Cascading

 Cascading. That's the word I heard at the beginning of 2020. I had a sense that situations and events would escalate and compound upon one another, affecting each other like dominoes. Covid was the first domino. I could see the long range impact, especially economically. I don't need to elaborate as we are all aware.

Before there was a run on toilet paper, I sensed it would be a factor, so of course I went to BJs and got a couple of large packages. I am responsible for my parents who are in their 90s so I often need to think ahead for them. Sure enough, two weeks later there was none in the stores.

Cascading has been the word all last year for me. I have shared it many times with friends and spiritual leaders. I tried to make them aware. Sometimes they took me seriously, sometimes they didn't. But, at least in hindsight, I would hope they can see the obvious now. 

Everything is altered. Everything. 

The second thing I heard was, "You are living in the borderlands. You are not there, (meaning what came before), and you are not there, (meaning a place ahead). The only thing you are taking with you is what will fit in a backpack". I have some ideas of what that is for me, but if you are reading this far, you can interpret it for yourself. 

Cascading means pour downward rapidly and in large quantities. Or:

To arrange (a number of devices or objects) in a series or sequence.

I might also liken it to a landslide. There are more things to dislodge in every arena so the structures that have been ruling will crumble.

However, cascading is also used to describe a beautiful waterfall or lovely locks flowing down someone's back. So, as usual, when dealing in the spirit, there is a dual reality.

Each and every morning and for large portions of each day for all of 2020, I have had the song "The Goodness of God" running through my head. I mean that literally. "All my life you have been faithful. All my life, You have been so, so good". And that will not change.

God has wanted me to know there has always been a cascading of His love. My experience of that is limited in comparison to what is available to know. However, last week I saw in the spirit, a deluge about to be poured out, coming like Elijah's cloud. I was standing on a high place overlooking a huge valley as it came closer and poured all over me.

There is an amazing cascading taking place that no man can stop and every man and woman can be empowered by. It will be astounding.

The deluge was the empowering presence of God to enable us to be all we were created to be and to fulfill our new assignments because we are coming into the"there" of the future as stated earlier.

As I stood on the mountain top I saw myself from behind. I was dressed in old time battle gear like a Roman soldier holding a standard, dressed in a skirt and cape. As I looked up the meaning, it said the cape was a paludamentum. It was scarlet or purple, or sometimes white. Putting it on was a ceremonial act of war.

The Roman military wore loosely regulated dress. There was no concept of standardized uniforms or of obsolescence, provided the garment remained serviceable. They could use armor handed down by family money, buy armor from soldiers who had completed service or use discontinued styles if they preferred or could not afford new. They could wear a mix of styles covering a considerable time period.

Pondering this, I thought there is no wrong way to join what God is putting together. It is a multigenerational, multifunctional, multicultural unit coming together just as we are, with what we carry. No need to alter anything. Just use what you have.

I was being given long range vision to always be ready to move forward at the discernment of the direction of God for the assignment at hand and was reminded of the old song, "I can see clearly now, the rain is gone. I can see all obstacles in my way. Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind. It's gonna be a bright, bright, bright sunshiny day".

Lastly, I sensed a rhythm, a strong regular repeated pattern of movement or sound comprising many elements related to forward movement. Life will require sensing the repeating pattern, there will be ups and downs.  We will be ebbing and flowing in the wildly exaggerated, startlingly excessive outrageous grace of God. 

Anticipation-Days 23 and 24

Day 23 and 24

There are certainly many characters who play out crucial roles in the ongoing story Divine is releasing. Each character in the story is alive, constantly changing in physical appearance and age as their cells are replaced, and yet they remain the same persons. They reproduce others after themselves to carry on the story, each unique with differing DNA, wired to have different visions and dreams and goals, gifting and passions.

So the narrative is alive and moving, always morphing and changing to reach a culmination in time, which will not be an end as much as it will be another beginning. This just magnifies awareness of how magnificent and magnanimous is the genius that is Divine. Nothing can alter his ultimate intention. It remains the same regardless of how many cells are replaced or how many players make optimal decisions. Divine is so great He works within it all and is not at all limited.

As the story moves and changes it sometimes pulls the characters along as they respond to His guidance, but just as often, the decisions and actions of the individuals within the story cause the Divine to respond. For example, Yosef said “yes” to the angel and his story moved all the way to the East where the astrologers were searching the heavens. His heart response intersected with their search and created a link between his “yes” and their observation. The story was broadened and given greater scope.

The refusal of the astrologers to return to Herod protected the Baby, but had excruciating consequences; a result of the breach of trust that had happened in the garden. However, those consequences created a prophetic moment foretelling a greater Holocaust to come and Rachel is still weeping and mourning for her children, refusing to be comforted to this day.  

In the timeless dimension, all is connected and everything is happening in a present moment. That is what makes all things possible; the conjunction of eternity and now time. It always and forever was intended to work is a synchronous harmony with and in Divine.

And in the Eternal moment the Divine was always Immanuel. He did not become Immanuel when He was born in the time dimension. He always was and always is and always will be Immanuel. He walked in the Garden as Immanuel and He was born in a manger to take on the form of the Sons of Adam so they could see a model and a blueprint of who they were. The Divine, in the person of Immanuel, came fully into time to show the Sons of Adam their true identity and worth. He was fully the Son of Adam and Son of Divine.  He was coming to undo the empty philosophical intellectualism and meaningless conjecture which had been molded in ancient traditions.  He was coming to counter the cosmic riddles and myths which had grown up like weeds, choking out the truth causing the Sons of Adam to forget who they were.

The dichotomy is that while the vast expanse of Universe cannot fully define or express the attributes of Divine, His nature and essence was meticulously displayed in this Baby. He was born as a Mirror to show the Sons of Adam, their true worth and identity.

Every Son of Adam was included in Him when the Divine entered the time dimension. Each was held in His heart of hearts and was part and parcel of His being. He walked all of His days with them in his heart. Everything He was and did demonstrated who they were created to be. The Architect became the model to repair the breach and restore the faded blueprint in the hearts of the Sons of Adam. He came as the Divine cartographer rescuing the chart and painstakingly restoring every tear, every stain and every wrinkle until the map was new again.

He came to walk out each life, both those who came before and those who would come after, so they could understand that He was intimately aware of everything that had potential to distract. He entered fully into the dimension of the Sons of Adam so that He could change their paradigm. Their deficiencies were annihilated and their completeness was realized in Him.

The Sons of Adam were in Him when He died and the defilement of the breach, that death shroud, was ripped away for all eternity. In Divine, the Sons of Adam were made alive together with Him again. The barrier between eternity and now time was annihilated, the two became one once more.

His body nailed to the cross was displayed as the glaring thesis of mankind’s guilt. In dying the death of the Sons of Adam, he deleted the painstaking record of the breach. Every stain that the breach left on conscience was fully eradicated in His death. The Sons of Adam were now free to discover once again who they were. It was the supreme act of identification with the hopeless blindness of the Sons of Adam. His coup d’etat made a public spectacle of the rule and authority empowered by the breach of the Sons of Adam.

They were now fully included in Divine. Their agreement with Truth would break the association with the breach and their lives would now be hidden in Divine. There was a new reference point and a new beginning. The identical life that was displayed in Divine is now repeated in the Sons of Adam. They are now co-joined in the same Joy He has with His Father and just as His life revealed who the Sons of Adam were, so now their lives could reveal who He is.

When the Sons of Adam realize they co-died and were co-raised together with Him they can wash their thoughts with truth and put the old futile way of life passed on by their forefathers behind them.  That old life is a lie foreign to their design. They stand now fully identified in a new creation according to the blueprint of the exact image of Divine. That revelation of Divine in the Sons of Adam gives them identity beyond anything anyone could ever be. From now on everyone would be defined by Divine.

3:12 You are the product of God’s love, He restored you to His original thought to belong to Him exclusively.  It is like changing garments; now that you have gotten rid of the old, clothe yourselves with inner compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
3:13 Upholding one another in positive expectation. If anyone finds fault with another, restore that person to favor in the same forgiveness that the Lord released us with. 3:14 Wear love like a uniform; this is what completes the picture of our oneness.
3:15 Appoint the peace of Christ as umpire in your hearts; we are all identified in the same person, there is only one body. You exist to transmit favor.
3:16 Christ is the language of God’s logic. Let His message sink into you copiously with unlimited vocabulary, taking wisdom to its most complete conclusion. This makes your fellowship an environment of instruction in an atmosphere of music. Every lesson is a reminder, echoing in every song you sing, whether it be a Psalm (raving about God in praise and worship accompanied by musical instruments) or a hymn (a testimony song) or a song in the spirit (a new spontaneous prophetic song).Grace fuels your heart with inspired music to the Lord.
3:17 Every relationship of your life reflects Him. Your conversation and conduct bears the stamp of His Name, nature and Lordship; Jesus is the inspiration of your gratitude towards God as Father.

Mirror Bible

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Anticipation-Day 22

Day 22

The command of Divine given to the Patriarch Abraham and passed down through generations dictated that each male child should be circumcised on the eighth day. The command was to remind the Sons of Adam of the promises made by Divine and recorded in Torah. The sign of circumcision was synonymous with acknowledging the covenant and joining oneself to those promises.

As was the custom, Zachariah and Elizabeth looked forward to this very special day; the day of circumcision. Family and friends gathered together to witness and celebrate this new addition to the community and the family of Divine. Little did they know that the command had a scientific correlation that made the eighth day optimal for this surgical procedure. There are subtleties and hidden wisdom in commands of Divine that go beyond the ability of the Sons of Adam to detect or grasp fully. It would be centuries before what the Sons of Adam call science would prove the why. In the meantime, the command turned into tradition to ensure that it would be carried out properly. Since I have access to the timeless dimension, I will inform you of what would be discovered in future.

After birth, a newborn will begin to produce Vitamin K which is responsible for the production of prothrombin. These two factors coupled together cause blood coagulation which is crucial in any surgery. The production in infant males begins on the fifth through the seventh days. On the eighth day, the amount of prothrombin is elevated beyond one hundred percent of normal. This is the day when Vitamin K and prothrombin are at their peak. Scientifically speaking the eighth day is the perfect day to perform circumcision.

And so, following the command of Torah, Zachariah and Elizabeth gathered with family to obey. Their precious gift would become a child of the covenant. He would become part of a greater family and a greater story. It was an awe inspiring moment to think that this act was linking him to generations who had gone before and would come after in the story of Divine. This infant would become an individual and bring color and depth to the narrative Divine was communicating when he took his place in it. This child had an assignment and a mission to accomplish. This act was tantamount to his parents agreeing to launch him into that assignment. Without circumcision, whatever he did would be null and void according to the word of Divine.

When the act had been performed, the friends and family began to ask Zachariah what he would be called. They thought he should be named Zachariah, after his father. That would be an honor for one who had waited so long for a son. But Zachariah still couldn’t speak, so he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” That was the name already told him by the angel. It meant “he is beloved.”

In that moment, with that simple declaration written on a tablet, Zachariah came into full agreement with what had been prophesied. His heart and his words were aligned with Divine purpose.  Simultaneously, his mouth was opened and his tongue was loosed. He began to speak again, praising Divine with blessing and thanksgiving. An all-encompassing awe fell upon the neighbors and witnesses; so much so, they began to wonder what manner of child this was. The impact upon the crowd was so great that word spread all throughout Judea, causing all who heard to know the hand of Divine was surely upon him.

Zachariah was filled with the Spirit of Divine and began to prophesy. Under the inspiration of Divine, he had much to say! He had come to realize some of what the prophets foretold for the future and the connection with his now time. It was a Kairos moment of prophecy being fulfilled and his son would be another integral personality in the unfolding of it.

After praising Divine, recalling His faithfulness and connecting this day with the Covenant of Abraham, he went on to prophesy about this child, “And you, little one, shall be called a prophet of the Most High; for you shall go on before the face of the Lord to make ready His ways.”

And the little boy grew and became strong in spirit; and he was in the deserts until the day of his appearing to Israel and the commencement of his public ministry. This child never fit the mold of the priesthood. His father knew he was destined for something more, so he fashioned his son according to how he was internally wired. John spent long hours in solitude. He was programmed in the womb for silence. In the desert places he frequented he reveled in silence because there, he could hear the Voice that most dictated his life. The Voice would become his voice crying in the wilderness of the human condition, “Prepare the way of the Lord.”

Anticipation- Day 21

Zachariah remained mute during all of Elizabeth’s pregnancy until a key event unlocked his voice. Nine long months to ruminate and recall every detail of what had happened to him while he served in his priestly role at the Temple. Nine months for him to develop receptivity to things he couldn’t understand with his mind.

He thought about the words, “For he will be great and distinguished in the sight of the Lord… cause to return many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God…and he will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn back the hearts of the fathers to the children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the upright in order to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

His child…a prophet like Elijah…to prepare a people for Mashiach…turn back the heart of the fathers to the children…

The words were astounding! The more he turned them over in his mind, the more he wondered what they meant. He tried to place himself, and all he knew, inside the word. He thought about where he lived and who he knew and what had happened in the past. He thought about Elizabeth and he both being descendants of Aaron, and how his son was supposed to be a priest. He thought about how it would look to others when his son didn’t follow the prescribed path. He thought about reputation and status and position. He had plenty of time to think, and all of his thinking only brought him more questions and more things revealed about his heart. Preconceived notions surfaced that he hadn’t been aware he carried. He had to come to terms with each one of them, and allow his mind to be changed. It was a slow and deliberate process.

When he had come to the place of accepting nothing was going to be as he had thought when he had prayed for a son, he began the process of asking how to raise a child with a destiny that would affect countless others. There was a letting go of his dream to receive a greater Dream. The Divine was not only birthing a prophet, he was birthing a new man in Zachariah, in order for him to guide and father this baby. That was one of the reasons he remained mute. None of his processing would be done with others. The only opinion and wisdom that mattered, was that of Divine, so Zachariah turned to the One who knew.

Time went by, and it came time for Elizabeth to deliver. Zachariah waited anxiously while the women who were skilled in midwifery attended her. He was astonished at how emotional he was. He was anything but patient, but it was not a selfish impatience. He was worried. It was as if his every love nerve was on pins and needles. He was concerned for Elizabeth and her age. He was concerned for her health and her stamina. He was concerned that it was all taking so long. He wanted her delivered so she could recover and enter into the joy of a dream come true. He wanted to walk away and come back when it was over and he wanted to be right there. There were so many conflicting emotions. He finally entered into the place he had cultivated in his nine months of silence. He became very humble and entered a place of quiet trust.

And there it was! A tiny infant’s cry! Elizabeth had delivered a baby boy, just as the angel had said. Tears formed in his eyes and he was surprised that he was not a bit embarrassed. They coursed down his cheeks and he sobbed in relief and joy. There were pats on his back and congratulations from his friends. There was celebration while people spread the news all around. The whole village heard and came to see. The angel had said he would have joy and exultant delight and many would rejoice over his birth. That also was proving true. This special baby was placed in Zachariah’s arms and he marveled at perfection. He was very aware that he was privileged to hold a dream come true and he was very grateful.

However, he remained mute. He couldn’t share he joy with others. He still couldn’t speak. The angel had said he would continue to be silent “until the day when these things take place.” The baby had been born so what did that mean?  He wondered, but he had learned a few things. Everything the angel had told him was proving true. He believed now that his voice would be restored. It was a just matter of practicing more patience.

Anticipation-Day 20

Day 20

When his time of service was completed, Zachariah went home from serving in the Temple, although in his mute state. His wife Elizabeth conceived, just as I had predicted, but still he remained mute. Zachariah lost the ability to talk for the entire time of Elizabeth’s confinement and beyond. This developing child was not to hear the voice of his biological father while in the womb. And since his mother secluded herself for the first five months, hiding herself away in gratefulness, he was to form in silence.

There was shame attached to being childless, but that shame came from being named as so. There is a need for sameness in the Sons of Adam which is not present in Divine. The Sons of Adam would argue that individuality and the uniqueness of each individual is something to value, but they practice little of it. The pressure to be same is great, and when one from their number is created differently, it causes insecurity and threat. The Sons of Adam will go after the one who does not conform or fit or who is different in any way, pressuring with words to achieve sameness. It is in sameness they feel secure. So Elizabeth endured the whispers, the taunts and the declarations about her perceived insufficiency.

If the Sons of Adam are all the same, they do not have to look at what is deficient in themselves. Therefore, all is well. The most potent weapon they have to achieve sameness is words. Words uncover difference. Words chip away at difference until it is thoroughly exposed and magnified.  The end result is that the Sons of Adam become their difference, instead of just one of the crowd with a novel characteristic. So, Elizabeth became Barren.  That was her name. Barren! Of course, the Sons of Adam still called her Elizabeth, but that name became synonymous with Barren. It became her identity.

So, when Miriam came to visit in the sixth month, her greeting was a salute. The Sons of Adam may not know that a salute was a greeting to 'pay one's respects to someone of greater import.' It was given to those who show regard for a distinguished person by visiting him. Miriam was paying her respects to Elizabeth and recognizing what Divine had done. She brought honor and well wishes and the joy of sharing in the blessing. She entered into Elizabeth’s world and story with celebration and utmost selflessness.

It was at the point of Miriam’s greeting that Elizabeth’s child leapt in her womb. This still developing prophet performed his first prophetic act. He leapt in Elizabeth’s womb. The baby was already recognizing the greatness within Miriam and saluting Him. In the silence of grace, where nothing intruded to defile his attention, the baby developed an acute hearing far beyond the natural.  When the realm of eternity intersected with the now time, he knew it instantly and joy was the natural outworking of his person. He became a catalyst and his mother was then the recipient of his understanding. She was filled with the Spirit of Divine and voiced what her child was acting out in her womb. She cried out with a loud cry, and then exclaimed, “Blessed above all other women are you! And blessed is the Fruit of your womb! And how have I deserved that this honor should be granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”

Elizabeth’s salutation was a prophetic declaration of identity, not only of Miriam, but of her Babe within. There are layers upon layers of nuance in the story of Immanuel. I am grateful to be one of the translators of small portions.

Anticipation-Day 19

Very often, even most often, the ways of Divine are mysteries to the Sons of Adam. Because they process in a time dimension, they can be overcome by the limitations of that perspective. I wish it were different, but for many of them, life becomes confusing and disappointing when they interpret events from a myopic point of view.

Zachariah was one of those. Divine knew he and Elizabeth were righteous and walking blamelessly in His sight. They were barren physically, advanced in years past the natural time for having children, but that did not bear any relation to their spiritual condition. Divine was pleased with them.

It fell to Zachariah to take his place as one who burned incense in the Temple, before the Lord. While he was engaged in his duties, Divine sent an angel to bring a message. I was that angel. When I made myself known, Zachariah was filled with fear, so much so, that fear took possession of him. I could see it in his eyes. They were wide with terror! I released peace to make a passageway for the words I was sent to deliver. It was a profound message affirming Zachariah and telling him that his petition was heard. Divine was about to grant him and Elizabeth the desire their hearts had been longing for: a most precious child.

I prophesied about the future of this child, who he would be, what he was called to do and what he was destined to accomplish. He would be great and distinguished in the sight of Divine. He would be a prophet who carried demarcation. He would walk in the spirit of Elijah and there would forever be a “before and an after” in this child, and his name would be John.

But Zachariah did not allow himself to receive the things he couldn’t understand. His reasoning stopped him from entertaining the supernatural. He remained stuck in the natural and did not hear anything else. So from that place, he responded with a question that let me know my words fell to the ground. He wanted proof that his old body and that of his wife would produce the word.

I assured him that the fact that I was standing there was proof enough, and Divine commanded him to be mute until what I had prophesied took place.  Immediately he became silent from. Divine could not have unbelief tied to this word to hamper and delay its fulfillment. As I mentioned yesterday, when Divine says, “For I know the plans I have for you”…they are cooperative. They require a partnership. One way the Sons of Adam cooperate, is by speaking them; sharing them with others. Zachariah was not going to taint the word with unbelief in his voice.

The Sons of Adam need to be extremely careful with words. Sometimes they bring doubt into now language and project it into the future where it will be in waiting for them. When they do that, they can cause things to remain the same. Then, unfortunately they have the feeling that “nothing changes for me.”

Divine was changing things dramatically and it was His goodness to protect Zachariah from himself. Zachariah would come to understand in the period of his silence, more of the word I released. Divine was gifting him with time to consider and contemplate and recall all that I declared, so when it was fulfilled he could fully enter into the role he was to play.

Zachariah remained stunned for a long time. He was fixated to the spot for quite some time. The people waiting outside the sanctuary wondered what had happened to him, but eventually he emerged. Everyone noticed he was visibly shaken. They clearly perceived he had had a vision

He tried to speak, but indeed, he found himself mute and he resorted to hand gestures to try and communicate.