we’ve GOT TO do better! Knock off all the drama. Stop fixating on things that draw people away from God and make them want to run in the other direction because they refuse to get pulled into that kind of mess. (Who can blame them?) Put down your denominational religiosity and live like Jesus, doing only what you see your heavenly Father doing (John 5:19-20).
By the way . . . today is Maundy Thursday. This is the day when we remember how Jesus humbled Himself and washed the disciples’ feet only hours before He was arrested and condemned to die for our sake. He did it with joy filling His heart because He knew His suffering and death would bring our redemption and would restore to us the relationship the Father longed to have with us once again.
This Easter, live its message. If you’re one who needs to, lay down the legalistic “should / have to / must” yoke you put on yourself, your family, and others. Speak plainly about Jesus, God, and Holy Spirit. Draw people to His heart. Let all the other drama go – whether it’s about wording on a flyer or any other number of opportunities we have to be hateful. Choose love, and if you need to, turn over some tables to make things right.
Living for Him,
Andrea
P.S. The anonymous quote graphic was created by Roma Waterman. She compiled her favorite Easter quotes and offered them as a gift to enjoy and share with others.
P.P.S. Brian and I are launching out more in the ministry realm, including me writing more and Brian working to end sex trafficking. If you would like to support us by "buying us a coffee," please click the link below (more information is included on the page), and thank you for partnering with us!
Our Mission: Love Others Well & Empower Them to Do the Same
