Thoughts Higher Than Mine_Living Word Chronicle

Love and Grace in the Whirlwind of a Spiritual Attack

By Moses Hightower

I have come for the first fruit of your life. The fellowship that I offer you is part of the covenant. In the flesh of the man Christ Jesus, I offered a holy sacrifice that you could be reconciled unto me. You heard the voice of the ministry say, “Be reconciled unto God.” Now that you are reconciled, allow your reasonable services to be rendered unto me early, and I will show you a new dimension of fellowship and communion. Do not boast against those who do not rise early. Simply come as a partaker of the strength of grace. Grace brought you here this morning. Now speak of my glory and talk of my power in your body, the temple of the Holy Ghost. The Father of lights and the Father of spirits summoned you. I removed sleep from your eyes and drew you to the throne of grace. A scepter of righteousness is granted to you by imputation, and a hand of mercy is granted to you because of my love. The innocent blood of Jesus has covered you, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost has graced you with a sanctified presence. Lift up your voice in praise unto the King Eternal and shout for joy that your eyes see and your ears hear the voice of God.

I have not allowed my grace to retreat from your life. Grace continues to shine bright as it shows you the kingdom of God. Continue to live in the Spirit and do not be desirous of vain glory. What do you have to glory about?

Righteousness belongs to me. Many are in confusion of faces because they have sinned by pride and self-righteousness. Mercy belongs to me. Forgiveness belongs to me. Grant me glory and honor for what I have done, and cast aside the filthy rags of vain works. I helped you in your time of need. I granted mercy instead of judgment. You were cast under the feet of your enemies. Their shoes of wrath compelled you to mourn. The spirit of sorcery prepared to rejoice as it anticipated your defeat. Witchcraft gathered its counsel and prepared a celebration of your doom. Hatred lifted its cup of wrath and prepared to serve bitterness in the presence of joy. I heard your cry in the morning of your helplessness. Wounded by evil, you struggled for the horns of the altar. You were without strength and hope was fading into the night, but grace came leaping above the waves of damning, fleshly undercurrents of frustration. Grace shouted with a frequency not heard by your ears and commanded an end to your trial before spiritual death. Love stretched its strong arms of mercy and goodness. Love's arms embraced you and drew you nigh the lips of grace again. While your heart was near fainting's reach, love's embrace brought peace to a mind lost in the whirlwind of a spiritual attack. Now with a mind of peace that was granted by grace, your mourning was turned into dancing. The rags of a spiritual pauper are no longer your attire, for you are now girded with gladness. Sing praises to me. Do not be silent in this life, but forever give thanks unto the Eternal Spirit that saved you.

I did not allow your foes to rejoice over you. I granted you healing for your mind and subdued your flesh by my Holy Spirit. You came nigh the gates of the grave, but I kept you alive and did not allow you to go down to the pit. I have opened your eyes to see the toll of sin in the earth. Sing unto me and give thanks at the remembrance of my holiness. I did not allow my anger to judge you. I allowed my favor to grant you life so that your tears in the night would be dried by the presence of morning's joy. By my favor, your mountain stood strong, and I heard your cry for help. There would have been no profit if you had gone down to the grave. You would have returned to dust. I elected to keep your feet from falling and allow you to declare my truth. Dance with grace that leaps higher than iniquity. Show forth the flare of gladness as a garment, and sing praise unto the King of kings, your Redeemer and lover of your soul.

Evil, Enemies, Frustration, Hatred, Helplessness, Pride, Self-Righteousness, a Spiritual Attack, and Witchcraft

By Linda Galati

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light, and there was light."

The Lord has come for the first fruit of my life. The fellowship that he offers me is part of the covenant. In the flesh of the man, Christ Jesus he offered a holy sacrifice that I could be reconciled unto him. I heard the voice of the ministry say, “Be reconciled unto God.” Now that I am reconciled, I will allow my reasonable services to be rendered unto him early, and he will show me a new dimension of fellowship and communion. I will not boast against those who do not rise early. I simply come as a partaker of the strength of grace. Grace brought me here this morning. Now I speak of God’s glory and talk of his power in my body, the temple of the Holy Ghost. The Father of lights and the Father of spirits summoned me. He removed sleep from my eyes and drew me to the throne of grace. A scepter of righteousness is granted to me by imputation, and a hand of mercy is granted to me because of God’s love. The innocent blood of Jesus has covered me, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost has graced me with a sanctified presence. I lift up my voice in praise unto the King Eternal and shout for joy that my eyes see and my ears hear the voice of God. He has not allowed his grace to retreat from my life. Grace continues to shine bright as it shows me the kingdom of God. I purpose to continue to live in the Spirit and not be desirous of vain glory. I have nothing to glory about. Righteousness belongs to the Lord. Many are in confusion of faces because they have sinned by pride and self-righteousness. Mercy belongs to God. Forgiveness belongs to him. I will grant him glory and honor for what he has done, and I cast aside the filthy rags of vain works.

God helped me in my time of need. He granted mercy instead of judgment. I was cast under the feet of my enemies. Their shoes of wrath compelled me to mourn. The spirit of sorcery prepared to rejoice as it anticipated my defeat. Witchcraft gathered its counsel and prepared a celebration of my doom. Hatred lifted its cup of wrath and prepared to serve bitterness in the presence of joy. God heard my cry in the morning of my helplessness. Wounded by evil, I struggled for the horns of the altar. I was without strength and hope was fading into the night, but grace came leaping above the waves of damning, fleshly undercurrents of frustration. Grace shouted with a frequency not heard by my ears and commanded an end to my trial before spiritual death came. Love stretched its strong arms of mercy and goodness. Love's arms embraced me and drew me nigh the lips of grace again. While my heart was near fainting's reach, love's embrace brought peace to a mind lost in the whirlwind of a spiritual attack. Now with a mind of peace that was granted by grace, my mourning was turned into dancing. The rags of a spiritual pauper are no longer my attire, for I am now girded with gladness. I sing praises to God. I will not be silent in this life, but I will forever give thanks unto the Eternal Spirit that saved me. The Lord did not allow my foes to rejoice over me. He granted me healing for my mind and subdued my flesh by his Holy Spirit. I came nigh the gates of the grave, but he kept me alive and did not allow me to go down to the pit. He has opened my eyes to see the toll of sin in the earth. I sing unto him and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. He did not allow his anger to judge me. He allowed his favor to grant me life so that my tears in the night would be dried by the presence of morning's joy. By his favor, my mountain stood strong, and he heard my cry for help. There would have been no profit if I had gone down to the grave and returned to dust. God elected to keep my feet from falling and allowed me to declare his truth. I will dance with grace that leaps higher than iniquity. I will show forth the flare of gladness as a garment and sing praise unto the King of kings, my redeemer and lover of my soul.

By Don Grigsby

Don and Linda Grigsby

RE: RHEMA - Love and Grace in the Whirlwind of a Spiritual Attack

In the Hebrew language, the word for mercy is tied to the mercy seat. We should always be a mercy seat for everyone else, because we do not want to be seated in a seat of judgment or before a judgment seat without mercy. Mercy is the Hebrew word chesed. Its pictograph is the picture of a rich man running after a poor man to bless him. It is also a picture of the individual letters for our hands to reach over our personal fence of selfishness and help those who are in a ditch of life hurting and wounded just inside the tent door of their residence. It was the Good Samaritan that had mercy on the man in the ditch. With the same measure that we mete withal, it will be measured to us again. With the same mercy that we are merciful to others, it shall be mercied to us again. The last sentence may have some odd spelling, but it is true. I need an ocean of mercy and grace. The Hebrew word for grace is chen. Both chesed and chen have to do with looking at life and others in life with a smiling and not a scowling or disapproving expression on our face. This is why the scripture speaks of the face of God smiling upon us. Let us allow grace to be the smiling face that we behold as the sunrise of our lives and the sunrise we project into the lives of others we affect. His great love did not leave us at the mercy of our own awful situations. Neither should we shut up the bowels of our compassion and mercy to others who need the God of all grace so desperately. .

By Moses Hightower

Choose prayer and fasting as a lifestyle, and you will behold the weakness of the world and its fruit fall at your feet in the baskets of spoil. Allow the world's fruit to spoil on its vines. Do not eat the trash and putrefaction of things that are passing away. Eat from the tree of life, for I have fresh fruit that you have never tasted. I am giving you a new appetite for spiritual things. Receive of it now, for I place it within you by my Spirit. Lift your hands and give thanks. I am the Lord, your God.

By LWWC Confession Writers

I will choose prayer and fasting as a lifestyle, and I will behold the weakness of the world and its fruit fall at my feet in the baskets of spoil. I will allow the world's fruit to spoil on its vines. I will not eat the trash and putrefaction of things that are passing away. I eat from the tree of life, for God has fresh fruit that I have never tasted. He is giving me a new appetite for spiritual things. I receive of it now, for he placed it within me by his Spirit. I lift my hands and give thanks. He is the Lord, my God.

By Don Grigsby

RE: RHEMA - Look Up! Love Is Destined To Appear

Many waters cannot drown love. When our enemy comes in like a flood, the standard that love raises against his attack is overwhelming. Everything else may be used to combat the attack of the enemy, but love never fails. Only love can heal the hurt of disappointment. Love is the honey that will heal the bitter waters of life. Our world is awash in so called love. Love as a word has been prostituted and perverted. Real love flows to us from the cross. Unconditional love is the most powerful force in the universe. In the ever- increasing anger infested world that we live in, the only hope is for a love that not only covers our weakness but also strengthens our almost absent expressions of forgiveness. Someone said that when God pulled back the curtains on the drama of redemption that the audience was one broken heart. He died for many, and just one lost sheep is enough to merit his sacrifice. Shadows of fear and misdirection may be on the horizon, but love's sunrise is the dawning of a new day. We are told that the morning star will arise in our hearts, but the same Spirit of prophecy is expressing the fact that it is about to dawn in a wholesale manner through the revelation of the truth that is expressed in love in the last days. The church at Ephesus was instructed to come back to their first love and do their first works. Our beginning works were filled with the overflowing love of the Holy Ghost. We must retain that urgency of love flowing like rivers out of our lives. The foundation and stone that is rejected by the builders is the love that embraced a world that rejected him, but he still reaches for them today through us.

By Moses Hightower

(Continued)

Serve me with gladness and come before my presence with singing. First, present me with a bouquet of praises instead of a flood of tears that water the thorns that have created the pains in your life. Replace the weeping willows of the mourner with a high, new song of life and victorious expectation. Resist the temptation to bring to me a deep, death song of the blues and of mourning. Many are controlled by grief, sorrow, and regret; therefore, they come to me as weak, lamenting worshippers of their problems and their emotions. Do not wear the willows given you by unbelief, but rather adorn yourself with the garment of praise. Do not wear sackcloth and ashes, but wear the breastplate of faith and love.

301. Where is your helmet?

Your helmet is the hope of salvation.

302. Did you come to my throne with the hope of salvation or with your head bowed to your troubles?

(To Be Continued)

February 14, 2007

By Marco Mendoza

Lord, I thank you this morning. I acknowledge that you have come for the first fruit of my life. By grace, I give it to you. It is an honor to be a part of the fellowship that you offer me, which is part of the covenant. In the flesh of the man Christ Jesus, you offered a holy sacrifice so that I could be reconciled unto you. I heard the voice of the ministry say, “Be reconciled unto God.” Now that I am reconciled, by your mercies I will allow my reasonable services to be rendered unto you early. I worship you, and I believe that you will show me a new dimension of fellowship and communion. I will not boast against those who do not rise early. I simply come as a partaker of the strength of grace. Your grace brought me here this morning. Now I will speak of your glory and talk of your power in my body, the temple of the Holy Ghost. My soul is restful because you, the Father of lights and the Father of spirits, summoned me. You removed sleep from my eyes and drew me to the throne of grace. Your loving-kindness has granted me a scepter of righteousness by imputation, and your hand of mercy has been extended to me because of your love. The innocent blood you shed has covered me, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost has graced me with your sanctified presence.

I lift up my voice in praise unto you, the Eternal King, and shout for joy that my eyes see and my ears hear your voice. You have not allowed your grace to retreat from my life. Grace continues to shine bright as it shows me your kingdom. I purpose to continue to live in the Spirit and not be desirous of vain glory. I have nothing to glory about. Righteousness belongs to you. I praise you, for you have not allowed me to fall into confusion because of sin caused by pride and self-righteousness. Mercy belongs to you. Forgiveness belongs to you. I give you glory and honor for what you have done, and I cast aside the filthy rags of vain works.

I am indebted to you because you helped me in my time of need. You granted mercy instead of judgment. I was cast under the feet of my enemies. Their shoes of wrath compelled me to mourn. The spirit of sorcery prepared to rejoice as it anticipated my defeat. Witchcraft gathered its counsel and prepared a celebration of my doom. Hatred lifted its cup of wrath and prepared to serve bitterness in the presence of joy, but you heard my cry in the morning of my helplessness. Wounded by evil, I struggled for the horns of the altar. I was without strength and hope was fading into the night, but your grace came leaping above the waves of damning, fleshly undercurrents of frustration. I thank you for the grace that shouted with a frequency not heard by my ears and commanded an end to my trial before spiritual death came. Your love stretched its strong arms of mercy and goodness. I rejoice because love's arm embraced me and drew me nigh the lips of grace again. While my heart was near fainting's reach, your love's embrace brought peace to my mind that was lost in the whirlwind of a spiritual attack. Now with a mind of peace that was granted by your grace, my mourning has been turned into dancing. I am overjoyed that the rags of a spiritual pauper are no longer my attire, for I am now girded with gladness.

I sing praises to you. I will not be silent in this life, but I will forever give thanks unto you, the Eternal Spirit, for saving me. You did not allow my foes to rejoice over me. You granted me healing for my mind and subdued my flesh by your Holy Spirit. I came nigh the gates of the grave, but you kept me alive and did not allow me to go down to the pit. You have opened my eyes to see the toll of sin in the earth. I sing unto you and give thanks at the remembrance of your holiness. You did not allow your anger to judge me. My soul is restored because you allowed your favor to grant me life so that my tears in the night would be dried by the presence of morning's joy. By your favor, my mountain stood strong, and you heard my cry for help. There would have been no profit if I had gone down to the grave and returned to dust. You elected to keep my feet from falling and allowed me to declare your truth. I will dance with grace that leaps higher than iniquity. I will show forth the flare of gladness as a garment and sing praise unto you, the King of kings, my redeemer, and lover of my soul.

I thank you for your mercy. By the same mercy, I will be a mercy seat for others because I do not want to be seated in a seat of judgment or before a judgment seat without mercy. Your mercy will also cause me to stretch forth my hand to reach over my personal fence of selfishness and help those who are in a ditch of life hurting and wounded just inside the tent door of their residence. O Lord, just as the Good Samaritan had mercy on the man in the ditch, I am determined to show mercy. I praise you for bringing me an understanding that with the same measure that I mete withal, it will be measured to me again. With the same mercy that I am merciful to others with, it shall be returned unto me again. I am grateful that you saw my ocean size need of mercy and grace. You did not scowl at me or disapprove of me, but you smiled upon me. I purpose to allow grace to be the smiling face that I behold as the sunrise of my life and the sunrise I project into the lives of others I affect. Your great love did not leave me at the mercy of my own awful situations; neither will I shut up my bowels of compassion and of mercy to others that so desperately need you, the God of all grace. I rejoice in your great mercy.

RE: PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING - February 14, 2007

Blessed are the merciful, for they will posses the liberty that this world knows very little about. Mercy in the Hebrew language has to do with God's enduring and unconditional love that never quits. It also has to do with the word picture of the womb of a mother cherishing the fetus, her unborn child. It is an innate biological fact that if nothing else intercedes, the mother's body will starve itself to save the unborn. This is a far cry from the abortion mad masses in our day. If we are merciful as we should be, we will be a mercy seat for everyone we meet in life. So much of what we do is contingent on how others respond to us or how they will treat us.

Jesus said one of the most difficult sayings in scripture when he said, "Love your enemies." None of us really want to get graphically honest about how we feel about this. We measure our feelings on how we feel on a good day. On our worst day, we have very little time and patience for those who attack us and do us harm. We as humans have a shallow capacity to handle ill-treatment at the hands of those who we have loved, and then they are the most ungrateful and most injurious to us. Jesus was seen by Cephas and the twelve disciples in I Corinthians 15:5. How many of us would show up with the power to take out any enemy and let him have another opportunity?

Mercy transcends the stairs of failure, mistakes, and evil intent with those on its arm who will fly with it. If we believe in translations, as in Enoch and Elijah, that are real events of life, then we must allow the mercy and love of Calvary to embrace the most undeserving people that we have knowledge of. When we do this and let go of all things that would hold us hostage, we will experience the freedom that jubilee was really about. I must admit that everything within me revolts at this kind of mercy. It may be that this is our Moriah as Abraham had. Only when we ascend its slopes with everything we hold dear in promises will we see and behold the supernatural ability of God to provide a lamb in the present as well as he did in the past.