Traditions of Men

I wrote on this the other day and just didn’t feel that the Lord was done with what He wanted me to say.

This has been on my heart and bothering me…a lot…and here I find myself at a loss of how to start.

God is doing a new thing. New. Completely new. Granted Proverbs says “There’s nothing new under the Sun” and our God does work in patterns and repeats…but to us (just like how fashion seems to cycle around every 10-20 years or so) it’s going to appear new to us because we as a Body have been so set in our ways we have trailed off the path set before us by the original Apostles and the words of Jesus in red…

Mark 16:15
He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.

He said GO. How is it that we have gotten so comfortable with our Sunday feast, being fed one day a week for 2 hours? That when someone is called by God to be a pastor (or a deacon or a bishop or, or, or) they possibly picture a nice church and salary. What if it’s not like that? What if it’s no longer going to be like that? What if the plans God has for you are grander (and more exciting) than that? I believe that God is calling us to let go of our preconceived ideas of what our futures look like. He’s giving us clues, but are we catching them? Are we hearing Him properly? Or at all because we are stuck on an idea that’s not His heart? What if obtaining these traditions of men causes us to forfeit His future for us. What if we have to choose between two things we have desired for a very long time? What if we truly let go of it all and asked of Him what He would give us back? Would it surprise us? Have we not released ALL to Him in fear of losing it? But…would holding onto an incorrect promise cause us to truly lose it? Losing it all because of fear and pride is too high of a price to pay.

There’s so many people who are out there hurting who would never step foot into a church, so many hearts that just need love. They need us to come to them. There’s a new wave of pastors being birthed in this season that will be known outside of the church.
In this season, God is doing a new thing, look not to the moves of God in the past, for the cloud has moved. House churches will rise up and families will be birthed out of His heart, communion and worship will be as He intended, intimate and true, stories of miracles will burn like wild-fire through our cities as we embrace the original call of Jesus to go out and tell the world of His love. They will know His love because of OUR love. Families will be taken care of because the church will rise up and her love offering will be given to those truly in need, the widows, the hurting and afflicted, the hungry and those in need. It’s time to throw down the ways of old and take up the new! It’s time to let the Spirit have it’s way! To sing worship songs for 2 hours and read a single verse should that be what the Spirit desires.

Too many churches are stifling the Spirit, stopping it from flowing freely and God will no longer be stifled. He will open His mouth and they will have no choice but to hear what He will say.

There are people and things that are holding us hostage. Preventing us from moving forward into our destinies and we MUST let go or we find ourselves in a place of sabotaging our own future. There are seasons for all things, and this is a NEW season and it’s time to let go so we can move forward.

So much more my heart wants to say…and be more specific but I can’t. I have done my part, I have done that which He asked me to…but now it’s your turn. It’s your turn to act. My stoicism is an act, a face I have gotten good at wearing because I was afraid of messing up, ruining something (as if I have that much power lol), but really I’m a mess inside when you walk by.

SoS 8:6
Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame.

I hold a promise inside my heart. I’ve let it go over and over again and He keeps giving it back to me. I’ve had over 30+ dreams of you and I can see that there’s something you are chasing after, something that is preventing your forward movement. You are stuck and don’t know how to be un-stuck. It’s like a hand in a cookie jar, grabbing too many cookies and you can’t pull your hand out. You have to let go to be free. You get one cookie. But, when you are done receiving that one, you can go back for more. God is going to redeem the time you feel you have lost. I know the wait has been long and bitterness has stepped in and out but know that time is indeed short and you have not been forgotten.

I refuse to give up on you. I will not forfeit the promise.

But how many out there are chasing after traditions of men…and are going to miss this next move of God? Man doesn’t give you a title, God does and it’s not something that can be taken away. Trust that if it was given to you, it was given with good reason. Shepherd of a flock, sometimes we have to go out and recover the lost ones.

Praying for you daily,

Amanda