The Spirit of Gluttony

I don't think I've ever heard anyone talk about the spirit of gluttony in church in all the years I've gone.  I started to write this a couple of days ago but paused, making sure I was in God's timing. Then I read something yesterday that confirmed to me that I was hearing Him.

1 Corinthians 10:31 says, "Whether, therefore, you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."  We are to eat and drink to the glory of God.  How many of us have ever given thought to this verse?  But there's even more to it than that.



When I was about 35 years old, the Lord spoke to me one day and told me, "You have a spirit of gluttony."  I'm about 5'4" and at the time weighed about 110-115 lbs.  So I was surprised, to say the least. I expressed my confusion to the Lord and He began to explain.

The spirit of gluttony is when we find comfort for our flesh in things besides God. Our 'flesh' is the 'old man.' It's our sin nature. The spirit of gluttony is shopping when you're depressed. It's getting a new color and cut when you're feeling down. It's eating comfort foods when you don't want to deal with your emotions.

We might associate the spirit of gluttony with being over-weight, and rightly so, but this demon can manifest in other ways. It can drive a person to work out and be obsessed with their beautiful physique, because in some, it can partner with 'vanity.'

In our culture, the spirit of gluttony is celebrated. All of the celebrities that we see in the media comfort themselves and feed their flesh with every indulgence. We are told constantly to 'treat ourselves' with new makeup, new clothes and shoes and handbags. If our self-worth is low and we don't like the way we look, we can get a little botox or a whole lot of plastic surgery.

We are told constantly that we can make ourselves feel better by these things and that we don't need God. Some have gone to the other extreme and seek to make themselves feel better by starving themselves. But all have the same need - God. All are seeking 'a fix' to solve an inner lack.

One day when we were doing our 40 day Word fast, I was really struggling with exactly this. It was a blizzard outside and so I was staying home.  I was bored, not enjoying winter, and wasn't feeling motivated to work on a project. I wanted nothing more than to lie on the couch, under a warm blanket, fireplace burning, and watch movies all afternoon. Or read a book. I wanted to veg. I wanted an escape from my reality. I wanted to be entertained.

And because of my commitment to this fast, I couldn't. And it made me realize something.

What would Jesus do?

Jesus lived His life serving others. I can't imagine Him spending His afternoon on the couch, can you? Or at the movies. Someone always needed Him and although He used wisdom and followed God's leading completely, He never 'indulged' Himself. His only 'free time' was spent in prayer and fellowship with the Father. Jesus did not have a spirit of gluttony.

One of my sins that I've confessed to God and am asking Him to empower me to overcome is deciding my own schedule. Because I am not employed and our children are grown, I can do whatever I want. I can go out to lunch, go shopping, hang out at home all day, hang out with my daughter and grandchildren...whatever I 'feel' like doing.

But is that what God wants me to?

I continue to work on disciplining myself to have a schedule and to accomplish the things that I know God has set before me. I continue to discipline myself to eat more healthy and to prepare better meals for my family. And I'm continuing to discipline myself to listen to God and to do what He's telling me to do each day...to truly give Him my life, my time, and my goals.

I think the spirit of gluttony is very hard to starve out. And that's what we have to do. By not feeding this spirit, and for some that's literal, we dethrone it in our lives.

And as with everything else, we can't do this without our Saviour's help.

love and blessings~

photo credit: themost10.com

He Saves, He Heals

Some people believe that it's not always God's will to heal.  The thought I've heard is that God is teaching us something through sickness and disease.  The same people will also say, "God is good all the time" but I think they would agree that any father who would make his children sick is not good or loving or kind.

There are some who would argue - then why do people die of sickness? 


A wonderful book that answers this question so beautifully is "Intercessory Prayer," by Dutch Sheets.  

I believe that we, as Believers in Christ, are to decide what we believe based on the Word of God.  

Jesus said, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." John 10:10

"Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers." 3 John 2

"Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness." Matthew 9:35

"(Jesus said)...He who has seen me has seen the Father"  John 14:9

"So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise." John 5:19

There is not a single example in scripture of Jesus NOT healing everyone.  There is no place that He says, "No."  None.  

Malachi 3:6 "I the LORD do not change."

John 10:30 "I and the Father are One."

Matthew 13:58 says, "He (Jesus) did not perform many miracles there because of their unbelief."  The Word makes it clear that our faith is tied to God's moving in our behalf.

And He (Jesus) said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction." Mark 5:34

And He (Jesus) said to him, "Stand up and go; your faith has made you well." Luke 17:19

Instead of adjusting our doctrine, shouldn't we examine ourselves, submitting ourselves to God's judgment and correction, and ask Him why we're sick? Shouldn't we seek to do what the Word says and "not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of our minds to prove what is the good and acceptable will of God?" Romans 12:2

"So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Romans 10:17  If we lack faith we need to spend time in the Word letting God correct our thinking and lack of belief.  

Bill Johnson, the pastor of Bethel Church in Redding, California, says that when our minds are renewed in the Word, miracles become logical.  

I am not without compassion for those that are suffering with illness.  Neither is God! God is love and love is compassion! "Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd." Matthew 9:36

Jesus was so filled with compassion that He suffered the cross, was separated from God for three days and rose again to restore us to right relationship with the Father.  He gave all that He is that we might be healed. Did you know that the name "Jesus" actually means, "He saves/heals."? Healing is a part of salvation!  

"But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed." Isaiah 53:5  Jesus bore 39 lashes. I have read that science has grouped all sickness into 39 categories.

My heart is to give you HOPE - hope that it is God's will to heal you. God IS healing and wholeness! Even though healing is part of salvation, Jesus did all these things BEFORE His sacrifice on the cross!  He did not demand that people repent of their sin before He healed them. He healed every single person that came to Him.  

God is not holding our sin against us. He gave all He had to give to restore us to wholeness - salvation, healing, deliverance.  Please receive His grace and seek Him to receive your healing.

love and blessings~

Seeing Through the Eyes of the Father

 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7 

One of my heroes of faith is Shane Claiborne.  He wrote a book called, "Irresistible Revolution" that changed my life.  The Lord spoke to me in a powerful way while reading this book and confirmed many things that I had on my heart.

Shane Claiborne tells a story about being invited to speak at a church but when he arrived he was shunned by the church goers.  They thought he was a homeless man and stared at him and wouldn't speak to him. They were very surprised when they found out he was the guest speaker.

Because Shane Claiborne has dread-locks to his waist!  (I think he's recently cut his hair.)   He typically wears baggy jeans and an old work shirt.  

But I am so blessed and inspired by him because Shane Claiborne is busy 'being Jesus' to his community.  He's feeding the hungry and housing the homeless.  He's sharing Jesus to the lost.  He's 'being the Church!'  And I love him.

I spent my first twenty years of being a believer going to church and believing that I knew what it was all about.  I was preoccupied by what I wore to church and disapproved of those that didn't dress well.  I sang in the choir and led youth groups.  I gave to the building fund and never missed tithing.  

And then Jesus began to do a work in my heart and I realized I had missed the mark.  And that's sin - right?  

Our worship dance ministry had done a 'prayer walk' around our church - circling the church each week and surrounding it with prayer.  The Lord had directed us to do this. 

And then the Lord convicted my daughter, who was in college at the time, to circle Ferris campus in the same way.  About this time she met a young man I'll call Jacob who was on fire for Jesus.  The Lord had given him the same conviction so a group of them began to obey the Lord.  She would tell me about this group with joy and enthusiasm.

One day, she described Jacob - mohawk, piercings, tattoos -  and I was shocked.  Laura told me, "Mom, you have a religious spirit!" and I realized it was true.  I immediately repented and have never made the same mistake again. 

A lot of religious sects get offended by women wearing pants because of the scripture that states that women should not wear men's clothing.  You realize, of course, that when this scripture was written, everyone wore 'robes' and they now make pants for women?

So many of the things Christians stumble over are purely cultural.  And then they fall into judgment and miss God all together.  

A friend told me several years ago after sharing Christ with her son for several years he finally made the decision to visit church.  And no one spoke to him while he was there.  Because of his appearance.  The Word tells us to make the most of every opportunity but we choose to shun people even when they come to church?

Jesus came to seek and save the lost.  We are called to save the lost.  Of course if we never interact with the lost, it's hard to save them.  If we are so offended by appearances, or if we expect every Christian to look the same, wear a three piece suit or a dress, we'll miss God all together.  Because God sees the heart.

Now I'm not saying that people should not dress modestly.  I believe men and women should dress modestly at all times, so please don't misunderstand that.  But I think we've got to change our religious thinking and start realizing what's important.

Where did we get the idea that serving Christ means singing in the choir and baking cookies for the congregation.  Was that Jesus' final commission to us? It means going out into the streets and meeting real people where they live.  It means helping people and sharing the love of Christ.  It means sharing your food and your money and working with your hands.

And we might have to leave our three piece suits at home or they'll get dirty. 

love and blessings~

The Power of Forgiveness

The book of Ephesians talks about 'our weapons of warfare' but did you ever realize that 'forgiveness' is a powerful weapon of warfare?

In Matthew 18:21, Jesus talks about forgiveness, saying,

"the Kingdom of Heaven may be compared to a King forgiving the debts of His slaves."  

Jesus goes on to tell the story of a king who forgave a man of a very large debt.  The man left the King's presence thankful for this forgiveness but when he encountered a man who owed him a very small debt, had him thrown into prison.

Jesus then explains that when we refuse to forgive others, we ourselves are thrown into prison until all our debts are paid.  Jesus also prays in "The Lord's Prayer" (Matthew 6)

"...forgive us our debts AS we forgive our debtors..." 

When we have unforgiveness towards others, God does not forgive us our sins.  And our sins can destroy us.

We are hurt the deepest by those closest to us.  The deeper the love and intimacy, the more powerful the wound.  And maybe there's someone in your life that hurts you over and over again.  Did you realize that you can set them free, break this pattern in their life, and enable God to change them, by your forgiveness?

The Word tells us that we are to overcome evil with good.  (Romans 12:21)  Anger feeds anger. Unforgiveness feeds unforgiveness.  But love and forgiveness break the pattern, destroy the bondage, and bring the Kingdom of God into the situation.

We've all had to forgive.  And some have had to forgive things that have done great damage in their lives.  God is not without compassion.  Jesus Himself was betrayed and abandoned by those closest to Him.  He experienced the pain of rejection and knows how deeply it can go.

Forgiveness breaks bondage, heals wounds, sets the captive free and brings physical healing.  There is a saying that when you forgive someone, the captive you set free is 'you' but you also set the other person free.

Forgiveness is a decision.  It doesn't mean that the moment we make this decision that our heart will be healed.  But it begins the process.

When my daughter was 3 months old, I worked full time. I came home one day to find her face bruised all around her eyes. Our babysitter explained that she had dropped her face onto her 'baby box.'  (a learning toy that was popular then)  I had no reason to not believe her. I even wrote this injury into her baby book as her 'first.'

About a year later this same babysitter called me, crying. She confessed that Laura's injury had been because she (the babysitter) had hit her repeatedly. I was heart-broken.

I was home by then with Laura but my worst fear was realized. Every mother fears that she will leave her child with someone that will hurt them and I was horrified that the very first person I had chosen had abused my baby.

I not only had to forgive this person - I had to forgive myself.

I grieved for 10 days. I couldn't eat and I made myself sick. I cried and prayed and hugged my daughter and implored God but could find no peace. Finally one day, on my knees in my bedroom, I cried out to God and asked Him if He would please remind me of something horrible I had done so that I might have mercy on this lady and be able to forgive her.

And in that moment God transported me into outer space. I could see that I was in an endless black void. I could see stars all around me that spread into eternity. I experienced how vast and infinite God's universe was. And God spoke to me.

He said,

"I can't remind you because I don't remember."  

And He brought to my mind the scripture, "As far as the East is from the West - so far has He removed our transgressions from us." (Psalms 103:12)

And the anger and hatred in me broke in the face of His immeasurable mercy.

I was overwhelmed as I understood that the God of the Universe CHOSE to completely forget all my sin. As I cried and cried, speaking and declaring my forgiveness and blessing over this lady, God poured out an anointing of Joy and healed my heart.

Wounded people wound people.

Those who have been abused, abuse others.

Praying for those who have hurt you is the quickest way to forgiveness.  As we go to the Father on their behalf, He causes us to understand their weaknesses and have compassion on them.  They have been hurt too. And we may not know how deeply.

And yes, you're doing it for them.  Not just for yourself.  Just like Christ died for your sins, you die to your right 'to be right.'  And in all honestly, none of us is completely 'right.'

I never got a chance to speak to this lady again.  She did not leave me her number or call me again. But I spoke blessings over her life.  I prayed that she was able to forgive herself and be the person God called her to be. It took great courage to call me and confess her sin.  She didn't have to do it. But she did it because the Word commands us to confess our sins.  I know that God will bless her for obeying His Word.

She also had a daughter and both our children are grown now.  My daughter has children.  My daughter is deeply loved by God and I trust that He has healed any wounds that have been done to her.  He is Faithful and True.  He is able to do over and above all that we would think or imagine. (Ephesians 3:20) And as I release these things and the people in my life to Him, He is merciful and loving.

None of us has received what we deserve.  Jesus bore what we each deserve and extends to each of us His forgiveness.  We need to walk in His ways, extending our forgiveness to others.

love and blessings~

"Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions." Mark 11:25

I'm linking up with:
Imparting Grace - Grace at Home

The Blessing of Pain

None of us get through this life without emotional pain.  The death of a parent, the loss or rejection of a loved one, emotional or physical abuse - all these things are very common in this world - and can cause deep emotional wounds.  If we let them.

I don't propose that we have the power to overcome these things by ourselves - but 'in Christ' we can. And I think we can actually benefit.

How we handle pain can 'make us or break us.'  The old saying, "What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger," can be true but sometimes what doesn't kill us, might just make us bitter.  And then the enemy has gained a strong-hold in our lives.

I have had a very painful situation in my life from a very young age - my dad.  Without going into detail and losing the focus of this post, this hurt in my life has shaped me and has had the potential to destroy the calling on my life.  My dad died this past November and the last few months have been very hard.  So I want to propose a new thought - what if pain can be a blessing?

 "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28

This is a truth that I remind myself of whenever I am tempted to be discouraged.  And meditating on this thought until it becomes a reality to you can change your perspective on everything.

It's the painful things in our lives that shape us the most.  The Word tells us that Jesus learned obedience through suffering (Hebrews 5:8) and it's always fascinated me that Jesus, Who was perfect and without sin, had to suffer to learn obedience.  And I confess that I don't understand that at all. But if Jesus had to suffer then I can accept that suffering can be a righteous thing and that God can use it to change us for His Glory.

So in this season, I have talked a lot to God.  For me, this is different than 'prayer.'  Prayer, to me, is to get into the Presence of God, receive His direction and declare the things that He is saying.

But I talk to God all day long.  I give Him my hurts, tell Him what I'm thinking and ask Him to correct me and help me, confess my weaknesses, tell Him how much I need Him and that He is perfect in all His ways.  I depend on God to get through my day.

And in this season, I've submitted to the pain.

I've asked God to use this pain to shape me into the person He's called me to be.  I won't say for one minute that this has been easy.  I have tears in my eyes even as I write this.  And I can't say that I don't 'fear' how deeply this hurt can go.

But I know I have a Saviour.  He is Faithful and True. I know He sees every hurt that's in my heart and He puts every tear in a bottle (Psalm 56:8).  I know He knows me better than I know myself and even more than that, He knows things that I don't know.  He knows what's coming.  He knows what I need.  He knows how to help me and strengthen me.  I yield myself whole-heartedly to His wisdom and love.

This season is still hard but I can't imagine how hard it would be without Him.  Without Him, I would be lost and I would break.  But with Him, I am trusting that I will come out victorious and filled with joy.  I am trusting that someday I will be able to look at this season in my life and see His presence through it all.

"For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I have been fulling known." 1 Cor 13:12

love and blessings~

"Behold, I have inscribed YOU on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me." Isaiah 49:16

A Time to Dance

Bill Johnson, the pastor of Bethel Church in Redding, California, tells the story about a woman who came into their church one day and through the Holy Spirit he discerned that she was demon possessed. He went to their church’s “main dancer” and asked her to begin to minister in dance and as soon as she began to dance across the platform, it was if this demon possessed woman was a marionette and the strings were cut. The woman crumpled to the ground, the power of darkness broken over her life. Bill Johnson’s wife, Beni, then bent over the woman praying for her and ministering to her and the woman received salvation and the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

While we lived in Alabama, our church was blessed with revival that lasted over five months, during which over 700 people received Christ. The power of God during those five months was so wonderful that we had church six nights a week and stayed many nights until midnight, worshiping and ministering to those in need. 

Several months before the revival, I had started a dance ministry, by God’s direction, and we had done a medley of songs that included the words, “cast out your nets all you fishers’ of men, In the power of the Spirit revival begins.” The Lord instructed me that before we danced, to get up before the congregation and repeat these words. It was not until about a year after the revival, that the Lord told me to go back and watch the tape and reminded me of this. I had even forgotten that I had done this and had never connected this with the revival, yet I had sensed that freedom of worship and dance had been a key part of bringing revival and God had used the prophetic words of this song.

In Ecclesiastes 3:4, we see the scripture ”a time to dance, a time to mourn.” The Hebrew word for dance here is “raqad” and is translated “to dance, skip, to skip about, leap and jump.” 

In 2 Samuel 6:14, we read the story of David dancing with abandon as the Ark of the Covenant is brought back to the people of God. This time we see a second Hebrew word “kara” and this word is translated “to whirl, whirling, dancing. “

But in Exodus 15:20, as we read the account of Miriam leading the women in dancing after God had delivered the Children of Israel from Egypt and they had crossed the Red Sea, we see a third Hebrew word for dance. It is “m@chowlah” and means “dance, dancing, company.” The root word of this word is “machashabah” and means “thought, device, purpose, work, imaginations, cunning, devised, invented, means.” It took me a couple of days of thinking about this meaning unto the Lord before it was revealed to me that this was a choreographed dance! It still had all the spiritual power of the first two dances but was pre-planned by the Holy Spirit!

But the word used in Psalm 149 and 150 is fascinating and confirms everything the Lord has taught me over the last 20 years. The word used in Psalm 149 and 150, “Praise Him with dancing” is “machowl,” a fourth Hebrew word that translates in English, “dance.” However, the root word of this word is “chuwl” and pay attention to the meanings. It means pain, formed, bring forth, pained, tremble, travail, dance, calve, grieved, wounded, shake.
The following is copied directly from Strong’s concordance as the definitions of this word:

1) to twist, whirl, dance, writhe, fear, tremble, travail, be in anguish, be pained
1a) (Qal) 
1a1) to dance 
1a2) to twist, writhe 
1a3) to whirl, whirl about 
1b) (Polel) 
1b1) to dance 
1b2) to writhe (in travail with), bear, bring forth 
1b3) to wait anxiously 
1c) (Pulal) 
1c1) to be made to writhe, be made to bear 
1c2) to be brought forth 
1d) (Hophal) to be born 
1e) (Hithpolel) 
1e1) whirling (participle) 
1e2) writhing, suffering torture (participle) 
1e3) to wait longingly 
1f) (Hithpalpel) to be distressed 

The word dance here in Psalms 149 and 150 means to offer up praises to God, to intercede, to prophecy and bring forth - all through dance! Through worship dance, we intercede, we birth and bring forth, we travail and we prophecy!

Now here’s something amazing. If you look up the in the Strong’s the Hebrew word in Ezekial for “Army” it is chayil or chuwl! The root word of army is to” to twist, whirl, dance, writhe, fear, tremble, travail, be in anguish, be pained.” The same word!

Consider the words of Psalm 149:
1 Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song, And His praise in the assembly of saints.
2 Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. 
3 Let them praise His name with the dance; Let them sing praises to Him with the timbrel and harp. 
4 For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation.
5 Let the saints be joyful in glory; Let them sing aloud on their beds. 
6 Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, And a two-edged sword in their hand, 
7 To execute vengeance on the nations, And punishments on the peoples; 
8 To bind their kings with chains, And their nobles with fetters of iron;
9 To execute on them the written judgment-- This honor have all His saints. Praise the Lord! 

We are to praise God with singing, with the dance, with instruments, because the high praises of God in our mouths, and in these forms, bind the enemy’s kings with chains and his nobles with fetters of iron. This is spiritual warfare. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal – they are the beautiful praises of the saints expressed to God – spirit, soul and body!

Acts 15:25 says that while Paul and Silas were in prison at midnight they were praising and singing hymns to God and suddenly there was a great earthquake and all the doors were opened and everyone’s chained were loosed! Not just Paul’s and Silas’ chains – but everyone’s! Praise and worship will break the chains the bind us and a good twirl and kick and the chains can be cast away for good! I know it sounds silly, but there is power in twirling!

The Word tells us in 1 Corinthians 1:27. “But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty.” Many “wise” men have despised the dance thinking how could God use such a silly thing as this as a form of warfare. But the dance was created by God as a form of worship and all worship is warfare. The Word tells us that in His Presence is fullness of joy and the joy of the Lord is our strength. Where God is, there is salvation, deliverance, healing and strength and He is enthroned on our praise. 
Many people have received healing and deliverance during praise and worship without anyone praying for them or laying hands on them. 

And the dance is an important key in worship. The enemy has perverted this form of worship and the world and some sections of the church think of it as evil. The world uses it to glorify the body; to glorify the creation instead of the creator. But God is compelling the Body of Christ to take back the dance and the arts and understand that they are powerful in form and image. 

God is a creator and He created us in His image. He created us to be creative and God intends that we use this creativity to glorify Him! He has blessed us with an imagination and dreams and when our whole heart is submitted to God, the natural outcome of a renewed mind creates new ways to glorify God! He wants us to glorify Him through dance and music, through drama and art. He wants His Spirit to flow unhindered through us with new spontaneous forms of praise and worship. This releases His power and majesty here on the earth that all may see Him. Through the dance, the spiritual is birthed into the natural. This brings the “experience” of God to others that they may know that He is real and alive and not just print on a page. 

As in all things of God, we will not gain understanding of this through our natural mind. The things of the Spirit are understood by the Spirit. We learn as we step out in faith and seek to operate in the things of God. The same thing happens with dance ministry. As we obey the Lord in faith, even without understanding, the Lord begins to impart revelation knowledge. This is an area that the Body of Christ needs to “renew their mind in.” 

We are spirit, soul and body. We cannot separate where our spirit stops and where our body begins – our body is the saturated dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. We live in the spirit realm and our sensitivity to the things of God will determine our awareness or unawareness of this realm we live in. When I move my physical body, I move in the spirit realm and when I move by God’s divine direction, I dramatically affect the spiritual atmosphere. 

God first commission to man was to take dominion over the earth. He created the earth for us to rule over and handed the keys of His authority to us. If this were not true, Adam could not have given them away to Satan. But when Jesus conquered sin on our behalf, He handed these keys back to us. I always think it's interesting that even before His resurrection He give His disciples power and authority over all the demons and to cure diseases and sends them to preach the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick (Luke 9:1,2.) 
And yet even after Christ’s triumph over evil many of us do not understand our authority on the earth. The Host (Army) of Heaven has been given to us to assist us in this rule. They are also under our command. Jesus came to the earth to do good and to destroy the works of the enemy. This is also our assignment and every spiritual blessing has been given us to take back the earth for Christ. (Eph 1)

Our churches are full of ministries that don’t need the power of God to operate. They accomplish their goals through good planning, marketing and human determination. They are training people to never expect to see the Holy Spirit move, to never see a miracle, to never expect to be healed in a church service. They have a form of godliness but deny the power within. The dance is not meant to be a form of entertainment. It is beautiful, as beauty was created by God and all things that come from Him are beautiful, but it is a powerful form of worship and warfare. 

Heidi and Rolland Baker are missionaries in Mozambique, Africa www.irisministries.com and in the last several years have, through their ministry, seen over 70 people raised from the dead. Right now, Heidi is going into African villages and calling specifically for the deaf to be brought to her, because she is seeing the deaf healed 100% percent of the time through the laying on of her hands. She spends hours in worship and has gained this tremendous anointing through the intimacy of worship. Heidi and Rolland Baker started with a dance ministry! 

God is raising up a joyful Bride that will operate in these Keys to the Kingdom and one of these powerful keys is worship! Unashamed, abandoned love for God that cannot be contained but must be expressed with a shout, with hands raised high in love for Him, with feet that crush the enemy’s head with dancing and joy, with a banner raised up in His name! A worshiping Bride washed in His blood and His Word, empowered by His Spirit and operating in His gifts. A Bride that will obey God’s first commission: to take dominion of this earth and present it to Her Saviour. A Bride that will obey the last thing He told us to do – “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature…And these signs and wonders will follow those who believe: In My Name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; …they will lay hands on the sick and they will recover. “

Jesus said, “ Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: The blind see and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the good news preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”