The Eyes of Jesus

Twice this week-end I heard people mention the eyes or the Face of Jesus....at first I was just slightly intrigued, and then my heart skipped a beat when I heard this story.

Momma Heidi, you may or may not have heard of her.  She is a missionary in Mozambique in Africa.  She moved there with her family to start an orphanage.  Daily she ministers to the street kids, preaching, healing, loving and taking many home to her orphanage every week.  She is quite an amazing child of God.  The love that is pouring out from her is amazing and spoke volumns to me.  She is exercizing true love to the world with her sacrifice and selfless life.

She told a story of being drained and needing a refreshing.  I can fully understand her feeling drained.  Every time she steps out of a vehicle she is overtaken by children desiring to touch them, to have her take them home or simply to love them. At this point she is exhausted and chooses to leave Africa for a time to visit a Missiounary retreat in Canada. 

Once in Canada, she is in worship and prayer and is lying prostrate on the floor.  Her heart is heavy, she is worn out, and she is crying out to her Heavenly Father for strength.  She says that as she looks up she sees the eyes of Jesus gazing at her.  His eyes are warm, loving, strengthening and encouraging.  She hears the Lord speak to her that she is trying to do this out of her own strength, but He wishes to empower her with His power to continue the work that she is called to do.

That's pretty much the end of the story that touched me.  I must say that my heart stired when she spoke about His eyes piercing her barriers, her soul, her heart and mind.  I've been intrigued with this thought ever since.  The eyes of Jesus...have I seen the eyes of Jesus?  Could I handle seeing the eyes of Jesus?  What look would He be giving me?  Would it be a look of disgust?  Would it be a look of love?  Would it be a look of pity or a look of forgiveness.  I don't know what it would be, I just know that I want to gaze into the eyes of Jesus.  The eyes are the mirror to the soul.  If I can catch a glimpse of His eyes...would I be able to see His soul?

I just know this, if I continue to chase after Him, trying to see His eyes and His gaze, I will draw closer to Him be default and in turn will learn who He is, what He desires from me and for me.

I'm very excited about seeing the eyes of Jesus

Curses Broken

Mark and I have been on a Journey...a Journey searching for where He would have us to minister, where He would have us to become a part of a community and where He would have us to settle.  It's been difficult wandering, the wandering in the wilderness is not easy.  You become dry and dehydrated as you are not truly being fed or connected.  Your vision can begin to blur as you don't see His purpose for your life.

We've tried to be connected to our brothers and sisters in Christ as we continue on this journey.  Making sure that we have close friends speaking into our lives and help us stay grounded in the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and ensure that we don't get sidetracked.

We continue to study His Word and grow in His Word, allowing Him to move on our heart and speak into us as we wait on Him.
I feel so priveledged because my Father went to so much trouble for me today, which showed me again how much He loves us. I need to put into writting the words that were spoken over me this morning, for today is the first day of the rest of the Life that God has given me.  Satan, get thee behind me, for you have no say in my life, I belong to Jesus.

The associate pastor began to speak healing over my body, healing in my shoulder and hip which constantly pop out of place and cause a lot of pain.  Ever since I broke my ankle 2 years ago, my whole body has been out of kilter, out of sink with the rest of my body, causing it to not operate correctly and cause pain and frustration.  They prayed and prayed, then the real Word was spoken as such.

"Karina, I feel that this physical ailment has caused you to be frustrated, maybe even to the point of depression. At that, I began to cry, and cry, and cry.  He went on to state that He sees that lies have been spoken over me about my future that were curses and have hindered me from living in the liberty that He has called me to.  Freedom to serve, freedom to love, freedom to run, freedom to move freely in and out of His will. "

At that point, I broke down and shared that my mother has spoken curses over me for years stating that the illness that overtook my father was upon me and that I needed to admit it and own it and take the medication like my father.  This curse, I believe to be the lie of satan, sent to hinder me and keep me from moving in the liberty that He called me to move in.

Pastor Doug " God wants to set you free to move freely in the calling that is on your life.  I see someone who speaks life into others, even when bound by frustration and pain, you continue to speak life into others., as he spoke a woman came forward and said that the Lord had said to her that my heart was scarred from the curses of others and that the Lord wanted to heal those scars that were keeping me in bondage.  They began to speak about the gift of prophecy that is a seal upon me and how the frustration and bondage I had been in was keeping me from walking in the calling of prophecy upon my life.  The Lord would have me know that I am to step out and begin to counter those curses and speak blessings and life upon others.  That I would be healed through healing of others."

They continued to pray as one of the elders walked over to us.  They introduced me to him, his name was Mike.  Mike said that the Lord showed him a fire hydrant.  That I was a fire hydrant, but that I was not properly utilizing the fire hydrant for it's purposes.  He went on to say that a fire hydrant needs three things to operate properly. 1. caps, 2. a hose, 3. a source of flow.  Mike said that at times the source of water was hooked up, but the caps were on so it couldn't be used to flow to others.  Then at times the caps were off, but the source wasn't flowing, then there were times that the caps were off, but the hose laid on the ground.

But the Lord wanted me to know that my fire hydrant would be fully operational.  The source is pouring through the hose and the caps are off so that it can flow to those who are in need and to those who are thirsty.

They called it a new day, a day that I am to step out and call it new, shake off the shackles, reject the negative, close my ears to the curses and begin to speak blessings on anyone that comes my way.

So, I am speaking Blessings upon you right now.  May the God of Abraham, Isaac and Joseph, show you His favor and grace.  May you step out in boldness to serve your God, may you speak boldly the things that the Lord has given you to speak.  Let no fear of man keep you from speaking His truth, but speak boldly for Him.  May you find the freedom from your past that will give you courage to speak in boldness and truth.  May He call you out and show you favor.  Please contact me if you need prayer.  I love to pray for those that are seeking.  Be Blessed, in His Holy Name.

God Mob

A month ago, Mark and I left church with alot in our hearts and minds.  We had just listened to a great sermon about this generation that the Lord has called to be set apart and to rise up and stand for him:

With this on my heart I posted this on Facebook on May 3rd.

Isaiah 60: Arise, Shine, for your light has come. And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness will cover the earth. And deep darkness the peoples. But the Lord will rise upon you, and His glory will appear upon you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. Isaiah 60: 1-3
 From this, the Lord started to speak to me about a Flash Mob or a God mob.  He gave me a vision of seeing His people arise and shine for our light has come.  A vision that the darkness will be overtaken by our light IF, and only IF we unite and stand together.  Not sure everyone understands what a flash mob is, basically it is a united group of people who come out and stand for one thing, represent one thing, present a untied front. From this He showed me a picture of His children pouring out of the churches, out of the homes, out of the cities and coming to one central point - pouring into one location and being a witness, being a light, pushing back the darkness.  I really didn't know if He was telling me to plan this, so I started to speak to friends to get their ideas and to see if this was really something that the Lord wanted us to do.

Then one night at the Ortiz's during prayer and worship, the Lord gave me a vision, which is becoming more and more the vision that the Lord is giving to Mark and I about His church, about His people, about His body. 

The secondary vision was a pouring out of His people, coming together to celebrate their love for Jesus.  A coming together of churches from the four corners of the earth to be united, to become one, to stand together to tear down the barriers of tradition, false teaching, unforgiveness, agendas and control, to lift up the name of Jesus, give glory to His name and His name only and no longer build individual kingdoms and agendas. To be a witness to those around that His body can be united, that the divisions that have existed for thousands of years are not His desire, that His body can fellowship and love one another, that His body exists to glorify Him and Him alone.

I believe, that this is not just a vision of hope that the Lord gave me, I believe that this was a true vision of what He is preparing to do in His body.  There will be no more man made agendas, no more man made traditions, no more denominational walls, no more lifting up of men, but only lifting up the name of Jesus for His glory and to draw mankind unto Him.  A breaking down of walls and pouring out of His body into the community to be united through Jesus.

The Grave is Open

What a marvelous thing that God continues to reveal His ways and His beauty to us.  I've experienced 46 Easters this year. Easter has always been one of my favorite holidays.  Of course, I am not very fond of the bunny rabbit, easter eggs or peter cottontail.  I believe that those cultural trappings steal the real reason for the holiday away from our life.  I respect anyone who chooses to continue in those traditions; I just simply choose not to participate.  I want to hang on to the real meaning of Easter as long as I possibly can.

Sometimes Easter reminds me of the death of Jesus Christ and the price he paid for each of us.  Who would do that?  I don't think I would sacrifice my child for another human being, let alone send my child to suffer a very painful death.  This would be so trying and would weigh me down.

This Easter Season...the Lord has blessed me with a new revelation, a fresh vision of His holiday.  I was in church Sunday and the worship team was singing Chains be Broken by Hillsong:
I have decided I have resolved
To wait upon you Lord
My rock and redeemer shall not be moved
Ill wait upon you Lord

Pre Chorus
As surely as the sun will rise
You'll come to us
As certain as the dawn appears

Chorus
You'll come let your glory fall
As you respond to us
Spirit reign flood our hearts
With holy fire again

Verse 2
We are not shaken we are not moved
We wait upon you Lord
Our Mighty deliverer my triumph and truth
I'll wait upon you Lord

Bridge
Chains be broken
Lives be healed
Eyes be opened
Christ is revealed

I began to hear the Spirit speak to me "The grave is open" and saw the grave in my mind’s eye.  Over and over, "the grave is open".  The spirit was moving in church and people began to come to the alter for prayer, and healing. I went forward seeking freedom from the grave.  A lady laid hands on me and prayed that the "grave is open, walk in my daughter, and walk back out in freedom."  What a wonderful confirmation of what the Lord was speaking to me.

It was so precious to hear directly from the Holy Spirit.  He was speaking to me, loud and clear.  He can speak to you to.  The closer we draw to Him...the more learn of who he is and how He operates, the more we will begin to walk as He walks, talk as He talks and move like He moves.

Lord, this is our desire, to move with you.  To walk out of the grave with you.  To have our Lazarus moment.

Praise be to Jesus....He is Risen, He is Risen indeed.

Building my Father's Kingdom

I went to Chicago for business this past week.  I became very self-indulgent while I was there.  My ugly old flesh reared its ugly head while I was there.  I whined about everything.  The training was bad, the people were rude, and the weather was horrible.  If I could find it, I would whine about it, if I saw it, I whined about it.  It was pitiful...after all that my Heavenly Father has given me and done for me, all I have to offer back is negative whining out of my mouth.  Wondering why He brought me to Chicago to be miserable...because you know, it's all about me.

So....on the Wednesday evening, when everyone else went out to eat and didn't invite me...one more thing to whine about...I was going to stay in for the night, but I heard the Lord speak to me to go out.  So I hired a cab, went and ate sushi, and hired a cab to go back to the hotel.  Nothing exciting had happened, I had my normal spicy tuna roll, my one enjoyment of the day. 

Then the cab picked me up, we were quiet at first, then he started to ask me questions.  He asked where I was from, why I was in Chicago...and somehow we got around to speaking about religion.  Hmmmm...Religion and politics, two of the most complicated and divisive subjects.  But I listened as he shared his belief that Christianity and Islam are the same since they are descendents of Abraham, who is a descendent of Adam.  He shared how he believes that Satan has played a game with all religions, causing division when God's ultimate plan was for us to be one big family. 

To some extent, he is correct.  God's original plan was for us to all be in His family, but because we sinned, and because we now live in a fallen world, we deserve to be damned due to the penalty of sin.  But, as I explained to Mohammed, through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, because He suffered and died for our sins, we can be reconciled through our Savior to the Father.  All men can be reconciled with their creator, their Savior, their Father.  I had to make it very clear to Mohammed though, that there is a difference between Islam and Christianity.  If I didn’t…and he continues in his belief, he too will be damned.  I had to share the gospel as I know it.

We shared our Faith with one another for one hour, sitting out front of the hotel in his taxi cab.  He shared his heart about the last days and how the catastrophes are signs of the end, per the Quran. I shared about the book that I had just read about the twelfth Imam and how it is significant to the return of Christ.

He shared how He felt that when Jesus returns he and Allah will come together and bring the religions together.  Of that I know not, I spoke, but what I do know is that you have to believe that Jesus is the Savior and choose to follow Him to receive eternal life.  How, when or if Jesus reconciles the millions of religions out there, is in His hands, not mine. 

But then, the most awesome thing happened.  Mohammed shared that he and his wife were having some financial issues and that he needed some answers.  I asked him if I could pray for him...and he said yes...so here is the prayer that I prayed for him as I layer hands on him, and that I pray for you as well.

Mohammed, I pray that the Lord will pour out His favor upon you.  That He will lead you and guide you.  That he will speak His words to you and reveal Himself in new ways.

The amazing part of this?  The Lord spoke to me after I left the cab that "this is what you are here for....it has nothing to do with the job, the training, the career, it was so you ride in the taxi of this man Mohammed and speak truth to him.  What the Lord does with that truth is up to Him...it's simply up to me to be obedient and speak when He says speak.  What I do know is that my Father loved Mohommed enough to bring me to his cab and pray with Him.  That’s how my Father rolls.

What an honor to be used by the Lord God Almighty to do the work that He could do himself.

The Road Less Traveled

Recently I had a conversation with several believers. We were studying James 2:1-4, I would encourage you to read it, but the jest of it is this.

When a man or woman comes into your home, your assembly, your gathering, we are to show no partiality. If a man with a Gold ring, fine clothes and lots of material things comes in, and another man with shabby clothing, unbathed, and nothing to offer the assembly, do not show partiality to the man with the fine clothes, allowing him to sit with you and placing the shabby man at your feet or far from you. (major paraphrase) :)

Now, who wants to admit that we favor people? Who wants to admit that we like pretty people above the not so pretty? Do we actually do this? Do we shy away from the person at our jobs that isn't like us, the next door neighbor that makes us uncomfortable?

As we shared this, we began to feel pretty blessed that we didn't have this problem that was evident in this scripture passage. When we really started to dig into this passage and share our hearts, we realized that we all shared one thing. We don't really favor the "pretty" people. We had all had bad experiences with the popular crowd, the wealthy, and the accepted. We all decided we actually were drawn to the man in shabby clothing. I shared that I felt much more accepted, comfortable and connected with the man that is homeless, or the woman who is an addict. Why?

Because they are real, they are vulnerable, they are transparent. They don't have a choice but to be transparent and real....their circumstances and sin are very apparent. They are homeless because they were addicted to crack cocaine, they are homeless because they lost their job, their wife and had nowhere to go. They have been humbled beyond understanding. They share in my sin, my addictions, my vulnerability, they are willing to speak to those things because they have no reputation to hang on to...no Kingdom that they are trying to build; they are simply trying to survive.

We truly began to feel quite holy and set apart...we were better than the people in the assembly that favored the fine dressed man. Then we realized the truth. We were no better; we simply had switched who we favored. We realized we have our own stereotypes, our own prejudices, our own "pretty" people that we favor. We came to understand that we all have those that we are comfortable with, those that help us feel safe in our own skin, and those who help us stay in our comfort zone.

Whether you belong to the group that favors the "pretty" people and have them sit in the front with you, or the group that favors the lowly and shabby people...we must change our thinking and love them all. Even those in the middle that just simply don't even show up on our radar.

The group that you simply walk by and don't even notice. We chase the rich for the financial or material gain that they can help us attain or the resources they have to help us build our Kingdom. The shabby and poor we can chase for the self-righteous satisfaction that it gives me to help them, to lower myself to spend time with them.

Jesus sees us all the same. He came to use the lowly to confound the wise. He also came to set the rich tax collector free. But He also came to set this middle aged mother of three, free from the addictions of alcohol, tobacco and depression. He came to give me a hope and a freedom that I had never known so that I could share my freedom with those that fit in all of these groups.

We need to see all the same. They all need Jesus. We cannot look over those we see as less deserving to get to the rich for selfish gain, we can't step over those we see as more deserving for the poor to pump up our ego. And we cannot and must not, stay in our comfort zone, not reaching out a hand of fellowship because we refuse to get out of our comfort zone.

Where do you fit? Who do you favor? What is your prejudice? Reach out like Jesus and offer the hand of fellowship to all that Christ brings in your life.

Self Doubt - Me or Jesus

So often we have self doubt, we doubt the things we believe that the Lord has told us, the words prophesied over us and the visions that God has laid out full in front of us. We doubt the Word in the Bible, we doubt our own heart. Why do we doubt if He is the one that told us. We doubt because we listen to the words of men, we think back on failures of our past and we watch the failures of others. We doubt because others have failed us, loved ones have hurt us, and we begin to associate the ability of God Almighty with the puny ability of mankind. But what caused those failures or things to not go as we expected? If God spoke...was He unclear as to what He was speaking....did He lie....or did man themselves get in the way or not sow what the Lord had told them to sow.



The first thing the Lord has spoken clearly to me is that He DOES speak to me, so the doubting does not come from him....if the Lord has given me a word, than it is so and I must stand on it. If I have discernment concerning a situation, I must trust the Spirit within me and believe that I can trust what He is revealing in me just as I trust that He saves me. It doesn't matter if others don't get it, if others disagree, if others criticize you for stepping out in what He has spoken to you. If He said it, it is so.



The second step in the self doubt or doubting of Jesus is "People have failed me in the past...how can I believe his word now?" I've believed that person before....they failed me...how can I trust them this time. We all have video tapes that we run over and over in our heads. They are videos of evil words spoken over us, inapropriate behavior, curses and blessings. The videos that had the deepest cut in our heart is the one that we tend to continue to run over and over. We won't release forgiveness on those that spoke evil over us, or those that had more than we did, therefore we resent them. We hang on, we play it in our head over and over. The Lord wants to set us free of those videos and give us a new video. A new vision of a future that hold promise and hope, a new vision of a future where He will redeem our past and restore our relationships. A vision of a future that we can take our pain and redeem it by speaking His truth into the future and change our path.

We've all failed, we've all had someone fail us.....but Jesus has promised us that He will never leave us nor forsake us, that he will take all things and make them good, and that He will restore what the cankor worm has stolen.

Years ago, I became a divorced Christian Woman. This was probably the hardest thing that I've ever walked through, it was probably also the best thing that ever happend to me. Is that to say that this was God's perfect will for my life? no......but He will take all things and make them good. But the doubt that this created in me was the most incredible painful doubt I've ever experienced. Doubt that I could ever love again, doubt that I could ever raise my children by myself, doubt that the love that God had placed with me would ever be poured out in another relationship. Doubt that the dreams and visions that He had given me would ever be more than just that...dreams and visions.

But the Lord spoke to me then, and has recently spoken to me that He will take care of the details, the nasayers, the roadbumps and the failures...my job is simply to believe that He speaks today, believe that He indeed has spoken a Word or a plan to me and then step out believing and not being tossed to and fro, but standing on the Word that He has given me and claiming it as truth.

I praise my father for the gentle way that assures us of our path and the love that he bestows upon us. He is an awesome God and I love being His daughter.