Pushing Back the Darkness

Dear beloved: One of the joys of being in the fellowship is the opportunity of corporate worship of  our Lord and Savior.  Psalm 111:1 Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart, In the company of the upright and in the assembly. Psalm 147:1 Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; For it is pleasant and praise is becoming. Psalm 149:1 Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song, and His praise in the congregation of the godly ones.  When the Lord commands us to not forsake the gathering of the saints; He has in mind that we would not only gather to encourage each other and stimulate each other to love and good deeds, but also that which is being done in heaven would also be done here on earth. Revelation 5:9 gives us a sampling of the songs in heaven, And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy art Thou to take the book, and to break its seals; for Thou wast slain, and did purchase for God with Thy blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. v10 And thou has made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth." 

Recently the brothers in the prison gathered for a church service, and as we began to worship the Lord, the glory of the Lord came down and began to fill the room.  As the service progressed, the worship became more intense and so did the glory!  The men began to worship with all their heart; some danced to the Lord, others knelt in prayer and adoration, others just stood with upraised arms in praise to the King.  After the worship was over, one of the brothers shared that the Lord had given him a vision while he was worshiping.  He saw the bright light of the Lord just push back the darkness in the prison.  Demons of suicide, destruction, anger, bitterness, false religions, and many others that combine to bring a dark cloud over the prison, were sent scrambling as the glory of the Lord spread from the small gathering to envelope the whole wing of the prison, and eventually the whole complex that is home to 800 inmates. Just the praises of a few can affect the atmosphere of the many, so let your praises ring!

Psalm 148:13 Let them praise the name of the Lord, for His name alone is exalted; His glory is above the earth and heaven. v14 And He has lifted up a horn for His people, Praise for all His godly ones; Even for the sons of Israel, a people near to Him. Praise the Lord!  Beloved, gather with the saints to give God the praise that He is due, He will lift you up.  God bless you, in Christ, Jim  www.gathertheoutcasts.com

The Gathering of the Saints

Dear beloved:  The third leg of walking in the Spirit is to fellowship on a regular basis with the saints, to gather with them as the writer of Hebrews encourages us in Hebrews 10:24-25 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, v25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near.  It is vital in our walk with the Lord that we gather together to encourage and stimulate one another to love and good deeds.  Although many are tempted to stay home and watch television evangelists or listen to radio ministries, the Lord desires that we meet together where we can look at each other and see with our own eyes how our brothers and sisters are doing; do they need prayer, do they need encouragement, do they need financial provision?  These things we can only discern by gathering together with the saints.

The hallmarks of the early church were four things:: Acts 2: 41-42 So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and there were added that day about three thousand souls. v42 And they were continually devoting themselves to the 1) apostle's teaching, 2) and to fellowship, 3) to the breaking of bread, and 4) to prayer. The saints recognized and responded to their need to gather together in fellowship.  If we are not in a regular fellowship, it is easy for the devil to isolate and trick us and then remove us from our walk in the Spirit. The importance of the fellowship has been impressed upon me many times by the Lord.  He gave me a dream before I started preaching a crusade in Kibera, Nairobi, that the intercessors for the crusade would be the inmates from the fellowship at the correctional facility where I preach on a regular basis.  In the dream, about 40 inmates were lined up shoulder to shoulder, with their blue jeans, blue shirts, and red hats on, and they were standing on the ground between the platform and the people in the audience receiving the message.  The Lord was saying, these men from the fellowship will be your prayer intercessors and your covering, they are standing strong for you!

John wrote, when writing about his fellowship with Jesus, in 1 John 1:3, what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, that you also may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His son Jesus Christ. v4 And these things we write that our joy may be made complete. v7 but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.  Beloved, give thanks for the fellowship, for the saints that are standing with you, and you with them, so that we can all by our presence with each other and with the Lord Jesus Christ, move forward in His kingdom. Psalm 133:1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity! May God bless you this day as you move forward in the fellowship.  in Christ, Jim

Prepare For Drought

Dear beloved:  The drought that has gripped the central states of the nation shows no signs of abating.  God uses drought to bring judgment upon the land, to call people to repentance, as He did with His own children of Judah.. Joel 1:10 The field is ruined, the land mourns, For the grain is ruined, The new wine dries up, Fresh oil fails. v11 Be ashamed, O farmer, Wail, O vinedressers, For the wheat and the barley; Because the harvest of the field is destroyed. v12 The vine dries up, And the fig tree fails; The pomegranate, the palm also, and the apple tree, All the trees of the field dry up. Indeed, rejoicing dries up from the sons of men. And again He spoke through the prophet Jeremiah to the people of Judah in Jeremiah 14:1 That which came as the word of the Lord to Jeremiah in regard to the drought; v2 Judah mourns, and her gates languish; They sit on the ground in mourning, And the cry of Jerusalem has ascended. v3 And their nobles have sent their servants for water; They  have come to the cisterns and found no water. They have returned with their vessels empty; They have been put to shame and humiliated, And they cover their heads. v4 Because the ground is cracked. for there has been no rain on the land; The farmers have been put to shame, they have covered their heads. v7 Although our iniquities testify against us, O Lord, act for Thy name's sake! Truly our apostasies have been many, We have sinned against Thee.

The Lord recently gave me two dreams that leads me to believe the drought is going to continue and even intensify.  In the dream, a tractor pulling a big cultipacker farm implement was in a field across the road from where I was standing.  Several men and boys were standing on the implement, giving it more weight so that it would go into the ground.  The ground was dry and dusty, and the added weight did not help it penetrate.  All the men and boys got off the cultipacker, and they walked away dejected; interestingly, all the young boys had their baseball caps turned backwards. In the second dream, I am cleaning up a batch of wheat in a seed cleaner.  Much of the wheat is light in test weight and blows out with the chaff, and in addition to that, many of the hulls (whitecaps) are empty and have no grain in them at all.  So they too, are blown out with the chaff. I believe the Lord is saying the drought is going to continue; the farmers will be ashamed, for the harvest of the field will dry up.

Joel 1:14 Consecrate a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly; Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the Lord your God, And cry out to the Lord. v15 Alas for the day! For the day of the Lord is near; And it will come as destruction from the Almighty.v16 Has not food been cut off before our eyes, Gladness and joy from the house of our God? v17 The seeds shrivel under their clods; The storehouses are desolate, the barns are torn down, for the grain is dried up.  Jeremiah 14:22  Are there any among the idols of the nations who give rain? Or can the heavens grant showers: Is it not Thou, O Lord our God?  Therefore we hope in Thee, For Thou art the one who hast done all these things.  Beloved, pray for repentance, that we would mourn the condition of this nation in sackcloth and ashes, and turn from our wicked ways to seek the only One who can give rain.  Pray for showers of water and showers of blessings upon this land, that many would repent and turn to Him.  God bless you as you pray this day, in Christ, Jim www.gathertheoutcasts.com

The Living Word

The Word is Living by Jim Rowh « on: February 03, 2013, 04:40:52 PM »

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The Word is Living


Dear beloved: When you focus on the word and ingest it in your life, it will come alive in you in ways that you never imagined. Hebrews 4:12 says, For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any double edged sword, it penetrates even to divinding soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and intents of the heart. Eating the word on a daily basis will transform your life; because of the living nature of it; it is as much alive today and everyday as it was when it was first given to the original writers.

Several years ago while ministering to the Cabecar indigenous people of Costa Rica, I was fasting and praying and in an intense period of study of the Book of Revelation. The Lord gave me a dream that came right out of the Revelation, it was like seeing a movie of a book that I had read previously. In the dream, the black horse and rider of Revelation 6:5 came out, and I instantly recognized them because of the study. Rev. 6:5 When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come!" I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, " a quart of wheat for a denarious (day's wages), and three quarts of barley for a denarious, and do not harm the oil and the wine." In the dream, the rider held up the scales and spoke the words, but when he was finished speaking, the horse reared up and threw the rider off. There were other parts to the dream, but the total message of it was that the Lord was warning me that famine is coming. The scales and words of the rider describe a balance of economy, a measure of wheat or barley for a payment, and the rider being thrown off means that the balance will give way to chaos and calamity. Due to rampant inflation or the devaluing of the dollar, the economy of business as usual will be destroyed, and the Lord was preparing me for that day and telling me to warn the people.

John 1:1 tells us that in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. v3 Through Him all things were made, without Him nothing was made that has been made. v4 In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. v5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. Then in verse 14, The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. The Word is Jesus, our precious Lord and Savior, and the Word is living and active. So as you read the living word of God, you are taking in Jesus!

May God bless you this day as you read His word.
in Christ,
Jim   www.gathertheoutcasts.com

Eat the Word

Dear beloved:  The second leg of walking in the spirit is to daily ingest the word of God.  After Jesus had been taken up in the wilderness to be tempted by the devil, it tells us in Matthew 4:2 He then became hungry. v3 And the tempter came to Him and said to Him, "if you are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread." v4 But He answered and said, "It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God."   Jesus quoted a scripture from Deuteronomy 8:3, "And He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of God."

God humbles us and often takes us to a place of understanding where we come to realize that material provision (not just food) is not enough to sustain us, that we must come to a point of trusting the Lord for all that we have and all that we are.  Daily ingesting of God's word does many things for us: Psalm 119:105 tells us, Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path.  So His word illuminates our path so we can walk through the darkness and not fall into the ditch or strike our foot against a stone. Psalm 119:130 The unfolding of Thy words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.   Again as we steep ourselves in God's word, it unfolds before us the revelation of God and our relationship with Him, it brings light to our life that we might shine in the darkness. Psalm 119:140 Thy word is very pure (refined), therefore Thy servant loves it.  Nothing we see in this world is pure, everything is tainted with darkness and the contamination of the devil, it is no wonder the "daily grind" of battling in the world wears us down.  So to meditate on His word lifts us up because of the purity of it, because of the truth in it.

The Lord fed Ezekiel the scroll  before He sent Ezekiel out on his mission to prophesy to the house of Israel. Ezekiel 2:8 ":Now you, son of man, listen to what I am speaking to you; do not be rebellious like that rebellious house. Open your mouth and eat what I am giving to you."  And again in Ezekiel 3:1 Then He said to me, "Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel." v2 So I opened my mouth, and He fed me this scroll. v3 And He said to me, "Son of man, feed your stomach, and fill your body with this scroll I am giving you."   Then I ate it, and it was sweet as honey in my mouth.  Beloved, eat the word today just as Ezekiel did, it will sweeten up your life;  meditate on His word and it will feed you and fill you.  God bless you as you pray today.  in Christ, Jim  www.gathertheoutcasts.com

We Are Open For Attack

Dear beloved:  Isaiah speaks that one of the results of fasting and prayer will be that the glory of the Lord will take up position as your rear guard.  Isaiah 58:8 Then your light will break out like the dawn, And your recovery will speedily spring forth; And your righteousness will go before you; The glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.  The rear guard is a military term that defines a military unit that is charged with protecting the rear of the main unit of troops who are either advancing or withdrawing.  Their duty is to keep the enemy at bay and protect the flow of travel, supply, and communication, and to keep the enemy from coming in and attacking from the rear.  When the glory of the Lord is our rearguard, we don't need to look back to see if the enemy is moving in on territory we have already moved through and taken; we can keep our eyes focused ahead for the territory that is out in front of us, we can move forward with boldness and confidence; the Lord literally "has our back."

As we commemorate the 40th year of Roe vs. Wade and the resulting death of 54 million infants murdered in the womb, the Lord wants  us all to pray and  meditate on the payment that must be made for the shedding of all that innocent blood. Genesis 9:6 "Whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed, For in the image of God He made man. v 7 "And as for you, be fruitful and multiply; populate the earth abundantly and multiply in it." . The children of Israel were guilty of the same offense and the Lord eventually allowed their enemies to come in and remove them from their land. Psalm 106:37 They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons, v38 and shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and their daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; and the land was polluted with the blood. v39 Thus they became unclean in their practices, and played the harlot in their deeds. When we as individuals and as a nation choose to rebel against God's warning and clear message given in His word, we can expect repercussions to come in ways we never imagined, for the payment must come from us who shed the blood.

The Lord gave me a dream in 2010 that showed we are in that place of vulnerability to attack from the rear. In the dream, I was standing behind the platform at a campaign rally listening to President Obama speak.  There was great enthusiasm and support for his message.  Suddenly, someone came rushing in from the back of the platform with a spear in his hand, and he lunged the spear into the President's back.  I believe the Lord was showing that the President, who is the Commander in Chief of our defense forces, and therefore in the dream represents the defense of this nation.  The Lord revealed that  because of our shedding of innocent's blood and other policies that represent  unclean practices in this nation, we are wide open to attack. Beloved, pray today that we will forsake this scourge of shedding innocent's blood, that  the Lord will once again take up His position as our rearguard..  God bless you as you pray, in Christ, Jim www.gathertheoutcasts.com

Walk in the Spirit pt7: More on Prayer and Fasting

Dear beloved:  God wants to use you to help shape the destiny of not only yourself, but also of your family, your community, and your nation, and possibly even other's nation.  In the tenth chapter of the book of Daniel, Daniel is seen (v2) fasting and mourning for three entire weeks. v3 I did not eat any tasty food, nor did meat or wine enter my mouth, nor did I use any ointment at all, until the three entire weeks were completed.  Daniel was then given a vision of the Messiah, who spoke to him in verse 11.  And he said to me, "O Daniel, man of high esteem, understand the words that I am about to tell you and stand upright, for I have now been sent to you." And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling.  v12 Then he said to me, " Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words." v13 "But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty one days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia. v14 Now I have come to give you understanding of what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision pertains to the days yet future."

So we see that because of his fasting and mourning, Daniel was drawn into a spiritual battle much larger than himself, beyond anything that he knew about or was planning for.  Beloved, when we fast and pray, God unites our prayers with the battle plan that He has laid out in heaven for His kingdom to come here on earth!.  As you cry out to God through your fast, God sees and sends His angels to fight on your behalf against the powers, principalities, and rulers of darkness that rule in the demonic realm over the kingdoms of the earth. What a blessing to know that God wants to use you in ways you never thought or imagined to shape the destiny of nations.  As the doors then open for you to go forth, you will be walking into the territory that God has prophetically declared victory, and He will use you to carry His banner.

Last year God opened the door for me to go to Goma, Republic of Congo, a city that is the focal point of rebel insurgency on the east side of the Congo.  Because of the danger there and lack of security, we were originally denied visas to enter the country,  but God had strategically placed a man on our team who was able to get our visas approved, so God opened up door one. Then after three days of meetings in Goma, we had a heavenly visitation on the last night of the crusade, and God allowed a little meeting with 1,000 people in attendance to be blown up and shown on Immanuel TV to homes all over the Congo; He multiplied our efforts a thousand fold so many could see the glory of God filling that place.  The rebel army, which was perched right outside the city, eventually made entry into the city, but miraculously left 7 days later;  that was the move of God I was expecting as a result of the heavenly visitation, and a direct answer to the prayers of the saints in Goma and our team from Nairobi.  Beloved, when you pray and fast as Daniel did, expect the unexpected, expect God to move, and praise Him all the while you are fasting, and before and after you see the victory!  May God bless you this day as you pray.  in Christ, Jim www.gathertheoutcasts.com

Walk in the Spirit pt6: More on Prayer and Fasting

 Dear beloved: Jesus said in Matthew 6:17, "But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face, v18 so that you may not be seen fasting by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who is in secret will repay you."  The anointing of the head represents the symbolic setting aside, or consecration, of yourself to the work and service of the Lord.  It unites us with the priests of the Old Testament, such as Aaron, where we see that in their consecration ceremony, the same washing and anointing of oil was done to them by Moses.  Leviticus 8:6 Then Moses had Aaron and his sons come near, and washed them with water. v12 then he poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron's head and anointed him, to consecrate him.

God wants to give you greater authority to be a portal of entry for His kingdom here on this earth; Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.  When you fast and pray, and have anointed and washed yourself to consecrate yourself to the work and service of the Lord, God hears your prayers and sees your heart; He then has the plan in mind to give you the authority to repair, rebuild, and restore that which has been broken on earth.  Isaiah 58:12 "And those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; You will raise up the age old foundations; And you will be called a repairer of the breach, The restorer of the streets in which to dwell."  Your Father, who is in secret, will unite your heartcry with His plan for not only your family, but also your community, nation, and the world, as He links your prayer with the heartcry of those whose walls are torn down, whose foundations are crumbling and need shoring up, and whose streets are not safe to dwell in or walk down.

During a Daniel fast about 5 years ago, the Lord gave me a vivid dream to show me where I would be going to help repair the breach and raise up the age old foundations.  In the dream I was standing on a platform preaching to thousands of African people; every face was black except for mine, so I immediately knew it was Africa where He was sending me.  Between me and the crowd of people were about 40 men in blue shirts and red hats, some I recognized as men that I minister to in the state prison where I have been preaching for many years.  The Lord was showing me that they were going to be the intercessors for the mission,  the ones I would rely on to stand with me day and night in the prayer battle for the hearts of the African nations. Behind me on the platform was a big open slat wooden corn bin, similar to the kind frequently seen on farms throughout the midwest, and it was full to overflowing with ears of field corn; He was showing me that He would be my provision for all that would be needed to finance the missions to preach to the nations in Africa.  In my left hand I was holding a white bag that also had ear corn in it, I was taking out of the big bin and filling the little bag in my hand to finance each trip; on the front of the white bag was written the words 'Revelation 22'.  In my right hand I was holding a bible, God's word to pierce the hearts of the African people, and I was to be the conduit for His word to peirce their hearts.

When I preached a crusade in Kibera, the big slum in Nairobi two years ago, I took a white bag out with me each night when preaching, and the front of the bag had written on it 'Revelation 22'.  The pastors of Kibera came to me after the first night and said, "Jim, you have great authority to preach here, the people stayed and listened and were hungry for the word."  Before the crusade was over, nearly 800 people gave their lives to the Lord, and many received healing and deliverance.  The breaches in the walls of Kibera were being repaired!  The Lord orchestrated every detail of the trip, and I told the precious people of Kibera, "I am not here out of any good idea of my own, but it is the Lord who has directed my steps. I am here out of prophetic declaration."  Beloved, seek the Lord in prayer and fasting today, ask Him to direct your steps and expand your territory, then be ready to walk through the open doors into those streets which need restoring.  May God bless you this day, in Christ, Jim www.gathertheoutcasts.com

Walk in the Spirit pt5: More Prayer and Fasting

Dear beloved: We are talking about the practical aspects of day to day walking in the Spirit, what it means to walk it out in your daily walk with the Lord. The first part of walking in the Spirit is daily prayer, and then on those occasions when more clarity or deliverance is needed, fasting is added to the prayer regimen. Fasting deals with our pride, our boasting, our inclination as humans to exalt ourself rather than to continually honor God in all things. Fasting is truly afflicting our soul, not for the attention of men to gain their favor, but for asking God for mercy and His protection. Isaiah says in Isaiah 58:6 "Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; You will cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.'. If you remove the yoke from your midst; The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness. v10 And if you give yourself to the hungry, And satisfy the desire of the afflicted, Then your light will rise in darkness, And your gloom will become like midday."

As you humble yourself, you also take on a heart of gratitude, you will become thankful for every little thing that the Lord has given you, from the air and the sunshine on your face, to the food and water that sustain you on a daily basis. As you quit pointing your accusing finger at others in an attempt to exalt yourself, you will then release them from any burdens of expectation and control over them that you may have been practicing. God loves a humble and a contrite heart and when you fast and pray your heart will become tender and contrite, the hardness of all the yokes and bonds of wickedness will begin to fall off. David speaks it in Psalms 51:16 "For Thou desires not sacrifice; else I would give it: Thou delights not in burnt offering. v17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, Thou will not despise."

Years ago during a period of fasting the Lord dealt with my pride, as I had let pride and boasting creep into my spirit. The Lord spoke to me in the night in an audible voice that woke me up from a deep sleep, "Deuteronomy 8!" I immediately got up and went to my Bible, and realized that the Lord was speaking to me about the boasting about the organic farm and business that I had successfully built up. Deuteronomy 8 is a warning given to the children of Israel, before He took them into the promised land, about staying humble and thanking the Lord for all things given to them. Deut 8:11 Beware lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments and His ordinances and His statutes which I am commanding you today; v12 lest, when you have eaten and are satisfied, and have built good houses and lived in them, v13 and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and all that you have multiplies, v14 then your heart becomes proud, and you forget the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. As you pray and fast today, give the Lord thanks for delivering you from the house of slavery into His bountiful land! God bless you, in Christ, Jim www.gathertheoutcasts.com

Walk in the Spirit pt 4: More on Fasting and Prayer

Dear beloved: We are talking about the first leg of walking out a Spirit led life, that leg being daily prayer to our heavenly Father.  There are also times when we want to cry out in our prayers for more clarity, more mercy and supplication, or when we are more desperate for answers.  Jesus knew those times would come, so He instructed the disciples on fasting, immediately after the instruction on prayer in the sermon on the mount, Matthew 6:16-18. v16 "And whenever you fast..." implies that we will be fasting at times to magnify our prayer life.

Isaiah also speaks for the Lord regarding fasting in Isaiah 58:6 "Is this not the fast which I choose, to loosen the bonds of wickedness, to undo the  bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and break every yoke?"  Isaiah is saying that when we fast, the chains and bonds of wickedness will drop off as you come face to face with the enemy of your soul and cry out to the Lord.  Those agreements you have made with the enemy that result in oppression of your freedom and joy will be broken and you will be set free!  In every situation the Lord is powerful and mighty to save.  The prophecy concerning Jesus in Isaiah 61 tells it all:  v1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, and freedom to the prisoners, v2 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn v3 To grant those who mourn in Zion, giving them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of a spirit of fainting.  So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, the He may be glorified.

Several years ago I was crying out to the Lord for my family, as I was seeing a drift away from the Lord in my children.  And so I decided to do an Esther fast of three days no food or water, the same fast Queen Esther proclaimed for herself and her people to prevent the enemy from destroying her people. (Esther 4:16).  After three days the Lord took me up in  the Spirit, in a dream at night, and set me down beside the river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb. (Rev.22:1)  As I kneeled down beside the beautiful river, bubbling down from the mountain of God, the Lord put a water pitcher in my hand and had me dip out of the river over and over, and pour the water down my parched throat and body.  The Lord was saying to me, " I have heard your pleas for yourself and your family, it is time now to drink, for whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst again; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life."  Isaiah sums it up in verse 9 of chapter 58, "Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; You will cry, and He will say, 'Here I am'.   Beloved, seek the Lord today that He may say to you, 'Here I am'.  God bless you, in Christ, Jim  www.gathertheoutcasts.com