Jerusalem: City of Gold

The first time I traveled to Israel, I landed in the afternoon, which is the best plan, in my opinion.  It allows your biological clock to set itself for the new time zone because, if you are like me, sleeping on the plane is fitful at best.  Therefore, when you land and travel to the hotel, it is time for dinner and then an early retirement.  This has always set me up for being refreshed and ready to go the next morning with no jet lag.

On that first trip, we were approaching Jerusalem at sunset.  We climbed the road leading up to the city and as we neared, there were places we could catch glimpses of it. It was the most amazing sight, and a very overwhelming experience to see the City dressed in her gold raiment peeking in and out of the trees and sides of the mountain as we got closer and closer; until finally, she appeared in all her glory.

The city is made up of buildings constructed of pale limestone, so when the sun sets, the stones become a radiant gold color.  I was overwhelmed to observe the City of Gold that the Bible speaks of.  I don’t know what I envisioned in my mind as I read those words in the Bible.  I guess I thought it was a figure of speech: but, not at all.  It is a very real phenomenon, and a very moving one for anyone with a love for what God loves.  He often portrays in the natural what is true in the spiritual.

Jerusalem is called the great and holy City, the bride of the Lamb in Revelation 21:9 and the city was of pure gold in Rev. 21:18.  Catching a glimpse of that City; that Bride in her beauty, and feeling the passion of God for that place, was a very new experience for me.  I couldn’t stop the tears that were cascading down my face.  There was a flood of emotion as I realized that God had paid my way because He wanted me to experience what He loves and share it with me.

In my five trips to Israel, that was the only time so far, that I have arrived in Israel at that hour of day, and proceeded to Jerusalem.  The other times I have gone to a different city first, so have not had the same experience again.  I sometimes feel sorry for those who travel up to Jerusalem in the morning or afternoon instead of early evening.  I actually thought the tour company we traveled with, planned the first trip to give each of us that experience, but I guess it was just a special thing that God sometimes schedules and shares with a few people for whatever sovereign reasons He has for those things.

I will always remember and cherish that first experience.  There is nothing like seeing Jerusalem for the first time, with the fire of God on it, and the Bridal beauty displayed for all to enjoy.  I am very grateful He decided to share that with me.

Memorials to the Old Man

When we receive Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, we become a new creation. When we are baptized into Christ, our old man is cut off, and we enter in to the resurrection life of Christ.  The old man is dead and we can now live in newness of life.  It is a completely different way of being than we have experienced before.  The Holy Spirit gives us the power to remain in the place of new life.

Giving credit to my husband for this illustration, I want to paint a picture of why we need to renew our minds about the reality of our new position in Christ.  When Jesus died, He died AS us not FOR us.  We are now dead.  The life we live is no longer our own, but it is Christ who lives life in us.

So, the question is, why do we still sin?

We fall into old ways of being and thinking, because there are memories of the old nature that are still alive and drawing us into a false relationship with the old man.

Here is the illustration:

A woman had a child she loved very much.  The child died in a tragic accident.  The woman keeps the child’s bedroom exactly as it was when the child was alive.  All the trophies are still on the bureau.  All the pictures are still on the wall, the clothes are still in the closet, the stuffed animals still on the bed.  The bedroom has become a memorial to the dead child.  She is trying to keep the dead child alive in her mind.  Every time the woman passes the room, she looks in and remembers the child she loved.  The memories take her back, if only for a moment, to the time the child was alive.

We also have memorials (memories) keeping the old man alive in our minds.  When we experience something that reminds us of your old nature, it is like the woman viewing a trophy of the dead child.  It is just activating a memory of the child; it is not bringing the child back to life.  When those temptations or memories surface, we have to remind ourselves they are just shadows of what has already died. 

Temptation appeals to the dead man.  However, it is just a memory of a habit.  It is a false pleasure or a perversion of the life of God.  For instance, the smell of smoke sometimes appeals to the appetites of a former smoker.  It has the potential to activate the nature of the old man, but even if he indulges in the habit of the old man, that is not his true identity.  The fact remains; he is still dead.

The woman can go into the room of the dead child and she can laugh over good memoires.  She can cry over things she wished could be different and re-live experiences in her mind.  That doesn’t change the fact that the child is still dead.  So, when temptation comes, it is just a memory of the old man.  When we recognize that we are participating in a habit, we can remind ourselves that it is just a place of memorial, and the authority it had over our lives has been removed. 

The new creation man has the power to choose new life in Christ.  We never stop being a new creation.  We never stop being IN the new man. 

When we sin, it is like taking a picture of the old man and gazing at it.  We get confused that it is still our picture.  We activate a memory that wants that old man to be alive, just like the woman would like the child to be alive.   Our habits are like that much loved child which the woman cannot let go of.  Continual renewal of the mind will enable us to live on THIS side of the cross; in the resurrection.  The old man is dead.  The new man is seated with Christ.  His life is our life.  Our life is His life.  We need to let go of the old man to fully step into our future.   

The New Man is our identity.  Our new identity is not in what we do, even if we do new things.  Our identity is that we are a new creation and we now have full access to all the resurrection power that Jesus purchased when He was raised from the dead.  When He was raised, we were raised in Him.

When we find ourselves in sin, all we need to do is apologize to God for forgetting who we are, and fall back into our identity as a much loved son; a new creation in Him.  It is as easy as just starting over again to walk in newness of life.

Psalm 84 and My Latest Visit to Israel

Psalm 84 and My Visit to Israel

This trip to Israel was different than the previous three times I have visited.  There were no deep experiences, no profound revelations and no visitations.  The pace was slower and we spent more time in Jerusalem.  However, an understanding began to form inside me.

I found myself becoming familiar with where things were in relation to each other.  I knew how to get to the Cardo from the Jaffa Gate, and walked there by myself.  I only became disconcerted for a moment when trying to confirm my plan with a woman who had been to Israel at least ten times.  She didn’t know how to get to the Cardo from where we were.  She assured me that I was headed in the general direction, however.  I decided to go with my gut and ventured off.

I also knew where a bathroom was located when someone needed one, and where to find an ATM machine.  When traveling on the bus, my friend asked if we were passing a place we had visited last year.  I assured her it was the same place and that next door was the place we were planning to visit that evening. 

To those of you who enjoy reading maps or are naturally good at directions, this may not seem particularly significant.  I have never included myself in either one of those categories, often calling myself “geographically challenged.”  I am happy to put myself in the care of those who know where they are going.  So, it was a delightful experience to find that I knew my way around somewhat.  I was beginning to feel like I was on home turf.

In the weeks before the trip, I kept hearing the phrase of scripture from Ps. 122, “My feet are standing in your gates, O Jerusalem”.  Since I have returned home, I could change that to, “My heart is longing for your gates, O Jerusalem”.  There is not an hour that goes by that my thoughts have not turned to that place.  This time, I think I left my heart in God’s neighborhood.  I think I left my heart in God’s backyard.

David had the same sentiment in Psalm 84.  He said:

            How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty!

            My soul yearns, even faints for the courts of the Lord;

            My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

            Even the sparrow has found a nest for her young—a place near your altar,

            O Lord Almighty, my King and my God.

            Blessed are those who dwell in your house;

            They are ever praising you.

It is amazing that you can have two homes.  I have a natural home here in Massachusetts, but I have a spiritual connection that is becoming more and more real in Jerusalem.  It really feels like home.  I think that is because when I go there I am taking Him home, too.  He comes home in me and the feelings I have are His for that place.

Earthquake at the Crucifixion

In the beginning, out of the personality of His  great love, God created the heavens and the earth.  Out of the passion of His heart, God made a place where He wanted to come and dwell.  First, He created Adam out of the dust of this earth.  He took some of the very substance of the place of His dwelling (earth, adam in Hebrew) to create a being who was of the place, named after the place, and could have relationship with Him.  He gave that place to mankind. (The heavens are the heavens of the Lord, but the earth He has given to man.)

We know that the first Adam had one assignment with two parts; take care of the place, while taking dominion: conquering for God.  Adam’s assignment was to rule in such a way that God could indeed dwell with him on the earth.  Before that could happen, Adam needed to take dominion over anything on earth that was in opposition.  He needed to establish the authority God had given him over the earth.  The task had already been accomplished in the Spirit, since Jesus was crucified before the foundations of the earth, but God wanted a visible manifestation of that fact, through one made of the substance. 

The place from which one originates, always gives one authority in that place.

Because Adam abdicated his authority and gave it to the devil, there was a need for a Second Adam to come in time, and be born into the place, and of the place.   His assignment was to do what had never been done before; to manifest on earth, what had already been accomplished in His heart. 

Immanuel came to the earth, and took on the same quality of being.  He was made of the dust of the earth.  He turned Himself inside out and became the creation.  He knew what we are now learning, “if you can see it; you can have it”.  He saw Himself as having already accomplished the intention of His heart, and He wanted to walk it out in demonstration, to manifest the victory.

At the crucifixion, there was an earthquake and the veil in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.  In Jewish culture, when the father hears of the death of his son, he tears his garment in a visible demonstration of the grief of his heart.  Kriah is a Hebrew word meaning "tearing." It refers to the act of tearing one's clothes. This rending is a striking expression of grief and anger at the loss of a loved one.

Kriah is an ancient tradition. When Jacob believed his son Joseph was dead, he tore his garments (Genesis 37:34). Likewise, in II Samuel 1:11 we are told that King David and all the men with him, took hold of their clothes and rent them upon hearing of the death of Saul and Jonathan. Job too, in grieving for his children, stood up and rent his clothes (Job 1:20).  Even today, a cut is made on the left side of the clothing for parents--over the heart.  As the tear or cut is made, the family recites the following blessing:

Barukh atah Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha'olam dayan ha'emet.
Blessed are You, Adonai Our God, Ruler of the Universe, the True Judge.

The Father’s heart for His Son is revealed to us in this picture.  The veil in the temple, shielding the Holy of Holies, was torn open to reveal how the Father felt at the moment of Jesus’ death.  There was no longer a covering over the precious place Jesus held.  The grief of having to turn away from looking at His son when Jesus voluntarily took on the sin of earth, was demonstrated for those who had eyes to see.

The earth itself responded to the death of Jesus with a tearing apart that was recorded in the Bible.  At the point of death, all hope for earth to be the dwelling place of God with man was lost. The earth shook and the rocks were split. The place of God’s dwelling was rent asunder in much the same way as the veil in the temple was torn.  Creation-- the earth--which is of Jesus, for Jesus and thru Jesus, and is held together in Him, (Col.1:16), was rent in two, travailing in grief.

Jesus descended into the dwelling place of the author of death, the apparent victor.  He confronted him with victory, and rightfully took possession of the keys to the earth; an earth man, taking ownership once again.  When he arose, Jesus gave the keys back again to those of Adam’s descendants, to go forth with the same commission He gave the first Adam.  Just as Jesus had authority to conquer, so we have the same authority to kick the opposition in the teeth, and get rid of him.

The earth is still groaning today for those who can picture the victory that has been imparted to them in their DNA.  The earth is still travailing for the ones made of the stuff of the earth and of His heart, who can legislate the victory.  They are of the earth and have authority there because they have been handed the keys.  When they see it, they can have it.

It is interesting to note that before the earthquake, at the time of the crucifixion, the Sanhedrin, who were the legislative body of the Jews, met in a chamber called the Chamber of Hewn Stones located near the Holy Place.  One of their functions was to judge capital offenses.  However, at the time of Jesus, they also tried to make the case of treason against Rome. Therefore, when they wanted to get rid of Jesus, they had to appeal to Pilate, a Roman governor. Members of the Sanhedrin also went behind the scenes and stirred up the crowds to ask for the release of Barabbas when Pilate gave them a choice of whom to let go.

After the crucifixion, the Sanhedrin was forced to leave the Chamber of Hewn Stones, located near the Holy Place in the Temple.  They moved to a location called The Trading Station on the Temple Mount.  The Trading Station was outside the Temple; a much less favorable spot.  Many sources note the Sanhedrin would not have done this voluntarily, nor would Herod have dared to require it.

Sources also indicate the move may have been necessitated by damage to the Chamber, from the earthquake, rendering it unsafe structurally.  There are also sources remarking that the lintel in the Temple was broken, splintered and fell.  This stone was some 30 feet long and may have weighed 30 tons.

In any case, it appears that the last time the Sanhedrin was able to seek the death penalty was for the crucifixion.  After that, the power to judge capital offenses was taken from them, with the Romans retaining sole right of capital punishment. 

Apparently, the earthquake also rendered judgment on those who were opposed to the plan of God. 

Communion

When talking about intimacy with God and having God’s heart for Israel; communion is a natural outflow of that.  It is an easy transition to make when we join hearts with Jesus because joining heart to heart means loving what He loves.  Israel is what he loves.  Jerusalem is where He will establish His throne and the Jewish people carry his DNA.  

I was at the skate park, waiting in the car, meditating and praying while my son and his friend enjoyed their scooters and skateboards.  I was sitting under a maple tree and noticed it had two trunks that shared a common root system.  It was hard to tell whether they were two separate trees that grew tightly together and became joined, or were, indeed one tree that had separated into two.

However, about two feet from the ground, the trunks separated and became two distinct trunks with a space of a couple of inches between them.  They grew parallel for about 6 or 7 feet, and then began to grow toward one another.  Not only that, they began to twist together.  At the point of their joining, it appeared that they were embracing; kissing, even—sharing life.

         

This began to remind me of the Jew and Gentile—the One New Man.  We share a common root.  Christianity was birthed from Judaism.  You can have Judaism without having Christianity, but you cannot have Christianity without Jewish roots.  The root of Judaism supports the trunk of Christianity.

Together, we share the same prophets, priests, kings and Jewish history. The entire Church was Jewish until Peter, a Jew, got the revelation that Gentiles could receive salvation and Paul, also a Jew, took the message of the Gospel throughout Asia and Europe.

Just as that tree near the skate park had one trunk, so we have one and the same heritage!  Jesus came to fulfill every jot and tittle of the law to make it fuller, not do away with it, and not do away with Judaism.  When the Gentiles received the gospel, they were grafted into everything the Jews had—the prophets, the promises, the covenants.

Only during the Middle ages did the tree begin to separate and the Jews go one way and the Church, another.  For years there has been ignorance and even arrogance on the part of the church; lording it over the Jewish people for their temporary rejection and blindness to the Gospel.  Instead there should be deep appreciation of the heritage and the heart and dedication that has kept God at the center of life for centuries.  There would be no hope of the promises of God ever being fulfilled, if the Jews had not kept faith in God’s Word to them as a people.         

God has dealt severely with the Jewish people throughout history—loving them—leading them—correcting them—always with a future in view—an ultimate time when He would gather them to Him as His own and they would recognize Him. 

As this present age draws to a close, Jew and Gentile are being drawn together, coming closer and closer to being united in direction, vision, and purpose.  Each is recognizing the need for the other.  Just as the church cannot exist without her Jewish heritage, so now, the Jew cannot go forward without the help, support and prayer of the church.

As we begin to embrace our Jewish heritage and the calling to the One New Man, our purposes will join.  We will breathe new life into each other.  The lines of demarcation between territories will become blurred.  It will be just like that tree I was sitting under.  As looked further up, the branches were intertwined.  The leaves were all mixed together.  It created a wonderful canopy of shade.

So it is, when we join our hearts with what Jesus loves.  We will have a common goal, a common passion and a common cry.  We will create a common canopy of love and protection and shade where unbelievers in the nations can come and find refuge and revelation of what makes this unity and cooperation possible.  That is my dream.

Thoughts on the Book of Ruth

Prophetically, I believe we are entering into a time pictured in the Book of Ruth. 

Because there was famine in the land of Israel, Elimelech, who was from the area around Bethlehem, (the House of Bread), and Naomi traveled to Moab to live.  While in Moab, their two sons married Moabite women.  After a time, Elimelech and both of Naomi’s sons died.  Naomi decided to move back to Israel because she heard that the famine had ended.  As she was on the way, she encouraged her daughters-in-law to return to their father’s houses and marry again.  Ruth, who is a picture of the Gentile Church today, refused to take the easy route.  She loved Naomi and said, “Where you go, I will go.  Where you stay, I will stay.  Your people shall be my people and your God shall be my God.  Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried.  May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.”

Ruth, a Gentile, was binding herself in covenantal love to Naomi and her people.  She was a comfort to Naomi who was grieving, and now wanted to be called “Mara,” which means “bitter.” The circumstances of Naomi’s life, losing her husband and two sons, had become devastating to her.  Ruth and Naomi returned to the same area in Israel where Naomi had formerly resided.  They returned at the time of the barley harvest.  They returned because they heard the famine was over.  The “House of Bread” was beginning to have life again. 

There are beginning to be signs of life again in Israel.  The remnant has returned from the nations. The native born Messianic believers, which numbered in handfuls in the early seventies, is growing quickly.  This is the first time in since the early days of the movement, that young, native born Israelis are being positioned for leadership in the Messianic community.  Formerly, leaders were individuals who had been born in another nation and had made Aliya to Israel and set up or oversaw congregations.  There are now Sabras, native born Israelis, who will step into leadership within the next 5 years.  They have served in the military, speak Hebrew, and are Israeli in every way.  This is the time to align with what God is doing in Israel, just like Ruth did for Naomi.

You are probably familiar with the story.  Ruth gleaned in the fields so that she and Naomi would have provision.  As she was faithful to support and diligently worked in the fields, the owner, Boaz, noticed her.  She gained his favor and he said, “I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law, how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before.  May the Lord repay you for what you have done.  May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.” Boaz then invited her to eat with him and instructed his workers to leave even more grain for her on purpose, as she was gleaning in the fields. 

As we selflessly serve the Jewish people, God notices.  The favor of the Lord begins to come on our lives and His provision begins to manifest in wondrous ways for what He has called us to do.  It is nothing short of a miracle that I have been able to go to Israel 5 times in the last 5 years to pray and encourage God’s people.  Most of those times, we did not have the money ourselves.  I have come to believe that it is God who ordains and values my time there, and the contribution I want to make in the spirit.

The last phase of this prophetic story involves Ruth being instructed by Naomi to wash herself and put on her best clothes and go to the threshing floor when she knows Boaz will be sleeping there, guarding his harvest from thieves.  She obeys, and lies down at his feet.  In the middle of the night, Boaz wakes up and notices her.  Her act is a request for marriage or redemption, and the restoration of the name of her husband.  Boaz is a kinsman redeemer.  He puts his cloak over her to signify that he has taken responsibility for covering her, and will work out all the details the next day. 

This prophetic act of lying at the feet of Yeshua, is what Yeshua is awaiting from His Church.  When the Gentile Church is willing to come to the place of identification with the longings of His heart, He will cover her and pledge himself to her.  Just as Ruth became a crucial link in the lineage of King David, the Church will then be positioned, along with the Messianic community, to bring forth the desire of his heart, the Maschiach Nagid; Messiah, the King.

As Ruth brought forth a son so that the name of Elimelech would not disappear from among his family or the town records, so the Gentile Church must make sure that we do everything we can to ensure that there is a Jewish remnant on the earth.  In a sense, we must give birth through intercession and loving acts led by the Spirit, so that the ones  like Obed, Ruth’s son, will grow into servants of the Lord.  Then Israel, just like it was said of Naomi, will be renewed in life and be sustained in her old age.

There is so much more symbolism to the story.  It can be taken in many ways, but for now, this is the portion that I believe we need to connect with as a prophetic people.   If we begin to sow into the Messianic community sacrificially, and stand together with them, offering ourselves as vessels for His prophetic purpose to be birthed through us, He will put His protective covering over us and provide all that we need to help His people come into the fullness of their inheritance.  We will then also have the privilege and joy of being the beneficiaries of that fulfillment of promise.

The Empty Gas Tank

Empty Gas Tank

I want to share a little story of a recent life event.  God used it to speak to me about the fact that it is never too late to step into the call of God on our lives.  It doesn’t matter how old we are, or how long we have procrastinated or how many times we feel that we have dropped the ball.  God has a way of making it possible for us to “redeem” the time because He is more concerned that we are moving, than He is that we have arrived.

I had to travel to a meeting that was about an hour and a half from my house.  When I got into my car, I noticed that the gas gauge was on empty.  The light was on and there was no way I could go to my meeting without stopping on the way for gas.  The problem was, I live out in the country.  I did not know if I should fill up at the nearest gas station, which was in the opposite direction I needed to travel, thereby making myself late for the meeting, or chance that I had enough gas to get to the station that was on my way.

My car happens to have an indicator that tells me how much gas I have left, and how many miles I can expect to travel, given certain criteria.  If you drive the car fast and hard, the mileage goes down considerably.  If you drive the car in a low gear, the same thing happens.  Before moving, I noticed I could go 40 miles on the current amount of gas in the tank.

 I began to drive up the long hill from my house to the main road.  I watched the mileage indicator go from 40 to 35 by the time I got to the top of the hill.  At the top of the hill is a spectacular view looking over the valley and the sunset was spectacular.  I was so enthralled, that I pulled over to look, forgetting I was idling the car and using up more gas.  When I looked at the indicator, I noticed I had only 30 miles left that I could travel.  I was wondering if I would have enough gas to get to the station.  I knew from experience that once I got going, the numbers would increase with the speed I traveled, the conditions of the road and the gear I was using, but I did not expect the dramatic life application.

As I headed down the country road and shifted into the cruising speed, I began to gain potential miles.  Pretty soon, I noticed I could drive 45 miles on the gas remaining in my tank.  At the end of the country road, I joined a four lane road and I could travel faster, shifting into fifth gear.  This allowed me to drive more efficiently, and the potential mileage increased to 60 and 65.  Remember…I am using up the gas in my tank while driving, but I am getting better and better mileage because of how I am using the gas, and the conditions I am traveling in.  I no longer had any doubt that I would reach the station.

I began to wonder at what point I would see a reversal of the potential mileage as it increased more and more the farther I drove.  I never got the answer to my question, because at the point where I reached the gas station, my indicator said I could go another ninety miles!

So, it doesn’t matter how much gas is left in my tank or how many years I have left.  It just matters that I continue the process of stepping into my identity and into the dreams God has for me.  Some of us who are older do not have the same distractions we had when we were younger and we have learned a lot of life lessons that are useful in this process.  We know how to overcome obstacles because we have a lot of practice in some areas.

As we allow ourselves to start our engines again, there will be some shifting to get up to our cruising speed, but once there, God will cause us to operate with an efficiency that will amaze us.  We have enough gas in the tank to take us all the way into what God has for us, even if the indicator light tells us differently!  (Remember the loaves and the fishes—God is a God of multiplication.) We have enough grace to finish whatever God has given us a dream for. 

Once we get up to our cruising speed, something supernatural takes over, enabling us to go the distance with ease.  I am experiencing the favor of God in new ways as I just keep moving ahead.  I think that is the real key.  Just keep moving and favor and grace will be attracted to us to give us that finishing anointing.

Victoria Blodgett and Victoria Blodgett

I am Victoria Blodgett.  There are others out there with my exact name, but I don’t know them, or have reason to initiate any contact with them.  I can ask Facebook to search for that name, and five others will come up.  There is never any mistake or mix-up of who is who, because each name requires an exact address in the computer and all of ours are different.

A month or so ago, I had an unusual experience.  I got an e-mail for Victoria Blodgett confirming that I had bought tickets for a performance with my credit card.  It came to my e-mail account.  I opened it up and saw that, indeed the name and server were mine.  However, the credit card, of which I could only see the last four digits, was not.  There was an address in Canada and a phone number, so I called and talked to the other Victoria Blodgett.  We were baffled at how our e-mails had never crossed before, given we had the same e-mail address.   She decided to contact the company from which she bought the tickets, to straighten out the problem, since having me e-mail the tickets to her was not going to work.

After I got off the phone, I decided to double check the address.  I confirmed that the address was indeed mine.  I remembered the other Victoria telling me that hers included parts of her entire name.  Then it dawned on me that mine has abbreviations.  I forwarded the tickets to the address with the fuller name, and got an answer right away that she had received them.

It felt a little weird to have this experience, and I quickly forgot about it.  However, it came back to me today, because I have been asking about the eternal realm.  I know that, even though most of us feel very securely anchored on this side, the veil is very thin.  We, who are alive, exist for eternity.  When we cross over, we will spend it with the Lord, or separated from Him forever. 

I am learning that, through worship, we can cross over into the timeless realm.  When we lose our “self” consciousness and become totally God conscious, we can find ourselves in another dimension.  We can exist in two places at once.   Just as electrons in our body blink in and out of this dimension, so we can be in the heavenly realm and the earthly at the same time.  The heavenly realm is so expansive that consciousness is heightened just by a momentary visit.  Perception is altered with a split second of presence.  There’s a knowing without striving; it is a quality of the place.

I cannot make this happen, it happens when I lose myself in worship.  It’s like the two e-mail addresses somehow getting confused.  What solely belonged to the other Victoria, became mine.  I had access to information usually hidden, due to one “chance” aberration.  Because of that, I could meet my “other namesake.”  She had information I had no access to, except for the permission she granted me. 

We are Jesus’ other namesake.  He has marked us with his name.  There is a place in the Spirit where we two can become one.  In this place, our thoughts will become His and the intents of His heart are made known to us.  I am asking for an increased capacity to be fully comfortable in that realm, so I can stay and learn more of what He wants me to know.   There are so many wonderful dimensions to this amazing God of ours.  Just as “one touch from the King changes everything,” so one moment in His presence, can release a depth of revelation that goes beyond words, but gives understanding of things too wonderful to express adequately.