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Seated on High

I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:19

The last few days I have noticed a pattern around many of those that I have been ministering to.

So many have talked about feeling heaviness or despair and I kept hearing the Lord say, “My children are sensing the atmosphere. There is a war being battled in the heavenlies.”

So I am here to remind you that you have been given discernment to not only sense what’s in the atmosphere, but to also shift the atmosphere into haven on earth.

You are POWERFUL! You are SEATED WITH CHRIST in heavenly places. You were created to CHANGE the atmosphere with Jesus. This means that you get to look down onto situations and change them with prayer.

It’s time to remember you have a heavenly perspective available to you! Let’s all look down and fell mountains to move in the name of Jesus!

In Christ,

Jenimar Pendleton

I Heard Him Say “Rebuild”

“For behold, I am commanding, And I shall shake and sift the house of Israel among all nations [and cause it to tremble] Like grain is shaken in a sieve [removing the chaff], But not a kernel [of the faithful remnant] shall fall to the ground and be lost [from My sight]…In that day I shall raise up and restore the fallen tabernacle (booth) of David, And wall up its breaches [in the city walls]; I will also raise up and restore its ruins And rebuild it as it was in the days of old.” Amos 9:9, 11 AMP

Friends,

I want to encourage you today.  Though the world we live in seems to consistently stir the pot of fear and negativity, the Lord our God is moving.  The people of God’s greatest days are just ahead. 

Recently I was sitting with Jesus and I asked him what was on his heart.  He said “REBUILD”.As I continued to listen attentively, I heard Him say:

“I’m coming for the hearts of my people. I desire mercy not sacrifice and I’m calling my beloveds into full communion with me on earth as it is in heaven.”

Full communion is moment by moment conversational prayer with the Lord like David had. (Isaiah 55:3) I believe the tabernacle Amos speaks of in the scripture above represents intimate relationship by communing with the heart of God  through the Holy Spirit.  Jesus desires this with you!

Returning to the Original Foundations

The Lord said to me:

 “Ever since the early church absorbed into Roman culture under Constantine, traditions became more important to many than the original ways. I am bringing my church back into alignment with important principles established in the book of ACTS.”

He began to bring so many things to mind that he wants to restore back to his people…

  • First love 
  • Repentance
  • Awe and fear of the Lord
  • Unity among believers
  • Demonstration of the gospel through signs, wonders, and miracles
  • Believers gathering in homes
  • Teaching families together
  • Expectation for angelic help
  • Boldness and courage
  • All were baptized in the Holy Spirit

The father has a heart to return to the foundations of family within the body. I could feel his heart as He told me:

 “I am turning the hearts of the fathers to the children and children to the fathers. Family is a big deal to me. How can you say you love me when you can’t love your brother or sister? Family is also a big deal to the heart of the Father.”

 The Lord is talking us back to our original foundations and that is KINGDOM FAMILY.

Rebuilding the Church

I heard the Lord say:

“Just as the people rebuilt the temple in Ezra’s day, so I am rebuilding My temple right now in my church. But this time it will not be a building made with human hands.  Watch what I will do…” 

Suddenly, in my mind I saw a yellow rolling desk chair with muddy water pouring onto it and splashing off.  Then I heard Jesus say, “I am dismantling my church so that I can rebuild her. The church has been sitting down for a long time and many have become complacent, non-repentant, dirty, without fear of the Lord.”  The chair in the vision symbolized sin, attention-seeking and self-glorification.  The muddy water represents repentance from dead works. Dead works is any attempt to find favor, earn acceptance or be made righteous before God by one’s own effort, ability or willpower (Ephesians 2:8,9). Both sin and dead works are things that God wants removed from His Bride.

I felt the Lord’s heart for us to believe WHO WE ARE as sons and daughters and walk in the inheritance that He paid with his very life to give us. His blood was poured out to give us the gift of righteousness. The Lord went on to say:

“I want to cleanse my people. I want to cleanse them with the washing of the pure water of the word. To renew their minds with my truth by the Holy Spirit‘s leading. If my people will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways I will hear them and I will heal them. I am calling my bride by name. Come to me all you who are weary with burdens and with the weight of sin.  Lay them down in repentance and I will give you rest”.

The Hebrew word for repentance is Teshuva, which also means “a returning“. God is not just calling us to repent; His is calling us home to be hidden in His heart.

A Holy Temple in the Lord

“Once my people RETURN to me, we will walk into the new season of the new wine skin.”  

In my mind’s eye I saw myself standing in a large room. As I looked, I realized the walls of the building were made of pots of all different sizes, shapes, and colors. Then the Lord brought to mind 2 Corinthians 4:7 which reads: 

“We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.” 2 Corinthians 4:7

We are the clay pots that hold the Spirit of the Living God. As followers of Jesus, we are being formed into the walls of the Living Sanctuary or Temple that God has told us about in his word. Then I heard the Lord say:

“My people will be rebuilt into a living sanctuary holy and pleasing to me moving together in unity with one mind and in one accord. Each will be a holy habitation of my Spirit. You in me and I in you, both of us being in the Father– a unified living temple of the Lord – a remnant people who carry the presence of the Lord everywhere they go because they are sold out, on-fire lovers of God.”

“Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” Ephesians 2:19-22

The Lord continued to speak to me and He said:

“My people will no longer hide in a building. They are becoming the temple of God everywhere they walk. They will be living gateways – portals that my power will flow through to reach the lost. My victory is unstoppable and those who love me more than their own life will also be unstoppable. My angelic hosts are assembling. They are preparing for new assignments to partner with my remnant who fully surrender in the power of my Spirit. I am the commander of these heavenly hosts. Those who are with us are much greater than those that are against us.  Rejoice! The King of Glory is the Lord of Victory (Psalm 24:9-10)!”  

“Believe me for greater things (John 14:12). Miracles you’ve not seen and never even heard of. My wonders are limitless. Hold my hand… I invite you to step closer to me, my beautiful holy habitations.  I will set your feet on a rock and hide you in the day of trouble. I am your Beloved and you are mine.”

If you are a believer in Jesus, He is talking to you.  There is coming a great outpouring of the Spirit of God unlike the earth has ever experienced.  Jesus wants to make your life his holy habitation… His dwelling place.  UNION with him looks like intimate relationship: constant friendship chats, turning your thoughts affectionately toward him throughout the day, choosing to obey his voice instead of your flesh, and loving people everywhere you go in partnership with Him.  In our humble surrender to his majesty, He empowers us to live naturally supernatural lives as we become His door to reach the lost, broken, and captive with His love and power!

For Christ,

♥️Ashley Edwards

Ashley Edwards is a wife, mother, the author of
The Voice of Truth: Hearing God's Voice and Encountering a Love that Changed Everything.
Ashley currently works as the Director of Local Ministries for Watermarked Ministries.

Esthers in Prayer, Deborahs in War

There have been many woman who have been hidden in the Lord going through a beatification process like Esther.

The Lord showed me these women and told me that the process is almost complete. They were dressed as queens and God had them seated on thrones, but when they arose from their thrones the became covered in the armor.

The Lord said that He is releasing these women with the intercession anointing that was on Esther, but the warring spirit He placed in His judge Deborah.

These women would judge what is evil and good in the eyes of the Lord. They would break the powers of evil and be a midwife in the spirit to birth the good plans of the Lord in this time.

Daughters of God, keep pressing into Jesus in the secret place! Your time of waiting is coming to an end and Jesus is about to be glorified through your lives!

For Christ, 

Jenimar Pendleton

Deception, Mercy, & Tipping Points

In the past several weeks, I have had a deep urgency stirring in my spirit for the Body of Christ in the United States. God has been revealing to me the enemy’s tactics to disrupt and dismantle the foundations that God has laid in our land and our assignments to stop the enemy in his tracks. The Lord has continuously urged me into the secret place to pray and decree His purposes for our land, none in which include a political or religious narrative. Instead, it is a narrative that is written in His promises to His people throughout scripture. He asked me to sound the alarm to those who will have ears to hear and eyes to see what His Spirit is doing in our present time.

I heard the Lord say, “Will my people rise up and humble themselves, turn from their wicked ways and pull down from heaven the healing for their land? My people, who share in Abraham’s promises, Will they posture themselves before me with clean hands and pure hearts and ask for mercy over their land? Will America posture itself like Nineveh and repent for their lawlessness?”

Deception of the Times

I have felt the feeling of defeat that has overcome many in the Body of Christ in this season. That lie of defeat has overwhelmed many because they have chosen to turn to idols and the wisdom of the world to discern the current time and season, instead of securing themselves to every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. 

We must posture ourselves in humble repentance. We must lay down our idols, which produce false security and self-preservation, and grab on to the truth that our salvation comes from the Lord (Jonah 2:8-9)! This posture of repentance will lift the veil of deception that the enemy has placed over many in the Body of Christ. 

In Daniel 7:25 we read, “He (the enemy) will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make alterations in times and in law; and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time.” Saints take heed and do not be deceived by the enemy’s lies that he has the authority over this time and season! God has appointed His people for such a time as this, to stand from their rightful place, seated next to their King, to decree a thing and watch it be established (Job 22:28). We must turn our hearts and spirits to God to gain a heavenly perspective of the time and season.

The Mercy of God

I heard the Lord say, “Will My people, who share in the promises of Abraham (Galatians 3:7,29 NIV), posture themselves before me with clean hands and pure hearts and ask for mercy over their land?”  

When God shared His plan to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah with Abraham in Genesis 18:17-33, it opened a conversation between Abraham and God that ultimately caused God’s hand of mercy to be extended. Although Abraham knew that destruction was coming to the city, he petitioned the Lord to spare the city if God found anyone to be righteous in the land. God agreed to Abraham’s petition to have mercy because Abraham was a friend of God. We share in that same relationship through inheritance by what was purchased for us at the cross. I believe that God is looking for His people to come to Him like Abraham and pray mercy over our land because His heart is that no one would perish. Instead, He longs that all would be reconciled to Him.  

The Tipping Point

Our nation is at a pivotal season in time, and I know that many of you have been sensing the coming shift. As the Lord revealed to me His deep longing to partner with His people’s prayers over America, I heard Him say, “The bowls of incense are at a tipping point and I am about to use it as a mighty weapon to throttle the plans of the enemy!” 

In Revelation 5:8, we read that the golden bowls full of incense are the prayers of the saints, and we know that our prayers are weapons that are mighty in God to pull down strongholds. God wants the bowl of incense in heaven so full that it doesn’t just overflow, but instead, tip over onto the enemy’s plans! This tipping point that God is inviting us into will cause the nations to see His will and plans for the United States and show that a nation devoted to Him will always be protected and blessed.

In the next 40 days praying the scriptures will be crucial as God continues to bring exposure to the dark places and begins to purify His bride in order to shift us into a season of preparation to receive the Harvest. Be watchful to not pray from the flesh, but instead, pray from God’s very Word knowing that whatever you ask for in prayer, you have received it, and it will be yours (Mark 11:24). It is time to worship, declare, decree, and petition to the Lord like never before!

For Christ, 

Jenimar Pendleton

Corporate Prophetic Word

Recently during my time with the Lord he bagan to grieve my heart for the Body of Christ and it’s tolerance of unholy practices. He brought me to Amos 3:7 which states “Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.” He the began to speak to me the following word that I pray we heed as a warning and realignment to the Holy and Pure ways of God: 

God is currently releasing strategy and wisdom to His prophets about the things that are to come. He is calling for the removal of certain practices from the body of Christ. Things that used to be “OK” will no longer be tolerated. God is separating the common from the Holy in the season.  He going to use the sickle to remove the chaff from the wheat. What once we thought was acceptable will now be detestable. 

Watchmen Being Set Free

God is also breaking fear off of his watchmen. God has been revealing things to his prophets but some have been so consumed by the fear of man that they have refused to sound the alarm. “But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes someone’s life, that person’s life will be taken because of their sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood” Ezekiel 33:6. It is time to recognize the weight that our refusal; the blood is on the hands of prophets that choose to not sound the alarm. 

 I’d like to encourage the prophets in the body of Christ that have allowed fear to muzzle their voices to repent of bowing their knees to the spirit of fear.  Be filled with the fear of the Lord which is the beginning of all understanding (Proverbs 9:10). Repent and start speaking out what God has called you to speak out for His justice is going to flood out and produce restoration to the land. The strategies that God has been releasing are meant to restore order and purity to the prophetic ministry. The prophets that are meant to speak what they see and sound the alarm, are meant to do so in order to flush out the sorcery that has been operating among us in our churches, ministries, businesses, and communities. 

The season of Jaels 

Not only is Lord using His prophets to flush out those practicing sorcery around us. He is also releasing a Jael anointing over his women. In Judges 4 we see Barak scared of taking on Sisera on his own and will only take charge in the fight if Deborah goes with him. Deborah then says “Of course I will go with you, But because of your attitude, you will not be honored when Sisera is defeated. The Lord will allow a woman to defeat Sisera”

‭‭Judges‬ ‭4:9‬ ‭ERV‬‬. God has been sending leaders to tear down principalities and those who are engage with them, but out of fear those leaders have refused tp follow through with God’s request and now God will hand the victory over to women that He is releasing a Jael anointing over. 

In the coming months we will see women who are normally reserved and are peacemakers shake up churches and organizations as they stand up for purity and justice. I see them thrusting the spike through principalities trying to over take mountains of influence. But this time instead of them having to stand alone or go into hiding they will have powerful people of influence that will stand next to them as purity is released and the blood of the lamb spills over their sacrifice of laying down self-preservation. 

Palabra Profética Corporativa

Recientemente, durante mi tiempo con el Señor, comenzó a llorar mi corazón por el Cuerpo de Cristo y su tolerancia a las prácticas impías. Me llevó a Amós 3: 7 que dice: “Seguramente el Señor Soberano no hace nada sin revelar su plan a sus siervos los profetas”. Comenzó a hablarme la siguiente palabra que oro para que prestemos atención como advertencia y realineamiento a la Los santos y puros caminos de Dios:

Dios está actualmente liberando estrategia y sabiduría a sus profetas sobre las cosas que están por venir. Él está llamando a la eliminación de ciertas prácticas del cuerpo de Cristo. Las cosas que solían ser “OK” ya no serán toleradas. Dios está separando lo común de lo Santo en la temporada. Él va a usar la hoz para quitar la paja del trigo. Lo que antes creíamos aceptable sería ahora detestable.

Centinelas liberados

Dios también está rompiendo el miedo de sus centinelas . Dios ha estado revelando cosas a sus profetas, pero algunos se han consumido tanto por el miedo al hombre que se han negado a hacer sonar la alarma. “Pero si el centinela ve venir la espada y no toca la trompeta para advertir a la gente y la espada viene y le quita la vida a alguien, la vida de esa persona será tomada por su pecado, pero haré responsable al centinela por su sangre” Ezequiel 33: 6. Es hora de reconocer el peso que nuestro rechazo; la sangre está en manos de los profetas que eligen no hacer sonar la alarma.

  Me gustaría animar a los profetas en el cuerpo de Cristo que han permitido que el miedo ahogue sus voces para arrepentirse de inclinar las rodillas ante el espíritu del miedo. Estar lleno del temor del Señor que es el comienzo de todo entendimiento (Proverbios 9:10). Arrepiéntete y comienza a hablar lo que Dios te ha llamado a hablar porque Su justicia se inundará y producirá la restauración de la tierra. Las estrategias que Dios ha estado lanzando están destinadas a restaurar el orden y la pureza del ministerio profético. Los profetas que deben hablar lo que ven y hacer sonar la alarma, deben hacerlo para eliminar la brujería que ha estado operando entre nosotros en nuestras iglesias, ministerios, empresas y comunidades.

La Temporada de Jaels

El Señor no solo está usando a Sus profetas para expulsar a quienes practican la hechicería a nuestro alrededor. También está lanzando una unción de Jael sobre sus mujeres. En Jueces 4 vemos a Barak asustado de enfrentarse a Sisera por su cuenta y solo se hará cargo de la pelea si Deborah lo acompaña. Deborah luego dice: “Por supuesto que iré contigo, pero debido a tu actitud, no serás honrado cuando Sisera sea derrotada. El Señor permitirá que una mujer derrote a Sísara ”
Jueces 4: 9 ERV. Dios ha estado enviando líderes para derribar a los principados y a aquellos que están comprometidos con ellos, pero por temor a esos líderes se han negado a cumplir con la solicitud de Dios y ahora Dios entregará la victoria a las mujeres sobre las que está liberando una unción de Jael.

En los próximos meses veremos a mujeres que normalmente son reservadas y que hacen la paz sacudir iglesias y organizaciones mientras defienden la pureza y la justicia. Los veo empujando el pico a través de los principados tratando de tomar montañas de influencia. Pero esta vez, en lugar de tener que quedarse solos o esconderse, tendrán personas poderosas de influencia que estarán junto a ellos a medida que se libera la pureza y la sangre del cordero se derrama sobre su sacrificio de establecer la autoconservación.

Escrito por Jenimar Pendleton

Resting in Freedom

The most important work that we can do is to minister to God. Our number one call is not to His people but to Him. The call to His people is ultimately a call to Him, but we want to first be securely fashioned to His heart. The whole point of our lives is to become one with Him and to allow ourselves to gaze upon His face knowing that we are chosen and forgiven friends of the Father. He thought of you in the garden. He became excited to see your generation come to pass so that you could be born into His glory and mystery.

But what do we do when all of His promises start to manifest in our lives? Most of us should know by now that when God trusts you with something, it comes with responsibility. He will give us a path into our destiny, but sometimes, we have to help with clearing the way. The promotion that we ask for comes with work, and I, personally, have never met a person who God had poured His abundance on that didn’t have to plow for the Kingdom.

Like any new thing, there is a honeymoon stage where everything comes with ease because we are charging the land, but what do we do when our human bodies and minds can’t keep up with the call?  The answer is simple. We rest. In the natural, that seems counter-intuitive. We see the mountain of work we have to do or the people that we know that need to see and experience the love of God through us, and we can be tempted to fall into the lie that rest cannot happen or is unnecessary.

I have recently found myself in that place, and to be honest, it is not my first time, but my hope is that it be my last.  I have been given from God so many blessings: a family, ministry, nations, a business, a network of amazing people, and provision that continues to teach me that you can never out give God, but the truth is that I got tired. Really tired. The kind of tired that turns into exhaustion and then leads you to second-guessing if all the favor that was given to you was actually not a blessing at all. Now don’t get me wrong, I have boundaries. I rarely over commit, and if I do, I repent and rearrange things. But I was missing some really powerful truths.

After a few weeks of exhaustion, I finally started to discuss the issue with Jesus while I was spending time with Him. And by spending time with Him, I mean playing worship music and lying on the floor because that’s all I had in me to do. As I lay there, He met me there, and I heard him say so clearly, “Ephesians 3.” I began to read it, and the power of His truth started to fill me. Ephesians 3:14-15 reads,

 “So I kneel humbly in awe before the Father of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah, the perfect Father of every father and child in heaven and on the earth. And I pray that he would unveil within you the unlimited riches of his glory and favor until supernatural strength floods your innermost being with his divine might and explosive power” (TPT).  

I began to decree those verses over myself. I said, “God, thank You that You are a perfect Father. Thank You that I am Your child. I pray that You unveil Your glory and favor to me. I know that right now You are supernaturally strengthening me down to my innermost being with Your divine might and explosive power!” I continued to read, and there it was, the truth to uncover the lie of doubt that I didn’t even know I had. Verse 20 reads,

Never doubt God’s mighty power to work in you and accomplish all this. He will achieve infinitely more than your greatest request, your most unbelievable dream, and exceed your wildest imagination! He will outdo them all, for his miraculous power constantly energizes you” (TPT).

I immediately started to repent because I realized that my exhaustion was rooted in the lie that it was my own ability getting things done. I had doubted in the mighty work of God to accomplish all that He had promised! His mighty power will accomplish all that He has called me to. Not just what He has called me to now but even the things yet to be revealed or that I haven’t even known to dream or request.  The beautiful part is that, if I allow Him to outdo my wildest dreams, if I allow myself to rest in these truths, it says that “his miraculous power will constantly energize me”!

I am a daughter of an almighty God, and the truth of that statement means that opportunities follow me, abundance is poured out on me, and people are attracted to Jesus in me. This is not boasting; it is just what Scripture says is given to those who are hidden in Christ. We will be a sweet aroma to those around us, and the light in us will attract the darkness—because there is no darkness in Christ Jesus—and all who are in the dark that are truly seeking the light.

These promises of my call are exciting, and if I am not careful, I will allow the feeling of excitement to fuel me instead of being fueled by the rest I find in Him. The excitement of an opportunity comes from Christ but is not the Christ. We must be careful that we don’t fall into the same temptation that plagued the Israelites in the wilderness. God laid out plan after plan to come into a relationship with them, and they chose to wander in the desert in their works instead of finding their rest in Him (Heb. 4:1-10).

“Now God has offered to us the same promise of entering into his realm of resting in confident faith. So we must be extremely careful to ensure that we all embrace the fullness of that promise and not fail to experience it. For we have heard the good news of deliverance just as they did, yet they didn’t join their faith with the Word. Instead, what they heard didn’t affect them deeply, for they doubted. For those of us who believe, faith activates the promise and we experience the realm of confident rest!” Hebrews 4:1-3 (TPT)

Part of that promise is that He will call us, anoint us, but first love us. In that love is the command of resting so that we can allow Him to flood over us and into our innermost being. So that He can energize us with His miraculous explosive power and manifest His wildest dreams for our lives. Beloved, resting in the Father is part of the gift of freedom, and today, He is inviting you to take a step deeper into that promise. Run after rest because our rest is God, and He is the hope and fruit of your salvation.

Featured Image by Averie Woodard

Descansando en Libertad

El trabajo más importante que podemos hacer es ministrar a Dios. Nuestro llamado número uno no es al pueblo sino a Él. El llamado a su pueblo es, en última instancia, un llamado a Él, pero primero que todo queremos estar bien alineados a su corazón. El único propósito de nuestras vidas es convertirnos en uno con Él y que fijemos nuestra mirada en su rostro, sabiendo que somos amigos del Padre escogidos y perdonados. Él pensó en ti en el Jardín. Se emocionó al ver lo que sucedería con tus generaciones de modo que pudieras nacer a su gloria y misterio. 

?Pero qué hacemos cuando todas sus promesas comienzan a manifestarse en nuestras vidas? L mayoría de nosotros debería saber a estas alturas que cuando Dios te confía algo, esto viene con responsabilidad. Él nos va a proveer un camino hacia nuestro destino, pero a veces, tendremos que ayudar despejando el camino. La promoción que queremos viene con trabajo, y yo, personalmente, no he conocido una persona sobre la cual Dios haya derramado su abundancia y que no haya tenido que esforzarse por el Reino. 

Como cualquier cosa nueva, hay una etapa de luna de miel donde todo llega con facilidad porque estamos tomando la tierra, pero ?qué hacemos cuando nuestros cuerpos y mentes no pueden mantenerse al nivel del llamado? La respuesta es simple. Descansamos. En lo natural, eso parece contraintuitivo. Vemos la montaña de trabajo que tenemos que realizar o las personas que conocemos que necesitan ver o experimentar el amor de Dios a través de nosotros y podemos ser tentados a caer en la mentira de que no habrá oportunidad para descansar o que es innecesario. 

Hace poco me encontré en ese lugar, y para ser honesta, no es mi primera vez, pero mi esperanza es que esta sea la última. He recibido de Dios tantas bendiciones: una familia, un ministerio, naciones, un negocio, una red de personas maravillosas, y su provisión, todo esto continúa enseñándome que nunca podemos ganarle a Dios, pero la verdad es que me cansé. Estaba cansadísima. El tipo de cansancio que se convierte en agotamiento y luego te lleva a sospechar si todo el favor que recibiste no era para nada una bendición. No me malinterprete, tengo límites. Rara vez me comprometo excesivamente, y si lo hago, me arrepiento, y ordeno las cosas. Pero me estaba perdiendo algunas verdades realmente poderosas. 

Después de varias semanas de agotamiento, finalmente comencé a compartir el problema con Jesús mientras tenía tiempo con Él. Y estando con Él, adorándole, postrándome en el piso, porque eso era todo lo que había en mí para hacer, mientras estaba postrada allí, le oí tan claramente: “Efesios 3”. Comencé a leerlo, y el poder de su verdad comenzó a llenarme. 

Efesios 3:14-15 dice: 

“Por esta causa doblo mis rodillas ante el Padre de nuestro Señor Jesucristo, de quien toma nombre toda familia en los cielos y en la tierra, para que os dé conforme a las riquezas de su gloria, el ser fortalecidos con poder en el hombre interior por su espíritu”. 

Comencé a decretar esos versos sobre mí. Dije: “Dios, gracias porque eres un Padre  perfecto. Gracias porque soy tu hija. Te pido que me reveles tu gloria y tu favor. !Yo sé que ahora mismo estás sobrenaturalmente fortaleciéndome en lo más profundo de mi ser con tu divina fuerza y explosivo poder! Continué leyendo, y allí estaba, la verdad que ponía de manifiesto la mentira escondida en mi duda, que ni siquiera sabía que tenía.

El versículo 20 dice: 

“Y Aquel que es poderoso para hacer todas las cosas mucho más abundante de lo que pedimos o entendemos, según el poder que actúa en nosotros”. 

Inmediatamente comencé a arrepentirme porque me di cuenta que mi agotamiento estaba arraigado a la mentira que podía lograr que las cosas se hicieran a través de mi propia habilidad. !Había dudado de la poderosa obra de Dios para cumplir todo lo que Él había prometido! Su altísimo poder cumplirá todo a lo cual Él me ha llamado. No solo a lo que me ha llamado ahora sino aún a las cosas que todavía están por rebelarse, o las que todavía no he soñado ni he pedido. Lo maravilloso es que, si le permito sobrepasar mis sueños más increíbles, si descanso en estas verdades, dice que: “su poder milagroso actúa constantemente en mí”. 

Soy una hija del Dios Altísimo y la verdad de esta declaración significa que las oportunidades me siguen, la abundancia está derramada sobre mí, y la gente es atraída por Jesús que está en mí. Esto no es vanagloria, es justamente lo que la Escritura dice que se le ha dado a los que están escondidos en Cristo. Seremos un dulce aroma para los que están alrededor nuestro, y la luz en nosotros va a atraer la oscuridad ( porque no hay tinieblas en Cristo Jesús), y a todos los que están en la oscuridad y que están verdaderamente buscando la luz. 

Estas promesas sobre mi llamado son emocionantes, y si no soy cuidadosa, permitiré que estas emociones sean las que me alimenten en lugar en lugar de ser alimentada a través del descanso que encuentro en Él. La excitación por causa de las oportunidades viene de Cristo, pero no es el Cristo. Debemos tener cuidado de no caer en la misma tentación que asedió a los israelitas en el desierto. Dios diseñó plan tras plan para llegar a tener una relación con ellos, y escogieron caminar sin rumbo en el desierto en sus trabajos en lugar de encontrar su descanso en Él ( Hebreos 4:1-10).


“Temamos, pues, no sea que permaneciendo aún la promesa de entrar en su reposo, alguno de nosotros aparezca no haberlo alcanzado. Porque también a nosotros se nos ha anunciado la buena nueva como a ellos; pero no les aprovechó el oír la palabra, por no ir acompañada de fe en los que la oyeron. Pero los que hemos creído entramos en el reposo, de la manera que dijo: Por tanto, juré en mi ira, no entrarán en mi reposo; aunque las obras suyas estaban acabadas desde la fundación del mundo” (Hebreos 4:1-3).

Parte de esa promesa es que Él nos llamará, nos ungirá, pero primero nos amará. En ese amor está el mandamiento de descansar de modo que le permitamos que nos inunde en lo más íntimo de nuestro ser. Para que Él pueda actuar en nosotros con su explosivo poder milagroso y manifestar sus sueños más increíbles para nuestras vidas. Amado, descansar en el Padre es parte del regalo de la libertad, y hoy, Él te está invitando a dar un paso más profundo hacia esa promesa. Corre tras el descanso, porque nuestro descanso es Dios, y Él es la esperanza y el fruto de la salvación. 

Escrito por Jenimar Pendleton

Featured Image by Averie Woodard

A Veces la Serpiente Pica

¿Has tenido alguna vez una temporada donde todo pareciera que podía ir bien y al contrario todo va mal? Yo sé que las he tenido. He tenido tiempos como creyente en que he sentido que la mejor opción era gritar como Elías: “ Mátame, Señor”. Entonces cuando voy a Dios para que Él me sane mi corazón, sucede otra cosa. Sé que no estoy sola en esto. 

Sean situaciones financieras, de relaciones, trabajo, familia, o que el carro no deja de estar averiado, sé que has vivido alguna temporada de dardos imparables en tu campamento. ¿Quieres saber cómo sé esto? Porque el mundo nos está mirando. Ellos están esperando ver cómo tú, como creyente que tienes la Esperanza de gloria viviendo en ti, vas a reaccionar ante los contratiempos de la vida. 

Vayamos a Hechos 27 y veamos a Pablo. Había sido puesto en juicio frente a Festo, una corte Romana en Cesárea, a causa de las acusaciones hechas por su propio pueblo judío. Pablo apela a César, y Festo le concedió su petición, la cual comienza con la larga travesía de Pablo a Roma. Fue puesto bajo la custodia de soldados romanos en un barco junto a otros varios prisioneros. El viaje fue difícil debido a las condiciones del tiempo. Todos en la nave estaban temerosos porque un viento del nordeste los arrojó al mar perdiendo todo el control de la navegación. Finalmente naufragaron en la isla de Malta, donde los soldados romanos, quienes al principio querían matarlos para que no escaparan, le perdonaron la vida a Pablo y a los otros prisioneros. 

Al principio de Hechos 28, Pablo explica cuán amables fueron las personas de Malta. Él cuenta cómo los de la isla los recibieron y encendieron un fuego para que se calentarán, a causa de la lluvia y del frío. Entonces, algo sucedió: 

“ Entonces habiendo recogido Pablo algunas ramas secas, las echó al fuego; y una víbora, huyendo del calor, se le prendió en la mano” (Hechos 28:3).

¿Puedes creer eso? !Después de ser golpeado a causa de su fe, acusado falsamente, encarcelado, casi morir en el mar, haber naufragado, ahora lo picó una serpiente venenosa solo porque estaba tratando de calentarse! No hizo nada para merecerlo. ¿Esto le suena familiar a alguien?

Los versículos siguientes dicen:  “Cuando los naturales vieron la víbora colgando de su mano, se decían unos a otros: ciertamente este hombre es homicida, a quien, escapado del mar, la justicia no deja vivir. Pero él, sacudiendo la víbora en el fuego, ningún daño padeció”.  ( Hechos 28:4-5). No miremos el hecho de que las personas lo juzgaron mal y enfoquémonos en el último versículo: 

“Pero él sacudiendo la víbora  en el fuego, ningún daño padeció”.

“Pero él sacudiendo la víbora  en el fuego, ningún daño padeció”. Él no sufrió daño porque su enfoque no estaba en la serpiente. Cuando la serpiente lo picó o cuando fue falsamente encarcelado, él nunca se enfocó en el enemigo. Su mirada no estaba en cuán injusta la situación era cuando casi muere en el mar. Su mirada estuvo siempre en Jesús. Su enfoque fue lo que trajo como resultado su supervivencia. 

Miramos esta historia solo para llegar a este punto: a veces la serpiente pica. A veces no importa cuán devotos seamos al Señor, cuán profundamente arraigados estemos en su amor, cómo atendamos a los huérfanos y a las viudas. Aun así, podemos terminar siendo picados por una serpiente venenosa. Mi pregunta para ti es: ¿Estás enfocado en esto? ¿Te quejas con los que están alrededor de ti sobre cómo has tratado y has hecho las cosas bien y al final te han salido mal? ¿O lanzas la serpiente al fuego?

No estoy diciendo que no haya situaciones desgarradoras y que necesitamos tiempo para ser sanados de ellas. ¿Estoy hablando de dónde está su enfoque? ¿Está en Jesús quien pensó que tú eras tan maravilloso y le importó tanto que dio su vida por ti? Si tu enfoque está en Jesús, entonces puedes caminar sin ser dañado, pero si escoges darle alguna atención a esa repugnante serpiente, mejor que te prepares para que entre algo de ese amargo veneno en tus venas. Poner tu mirada en tus circunstancias negativas causará la muerte de tu esperanza y enfoque en Jesús. 

También están las personas alrededor de ti que te están mirando. Quieren ver si la fe que dices tener te salvará. Después que la serpiente picó a Pablo, dicen las Escrituras que: 

“Ellos estaban esperando que él se hinchara, o cayera muerto de repente; mas habiendo esperado mucho, y viendo que ningún mal le venía, cambiaron de parecer y dijeron que era un dios”. 

Pablo después encontró a un hombre que estaba enfermo en la ciudad y lo sanó a él y a muchos más. No estoy diciendo que queremos que la gente piense que somos dioses, sino que queremos responder a la vida de una manera que la gente lo vean a Él en nosotros, y así de esa manera, vamos a presentarles a nuestro Padre. 

Así que mis amados hermanos y hermanas, que esto sea de ánimo. En la vida tenemos tribulaciones y las serpientes nos picarán, pero Jesús dice en Lucas 10:19:

“He aquí os doy potestad de hollar serpientes y escorpiones, y toda fuerza del enemigo, y nada os dañará”. 

No seremos dañados si solamente ponemos nuestros ojos en quien Jesús es y en lo que Él ha dicho de nosotros. Entonces, no solamente podemos salir ilesos de una batalla con una serpiente, sino que podemos mostrarles a otros que es posible.

Escrito por Jenimar Pendleton

Imagen de Erin Ramsey

Sometimes the Snake Bites

Have you ever had a season where it just seemed like anything that could go wrong has gone wrong? I know that I have. I have had times as a believer that I felt like the best option I had was to cry out like Elijah “just kill me Lord”. Then as I turned to God to allow him to heal my heart another thing would happen. I know I am not alone in this. Whether it is financial situations, relationships, lack of relationships, work, family, or the car that won’t stop breaking down, I know you have lived a season of nonstop arrows into your camp. Do you want to know how I know this? Because the world is watching. They are waiting to see how you as a believer, who has the hope of glory living within you, will react to the setbacks of life.

Let’s look at Paul in Acts 27. He had just been put on trial in front of Festus, a Roman court judge in Caesarea,  because of the accusations made by his own Jewish people. Paul appeals to Ceasar and Festus grants his request which starts Paul’s long journey to Rome. He is placed in the custody of Roman soldiers and is put on a boat with several other prisoners. The journey was hard due to weather conditions. Everyone on the boat was fearful as a northeaster took them out into the sea without any control of the ship.  They eventually become shipwrecked on the island of Malta where the life of Paul and the other prisoners are spared by Roman soldiers who originally wanted to kill them to ensure they would not escape. 

At the beginning of Acts 28 Paul makes an account of how nice the people of Malta were. He tells how the people of the island built a fire for them to get warm from the cold rainy weather. Then, this happens:  “As Paul gathered an armful of sticks and was laying them on the fire, a poisonous snake, driven out by the heat, bit him on the hand” Acts 28: (NLT). Can you believe that? After being beaten for his faith, falsely accused, imprisoned, almost dies at sea, gets shipwrecked, now he gets bit by a venomous snake just because he is trying to get warm! He did nothing to deserve it. Does this sound familiar to anyone? 

The next few verses then say: “The people of the island saw it (the snake) hanging from his hand and said to each other, “A murderer, no doubt! Though he escaped the sea, justice will not permit him to live.”  But Paul shook off the snake into the fire and was unharmed” Acts 28:4-5 (NLT). Let’s look past the fact that the people miss judged and focus on that last verse: “Paul shook off the snake and was unharmed”. He was unharmed because his focus was never on the snake. He was never focused on the enemy when he was beaten or when he was falsely imprisoned. His focus was not on how unfair the situation was when he nearly died at sea. His focus was always Jesus. His focus is what brought about his survival. 

I went through all of this story just to make this one point, Sometimes the snake bites. Sometimes it does not matter how devoted we are to the Lord, how deeply rooted we are in his love, how we look after the orphans and the widows. We still end up getting bitten by a venomous snake. My question to you is, do you focus on it? Do you complain to everyone around you about how you try and do everything right and everything still goes wrong? Or do you shake the snake off into the fire? I am not saying that there are not situations that are heartbreaking that we need time to heal in, I am saying where is your focus? Is it on Jesus who thought that you were so amazing and cared enough to give his life for you? If your focus is on Jesus then you can walk away unharmed, but if you choose to give that nasty snake any of your attention then you better be prepared to have some of that bitter venom enter your bloodstream. The attention that you give to your negative circumstances is not worth the death of your hope and focus on Jesus. 

Then there are the people around you who are watching you, They want to see if you will work out your salvation with the faith you claim to have. After Paul was bitten it says that  “The people waited for him to swell up or suddenly drop dead. But when they had waited a long time and saw that he wasn’t harmed, they changed their minds and decided he was a god.” Acts 23:6 (NLT). Paul then found a man who was sick in the village and healed him and many more. I am not saying that we want people to think that we are gods, but we do want to respond to life in a way that they mistaken us for him, so we can, in turn, introduce them to our Father. 

So, My sweet brothers and sisters, let this be an encouragement. In life we have trials and snakes will bite us, but Jesus says in Luke 10:19 “Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you” (NLT). We will not be injured if we just keep our eyes on who Jesus is and what he has said over us. Then not only can we walk away unharmed from a battle with a snake but we can show others that it is pos

Featured Image by Erin Ramsey