|City on a Hill - Writings for Refuge

I hear the Lord saying the Church in SW Michigan is made of “living stones” provided by Him to make a wall in the region. The cry is going out to all the earth to build the walls: Ezekiel 22:30 So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one. The Lord says He has given living stones to Kalamazoo (SW Michigan) and a wall will be built here. You are the stones. You make up blocks in your churches. Each church is to take their place on the wall. As the stones that make up the blocks see their call to the wall, the whole block begins to move. The block won’t move before the stones start moving. The more you reach be a part of the wall, the more the whole block will move. There is mortar and “the hand of the worker” required to be set. The mortar is found in the House of Prayer. The work of the hands is done in unity in the region (JLK and other outreaches where God is joining the ...

I mentioned a couple of days ago that being “ready” is the main theme of Jesus’ description to His disciples of the events surrounding His return. Every time Jesus described His return, He described very intense events and then admonished His disciples to “be ready,” “watch,” and/or “pray.” The disciples completely understood that a significant “response” was necessary. They actually believed that all these events were happening during their lifetimes…which they were. They witnessed the "conception" of the “baby” that would be "delivered" through the events of Revelation. The disciples cast aside normal life, and went after obeying Jesus’ instruction with everything they had. In John 21, we see the disciples attempt to go back to fishing, and then they encounter Jesus on the shore. Through this encounter Peter is restored, and the next thing we know, Peter and the others are in the upper room in a 24-hour prayer meeting. Peter left normal life to do night and day pr...

History has shown over and over that one day can change everything. One day in the garden…one choice…changed the course of man and resulted in the separation from the Author of Life. One day the rain started to fall and the earth was wiped clean with only Noah and his family saved. One day, after hearing the promise and waiting for decades, David became king. One day, Jesus finally came, after the world had waited over 4,000 years. One day, the stock market crashed, and the Great Depression marked a generation in a deep and profound way. One day, Pearl Harbor was bombed and the US was suddenly thrust in to World War II. One day 9/11 happened. All of these days were “less-than” a time called in the Bible “that day.” On one day, Jesus is going to split the sky and begin to take over everything in a very physical way. On that one day, every person on the face of the earth is going to have a sudden realization: everything they lived for, poured themselves into, and desired that wasn’t comp...

Being ready is the main theme of Jesus’ description of the time of His return. The Parable of the 10 Bridesmaids is describing the rewards of being ready and the risks of not being ready. This same theme is described more fully in the Revelation 2 and 3 letters to the seven churches. The seven churches of Revelation 2 and 3 are describing seven characteristic churches of the time leading into the Great Tribulation. These letters are written to us...in this current generation. John says that anyone reading Revelation is His partner in the tribulation, the kingdom, and the patience of Jesus. These all go together: Revelation 1:9 I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. The seven churches are being addressed by Jesus through John because they are about to share in all three of these aspects: tribulation, kingdom, and patience. Ever...

I hear the Lord saying that the coming year will see a great increase. There will be an increase in holiness, which will lead to an increase in authority, but there will also be a great increase in compromise, which will lead to greater depths of desolation. This will be marked tangibly by the greatest increase in division yet seen on earth, both in, and out of, the Church. The light will get brighter than it has in recent history, and the dark deeper still. This is the "great and terrible" day of the Lord being developed before our eyes...like a photograph coming into sharper focus in the dark room. This is the time to sift hearts and decide where you will take your stand. Those who stand for holiness will lead their families and friends into new depths and realms of the light. Those who wander with the herd into compromise will find themselves in the pens for slaughter. This is the coming year of hard labor. What is built on truth will remain and glow brightly in the fire t...

The Parable of the 10 Bridesmaids was one of the first things in the Gospel to come into focus once God woke me up. This is probably one three of the most important parables for the Body of Christ in this hour. For years I would read it and wonder exactly what it meant. I had a very inaccurate understanding of what God intended to do in the generation Jesus was returning to. About 3 years ago, God started to awaken me. This parable was one of the first things to snap into focus, like hearing the birds singing on that first warm spring morning when you've slept just a bit longer than usual. As you become aware of that beautiful song that is quietly bringing you into consciousness, pretty soon you realize "hey, the day has already started without me!" Matthew 25:1-13 “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their la...

Christmas Eve is a time of waiting, the climax of the "process" of Christmas. God has arranged all of creation to operate in processes. Mankind generally doesn't like process. We like instant gratification. God, who is without limit in His vision of infinite time, is never that concerned with the destination He is taking us to...He is sure of it. We, His kids, are constantly asking "are we there yet?" We are continually concerned with the destination, and in the process often miss out on the conversation, which is most important to the Father. He has arranged the events to draw out the conversation with His kids. It seems that as part of the fall, one of the biggests costs was our loss of true patience. It seems that the more rooted a person is in the physical realm...the less patient we are with Heaven...with God. But God IS patience, it is a fruit of His presence! Patience simply does not exist outside of the presence of God. Whatever patience I am feeling tod...

This is the "why" behind the "what" of Revelation. God is going to "make a difference" between the holy and the wicked: Isaiah 26:10-12 Your kindness to the wicked does not make them do good. Although others do right, the wicked keep doing wrong and take no notice of the Lord ’s majesty. O Lord , they pay no attention to your upraised fist. Show them your eagerness to defend your people. Then they will be ashamed. Let your fire consume your enemies. Lord , you will grant us peace; all we have accomplished is really from you. There is only one kind of person that can see God: Psalms 24:3-4 Who may climb the mountain of the Lord ? Who may stand in his holy place? Only those whose hands and hearts are pure, who do not worship idols and never tell lies. This truth will never change. God is pure bright transcendant holiness...brighter than a million suns ablaze. God literally consumes any darkness...any shadow of unholiness. When Adam and Eve fell from their ab...