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(Three recommended teachings from the ministry of Francis Frangipane)


*ASK OF ME

*THOSE WHO MAKE A COVENANT WITH GOD

*WHERE A DESOLATE SOUL FINDS GOD


***


"ASK OF ME"

~ by Francis Frangipane

Resources: www.frangipane.org


We live in unparalleled times. Not since the first century have more Scriptures been fulfilled in a single generation. Each unfolding word brings down another mountain; it lifts another valley. In truth, the way is being prepared for our King's return into this world.


"THE GREAT REVOLT"

The Lord forewarned that, during the end-time, "many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase" (Dan. 12:4). Contrast our time with any other in history: Not only are we traveling farther and more frequently, but we do so in a world inundated with increasing knowledge.


It has been our privilege to behold the prophetic return of Israel to its land (see Jer. 16:14-15), and our misfortune to live when "the earth is . . . polluted by its inhabitants" (Isa. 24:5). As though Jesus were reading a news summary of recent years, His prophecies of two thousand years ago clearly describe our times. Thus, we are compelled to discern accurately the significant era in which we live.


Indeed, of the many prophetic fulfillments of our day, one in particular rises with undimmed candor. I am speaking of what the Bible calls the "apostasy." You will recall Paul's warning: "Let no one in any way deceive you, for [the day of the Lord] will not come unless the apostasy comes first" (2 Thess. 2:3).


The apostasy has traditionally been described as a time of deception and massive falling away from authentic faith in Christ. Depending upon your specific view, sometime before or after the apostasy the rapture of the church will occur.


However, the concept of apostasy as merely “a falling away” is incomplete. The original Greek word for apostasy, apostasia, when used in classical Greek literature, meant “a political revolt.” From this we understand that the end-time apostasy is not just a time of sinfulness or large scale backsliding; it is actually a time of open defiance and warlike aggression against divine moral foundations. In other words, the apostasia is a political insurrection against the laws of God.


This interpretation of the apostasy is not an isolated view. The new International Version, Revised Standard Version, Philips Translation, and New English Bible all render apostasia as "the rebellion." The Living Bible interprets the apostasy as the "great rebellion," while the Jerusalem Bible assigns a proper name to this era: "The Great Revolt."


As we consider the fulfillment of so many other prophecies, let us carefully observe: Mankind has entered an era of open revolt and outright rebellion---an apostasy---against the moral standards of God.


Today, we are witnessing a large-scale rebellion against godliness and moral values. Indeed, this brazen attitude has had a name for itself since the 1960s: the sexual revolution. And "revolution" is exactly what it is.


Our moral standards have not only been challenged, they have been replaced by a non-standard. Indeed, the great rebellion seeks to legitimize and then mainstream every perversity known to man!


There is much to say on behalf of those trapped in perversity and who hate sin's affect on their lives. We must be compassionate toward them and not strident; many are sitting in our churches afraid to even speak of their need lest they be disowned.


I am not speaking with reference to the victims of this advance, but of those who are engaged in a mutiny against the sway of God in our nation. They argue the only standard Americans have is the standard of individual freedom.


In their view, freedom itself is the "god" ruling America, with self-indulgence sitting as chief counsel. Yet, the God of heaven desires the nations of the world. Though the apostasy will certainly intensify, we must remember it is only one of many prophecies unfolding in our day. The same Divine Word that warned of the Great Rebellion also assures us that ultimately God's kingdom shall crush the demonic influences in our world (see Dan. 2:44).


Yes, evil shall mature into full rebellion, but good is also ripening into full Christlikeness! (see Matt. 13:40-43; John 17:22-23). True, the apostasy shall reveal the nature of Satan, but the true church shall manifest the nature of Christ!


Our king is not only coming in the skies; He is coming "to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed" (2 Thess. 1:10). What seems to be Satan's hour, full of darkness and rebellion, is simply the opportunity for grace to abound to the glory of God in the church!


"SEATED WITH CHRIST!"

The Second Psalm, perhaps more then any other Bible text, accurately portrays the spirit of our time. Indeed, it also proclaims our correct response to Satan's bold advance. Although it was quoted by the early church (see Acts 4:25-26), God has set its full realization for the end of this age.


"Why are the nations in an uproar and the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, ‘Let us tear their fetters apart and cast away their cords from us!'" (Ps. 2:1-3).


Although "the rebellion" reveals itself worldwide in many ways, in America many of our leaders have certainly been counseling together "against the Lord" in their recent decisions. We see it in the legal protection offered the gay movement and the shelter provided for satanic rock music. Again, our anti-censorship laws, like armor plating, have been established to defend sin against the Lord, shielding the perversity of our entertainment industry. The virulent cry of those in rebellion hammers relentlessly upon the fetters of moral restraint!


This railing against God has not gone unnoticed in heaven. Is the Almighty confounded? Has fear concerning recent developments gripped the Lord's heart? No. The Psalm continues, "He who sits in the heavens laughs, the Lord scoffs at them. Then He will speak to them in His anger and terrify them in His fury" (Ps 2:4-5).


The Lord laughs at the foolishness of those in full revolt, as they imagine God's judgments cannot reach them. Why then, you ask, does the Lord delay His full judgment? In part, the Lord waits for us, His church.


For while the world shall demand, and receive, the reign of hell, the goal of the praying church shall be for the reign of heaven. You see, all of God's prophecies shall be fulfilled: those concerning evil and also those concerning righteousness.


The Lord has purposed to have a "bride without spot or wrinkle" and a "kingdom" of wheat without tares. The transformation of the church will be fulfilled as surely as every other prophecy occurring before the Lord's return.


Thus, with great fear and holy trembling, we must review what God has promised concerning us! Let us remember, the Lord is not alone in the heavens. According to His Word, He has seated us with Him in the heavenly places (see Eph. 2:6).


It is time for our identity as Christians to shift. Our nationalities only define our ambassador status; our true citizenship is in heaven (see Phil. 3:20). And if God is laughing at the mocking of those in the rebellion, let us also, as His subjects, share His confidence!


Thus, He commands us to sit with Him in the completeness of His purpose. He requires us not only to live without fear but to stand in prayer for these very nations that defy Him!


Listen again to this Second Psalm, for in the very context of worldwide rebellion against the Lord, it records the most remarkable discourse: "Ask of Me," the Father says to the Son, "and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as Your possession" (Ps. 2:8).


When I first came to Christ in 1970, churches in America were deeply divided and rather cold in organized prayer. Today, leaders of denominations are working together, and it is estimated that more than a quarter of a million American churches are moving toward deeper unity and increased prayer for this nation. Jesus has asked the Father for the United States, and in response, the prayer movement has been born!


As Christ's church, we do not deserve a national revival, but Jesus does! As His representatives, in His name and virtue, we ask of the Father for America! More than an expression of faith, our prayer is actually an act of obedience: We are commanded to ask God for the nations!


Therefore, while the perverse strive toward complete rejection of God, even as their mocking words fill the air, the Almighty's unchangeable promise to His Son (and by extension, His church as Christ's body) is "Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations!''


As violence, New Age religions and witchcraft flourish in our schools, ask God for this nation. While all restraint is removed from the entertainment industry, ask God for this nation! While perversity dresses in normalcy, ask God for America!


While abortion remains protected by laws, ask God with confidence, with boldness, and with faith for our land! Where you see injustice in any form, ask God for His kingdom to manifest on earth!


"HE WHO SITS IN THE HEAVENS LAUGHS."

Put away fear and discouragement; repent of fretting. The more we accept our place in the divine plan, the more we shall laugh at the enemies' plans. The faith that relentlessly asks God, pleases God.


Now, as the fullness of the times unfolds, as the world around us clothes itself in prophetic fulfillments, let us put away unbelief; let us repent for withdrawal. It is a time to boldly ask of God. As He has promised: He will give the nations as an inheritance to Christ!


Let's pray: Lord Jesus, how blessed we are that as evil matures into full rebellion, Your church matures into full Christlikeness. Teach me to pray for my inheritance, my nation. Use me to stand in the gap until my people become Your people.


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"THOSE WHO MAKE A COVENANT WITH GOD"

~ by Francis Frangipane


THE COVENANT-KEEPING GOD

Throughout the history of God's dealings with man, He has revealed Himself as a covenant-making God. The Almighty covenanted with Noah, Abraham, Moses and David; He renewed His Abrahamic covenant in His call to Isaac and Jacob. Each covenant initiated a new wave of redemptive power into the world and forever impacted the human condition.


The word covenant means "to fetter" or chain together. It was the highest form of commitment that two individuals could share. Any of several rituals were employed to express the covenant partners’ unity:


A sword might be passed, signifying that the two would be united against the enemy as one. They might pass a sandal between themselves, which symbolized they would travel any distance to be at one another's side.


Or, they might cut an animal in two and pass between its halves. Just as the two halves, though separated, were still one animal, so the two covenant partners would become as one individual.


When the Lord initiated His covenant with a man, He did so as an extension of His eternal purpose; the man was a component in a series of divine initiatives. Contained within the Lord's covenant was His divine intervention, His supernatural wisdom and strategies, and His provisions.


Thus, if we look at the Lord's call to Noah, we see that it was not the ark, but the covenant of God, that preserved Noah and his family during worldwide judgment. Noah was a component, a factor in a series of divine initiatives, which accomplished the Lord's predetermined plans. God established the covenant, designed the ark and brought the animals. The Lord even shut the door after Noah entered the ark.


When the Lord established His covenant with Abraham, twice a flaming torch passed through the halves of the animals Abraham offered in sacrifice. The two passes signified that God would keep His part of the covenant and He would keep Abraham's part of the covenant as well!


Today, a restored Israel testifies to God's faithfulness in His covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And it is God's covenant with Abraham, not merely the Jewish military, which preserves Israel in our times.


When the Lord entered into covenant with man, God promised that the covenant conditions and possibilities would not only apply to His servant, but His servant's descendants as well. Noah and his family, Abraham and his seed, and David and his family were all united as beneficiaries of God's covenant relationship. Similarly, we are saved and sustained through life's battles by Christ's covenant with the Father.


"PAYMENT AND PATTERN"

Our salvation has been secured, not only because Jesus died for our sins, but because His death was part of a covenant He had with the Father. The fact that Jesus suffered on my behalf is staggering, but His crucifixion was a component of an even more powerful reality: His covenant with the Father.


The terms of Christ's covenant were such that, if He would live His life blamelessly and offer that holy life upon the cross for sins, everyone who looked to the Son of God would be granted forgiveness.


The Father would look to Christ's sacrifice and see justice; and sinners would look to Jesus and find mercy. Yet, as maturing disciples, we find in Christ's covenant-mission not only our peace, but also a pattern Christ calls us to follow. He told His disciples, "As the Father has sent Me, I also send you" (John 20:21).


Having laid down His life in covenant surrender, He now bids us, "Take up [your] cross, and follow Me" (Matt. 16:24). Of course, our cross does not replace His cross nor do the sub-covenants we make with God supersede Christ's covenant.


The truth is, our cross extends the power of Christ's cross into our world and times, and our sub-covenant with God finds its backing because of Christ's covenant with God.


Thus, the Lord calls us to follow Him in personal covenants for our homes, cities and nations. The covenant we embrace is nothing less than the expression of Christ's nature, revealed again through us for our families, cities and nation.


"THE HARVEST AND COVENANT POWER"

To many Christians, the idea of making a special covenant with God is unfamiliar. Yet, I believe that many have already felt the Holy Spirit speaking, urging them to deepen their commitment to Christ.


Even so, covenants and our obedience to them must come from our hearts in response to the Lord's initiative. You will know the extent of your covenant by the measure of vision and faith, which also come from God.


Especially in the last days, we need to become a people who know the truth given us through Christ's covenant. And, in following Him, we should also know the unique endowment of grace He brings in making special covenants with us.


Indeed, Daniel 11:28-32 warns that the last days will be a time of unprecedented deception and spiritual intrigue. According to this text, Satan's rage will be hurled uniquely against "the holy covenant"! (v. 28a).


Yet, in this same chapter we read, "But the people who know their God will display strength and take action. And those who have insight among the people will give understanding to the many" (Dan. 11:32-33a).


The prophecy continues, "And those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever" (Dan. 12:3).


In the midst of great deception there will be a time and a people who know their God, have great insight, do exploits and lead many to righteousness. They will receive a new and powerful endorsement of God's Spirit.


Additionally, if the enemy will be warring specifically against the holy covenant, we can assume there is something of unparalleled power that Christ's covenant provides against Satan!


A new authority is coming to those who desire full conformity to Christ. For a great harvest is indeed prophesied for the end of this age, and those leading the way will be individuals who understand Christ's covenant and have themselves covenanted with God for their land.


"GOD'S UNALTERABLE COMMITMENT"

It is right to pray for the Lord to bless our lives. However, praying for the blessing and provision of God is not the same as covenanting with Him. A covenant is an altar upon which the Lord and His covenant partner give themselves fully to each other.


The quality of a covenant relationship with God does not cease once prayers have been answered. For, in covenant love we mature from simply being "believers" to becoming living sacrifices, given to God's highest plans. By so yielding, He creates within us a life that He can use extraordinarily in the process of divine redemption.


Covenant power is greater than that which comes through prayer alone. The effects of a covenant reach far beyond simple faith. Prayer and faith are essentials; they are prerequisites, but not substitutes, for covenant power. The covenant relationship is a lifelong pledge, an unbreakable oath that God Himself initiates and promises to sustain.


Contained within His promise is His unalterable commitment, not only to satisfy His redemptive purposes, but also to supply grace and faith to His human counterpart. Together, the all-sufficient God and a believing man accomplish the impossible through their covenant relationship.


"THE POWER RELEASED IN A COVENANT"

A covenant with God accomplishes two interconnected goals. It thrusts us beyond "subjective prayer" (prayer made primarily for our personal needs), and it brings us into a deeper commitment to God. Out of greater commitment comes greater grace to accomplish God's redemptive work in the world.


An example of covenant power is seen in ancient Israel during the revival that occurred after Athaliah, an idolatrous Judean queen, was dethroned. Jehoiada, the high priest, looked to God in covenant prayer. We read, "Then Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord and the king and the people, that they should be the Lord's people" (2 Kings 11:17).


The result of his covenant was that grace came upon the people and they cleansed the land of idolatry. We read, "So all the people of the land rejoiced and the city was quiet" (v. 20). Jehoiada's covenant brought the nation back to God and ended violence in Jerusalem!


Consider also the power released in Hezekiah's covenant with God. The nation of Judah had been fully corrupted by Ahaz, the preceding king. However, Hezekiah began his reign by seeking God's highest favor. He opened the doors of the temple and reconsecrated the priests.


Yet, the purification of priests and buildings by themselves would not have brought about revival had not Hezekiah taken one further step. He said, "Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, that His burning anger may turn away from us" (2 Chr. 29:10).


Just eight days after the king made a covenant with the Lord, we read, "Then Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced over what God had prepared for the people, because the thing came about suddenly" (v. 36). The difference between a long-term struggle and a speedy turning of the nation was, I believe, in the power that was released when the king covenanted with the Almighty.


It is vital that we who are Americans remember that our spiritual forefathers were people who knew and exercised principles of covenant sacrifice. When they came to this country, they knelt on its shores and covenanted with God for this land, dedicating the "new world" to Christ and His kingdom. It is unlikely that the revival of our nation will come without local and national church leaders covenanting together with God for their land.


"MAKING A COVENANT WITH GOD"

A personal covenant with God is a serious commitment, worthy of extended prayer and focused waiting before God. I have covenanted with the Lord to see the body of Christ delivered of carnal divisions and racism; my covenant goal is that Christ's prayer of John 17 be answered.


I have also united my life and faith with the covenants of our Pilgrim forefathers. Together with other brethren, both locally and nationally, we have covenanted with God to see this land restored according to 2 Chronicles 7:14.


I believe there will be a time when this nation, like all nations, will become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ (Rev 11:15). Until then, whether revival comes quickly or we pass through the fires of divine judgments, our lives belong to Christ-not simply to be blessed or prosperous, but to see His highest purposes accomplished in our land.


However, not all of us will covenant with God for the nation. According to their faith, some will make covenants with Him for their families. Others will covenant to see abortion ended in their cities. While still others will covenant with God for the church--to see unity established in the citywide church in their cities.


Making a covenant with God takes us further into our goal of Christlikeness. It is the highest relationship we can enjoy with God and it is the most deeply surrendered. It is, in truth, that which brings Him the most pleasure.


To those who covenant with God, He says, "Gather My godly ones to Me, those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice" (Ps 50:5).


Today, as this nation stands at the threshold of two realities, let us take time in contemplative prayer and kneel before the Almighty Father. In Christlike, focused surrender, as Christ was a living sacrifice for our sins, so let us become living sacrifices to God for those we love. Let us embrace covenant oneness with God that His purpose and passions be fulfilled in our lives and in our times.


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"WHERE A DESOLATE SOUL FINDS GOD"

~ by Francis Frangipane


Jesus gave the last hours of this age a poignant headline. He called this period "The Great Tribulation." The word rendered tribulation means "grievous affliction or distress; pressure or burden upon the spirit." As we move closer toward the end of this age, we should expect that catastrophic distresses and pressures on man shall increase.


Added to the increasing stress of our times is the decreasing desire of government and society in general to restrain moral decadence. We live in a time when a significant portion of our society is in open and defiant rebellion toward God.


The prophetic words of Psalm 2 are being fulfilled before our eyes: World and local leaders "take their stand and the rulers take counsel together Against the Lord and against His Anointed" (v. 2). As they renounce moral values, their militant cry is, "Let us tear their fetters apart and cast away their cords from us!" (v. 3).


Jesus warned of this day, saying, "Because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold" (Matt. 24:12, NKJV). If you are one who has resisted the increasing darkness, you know how intense and multifaceted the battle is.


Whether you are fighting to remedy an injustice in your community or just trying to keep your family together, barely do we make headway in one area before five other areas are breeched. In spite of breakthroughs occurring in several cities, many good people have grown weary. They are just going through the motions. The prophet Daniel warned of a time when the enemy would "…wear down the saints of the Highest One" (Dan. 7:25).


To emerge victorious in this day, we must climb into the reality given to us by God in Psalm 91. There is place of replenishing life--a fountain of eternal life where we can abide. The Bible calls this place the shelter of the Most High.


"ELIJAH: A MAN LIKE US"

Elijah was a man with passions like ours, and he fought in a spiritual war similar to ours. In his battle for the soul of Israel, he stood against the wiles of Jezebel and her husband, King Ahab. Yet his most intense battle was not against visible foes but against personal discouragement.


As bold as Elijah was, he lived as a fugitive moving in and out of caves and places of hiding. Jezebel had murdered nearly all of the Lord's prophets, replacing their godly influence with the dark, satanic oppression accompanying the priests of Baal and the Asherah.


A new initiative, however, had come from the Lord: Both Elijah and the prophets of Baal were to build altars, each to the deity they individually served. The God who answered with fire would be acknowledged as Lord over the nation.


King Ahab and all Israel came to the confrontation. Try as they may, the priests of Baal could draw no response from their demonic idol, Baal. In dramatic contrast, at Elijah's prayer, fire immediately fell from heaven and consumed his sacrifice.


This was Elijah's greatest victory. And when the Israelites saw the display of God's power, they bowed to the ground saying, "The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God" (1 Kings 18:39).


But the Lord was not finished. After Elijah had the priests of Baal executed, he went to the top of Mount Carmel, and, kneeling face down, he prayed seven times for rain until the Lord brought a great downpour that ended a devastating three-year drought. On this one day, both fire and rain miraculously fell from heaven!


Perhaps if this tremendous day had occurred at almost any other time in Israel's history, the nation would have repented, but it did not. Baal worship should have ended, but it continued. In fact, nothing changed.


Instead of the revival that Elijah envisioned, the opposite occurred: an enraged Jezebel vowed to kill the Lord's prophet, spurring Elijah to flee into the wilderness. There Elijah collapsed, exhausted and despondent, beneath a juniper tree. "It is enough; now O Lord," the weary prophet prayed, "take my life, for I am not better than my fathers" (1 Kings 19:4).


Elijah had offered the Lord his very best effort. This day had been the culminating event of his life. Elijah had prayed that Israel would know the Lord was their God and that, in response, the Lord would turn Israel's "heart back again" (1 Kings 18:37). Yet, like the prophets before him, Elijah could not trigger revival for Israel. Discouragement overwhelmed him. He had had enough.


Have you been to the point of spiritual or emotional exhaustion where you too have said, "It is enough"? Perhaps you were frustrated by your own inability to effect positive change in your family or you've fasted and prayed for your church or society but no visible change occurred. You gave your all but found little success. Disheartened and weary like Elijah, all your resources were spent.


Elijah laid down and slept. As he did, an angel touched him and said, "Arise, eat" (1 Kings 19:5). At his head were bread and water. Elijah, weary with life itself, ate and withdrew back into sleep.


Once more the angel touched him. "Arise," he said "Eat, because the journey is too great for you" (v. 7). For all our visions, plans, and programs, the journey before each of us is also "too great." Indeed our journey is divinely designed to be too great for us. The Lord has no plan where we succeed without Him. Life is so constructed to drive us to God.


"BACK TO OUR FOUNDATIONS"

"So [Elijah] arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God" (1 Kings 19:8).


The Lord gave Elijah strength, not to send him back to battle but to bring him back to basics. If we become more consumed with our task than we are with our love for God, our lives will eventually become brittle and desolate.


To restore our souls, the Lord brings us back to the essentials of our faith. Indeed, He might even stop our labors completely and direct us to the simpler realities of prayer, time in the Word, and worship.


He reminds us that, of all He calls us to accomplish, His greatest commandment is to love Him with all our "heart…soul…mind…and…strength" (Mark 12:30). Without this focus, we lose touch with God's presence; we are outside the shelter of the Most High.


The Lord brought Elijah to "Horeb, the mountain of God." In Hebrew, Horeb means "desolation."[Hebrew: Charab - to make desolate.] The barren environment mirrored Elijah's soul. Yet to God, Horeb was actually a place where the issues of a man's heart were flushed to the surface. There is no theater at Horeb, no acting. It is the place of unembellished honesty and core-to-surface transparency.


"HOW DID YOU GET HERE?"

Perhaps Elijah's greatest virtue was his zeal. Indeed, twice in his communication with God, Elijah speaks of having been "very zealous" for the Lord. But zeal unaccompanied by wisdom eventually becomes its own god. It compels us toward expectations that are unrealistic and outside the timing and anointing of the Lord.


To remain balanced, zeal must be reined in and harnessed by strategic encounters with the living God. Otherwise we become frustrated with people and discouraged with delays. We step outside our place of strength and spiritual protection.


Elijah had come to Horeb and lodged there in a cave. Soon the Word of the Lord came to him: "What are you doing here, Elijah?" (v. 9). This is one of the most important questions God will ever ask us.


His question probes the reality of our spiritual state: "How did your service to Me become dry and desolate?" God wants us to know that when we fail to esteem Him as our first love, we will always find a desert awaiting us.


Our primary purpose in life must be to abide in Christ. Otherwise we can become so consumed with the deteriorating condition of the world that we fail to see the deteriorating condition of our own soul. In His love, the Lord stops us and forces us to look honestly at our heart: Is this existence that I now live the abundant life promised me from Christ?


Let's speak candidly. We have nothing to prove and no need to pretend. We can abandon the internal mechanisms of defensiveness and pride. If we are disappointed, we are free to express it; if frustrated, we can admit it. We must simply and truthfully evaluate, without rationalization, our true spiritual condition.


Lord, reveal to me my heart. Bring to the surface of my consciousness those disappointments and heartaches, as well as my sins and failures. Remove Remove the cargo of oppression from my soul. Help me, Master, to lie still as You perform heart surgery on me.


Transparency is the outer garment of humility, and humility draws the grace of God to our hearts. Is not intimacy with God the very thing we most neglect? And is not the Lord alone our source of strength in battle? If the enemy can distract us from our time alone with God, he will isolate us from the help that comes from God alone.


Let us, therefore, approach the living God without any garment other than transparency.


"A FRESH ANOINTING"

As the pressures of this age escalate, we will soon discover that yesterday's anointing will not suffice for today's battles. The Lord brought a new beginning to Elijah's life at Horeb---one that would ultimately release a "double portion" of power to Elijah's successor, Elisha. Under this new anointing, Jezebel would be destroyed, Baal worship abolished, and the only period of revival the northern tribes ever experienced would begin.


To reach a similar place of breakthrough, it will take more than the momentum of our own zeal. We should not be surprised if God calls us to pass through our own Horeb.


How will we recognize this place? Horeb is the voice of personal desolation; it is the desperate compelling of our heart to possess more of God. We must now listen carefully to the voice of God. For it is at Horeb that He brings us deeper into Himself. It is here, under the canopy of His compassion, that we discover the purpose of our brokenness: our desolation is, in fact, a time of preparation.


The Lord is about to bring a new beginning to you. When you return to the battle, you shall war from the shelter of the Most High.


Lord Jesus, apart from You, my life is dry and desolate. Forgive me for trying to do Your will without abiding in Your presence. I desperately need You, Lord. This day, I commit my heart to return to my first love.


Teach me, Lord, to consider intimacy with You the greatest measure of my success. Let me see Your glory; reveal to me Your goodness. Guide me, Oh Holy Spirit, into the spiritual fortress of the presence of God. Amen.

Resources: www.frangipane.org/


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