Go!

And he said to them, “As you go into all the world, preach openly the wonderful news of the gospel to the entire human race! – Mark 16:15 TPT

And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. – Mark 16:15 ESV

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. – Mark 16:15 KJV

No matter the translation, Jesus says GO.

I’ve been pondering this thought lately, mostly because (I’m sure like many of you reading this), I am literally quite terrified to just “go.”

 I’m definitely not ashamed of Jesus, or to say that I know Him and have been changed by His love.  But the idea of “evangelizing” has always been something scary and incredibly uncomfortable for me.

 You see, I have been afraid to face the guilt that I feel regarding the fact that in my own mindsets, I don’t seem to “live up to” what I think an evangelist looks like.

Recently, the Lord has utterly broken to pieces these mindsets about sharing my faith.  I’ve come to realize that the issue for me in just stepping out and “going” is more of a confidence thing than anything else.  Confidence is not a gift or talent; it’s a learned skill.  Courage comes when you learn to push past the discouragement and discomfort, and just step out.  The way to build confidence is to step out….get rejected…reflect on what you can do better….adjust….step out again.  And again.  And again.  Always relying on the leading and power of the Holy Spirit, every step of obedience builds confidence.  

All He needs is willingness.  And as my friend Megan shared with me yesterday, “there are no great evangelists…only willing ones.”

The idea that if you don’t look like Billy Graham or Reinhard Bonnke, then you cannot share your faith – that is a lie that goes hand-in-hand with guilt, which does NOT come from the Father.  Though some are called to those kinds of crusades, the majority of us are called to live everyday Christian lives.  And we everyday Christians are the very ones that the Lord is wanting to use in this new era.

The Holy Spirit told me recently that if a Christian can articulate with conviction why they dropped everything to follow Jesus, and what it is about Jesus that is worth dropping everything to follow, then that Christian can “evangelize.” It’s easier to “GO” when you know what to say.  And learning to say it with conviction from a place of intimacy with Him is the extra oil that ads to the power of your testimony.

Let me encourage you as I encourage myself today:  God doesn’t say to wait for a street outreach. He doesn’t say to wait for a mission trip abroad. He doesn’t say to wait for the next big conference, or even your own Church’s events. He says, simply, GO…and He will empower you to do so (see Acts 1:8).

Child of God….here is permission. In the grocery store.  At the post office. With your neighbor or coworker or client or even your own family.  The greatest harvest the world has ever known is starting, and we all get the amazing privilege of being a part of it!  

— Mandy Woodhouse

Photo: from Unsplash.com by artist Portuguese Gravity

Truth Like A Whip

I had an ongoing dream throughout 2019-2020 of a group of believers going up a mountain together.  As they stopped at the first lookout, only half-way up the mountain, many of the group felt weary or discouraged.  Some even felt like it was just simply TOO HARD to continue, and they did not want to continue higher up the mountain…. so many of them SETTLED with the lower views.

Suddenly, people began JUMPING OFF THE MOUNTAIN because they were giving up!  The first few times I dreamed this, I saw the stronger believers trying in their own strength to grab them and pull them back onto the mountain, or coax them to keep going up higher.  Some were definitely rescued from their decisions to not continue or to jump off, but I always felt a sense of weariness in the stronger ones who tried to keep their friends on the upward path.  It was definitely a hard dream to digest.

Recently, in January 2021, I had this dream again – however this time, the stronger believers were fully equipped with golden whips attached to their BELT OF TRUTH. The whips would lasso and catch those who were jumping or falling off the cliffs.  The stronger believers had matured, and the Word of God was their weapon of choice as their own strength was not enough.

In this recent dream, some of these who were trying to jump off were doing so because they simply COULD NOT HANDLE THE HIGHER GROUND that the Lord was calling them to.  They were ill-equipped, and had strayed from the SIMPLE gospel of JESUS.  It was as if they had forgotten the promises of God and the power that the Holy Spirit was longing to give them.

Colossians 3:16 – Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

I felt an URGENCY for those who have crossed into MATURITY this year, to ALLOW THE WORD OF CHRIST TO DWELL IN YOU RICHLY. To know scripture, to stay in prayer, to continue in communion with Him, and to remain aligned and submitted to godly authority and to not be lone rangers.  To correctly handle the word of truth, and use it like a whip that catches those who are feeling weary and discouraged.

There is a special urgency, like never before, to KNOW THE WORD OF GOD – an urgency that extends to ALL BELIEVERS.  It is time for the Bride as a whole to move from milk to solid food.  To not rely on preachers, teachers, prophets, pastors, family, etc., but to dig deep into scripture and allow the WORD OF CHRIST to richly dwell within our hearts.  To be able to pull out the sword to fight, and also to learn to utilize the richly deposited TRUTH that they have sowed into their hearts and minds.

The Lord has been speaking to me about STANDING – and after doing everything to still keep standing (Ephesians 6:10).  He is also showing me that many are standing on SINKING SAND, and it is time to start building on the ROCK, and on the absolute WORD OF GOD.  As things in the world continue to shake and quake, those who have their foundations upon Jesus and the WORD will continue to stand because of what they stand on (Matthew 7:24-27).

Just like my dream of going higher and higher up the mountain, the Heavenly pull to go HIGHER has never diminished – every year the draw gets stronger and the views get higher and higher.  The more His people know the Word of God, the greater the adventure and the sweeter are the views. And the pleasure is greater and greater!  

Psalm 4:7 (TPT) – The intense pleasure you give me surpasses the gladness of harvest time, even more than when the harvesters gaze upon their ripened grain and when their new wine overflows.

Friends, we MUST plant ourselves firmly in THE WORD OF GOD.  In doing so, we will begin to flourish in all areas and grow deeper roots, which will keep us from blowing about when the storms come.

It’s time to FLOURISH as we go up HIGHER.

Psalm 1:1-3 (TPT) – What delight comes to the one who follows God’s ways! He won’t walk in step with the wicked, nor share the sinner’s way, nor be found sitting in the scorner’s seat. His pleasure and passion is remaining true to the Word of “I Am,” meditating day and night in the true revelation of light. He will be standing firm like a flourishing tree planted by God’s design, deeply rooted by the brooks of bliss, bearing fruit in every season of his life. He is never dry, never fainting, ever blessed, ever prosperous.

— Mandy Woodhouse

CRIES OF JOY THAT MAKE A WAY FOR ESCAPE!

I spent some time in Africa years ago as a short-term missionary, back and forth from home to Africa every few months.  The people – particularly the women – in the country that I went to were incredibly resilient after years of oppression, abuse and horrific realities that I cannot even type out here.  Those who knew Jesus as Lord and Savior were particularly glorious to watch!  I loved their culture and customs and how they responded to trials with such Jesus-Kingdom mindsets and actions.  I was utterly inspired by them and remain so, even 12 years later.

This morning while praying for a friend, I was reminded of a day that I spent in a Christian village in this particular country.  There was a woman in the village who needed some serious emotional breakthrough, and apparently was feeling shame for something she had done which I did not have details to.  I watched as some of the women embraced this one lady, they all pulled her into a circle that they had made around her.  They began to pray for her, and then sing and dance and do a beautiful, high-pitched traditional call that one often hears in Africa.  They joyfully danced around this woman until she had stood up, tall, confident and unashamed, and they kept going until she, too, was dancing and singing and rejoicing.

Psalm 32:6-7 says, “Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him. You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance.”

This morning while lifting my friend up in prayer, I was declaring this scripture over her, and decided to look up the Hebrew meanings of “shouts” and “deliverance.” Essentially, it means that a cry of JOY will make a way for escape!  I realized that the scripture here is talking about the Lord surrounding us with shouts of deliverance, not us shouting praise aloud to Him.

That’s when I was reminded of this scene in Africa that touched my heart years ago.  I began to tear up at the thought of the Lord singing and dancing over me until I could stand strong and confident, knowing that I had been rescued.

As I reminded my friend today, I want to remind you….the Lord is a hiding place!  He will preserve you from trouble, and He will surround you with CRIES OF JOY THAT MAKE A WAY FOR ESCAPE!  The Lord will surround you like my African friends, dancing and shouting and joyfully singing over you.  The great rush of waters will not reach you in this place.  

Let Him be your hiding place today as He surrounds you with shouts of deliverance!

— Mandy Woodhouse

Nothing Is Wasted For His Children

This morning during my time with the Lord, I felt overcome by guilt, shame, and that yucky, “oh no…what did I DO?” feeling.  I’m sure you know the feeling.  Praise God, this didn’t come from a moral failing or some nasty, outward sin that I had committed.  This feeling came from some thoughts that I had engaged this past week which turned into something bigger in my mind and heart than I had anticipated, and therefore caused me to respond to someone that I love in a certain way that was not completely godly.  

As I was reflecting upon my behavior and repenting for engaging lies and acting out of them, I began to feel the Father’s heartbeat again. I heard Him say, “Nothing is wasted – Don’t forget that I work ALL THINGS together for the good for those who love Me.” (Romans 8:28). Instantly peace flooded upon my heart and mind, and I knew that I could TRUST HIM, even amidst my own, silly mistakes.

Isaiah 61:7 (AMP) says: “Instead of your [former] shame you will have a double portion; And instead of humiliation your people will shout for joy over their portion. Therefore in their land they will possess double [what they had forfeited]; Everlasting joy will be theirs.”

Instead of the shame and humiliation I felt this morning at my mistakes, I can rejoice in the fact that I am able to exchange this for DOUBLE recompense and for joy!  Isaiah 61 always says that for my sorrows, He will produce joy.  For my self-made ashes, God is longing to pour out His beauty.  Jesus lives to restore, reconcile and give recompense. 

“No good thing does He withhold from those who love Him…” (Psalm 84:11).  Those who love Him, have repentant hearts, and realign themselves to the Father’s heartbeat regardless of the mistakes, behavior, thoughts, actions, etc. are those who know the sweetness of God pouring out His undeserved love.  Sometimes realigning to His heartbeat hurts, but there is no place else to live apart from His heart.  In Him we live, move and have our absolute being.

Our Heavenly Father will make everything beautiful. He will make ALL THINGS work together for YOUR GOOD, because nothing is ever wasted with our good, good Father.

— Mandy Woodhouse

Joy In The New Year

In the middle of 2020, I had a very significant dream that has carried me through the rest of the year.

 There is a part of this dream that I believe carries a significant key for the beginning of 2021.  That key, I believe, is JOY.

The dream, there were two tall mountains with a deep gulf between.  On one mountain was a large group of the Church-at-large; ministers, leaders, pastors, and just sons and daughters.  They were all standing shoulder-to-shoulder, covered in armor, looking intently at the mountain top on the other side of the gulf.

The other mountain, however, had a demon of darkness on it.  It was taller and broader than any of us on the “Church” side, and it had the most intimidating demeanor that I have ever encountered.

There are several details that I will not share here, but the few details that I found most noteworthy would be, firstly, that the “Church” people – although feeling the emotions of fear, intimidation and even for some, despair – did not run. They bravely stood ground, and not one of them flinched.  Secondly, and most noticeably, they began to throw their heads back and LAUGH.  The Church had their armor, were ready to swing swords and shields were indeed in place, yet they began to laugh and laugh.  And with every roar of laughter from the “Church” side, the demon of darkness began to SHRINK.  In fact, the darkness shrank until it was no longer even there.

When I woke up, I felt such an intense sense of urgency to learn to walk in this inherited fruit called joy.

The Lord showed me that joy is a language from Heaven, FOUND IN HIS PRESENCE, and it cannot be comprehended by the enemy.  How can he understand joy, especially since his heart is so filled with hate?

Joy is a frequency that fills up the airways, meaning it blocks out all the noise of the enemy.  Joy is louder than the attack, and therefore diminishes the attack’s power and its ability to intimidate.

We know that the joy of the Lord is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10), and we know that we can have the fullness of it in His Presence (Psalm 16:11), but I feel that in the coming days JOY will be a great tool to destroy the demons of darkness.

During worship one night while pondering JOY and this dream again, the Holy Spirit asked me the question: “What happens with fruit?” Fruit is sweet and meant to be consumed and enjoyed.  But it also turns into wine.  I feel like there is a new wine of joy and celebration coming to the Church in the coming days, as we become inebriated by the fullness of the Presence of our wonderful God. I am convinced that this is a new facet of Kingdom that the Lord wants to pour out afresh!

I believe that JOY is no longer going to be a buzz word or something to work toward in 2021.  JOY is a fruit, and our absolute inheritance as sons and daughters that can come boldly into the Presence of the King.

Intimidation and darkness will shrink at the sound of our joy, and it will become louder than the darkness.

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. – Romans 14:17

— Mandy Woodhouse

Taste and See and Never Return

The scripture from Psalm 34:8 has been in the back of my mind for months now.  “Taste and see that the Lord is good….” (ESV).  I also love how The Passion Translation words it: “Drink deeply of the pleasures of God.  Experience for yourself the joyous mercies he gives to all who turn to hide themselves in him.”  

Drink deeply of the pleasures of God……wow.

What does that even look like?  

I have had glimpses of this truth, as I’m sure we all have, but I believe that I have only just slightly begun to scratch the surface of what it actually means to feast upon His Presence.

I cooked a Cajun delicacy for my friend a few months ago.  Fortunately, even while living in Australia, this little Cajun girl has a Daddy who still lives in South Louisiana and is able to ship all of my favorite local seasonings to me.  My friend had always wanted to try chicken and sausage gumbo, so we used my special home-grown seasonings and she got to have a true, authentic gumbo.  She tried to make one herself later, without the true seasonings that I had used, and it just didn’t taste the same.

She said she’s tried several local restaurants around the Brisbane area and she felt slightly disappointed each time because her pallet was ruined for anything other than the TRUE and AUTHENTIC taste.  My Dad sent her some of her own seasoning recently, and she happily is now able to make the real deal for herself.  

The Lord used this to remind me of His Presence.  The purity and authenticity of going deep with Him is something that CANNOT be “unseen” or “untasted.”  What a person experiences in the depths of the Father’s heart cannot be explained away, nor can it be understood at times.  And it cannot be conjured up by anything counterfeit!  

Being able to drink deeply of the pleasures of God is the one, true thing that exists, and everything else pales in comparison.  

Likewise, when a person truly SEES God, the eyes of their hearts are fully opened.  God’s Presence and His heart are imprinted upon a person’s memories, and upon the internal screen of the mind.  2 Corinthians 3:18 says that when I look at Him, without the veil (thanks to Jesus), I can reflect Him like a mirror.  I get to go from glory to glory as I gaze at His reflection and see myself IN Christ, and Christ IN me.  

This is something that I can’t unsee, and therefore becomes something that I am most aware of.  It overflows out of me.

As Bill Johnson says, “We always reflect the nature of the world we are most aware of.”

To be most aware of Christ in me and me in Him, drinking deeply of the pleasures of God – tasting and seeing – is the only way.  I can’t untaste, and I can’t unsee what I’ve seen and experienced.  It ruins ME…it changes me forever. And I know that there is so much more!  

— Mandy Woodhouse

Feast On His Faithfulness

Keep trusting in the Lord and do what is right in his eyes. Fix your heart on the promises of God and you will be secure, feasting on his faithfulness. – Psalm 37:3, The Passion Translation

A theme on the heart of the Father right now seems to be His FAITHFULNESS.  Everywhere I go, no matter who I speak to, others are being awakened again to the faithfulness of our great God.  People are marinating in the fact that every word that He speaks is true, and that He never lies or changes His mind (Numbers 23:19), and that He indeed keeps every promise that He makes.  

I love the way The Passion Translation articulates Psalm 37:3 here: “…Fix your heart on the promises of God and you will be secure, feasting on his faithfulness.”

The Lord has challenged me over the past few months to really look at His promises, and not just mindlessly declare them but really engage my heart with them. As The Passion Translation says, I have had to really “fix my heart” on His promises.

Fixing my heart on a promise means partnering with it, and being so secure in the conviction His words are true, that I can actually feast upon His faithfulness. He always keeps His promises, and every word that He speaks is unchangeable. He is the definition of faithfulness.

There are so many things in the “atmosphere” right now that would invite us to engage everywhere other than with His promises and especially with His faithfulness. At times, the focus tends to be more on the unfulfilled promises than the fact that HE IS FAITHFUL.

At times I have found myself just nibbling on the reality of His faithfulness, but not fully fixing my heart on Him, and thus I tend to get overwhelmed again by the things swirling about in the atmosphere around me. Right now, though, I feel such an invitation from the Lord to actually FEAST on His faithfulness, and not just nibble!

Feasting and nibbling are two different things. As sons and daughters of the King, we have the privilege of getting to FEAST upon His faithfulness. Psalm 23:5 even states that we get to do this in the presence of our enemies, at a table set up just for us by our own Father. And because He is such a good God, He will go one step further to bless us by not only giving us a feast, but doing it in a place where everyone can see that it is just for us.

Psalm 23:6 says that surely goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our lives.  In Hebrew, that word “follow” actually means to chase down with a hostile intent.  Today, regardless of what I see or feel around me, I am choosing again to FEAST (not just nibble) upon the truth that His goodness and mercy (and faithfulness) are chasing me down.  I am going to fix my heart upon Him and His faithfulness, hold on tightly, and choose to not look elsewhere.  

Let us seize and hold tightly the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is reliable and trustworthy and faithful [to His word]. – Hebrews 10:23, AMP

— Mandy Woodhouse

The Power of Your YES in the Face of Fear

“Yes” is a powerful word.  

Saying “yes” to one thing means saying “no” to others.  It sometimes takes commitment, faith and often risk. On occasion, “yes” can be one of the scariest words in the English language – and yet one of the most powerful as well.  Especially when it means saying NO to fear.

Yet when your YES, especially in the face of fear, brings about transformation in the life of another person, all the risk-taking and fear-smashing makes everything WORTH WHILE.  There is so much power in saying yes to obedience when all you want to do is run away.

Last night, I had the amazing privilege of going out to pray and share Jesus on the busy, Brisbane streets with a group of radical friends.  When we first arrived, we were praying together and I opened my eyes to see a woman in a red dress.  She was with a friend, smiling and walking along, and I felt the Holy Spirit highlight her to me.  Instead of leaving the circle of praying friends to go and talk to her right then and there, I felt fear, and chose to stay in my safe group of praying friends.  I allowed fear to dictate to me whether I said yes or no.

After all….we were PRAYING, weren’t we?  That’s really important stuff.

(Oh, the justifications we make when fear is involved).

We split up into little groups about 15 minutes later, and I could feel my heart pounding as we began to look around at the busy streets and all the people that we could pray for and share Jesus with.  I couldn’t escape the thought of the woman in the red dress, but I had to push in and not allow regret to hold me back. So, I said a silent prayer for her, and chose to jump into whatever the Lord had for us next.

I saw McDonald’s out of the corner of my eye, and felt a pull to go inside.  I’m not a huge fast-food person, so I knew that the Lord was calling us to go in and perhaps share Jesus with someone.  As myself and my two friends entered into perhaps one of the busiest McDonald’s I have ever seen, I felt overwhelmed.  We quickly took a seat and looked around the room – when suddenly I saw her.  The woman in the red dress was in McDonald’s!

My heart was fully aware that the Lord had a plan for this lady, and that I was meant to speak to her.  My Spirit was alive and ready to go straight over to her and her friend, but the fear was strong.  Was I going to obey Him this time?  What does my YES look like in the face of fear?  I knew the Holy Spirit wasn’t asking me to hand her a tract or share with her one of my fancy evangelism tools.  He just wanted to love on her, and let her know that she was seen.  I had a fleeting thought that maybe I could just pray a passing prayer over her (from afar) and walk away from it….but I knew that I NEEDED to say yes.

My friends prayed for me as I walked over and interrupted the lady and her friend.  As I began to tell her my story – that I had seen her, God highlighted her to me, and that I was actually scared to approach her but I knew that God wanted to pour out His love upon her – she wept.  She wept, and wept and wept.  Her friend was grinning from ear to ear and shared with me that my red dress woman has just come through the worst season of her life.  I asked the woman in the red dress if she knew Jesus, and her response made my risky, fearful YES turn to glory before my eyes.  She said that she was far from Jesus, but because of our conversation she was ready to come home.  

And at 7:51pm on Saturday night at a busy, Brisbane McDonald’s… I prayed with the woman in the red dress to come home to Jesus.

Heaven rejoices, and we give Him glory!

In a world where everyone tries to focus on self and justify saying “no” to the hard things, there is so much power in saying “yes” to the voice of the Father.  Usually, fear is the first indicator that God wants to move powerfully.  He has not given us a spirit of fear (but of power, love and a sound mind), so the fear is the very thing that wants to hold a person back from the power, the love and a sound mind.

Your YES is powerful, especially in the face of fear.  

I encourage you to find your “woman in the red dress” and say YES.  It will impact eternity, and it will definitely impact YOU.

— Mandy Woodhouse

Take Heart!

Take Heart!

I felt the Lord say this morning as I was sitting down with Him that it’s time, for many in the body of Christ, to TAKE HEART again.  Time for HOPE to arise.

It feels a bit like 2020 has taken the “heart” out of many dreams, ideas, passions, ect.  The more that I talk to people, the more I hear them say that they are quite skeptical and unsure of what 2021 will look like simply because of some of what they experienced in 2020.  We can all agree, it’s been a strange year indeed!

Yet in the midst of the strangeness and the uncertainty of the future, the Lord is inviting us again to TAKE HEART.  When I asked Him how to do this, He pointed me to Psalm 34 in The Passion Translation, and He showed me that REMEMBERING WHO HE IS and PRAISING HIM FOR WHAT HE HAS DONE opens the door wide, once again, to HOPE.

All the Prophets were saying at the end of 2019 that 2020 was the “year of the mouth,” and yet it appears in the natural to have been the year that people were silenced, isolated, intimidated and shut up with literal masks and ongoing fear.  In fact, there has been so MUCH distraction from using our mouths that some have forgotten HOW to PRAISE God and declare the GOOD THINGS He has done!

If you feel like you’ve lost heart….if you feel shut up and shut down….if you feel a sense of dread or fear over 2021….can I encourage you to start by DRINKING DEEPLY OF THE PLEASURES OF GOD! When we are connected to His heart, everything gets clear and peace starts to flood our beings.  “Gaze upon him, join your life with his, and joy will come. Your faces will glisten with glory. You’ll never wear that shame-face again.”

Allow His presence to fill you and cause you to BURST with joy over what He has done and what He WILL DO.  He will not withhold anything GOOD from those who love Him…so TAKE HEART!

Lord! I’m bursting with joy over what you’ve done for me! My lips are full of perpetual praise. I’m boasting of you and all your works, so let all who are discouraged take heart. Join me, everyone! Let’s praise the Lord together. Let’s make him famous!Let’s make his name glorious to all. Listen to my testimony: I cried to God in my distress and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears! Gaze upon him, join your life with his, and joy will come. Your faces will glisten with glory. You’ll never wear that shame-face again. When I had nothing, desperate and defeated, I cried out to the Lord and he heard me, bringing his miracle-deliverance when I needed it most. The angel of the Lord stooped down to listen as I prayed, encircling me,empowering me, and showing me how to escape. He will do this for everyone who fears God. Drink deeply of the pleasures of this God. Experience for yourself the joyous mercies he gives
to all who turn to hide themselves in him. Worship in awe and wonder, all you who’ve been made holy! For all who fear him will feast with plenty. Even the strong and the wealthy grow weak and hungry, but those who passionately pursue the Lordwill never lack any good thing. – Psalm 34:1-10, The Passion Translation

— Mandy Woodhouse

Hear Me

I need you to hear me today.

I need you to really HEAR me with everything you are, because I want to smash the lies of the enemy OFF OF YOU in this hour.

YOU HAVE A PLACE and a PURPOSE IN THIS. The Lord has mantled YOU for such a time as this.

Yes, YOU.

Regardless of where you reside in the world….This is not a time to…

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https://www.mandywoodhouseoutrageoushope.com/post/hear-me