Hope For The Watchman

Amidst all the chaos in the world today, I just wanted to ask and get you thinking for yourself – how’s your hope? What perspective are you viewing from? Are you seeing things from the Ephesians 2:6, seated with Christ in Heavenly places mindset…or are you viewing life with an overwhelmed heart?

Can you see the angel armies camped around you during this time?

I’m an intercessor, and I’ll be honest with you – at times I have been quite overwhelmed with what I am seeing. Sometimes I forget that I’m praying from Heavenly realms with Heavenly armies on my side, and I get so tired that I see the bad as being bigger than the good.  But today, the Lord called me higher again, and I feel that I want to do the same for you especially if you are a watchmen intercessor who has been in war over this virus chaos.

I was reading in 1 Samuel 14 about Jonathan and his armor-bearer sneaking into the Philistines’ camp and causing their own chaos.  The Philistines were getting ready to attack Israel, so Jonathon and his friend snuck in, killed a few important men, then snuck out again, causing the Philistines to be in confusion and start to kill one another.  Verse 15 says, “And there was a panic in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. The garrison and even the raiders trembled, the earth quaked, and it became a very great panic.”  The Hebrew actually states that there was a great panic from God.  Verse 16 says that the WATCHMEN saw the chaos in the enemy’s camp…and within few more verses, we see Saul’s army getting to go in and defeat the Philistines as they fled.

Here’s where the Lord stopped me: The watchmen SAW the panic in the enemy’s camp.  It must have been a sight – warriors running to and fro, swords swinging and the earth quaking.  It could have appeared to be something quite frightening to those watching out!  But the watchmen chose to see the HOPE and VICTORY in the chaos, and by verse 23 we see that “So the Lord saved Israel that day.”  Praise God!

The encouragement is this:  As watchmen, especially prophetic intercessors, we can often see the potential battles before anyone else.

The potential is there for us to grow fearful, nervous, even feel a sense of dread or being overwhelmed by what we see with our natural sight.  But if we look a little harder – knowing that we live under the BLOOD of Jesus – we will see that God is for us and not against us.

We will see that there is indeed VICTORY as our brothers go into the enemy’s camp and cause chaos. As watchmen, we get to see the HOPE and the VICTORIES and not just the chaos.  We can rest assured that more are there FOR US than against us.

If you feel weary and overwhelmed as I did this morning, ask the Lord to begin to show you the victory.  Ask Him for His heartbeat in each situation you are praying for, and ask Him for strategy to bring Holy Spirit into everything you are standing in the gap for.  

Continue to go up higher, and you will see a whole new scope of the horizon like never before!  Ask Him so show you the “more” that is for you, then watch and be amazed at the victory of the Lord!

“When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” (2 Kings 6:15-17)

 ~ Mandy Woodhouse

Hope For The Watchman

Strength For The Battle

Don’t grow weary. Hang in there!

Our Peeps

Love this quote and picture of some of my peeps from our #LiveInLove event a few years back.

A Song From The Soul

poetry
is a song from the soul
what do I sing about today?
everything is so different than “normal”
i’ve worked so hard to convert my perspectives from death, into life
and I have changed
am i in a new forging fire?
what will my new “normal” become?
my brain wants to shift backward
fiery darts fly
butterflies flutter
i wet my shield with The Water of The Word
lessons of Faith on recall
have i learned them well enough to hold steady?
having done all to stand
the outcome is not in my hands
except
to remember
He is making all things new.

—Wendi Havens- Hildebrand
3/24/20

Love Lifted Me

Song Sunday this week is Love Lifted Me by Travis Cottrell featuring Lily Cottrell.

Author Of The Month

Thanks to Elizabeth N. Harris for featuring me as her Author of The Month. Check out our interview Here

Cheerful

A glad heart makes a face happy, but heartache breaks the spirit. -Proverbs 15:13 (CJB)

Cheerful! Trying times we live in. Many cannot leave their homes. Businesses suffering. Stock Market plummeting. We have all read articles and watched videos in hopes of understanding what is happening. To be honest, I don’t know what to believe. I don’t know what is TRUTH about the virus that has shut down the world. Is this virus a conspiracy theory that the government is behind to clean up evil? Was this virus started by humans, or did it evolve from animals that humans ate? Will this all blow over soon, or last for months? I don’t know! Some days it is difficult to be cheerful.

What I do know is, we are called to be DIFFERENT. If we claim to follow the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob we are supposed to act different. We are supposed to understand we are a CHOSEN people. We are supposed to LEAD THE WAY in our response to this situation. Unfortunately, as I read posts, most of my friends who follow Christ are freaking out more than my friends who do not believe God’s Word. My friends who are relaxed and soaking it all in are those who choose to have no care in the world. These friends are also the most cheerful.

Why do we carry a load? Why do we worry about tomorrow? Why do those of us who say we TRUST the Word of God respond with heaviness? As I read the posts I see people trying to figure out what God is saying. There are Words of prophecy that contradict each other. One “prophet” says one thing, another has a different word. As we try to “figure things out” we become so engrossed in hearing from God that we lose track of the JOY He brings.

Prophets are needed, don’t get me wrong. We need others to encourage us and correct us. We need the community to come together and work as a body for HIS purpose. However, we also need to be a LIGHT to those around us and LOVE those He sends our way. Too often we let what we think is HIS work get in the way of DOING. We become hearers, not doers.

I believe we need to laugh. I believe we need to focus on being cheerful. This is a challenge to myself. I know I do not do this often enough. Laughter brings health to our soul. If our soul is strong, than we are stronger. During these times we need inner strength. That comes from focusing on WHO God is FOR US and WHO God is in our life.

Today I challenge you to focus on the JOY in your life. Think about what is GOOD, TRUE and right. Rejoice in EVERYTHING that God has brought your way. Then let that JOY bring comfort to those around you.

Psalm 118:24 This is the day Adonai has made, a day for us to rejoice and be glad.

Love and blessings.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rose Horton

Image

by Lidya Nada on Unsplash

Pick Your Eyes Up

I’ve been having issues at home lately with my wi-fi.  Now with so many people working from home during this virus, my internet speed seems much slower than usual!  I run an online ministry, so needless to say I cannot afford to have dodgy internet speeds.

This morning I was meant to do an online teaching over Facebook live, and since I was already out-and-about I figured I’d record the live video from the top of a parking tower at a local shopping center. Not only is the wi-fi strong at this center, but I knew that if I were to record from the top of the tower, I’d also probably have less live interruptions from people and dogs barking (which is a normal thing at my house).

After 45 minutes on top of this tower, I felt like I had downloads from Heaven!  The downloads didn’t come because I was physically higher up, but because God literally changed my perspective while I was there.  I was positioned at a parking spot that overlooked the Brisbane CBD area, as well as the river, as well as some local apartment complexes and parks.  It was a stunning view, and the Lord spoke to me clearly about what I was looking at while up on that high place.

First of all, I could see farther and more clearly than if I had been a few levels down.  Even one more level down and I could not have seen the lovely ferries going back and forth across the Brisbane River.  I could have seen the tall, looming skyscrapers and probably even some of the heavy traffic on the main drive, but I would not have seen the river.

He then showed me a small group of people standing around at the bus stop near the bottom of the parking tower.  They were waiting on a bus, and many of them were anxiously looking at watches and phones every few moments.  If I was down below, even just two levels down, I would have been able to see these anxious people, but I wouldn’t have been able to see that their bus was actually stuck in traffic.  

On the top of the tower I was positioned to see the situation “on the ground,” so to speak, but I could also see the cause and effect of the situations as well as the solution.  In this case, the solution was a broken-down car that needed to be pushed out of the road so that the traffic could flow freely and the bus would be on time – yet the people at the bus stop could only see that their bus was running behind.  I could see everything happening because where I stood on the tall tower.

You can easily pull the analogies and prophetic metaphors out so I won’t explain it further.  However, I wanted to share one part of this experience “up high” that really stuck with me.  I believe it will also stick with you, especially in this particular time of history.

God drew my attention to the fact that I was up high and could see so much.  He then reminded me of the watchmen on the walls, which are found all throughout scripture (see Isaiah 62:6; Ezekiel 3:17; Psalm 130; Habakkuk 2:1, just to name a few).  The watchmen are up high and can see the full landscape. 

They, just like me in that moment, could see the situation on the ground as well as the reasons for hold-ups, for the “traffic” and for all the noise.  They could also see the enemy’s camp and what he was up to.  

When we are up high and can see the landscape before us, the temptation is always to keep our focus on the enemy’s camp.  Yet the Lord has actually called us high for a reason, and our assignment goes beyond just eye-balling what the enemy is doing.  He also calls us to look to the horizon, to see the sun rising upon the earth.  

We get the honor of being up high and seeing not only what the enemy is doing, but especially what GOD is doing!  We don’t focus on the broken-down car or the traffic it causes – we focus on JESUS, who we are already seated with in Heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6).

We get to call forth the Light to drive away the darkness, and we get to remain high above the chaos below.

There will always be an invitation to go up higher.  This time period in history, however, needs us to actually accept that invitation.  The Lord has been reminding me to not be distracted by the darkness, but to keep my eyes on the horizon.

May we continue to keep our eyes up HIGH and on what God is doing, and not focused on the darkness.

May Jesus SHINE brighter than ever!

And if you’re having wi-fi issues, I suggest you find a tall parking tower.  I promise, God will meet you there (smile)!

~ Mandy Woodhouse

An Act Of Worship

Worthy are You my Lord
great is Your sacrifice
I’m undone before You
for I am just a man
Your love has no measure
my eternal King Jesus
whether I am poor or rich
at whatever state I’m in
I will kneel before You
and proclaim Your name
I will use my gifts
for Your glory my Lord
for all that I am
all that I have
everything I do
is an act of worship
unto You.

(C)Atelier Mirabilia 2020

Minister To Me

oh’ Spirit of the living God
write upon the tablets of my heart
flooding me with healing waters
take away the stony heart
brand me with a heart of flesh
hear the sound of my soul’s cry
there’s power in the spilling ink
crimson blood the seal of love
upon the wretchedness of my soul
what can wash away my sins
the blood of Jesus Christ my King
amazing grace I am redeemed
salvation’s come to Caleb’s house
behold all things are passed away
behold all things are become new
I will sing of Your unfailing love
the gift You have bestowed on me.

(C)Atelier Mirabilia 2020