Cities of Haven

You gotta finish the job. You only have one life to life, it's only a small window, a tiny dot in eternity. But this life can impact your whole eternity. Look forward to the day where you'll see Him and He'll tell you, "You shall bow to no one, for you are my friend. Not only are you my son/daughter but you are faithful."

The purpose of the promise land is to give glory to Him, give everything back onto Him. Whoever has the son has everything. Everything you do is to give you a platform to give glory to Him.

You are cities of refuge. Take off your old calling and let Him give you a new one. Then wherever you step, He will be with you.

In order to be a city of refuge you must have easy access. There has to be large signs and bridges so it's easy to get there. People need to know that you are a city of refuge. The direction to the refuge cannot be confused. The truth must never be compromised. Have courage. Have boldness.

There is no waiting period - you are forgiven instantaneously. The place of your greatest failure can be the place of your greatest victory. However, if you try to take things into your own hands the consequences of your disobedience will be that you won't receive any land in the promised land. But He can make your consequence into your destiny. You may have gotten the worst deal but it can become the best deal. He doesn't forget.

The spirit and flesh are in opposite direction. Your victory is in direct opposition to your weakness. The place of your greatest mistake can be the place of your greatest destiny. Stay in the place of refuge, you are safe as long as you stay there. Lay hold of hope before you. If you lose hope you lose the place of peace, place of protection and place of where empowerment is given. In order to hold onto the horns of salvation you have to let go of everything else you're holding onto, so what is it that you're holding onto?

We have skeletons in our closet. He wants to breathe life into our skeletons. He wants to build up soldiers. Something you want to hide will become something you're proud of. He will use your greatest failure and make it something great. You can't escape your consequences but it will become your destiny. Laugh at the devil. Don't flaunt your sin but flaunt the redemption that's going to come from your sin. Put some action into it. Don't wait for someone else to tell you you're okay, look in the mirror and tell yourself that you're okay. Don't allow the devil to hold you down because he can't.

One day, your skeletons will speak. Conquer your mountain and tell the devil to shut up.

I will

Destroy the enemy. Conquer the land and occupy it.  Don't just overthrow it, fill it with something else and transform it. Subdue the will of the enemy and don't give the enemy any motivation to fight back.

Purity crushes the enemy's morale to fight you. The enemy will keep coming but they know they will lose. Don't give the enemy room or excitement. You have a choice to exasperate the enemy with your obedience or excite him with disobedience.

There are no perfect leaders. But ignorance is no excuse. Be desperate for more guidance and ask for more counsel. If you mess up, don't compound your mistakes. This is the key to redemption. Don't compound your sin with another sin. Take some responsibility. He can use your humility and present integrity to accelerate your destiny. You may have done the wrong thing but do the right thing now. Walk in integrity now. Take some consequences for your life. You are not stuck in your decisions. No way out can become the best way out. You don't earn your way back into glory. Just turn around and you're there. He will pick you up and place you by His right hand. You can experience your greatest miracle after your greatest fall.

Don't let your past mistake define your present authority. He is faithful. He keeps His promises. He's on you. If you come into a relationship with Him He takes it seriously.

Choose one direction or the other or else you'll be stuck. The more He is made alive in you the more you will desire covenant and the more you will desire deeper relationships. This life is about more commitment. You experience covenant when you lay down your life for another.

Things may not happen in your time but He remembers you and He keeps His covenants. Trade in your old bread, old shoes, and old wine for new food, a new calling and new joy. Trade in your old purpose for a new purpose. You need desperation to go to a place of revival. Don't let your one mistake define you.

The Lookback

Looking forward may be scarier than turning back. But we are a community and we are all watching one another. When one person grows we all grow with them. Lead by your actions, you can set the bar. Don't just look at the bar and hit only the bare minimum. You need to do everything with excellence in order to influence people.

Don't look back. Don't look at old defeats that will get you down. We cannot let past failures define us. We have to go forward. Falling is a part of life, but we can all start over again. Failure is not final. Failure is not fatal. Don't look back at old conflicts that will get us bitter. We need to run towards the goal. We need to get rid of our baggage or else we'll be dragged back and people will start passing us.

With your hurt - don't nurse it, don't curse it and don't rehearse it. Don't speak life into your hurt. Don't pick at the scab when it's starting to heal. Release it so He can disperse it. He can remove our hurt. He can turn our disappointment into a new appointment. He can make our tomb stone into a stepping stone. Just take the first step and He will give us strength to forgive.

Don't look back at old victories and think that you have arrived. Trade in the good for the even greater. Forget what's behind and strain towards what's ahead. It's not easy and it may be scary. But He gives us a lamp to our feet, so we can only see a few steps ahead. That's why you need faith. If you can see the whole way you wouldn't need to trust. Your destiny is forward. Your future is forward. The best is yet to come. So trust, fully lean into it.