In Jesus

I have been working through some things this week.  I'll spare you all the details, lets just say lotta crying going on.  I talked to a prophetic friend and one of the things she said was that she saw me in front of the throne wrapped in an indian blanket.  As soon as she said it I was there.  If you haven't been keeping up with me, I translate to heaven now and then.  It was a big deal because I had been crying out, feeling like there was no comforter, no cover, and boom, I'm there and seeing it. Momentary and I'm back in the conversation.

Last night I decided to go back there and get some resolution.  Engaging the process of going to heaven happens through the sanctified imagination.  God can do His sovereign thing and get you there,  my first time was a surprise, but we can also go boldly before the Throne of Grace.  You've already been invited.  For me, I have to start off with something I can visualize, for instance picking up where I was last time.  Starting is usually a little rough, but eventually the daydream takes on a life of its own and when you get surprised, that's when you know you're not making it up.

So I'm back, with my blanket on and I stand up.  I held the corners of my blanket in each hand and stretched out my arms and asked Him to burn up all the junk.  I've gotten over my issues with the consuming fire, I was ready for something to change here, drastic times you know.  He didn't take me up on that offer.

I did get to go sit with Jesus though, well, I thought "with", but as it turned out, "in."  That's how the scripture goes right?  Seated in heavenly places IN Christ Jesus?  I never knew how that worked before.  You just sit down and merge. I was sitting like you would sit on someone's lap, expect instead of on top, I just assimilated in.  And that was new, so I spent some time moving in and out of Jesus, cause it was weird, and cool.  Lean back, I'm in, lean forward, I'm out. In... Out... In... You can totally be a little kid in heaven.  In fact, it's kinda mandatory. (Matt 18:3)  I was focusing on what it felt like when I was in vs out.  Got done playing and settled in and stayed because I could feel stuff coming off of me when I was in.  "This must be what He meant with all that 'resting' and 'abiding' stuff." 

His hands were still his hands and my hands were still my hands, and I was checking out his hands.  They are kinda thin flat guy hands.  Nice hands, but just hands.  The scars are up at the wrists.  Then he took hold of my hand and put it up over his heart, which was my heart too and then I realized they were merged.  Wow. Really?  One heartbeat.  Whoa.  Pause for cry session.  I decide that is a good place to leave spirit me parked while I run around and do stuff down here.  I know you guys are all saying "Duh", but yeah, I really didn't get it before.  Its just words on a page until it becomes my experience. 

I'm in the middle of writing a book and have so far had a lot to say about the heart, beliefs of the heart etc.  I'm still processing the depth of my experience.  And at the moment, I can't process anything, so I'm simply going to hit "publish" and go get some rest. 

How Do You Get Down From Heaven?

 So there have been some questions regarding the Seated With Him in Heavenly Places blog entry, so I'm gonna talk about how that works and hopefully give you a hand up.  One of the questions I got asked was how you get out of there, which I'm finding pretty funny.  "Really?  That's what you're worried about?  Getting stuck in heaven?"  But I said I didn't really know how.  It's not like I whooshed down, or was escorted by angels or anything and I never whooshed up to begin with.  I was just there, which brings it all back around to Ephesians 2:6.  "For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus." (NLT)  That to me implies a dual citizenship.  We're here, but we're there too.  So if we're saved, our spirit is already up there.  When you wholeheartedly accept Jesus as your savior, you have permanent residence in heaven.  It's not a wait until you're dead kinda thing.  It's now.  Remember we are a trinity also, we are body, soul and spirit.  God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  We accept Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes down here with us, our spirit goes up there with Him.  Good deal huh?   In other words, Daddy probably held you while you cried too and you were oblivious.  So to answer the question "How do you get down from heaven?"  You don't.

So the real question is how do you become aware, and that's where your faith + Holy Spirit comes in.  This is very simple because everything in the kingdom of heaven is simple.  You set aside some quality time with God.  I have a much easier time being spiritually aware in the evenings so that's our time.  From the get-go, you need to pray something to the effect of pleading the blood of Jesus over your spiritual eyes, ears and imagination.  Ask to be cleansed of the defilement of the day and confess any known sins.  Then you just trust that whatever you get will be from God because you took care of your junk up front.  You need to do this each time because you want to be a clean vessel for God to work with.  Just in the course of a day you get dirty.  You'll see something on TV that's violent or you'll hear a dirty joke and that's as little as it takes.  I'm not saying you live a sinful life, it's no different than taking your daily shower. 

There was a time when I was soaking, and I had a vision that I knew was not from God and I said "Lord, what am I doing looking at that?"  Instantly Jesus appeared and I pulled my eyeballs out (this was all in the spirit of course) and I tossed 'em over.  He gave them the old spit-and-polish with His sleeve and tossed them back.  I caught them and stuck them back in my head and had no further problems.  At the time I was pretty amused and the being able to see with my eyeballs out of my head was not lost on me, but now scriptures are coming to mind as I write this.  "And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:" (Mark 9:27) "And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought." (Mark 8:23)

So from there, you just imagine Jesus there with you, and at this point it's all you making it up.  That's ok, it's giving you something right to focus on so your brain is not running off track.  You just visualize Jesus.  Start talking to Him.  Some of us are not used to using our imaginations so you'll be able to see that you have to work at it and that's a good thing, because when the Holy Spirit takes over, you'll notice the difference and you'll know that you're not doing anything.  That's when it gets real. 

I found you guys a free download by Tyler Johnson, who explains all this better than I can, and at the end he prays for you and walks you into a vision.  The sound quality is awful, (probably why it's free) but about 5 minutes in, you'll be so enthralled you won't care.  Click here

Seated with Him in Heavenly Places

I was talking to God about my concerns with my relationship to the church.  Rick Joyner had said that people who don't have a strong local church life often do more damage than good and cause division (read here).  I seem to cause problems merely by showing up, so lately I've stopped doing that.  I'm not disruptive, I sit in the back and I smile at people, but they all know how I believe and get looks of anxiety on their faces when I come through the door.  I've watched a couple friends church hopping and they encounter hostility.  Our reputations proceed us.  I don't wanna keep moving around, wearing out my welcome, or diminishing my faith in order to fit in.  And I respect what Rick is saying and I want to take a look at my situation and not see myself as always the exception to rules that I don't like, but I also don't want to cause problems or make people uncomfortable in their church.

So I'm jabbering all these concerns to God and getting really involved in thinking about this whole dilemma when I gradually become aware that I am sitting sideways on my Father's lap with my head on His chest and He's kinda bouncing His knee a little.  And then church drama no longer mattered.  He loves me.  I may be screwing everything up, I may be so wrong, but my Daddy loves me and cares that I'm upset.  And the church drama does matter, and it matters to Him.  It's just that at that moment, me getting straightened out was not priority number one.  My being secure in His love, my being comforted, took precedence.

So then I really let loose and cried.  And it wasn't about the whole church thing.  I was just melting really, in His love.  Walls were coming down.  I try so hard to get it right and I forget His incredible acceptance.   I can't quit crying.  And stuff like this is exactly why I have trouble fitting in.