Friday, March 14, 2014

By Faith... My Journey to See

Photo from Photobucket.com
I was ministering earlier this week and one lady was getting touched mightily as we stepped into Heaven by faith and received from the corner of Jesus' prayer shawl.  The other lady standing on my other side was having a hard time with it all because she couldn't feel or see anything.

The lady who didn't "receive" any manifestation that she could feel, see, hear or touch was humoring us... so I thought I might be able to encourage her with my experience.

You see,  there was a time when I couldn't feel, see or hear anything in the spirit realm.  I mean nothing, not one crumb.  I took Patricia Kings "Glory School" in 2003 and over 50% of the crowd were manifesting as she did some of the activations and I got nothing!

I was a little disheartened to say the least.  I did like how she used the word of God as her foundation. At the end of the conference I brought her manual home and put it on the shelf and never looked at it again.  However, I did tell Holy Spirit that if this was for me then he would have to train me up in how to do this. This was a pivotal confession in my life I realize now.

The next couple of years I look back and see how Holy Spirit kept putting visionary type preachers across my path.  Plus Holy Spirit really had me get grounded in the word even more than before.  You see I had head knowledge but I needed heart knowledge that I could stand on.

Then in 2006 I started street preaching and boy did I ever get lessons in the spirit realm.  Thank God for Todd Bentley and his teaching about Power Evangelism because the scripts the other ministry gave me were not working!  They made people really angry and argumentative.

You know, you never realize how real the spirit realm is until it starts hitting you over and over.  It's like Sherlock Holmes said,  "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be truth."   There were times when I would be preaching and I would get hit by an invisible bomb.  It would try to knock me back and all my thoughts and words would disappear and I would be left in a daze for a few seconds.  

Now I've talked a lot and never, ever have I ever had that kind of experience. Praise the Lord it never stopped me for more than a few seconds. It sure left me with some questions about the spirit realm.

Then as I searched for answers I listened to Todd teaching about marking out your claimed preaching area so that the Kingdom of God could manifest in your little area.  It sounded like a cool idea so  I marked out a 50 foot stretch of road the next time I went out to Sparks Street to preach.

All was going normally when I heard  a man cursing a blue streak as he headed towards me.  I mean he was yelling the foulest words I have ever heard!  I stopped preaching because he was so loud no one would be able to hear me.  When he got to the edge of my 'claimed' area he went mute!  I mean the whole lunch time crowd stopped and stared at what was happening.  This man walked right by me and looked at me like "Who are you?" and I just smiled with compassion.  The second he got to the other end of my claimed area he started cursing again.  Don't try to tell me that  didn't happen! That evil spirit  using that man had to bow to the name of Jesus! (Turns out he had a great job in the gov't. but they had to give him a sound-proofed room because he could not stop swearing.  Sad eh?)

Can you see how God set to work to prove how real the spirit realm was to me?  He's so patient with us!

Then I heard Holy Spirit asking me to set aside more time to seek his face -- alone in my secret place.  As I came apart Holy Spirit would ask me occasionally, "What do you see?"  Usually it was black and then I would see a flash of light.  I always  asked him,  "Is that right?" and he would help me to see more clearly. This went on for a few years and Holy Spirit helped me to see more and more.

That's how it all started with me.  Slowly, ever so slowly.  Some people get it by impartation but I didn't.  So I'm here to tell you that if I can do it so can you!  God's no respecter of persons.  Just set your heart on His will for your life and he'll lead you step by step.

The truth is that the veil separating the holy of holies  from the most holy place has been torn.   We are already seated with him in Heavenly places.  We are to set our hearts and minds on things above now.  Every spiritual blessing is ours in heavenly places.  If God wants our physical eyes to be healed (and we know he does),  then how much more does he want our spiritual eyes to be functioning to see the Kingdom that is our inheritance and our eternal home?

Let's agree together: "Thank You Lord for teaching us step by step how to engage your kingdom more and more by faith.  We believe we receive insights and direction as we worship you and wait on You. Amen!"

Have a great day with Him!
Big hugs and bigger blessings,
Brenda Gale Thompson

Monday, March 10, 2014

Restless & Waiting for Spring



I was feeling so restless last week and I knew something was up.   I didn't want to escape by going for a long, long drive because I've done that before and it didn't help very much. I even picked up my water colors again in an effort to deal with the restlessness I was feeling and it helped temporarily.
But underneath I knew something was amiss.  I was asking the Lord what's up and I realized that I'd been struggling to enter his presence and just rest.

Yes, that surprised me too because I have been going in and out of Heaven  a lot more than I ever did and I've been busy praying, decreeing and doing stuff for my Papa.  I just somehow got too busy for him and He was telling me to pull aside a bit and rest.

So I ascended and waited and just sat.  It's so true that we get healed up when we behold Jesus.   The word says, "Let the son of righteousness arise with healing in his wings and his beams of light." (Mal. 4:2) and it's so true!  As we behold him and let him behold us we get healed up on the inside.  Each time I sit one more scar is healed up and I feel so much better.

Some of the wounds go way back to when we were children and we must soak in him and let his love and mercy and forgiveness wipe away our need for walls of protection.

Hallelujah!  It's a great journey we are on!