What if I don’t feel like I’m “flying high in the Spirit?”

Is there something wrong with me?

After I woke up this morning, I sat on my bed thinking about hearing God’s voice. And suddenly this question came to my mind. I know it wasn’t my thought because I don’t think that way. I’ve spent too much time over many years with God.

But that’s the point...

I didn’t start where I am at today.

I started with God reminding me of a cassette tape with a prophecy on it from 10 years before. In the prophecy, the prophet spoke about my call. And I struggled over it. I wrestled with it.

Can I, the kid from a tiny town in Minnesota, hear God like that?

After God reminded me of the prophecy, I spent months seeking Him about it. Because I couldn’t wrap my brain around how it was even possible.

How can God speak to me like that? I’m not anyone special. I don’t have any kind of breathtaking testimony of God saving me from drugs or pulling me out of a burning building. My testimony is that I grew up a church kid. Whenever the doors of the church opened, my family was there. I never drank. I never smoked. I never did drugs. The most daring and “bad” thing I did was disassembling a classroom table during class. (Which ended up crashing to the ground when the next class came in.)

See? Not special.

I didn’t feel prophetic.

On top of that, when I looked at my life, it didn’t make me feel any better. I didn’t have a big church with a name plastered on the side of the building. I didn’t have anything.

Yes, I heard from God. But it wasn’t anything spectacular. I didn’t get words about my neighbor or some stranger on the street. How can I be prophetic when I don’t feel prophetic? When sometimes I don’t even feel like I have a relationship with God?

Thankfully, by this time in my walk with God, I had already learned some basic truths that helped me stay the course. And I’d already experienced God. So I didn’t have any interest in walking away from Him.

I just didn’t know how to reconcile...

• my love and hunger for Him.

• what the Bible says.

• my real life experience.

Sure, Moses went up into the cloud of glory and talked to God face to face. But I have bills to pay and food to prepare for hungry kids. Is that what’s necessary to hear God? I have to leave my family and climb up a mountain for 40 days? (BTW, the answer is climbing a mountain is spiritual now. Not physical.)

Sometimes there’s a difference between what the Bible says and what we live. What does that mean? Does it mean that it’s impossible for me to hear God’s voice? Because I don’t have fire come down from heaven or angels walking into my room, is there something wrong with me?

These are real questions.

Thankfully, God doesn’t have a problem with questions. Nor with giving answers. That’s why I love the story of Job. He had an encounter with God. And it wasn’t the most pretty. From how I read it, Job had to be shaking in his sandals. His knees crashing into each other.

God showed up at Job’s pity party and demanded to know who he thought he was.

Job’s response is classic.

Job 42:5
5 I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.

Job heard of God before. But something happened when he encountered God for himself. He saw a reality he never knew existed. He saw the wonders of His Person.

I know I talk “big” in this newsletter. I share and write about God speaking in dreams and visions. I talk about angelic visitations to help with understanding and revelation. I talk about discerning the voice of spirits. (Is that God speaking? Or another spirit?)

Those are real aspects of the prophetic that God has for us to walk in.

But I didn’t start out there.

I started out with, “I don’t really feel prophetic.” I started with I wondering if God was crazy because He said I could hear His voice. I wondered if I could be “prophetic.”

Over the years, God has spoken to me and revealed His Word more and more to me. Like in the case of the “word of the Lord” being visual. It’s a vision. I didn’t know that. All those years, I always thought when the Bible says “the word of the Lord” came to a prophet, they heard an audible voice. I didn’t know.

But one day, I was reading in 1 Samuel 3 about when God called to Samuel 3 times. The very first verse of the chapter says, “the word of the Lord” was rare, “there was no open vision.”

Okay, whatever, I thought. That’s poetic words for “God didn’t speak.”

Later on in the chapter I got to the verse that says “Samuel feared to show Eli the vision.”

That made me stop. I was like, “Wait, what?” The word of the Lord is a... vision? That set me off digging and investigating in lots of scriptures in the Bible and concordances. Until I was convinced, when the Bible says “the word of the Lord” came to someone, that’s describing a vision. It wasn’t an audible voice. It was like an interactive movie. Because it doesn’t always say that. Sometimes it says God spoke to this or that person. So, that’s a different way. I was floored.

The point is, God began to show me from His Word that...

• He speak to people.

• He will speak to me.

As He showed me more in His Word, He was injecting faith in my heart. I began to say to Him, “If you can speak to Moses like that and to Samuel, then why not to me?” They were servants. But You made me a son. Or the verse in Hebrews 4:13 that says nothing is hidden from His eyes. Well, if nothing is hidden from His eyes, then He has no problems revealing to me whatever is necessary to help me in a situation. And even to help me see what He sees.

See what I mean?

Faith to believe to see, hear and know in the spirit came from Him. He started it. He’s the author of it.

Yeah, I know stories of how God leads people in spectacular ways are amazing. I heard the story of a man from England many years ago. Incredible testimony of how that man walked with God. I mean, it’s like Jason Bourne, but in the spirit. God would tell him to go to the airport. He would walk outside his house. A taxi pull up asking for him by name because God spoke to the taxi driver. At the airport, an airline ticket would be waiting for him with his name on it. He didn’t even know where he was going until he got the ticket from the agent. Found out he was going to South America. Arrived there and went to a park. There he met a woman who was crying. He led her to the Lord. Within two weeks, he had a church started with dozens of people. And then he went back home the same way he arrived.

Crazy stuff.

I love stories like that because it shows me there is more for me to walk in. A greater level of faith and trust in Him.

But just because your or my life doesn’t seem “spectacular” doesn’t mean it’s not supernatural.

You know what is supernatural?

The fact that the God who created all things and holds them in place decided that He wants to have a relationship with you. And He’s kind enough to speak to you. He even knows ways to speak to you that you’ll know and recognize are Him.

So, what do you do if you don’t feel prophetic?

You seek Him. You go to Him.

We all have places in our lives where the Word says one thing. But our lives show something else. He’s in the business of causing the Word to become Flesh in our lives. The fact that He spoke the Word means that He is interested in beginning the process. The next part of it is when you believe what He says. Then Holy Spirit begins to cause it.

See, it’s not enough for the Word to simply be the Word.

God’s whole idea is that the Word begins BEING Flesh in your life. So that as He is, so are you in this world (1 John 4:17).

If you don’t feel prophetic, then you’re in a good place. Because you’re ripe for God to begin to reveal Himself to you.

Until next time,

Eric

P.S. Some days, I don’t feel prophetic. But we don’t live by our feelings. We live by faith in what He said, His Word. So, when I’m not “feeling it,” that’s when I start speaking it. I speak what He said about me. “Yes, I hear His voice. Because He said that His sheep hear His voice.” Keep speaking that and the moment will come that His fire will light you up.

Scripture Verses To Stand On

Job 42:5
5 I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.

Jeremiah 29:12-13
12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.

13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

Not because you are disruptive. Nor because you hurt someone. Not even for discipline. But kicked out because you want more of God.

It happens.

One time, I was asked to leave a church because I had my infant son with me in the sanctuary. It was my first (and last time) visiting that church. My wife was working. So, it was only my son and I. I went because I wanted to seek the Lord. But having a child with me irritated them. He wasn’t crying. In fact, he was sleeping in his car seat. In the span of less than 10 minutes, 3 different people came up to me about my son. Finally, they asked me to leave because “children aren’t allowed in the sanctuary during service.”

If my son was crying or disruptive, I would have taken him out. But he was sleeping.

I left the church that morning absolutely shocked. Jesus said, “for such is the kingdom of God.” But today we kick them out.

Here’s the reality...

Sometimes your pursuit for more of God isn’t going to be appreciated by other Christians. They might even get irritated with you.

This morning, while I scrubbed a blanket by hand with detergent, I listened to an audiobook by Smith Wigglesworth. And I heard him share a very similar story to mine.

If you don’t know who Smith is, he’s legendary in Pentecostal circles. He became a Christian later in life, sometime in his mid-50s. Pentecostals talk longingly of his notorious healings and miracles. But he was also known for being very gruff and spiritually aggressive. He punched and kicked people instead of gently laying hands on them for prayer. But if they stand up healed, I guess it worked.

Here’s the story at the end of his book, Faith That Prevails1...

In Switzerland, I learned of a man who met with the assembly of the Plymouth Brethren. He attended their various meetings, and one morning, at their breaking of bread service, he arose and said, “Brethren, we have the Word, and I feel that we are living very much in the letter of it, but there is a hunger and thirst in my soul for something deeper, something more real than we have, and I cannot rest until I enter into it.” The next Sunday this brother rose again and said, “We are all so poor here, there is no life in this assembly, and my heart is hungry for reality.” He did this for several weeks until it got on the nerves of those people and they protested. “Sands, you are making us all miserable. You are spoiling our meetings, and there is only one thing for you to do, and that is to clear out.”

That man went out of the meeting in a very sad condition. As he stood outside, one of his children asked him what was the matter, and he said, “To think that they should turn me out from their midst for being hungry and thirsty for more of God!” I did not know anything of this until afterward.

Kicked out of church because he’s hungry for more of God.

When your hunger level for God is reaching the forest fire stage, you’re doing well. And you’ll know it when your hunger starts to irritate religious people. If they start getting angry at you for being “fanatical for Jesus” then you’re doing something right.

That’s also the level of hunger that grabs God’s attention. That’s when He’s like, “I gotta go in for a closer look and see what’s going on there.”

Just to be clear, “Crazy for Jesus” doesn’t mean “socially weird.” You can burn ardently for Jesus and still be a normal Joe.

May our hearts burn for Him to such a degree that it irritates the religious. And captivates the heart of Jesus.

Until next time,

Eric

P.S. Wondering what happened to the guy?

He found out Smith Wigglesworth showed up in Switzerland. He went to the service to correct Smith about tongues and miracles. The man didn’t believe in them. But Smith preached and the man drank in every word. His hunger level soared.

After a few weeks, he was filled with the Spirit and began to speak in tongues.

He hungered for the reality of God. And God met him.

Scripture Verses To Stand On

Psalm 42:1-2
1 As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.

2 My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?

Psalm 63:1-2
1 O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;

2 To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.

No, it’s got to be more than that.

The little bit I knew about the prophetic was seeing different men walk in the power of God. Giving precise words like they had “read people’s mail.” And driving out demons in seemingly-chaotic scenes.

God woke me up one morning in 2009 and spoke to me about a cassette tape. On it was a prophecy I received 10 years before. So, my world was swirling with all this new revelation God was dropping on me. And to be frank, I wasn’t convinced I was called to operate in the prophetic. God had to prove it by showing me repeatedly for me to receive it. Not that I didn’t “want” it. It’s that I found it took time for me to believe that He could speak to me like that.

I wasn’t having all these crazy experiences. Not like we see in the Bible. Ezekiel carried by a hand in the spirit. I was simply crazy in love with Jesus. I loved to worship Him and spend lots of time in the Word of God.

Super normal Christian stuff.

But suddenly, God started speaking to me about the prophetic. Inside, I felt like I was flying with all of these new things I’d never seen before in His Word.

Yet, there I sat at a church which met in a movie theater in Tampa, Florida. With the Bible open in front of me, I stared at the scripture God took me to. I felt let down. Disappointed.

This doesn’t have anything to do with “reading people’s mail” and spectacular displays of power, I thought. This is actually kind of boring.

See, God took me to the very beginning, the foundation of the prophetic. Because here’s the truth...

I wanted the spectacular of the prophetic. But He showed me the supernatural of the prophetic.

As I was making breakfast this morning, God reminded me of when I sat in the back of the movie theater. And He urged me to share it with you today.

Scripture - The Testimony Of Jesus Is Prophetic

I know I talk about dreams and visions a lot here. As much as God uses them in my life, including last night, they are not the foundation of my life. Nor are they the foundation of the prophetic.

Here’s the scripture God took me to...

Revelation 19:10
10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

John was in the middle of this powerful experiential vision. God was showing him all these bombastic things. He’s speaking to angels. And his response is to bow down and begin to worship the angel. But the angel stopped him and said, “Don’t do it. Worship God.”

But what grabbed my attention at the time was what the angel said next...

... the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

In other words, the foundation and purpose of the prophetic is for there to be witnesses of truth.

In a court of law, a person can’t show up in front of the judge without proof. They can’t say their side of the story without having witnesses and evidence to corroborate. They have the “burden of proof” to show their story is true and correct.

In marketing, the advertiser has the “burden of proof.” It’s up to the company trying to sell its products to “prove” to the prospect through many different ways that the product will solve a problem. One of those ways is through testimonials.

In the same way, the foundation and purpose of the prophetic is God meeting His “burden of proof.” He didn’t just write a book filled with a bunch of words and then say, “Okay, here’s My side of the story. Believe it or go to hell.”

No, He also is in the business of providing testimonies of the power and love of Jesus. He does that by having “satisfied clients.” In other words, sons of God who have tasted of the goodness and love of God and can truthfully testify of the veracity of His claims.

Look at what Jesus said to Paul...

Acts 26:16
16 But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;

Jesus said, “Paul, I appeared unto you to make you a witness of what you have seen. And of what I will continue to show you.”

Here’s why this is so powerful for you...

This is the foundation of the prophetic for you as well.

But it doesn’t have to be a knock-you-off-your-horse experience on the road to Damascus. Or even a dream. Or an angelic visitation.

It can be as simple as God opening your eyes to see and understand His Word. The angel said to John, “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” Jesus is the Word made Flesh. So, simply sharing the Word of God with someone is being prophetic. Simply saying, “Jesus loves you” is being prophetic. Because you are testifying of Jesus.

When you share your testimony of how Jesus saved you or healed your heart or set you free from something that dominated you...

... you are testifying of Jesus.

This is the heart of prophecy.

God wants to have a testimony of His claims. He wants to have witnesses that corroborate His story. And just like in a court of law or marketing campaign, it’s not the responsibility of the one giving the testimony to prove any claims.

The burden of proof is on Him.

If someone doesn’t receive your testimony, that’s not your fault. God still makes record of it. And when they stand before God, they will not have an excuse. Because it’s not just the Word of God (although that’s enough). But it’s also the word of all those who He brought to testify of Jesus to them.

Your job is simply to seek God. Allow Him to reveal Himself to you. Allow Him to breathe His life into you. Allow Him to speak to you.

Then when you speak to people, you carry the breath of God in your testimony. The wind of His Spirit blows out of your mouth with your words. You are BEING a testimony of the reality of the living Christ.

Your witness of Jesus may not include “crazy experiences.” You may or may not have an experience like John seeing Jesus walk among the candlesticks with his eyes burning flames of fire. I talk about people encountering God and His visual communication system because God talks in His Word about these.

But the heart of the prophetic is God’s loving revelation to you so can be a true witness of Jesus. Not just in word. But also by revealing His presence, power and love.

That’s it.

You can do that. Every single believer can.

Until next time,

Eric

P.S. This is the beginning. The foundation. The heart of the prophetic. The further you advance in hearing God, the more precise He helps us be. To the point where He uses us to reveal the secrets of men’s hearts and they say, “truly God is in this place.”

But no one starts there. Start with receiving from Him. Then testify of Him to others. That’s prophetic.

Scripture Verse To Stand On

Acts 26:16
16 But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;

Revelation 19:10
10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

But he didn’t start out there.

Which is good news for you and I.

Because if God can do it for Samuel (and He did), then He can help us hear His voice as well.

I talked about the big key in 1 Samuel 3 that differentiated Samuel from Eli and others was that he ministered to the Lord. So, today, I’m going to give you 4 powerful ways to minister to the Lord. These are all-inclusive. I’m sure God can show you another way. But if you start with these, God will begin to search you out guaranteed.

4 Ways To Minister Unto The Lord

I want to give you four ways you can minister to the Lord. Things that “get God’s attention.” One minister I know talked about capturing His heart. I like that.

Worship Him Through Song

One of my favorite ways to minister to the Lord is to spend time worshipping Him. It’s powerful when you sit at His feet with no other agenda but winning His heart with your love. When your biggest goal is to captivate Him, it excites Him.

It’s normal for me to have worship music playing. Years ago when I had a TV, I streamed worship music from YouTube in the house. So, the entire atmosphere of the house was worship. That keeps my heart and attention focused on Him. Rather than problems and the chaos of life. I choose His presence for my life. I choose His presence for my family. I choose His presence as my home. I’ve found that people who don’t want to live in His presence often run away when you start worshipping.

The Bible says Samuel ministered unto the Lord. And you know what happened? God came and spoke to him. He wasn’t the one “in line” to hear from God. He wasn’t “the anointed” preacher. Samuel wasn’t the one God should have looked for. He was just a guy who loved God and ministered to Him. But when it came time to speak something important, God didn’t go to “the anointed” priest. He came and found Samuel. The one who ministered to Him.

If you set your heart and life to minister to Him, He’ll come and find you too.

This is how I started to see in the spirit realm. I spent massive amounts of time worshipping Him. I didn’t know anything about visions, dreams and seeing in the spirit. I’d never been around anyone who talked about it. I didn’t follow any prophets. I just worshipped Him and dreams started happening.

You can see a key here...

Intimacy is intentional. But seeing in the spirit was “accidental.” I’m telling you this so you know how you can begin seeing dreams and visions on purpose.

Spending time singing worship to the Lord is one of my favorite ways to minister to the Lord. But it’s not the only way. Here’s a couple other ways.

Give From Your Heart

Give. Give from your heart. Whether it’s time, money or something else, give. In John 12, the woman broke the alabaster box of expensive perfume to worship Jesus. The religious stood around mumbling and complaining. But Jesus said to leave her alone. Because she was worshipping Him. When you give, the physical money may be going to a church or a person. But if your heart is to minister to the Lord, you are participating in an act of worship. You are ministering to the Lord. In Luke 8, it says that women ministered unto Jesus from their wealth and possessions. In Matthew 25, Jesus said, “you have done it to the least of these my brothers, you’ve done it to Me.”

It’s about worshipping Him. This is about worshipping Him with your time, talents and finances.

In Acts 10, when the angel showed up at Cornelius’ house, what did he say? He said, “your prayers and your giving have come up before God.” Cornelius got God’s attention. So, when God wanted to expand His kingdom into the Gentiles, the first person He found was Cornelius.

People mistakenly think this is “buying” miracles. No, it’s not “buying” anything. Its worshipping God with what you have and who you are.

Fasting

Fast. Fasting doesn’t sound exciting. The body doesn’t like to skip a meal. Let alone more. But when you worship God by giving Him your body as well as your heart, it grabs His attention. Because you’re choosing to minister unto Him by presenting yourself as a holy offering to Him. You’re choosing intimacy with Him rather than your necessary food.

Fasting is something I avoided for a long time. Because I never grew up with it. So, it took time for God to show me. But the more I’ve opened myself to it and implemented it in my life, I’ve seen increase in seeing, hearing and knowing. Fasting is not about food. It’s about intimacy with Him.

This is about worshipping Him with your body. A holy sacrifice.

Pray In Tongues

Praying in tongues. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 14 that when you speak in tongues, you are speaking to God. You’re ministering to Him. Not to others. It’s direct communication in the spirit. In Isaiah 28:11, Isaiah prophesied, “For with stammering lips and another tongue will He speak to this people.” Another way to minister to the Lord and ramp up hearing God’s voice including dreams and visions is by praying in tongues. The prophet Joel declared, “I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh.” And he said He would speak through prophecy, dreams and visions to “all flesh.” That’s not just “special anointed prophet.” That means every single believer.

If you want to dig into this more, I talk more about ministering to the Lord in depth here. As you minister to the Lord in one or more of these ways, the Lord will come to meet you. Just like He did with Samuel. That’s not to say He will walk into your room. Although He can, if He wants to. It means that He will reveal Himself to you in a special way.

Until next time,

Eric

P.S. The goal you are looking for is what I called “sustaining encounters.” That means there’s a difference between a 5 minute chat and a 3 hour date. The deep and precious things of God are found in the sustained encounters.

Scripture Verse To Stand On

1 Samuel 3:1
1 And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision.

Joel 2:28
28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:

Acts 2:16-17
16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;

17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:

Romans 12:1 NASB
12 Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

My whole life growing up in church, I didn’t have visions and dreams. I didn’t see anything happening in the spiritual realm.

As a kid, I did the church thing. Showed up when the doors opened. Ate the food at the potluck. Got the knees of my jeans grass-stained playing with the other kids.

I was like every other kid at every other church.

Now, I have dreams at night like clockwork. Over many years, I’ve come to trust what the Lord shows me through dreams because it has proven true many times.

But how did I get there? (And by the way, I’m not near the level I want to be.)

Yesterday, I shared the story about how Paul began seeing in the spirit when he was blind. To me, that is such an amazing faith builder. Today, I’m going to share another story that will inject faith into you. Faith that God can and will speak to you through dreams and visions.

Scripture - The Man Who Never Saw Begins To See

Shortly after I arrived in Peru, I was sitting in church one evening. Someone was preaching. I didn’t understand a thing. My Spanish ears hadn’t opened yet, I guess you could say. So, instead of sitting and staring at the wall, I opened my Bible. I felt led to go to 1 Samuel 3. I flipped the pages and settled in to read.

As soon as I began reading, my world exploded. The power of God enveloped me. Tears streamed down my cheeks. Because what I saw in those words was someone who I could relate with. His name was Samuel. And in the Bible, he was a prolific prophet.

But in 1 Samuel 3, he wasn’t a prophet. He was an ordinary young man who had never heard the voice of God. He didn’t see anything spectacular like Ezekiel. He wasn’t carried in the spirit to a dream land. He didn’t see visions of what was happening in people’s lives.

He saw nothing. He heard nothing.

And neither did anyone else around him.

Which means, Samuel probably wasn’t expecting to see anything. He wasn’t expecting dreams and visions. He wasn’t expecting God to come into his room. Because no one had these experiences. So, why should he expect anything different?

This is the problem we see today. That’s what is happening in many areas of the modern Church now. No one sees anything. Entire churches are filled with people who don’t see visions or dreams. Spiritual blindness has become normal. (Unlike Paul in yesterday’s newsletter.)

In fact, in certain areas of the Church, if you even talk about hearing God’s voice, you’ll be looked at like you have red horns growing out of your head.

Yet biblically, hearing God’s voice is normal everyday life for the believer. Including seeing visions and dreams. And Church History from the time of the 12 apostles until the present day is filled with people that God spoke to through dreams and visions.

I talk about hearing God’s voice, seeing in the spirit, dreams, visions, discerning the voice of spirits a lot. All about the prophetic. But I didn’t grow up with that. These are things the Lord has done in my life. He taught me.

Sitting in that church in Lima, Peru, I saw the same thing with Samuel. He didn’t grow up with crazy spiritual experiences. He worshipped God. He loved God. He lived for Him. Samuel wanted God with all his heart. But the Bible says in 1 Samuel 3:7...

7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, neither was the word of the Lord yet revealed unto him.

Maybe Samuel was completely content to minister unto the Lord and live for Him without visions and dreams. But God wasn’t content with that. In the same way, we can’t allow spiritual blindness to be normal for us as Christians.

For the Church of Jesus Christ to fulfill the God’s mission, we must have every available means of God’s communication system functioning. Including visual.

When you go to the end of chapter 3, it says Samuel was a powerful prophet. The entire country knew him. He proved to be a reliable prophet. When he spoke, it happened. Everyone knew, if you want to hear from God, go see Samuel.

But that’s not where he started.

Samuel started “at the bottom.”

He started at zero.

He didn’t see anything. He didn’t hear anything.

So, if you’re in the spot where you’re wondering if you’re the only one who doesn’t hear God speak, be encouraged. Samuel started in the same spot. (And so did I. I’m still growing.)

Here’s what Samuel did to start hearing God’s voice...

He ministered unto the Lord.

That’s what I saw. As I read the chapter over and over again, it stuck out. He ministered to the Lord.

He didn’t have a big church. He didn’t have lots of disciples. He didn’t have preaching engagements lined up. He probably didn’t even have a ministry page on Facebook.

To begin hearing the voice of God, Samuel did one simple thing...

He ministered to the Lord. God began to speak to him. And He raised up Samuel to be a prophet to an entire nation.

Tomorrow I’ll talk about several ways you can minister to the Lord like Samuel did. I believe God will increase your hearing. Even if you’ve never heard His voice before.

Until next time,

Eric

Scripture Verses To Stand On

1 Samuel 3:1, 7, 10, 19-21
1 And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision.

7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, neither was the word of the Lord yet revealed unto him.

10 And the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.

19 And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground.

20 And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the Lord.

21 And the Lord appeared again in Shiloh: for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord.

It really impacted me.

Nearly all day I dug into the Word of God and my database of words, dreams and visions from the past connecting the dots.

I’m sure I will share that dream one day. But at the moment, it is too holy, too precious to me to share. It had to do with seeing in the spirit. So, instead of sharing that dream with you, I’m going to do something better.

Let’s look at a place in the Bible where seeing in the spirit is off the rails amazing. I mean, I don’t understand how we glide right over it. Once you see what I’m going to show you, you’ll probably want to run around your house.

It’s that awesome.

Scripture - Paul Sees A Vision While Blind

I think we probably all know Paul’s “road to Damascus” story.

Blinding light.

Knocked to the ground.

“Who are you... Lord?”

And when it’s all done? Paul’s blind. Can’t see the matzah in front of his face. Even with his eyes open. He has to be led by the hand into Damascus.

I find interesting that Jesus’ parting words to him recorded in Acts 9:6 are these...

... Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.

Honestly, that’s pretty much where we cut off the story. Granted, that’s a very powerful story. The man trying to kill followers of Jesus meets Jesus on the road and is knocked to the ground by His power. That’s worth all the attention it gets. In today’s world, Paul would have book deals and a movie.

But as far as seeing in the spirit, the juice starts flowing when Paul arrives in Damascus.

Let me set the stage...

On one side is Paul.

He’s a killer of Christians. He’s zealous. Passionate. He’s one of those 110%-every-single-moment kind of guy. You can’t shut him off. He’s always “on.” But when he suddenly sees Jesus, his entire world was completely upended in a moment. What’s more, afterward he can’t see. And he has no idea what to do or how to fix it. Because there’s zero explanation from Jesus.

When he gets to Damascus, the high and mighty has been brought down. Now, he’s waiting. In the meantime, he prays and doesn’t touch food or water for 3 days.

Ok, that’s one side.

This is the part of the story when I get lit up...

On the other side is a man named Ananias. Not the same Ananias that lied about an offering. That guy is already dead. This is another man. And he’s a faithful follower of Christ.

I don’t know if Ananias was praying or worshipping. I mean, he could have been sitting down playing around on his cell phone. The Bible doesn’t say what he was doing. But it says he had a vision. And in the vision, he saw the Lord. I mean, just seeing a vision of Jesus will light your world on fire for hours. But check out the amazing details Jesus gives this man Ananias. Here’s the list...

• Leave your house and go to Straight Street in Damascus.

• Knock on the door of the house owned by Judas.

• A man from Tarsus is staying there whose name is Saul (Paul).

• Saul (Paul) is praying.

• Saul (Paul) saw a vision of Ananias coming to lay hands on him to receive his sight.

So, let’s back up a minute. Let’s look at something that is a big key to this story. It will help you understand seeing in the spirit and God’s communication system.

Two quick points to remember when you read this next part:

• Paul is blind.

• He is waiting on an instruction.

Check out how the Bible records what Jesus said to Ananias in his vision...

Acts 9:11-12
11 And the Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying,

12 and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him, so that he might regain his sight.”

When I read this passage one day a few years ago, I nearly flew out of my house from excitement.

Paul is blind. Can’t see anything. Had to be led by the hand into Damascus. Plus, he has no idea what to do. Only the instruction, “you’ll be told what to do.” So, he’s praying. He’s saying, “Forgive me. Help me. What do you want me to do?” He is desperate for answers, blind and fasting and praying.

You know what?

God showed Paul what He is going to do.

While blind, Paul saw a vision of Ananias coming to lay hands on him to receive his sight.

That is so rocking. Oh my goodness that gets me excited.

It’s clear that Paul didn’t see a man physically come into his house. Because he couldn’t see. So, even though his physical eyes weren’t functioning, he still saw in the spirit.

Look at the chronological order of how the story unfolded. God showed...

1. Paul a vision when he was blind that Ananias would come pray for him.

2. Ananias that he’s to go to a certain address on a certain street.

3. Ananias to pray for a man named Saul (Paul).

4. Ananias that Saul (Paul) already saw a vision from God that Ananias was coming.

This is why I love this story so much. Because so many elements of how God communicates with you and I are wrapped up in one tiny section of scripture. You have...

• seeing in the spirit.

• clear and accurate instructions (names, addresses).

• instructions in advance.

The entire reason Paul and Ananias connected is because of seeing in the spirit. Paul didn’t hop on Facebook, “Hey guys! Listen, I need your help. I got a situation going on.” He didn’t hop on TikTok to share his sob story of how mean Jesus was to him.

I’m not criticizing anyone. Just pointing out how God leads people. And how often we in the modern Church may miss out on actually hearing and relating with God.

With this story, Paul was praying. Ananias may have been praying. Or maybe not. But he was at least sensitive enough spiritually to recognize and receive a vision from God. And God connected them to accomplish what He wanted done.

This is why I talk about listening to God’s voice so much. This is why I talk about the voice of spirits. It’s not that I’m a crazy Pentecostal lunatic. Nor is it because I’m fascinated with demons.

It’s because Jesus said “My sheep hear My voice and they follow Me.”

Jesus didn’t say His sheep follow Facebook. Or TikTok. Or what the crowd says. Or opportunity. Or money. Or other spirits.

He said “My sheep follow My voice.”

And one way God speaks is by showing you what He is doing in the spirit world. This isn’t just for special people. It’s not just for prophets. It’s for every believer in Christ to be connected to His communication system.

Until next time,

Eric

Scripture Verses To Stand On

Acts 9:8-12
8 And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus.

9 And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.

10 And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord.

11 And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth,

12 And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight.

That type of seeking is not me. Or, said a better way, it doesn’t originate with me.

That’s Holy Spirit within me. That’s His grace functioning.

Vision - The Spirit Of The Prophet

Recently, I wrote about my first encounter with a prophet. He called me out of my seat the moment his hand grabbed the microphone from the pastor. He prophesied to me about the call of God on my life. And then he said to me...

For you to fulfill that purpose, the next step is strong study and strong training. And God says, I’m bringing you into a day of an insatiable hunger to read. To read and to ask lots of questions of people who know things.

On May 29, 2023, I had a very interesting vision.

In my vision, I saw a street. Walking on the street was a black dog like a doberman. I saw it searching along the street for something. You’ve seen how a dog goes along a street searching and looking. He went from side to side, sniffing and investigating. Finally, the dog came to a house. The door was open. So, he entered through the door. He went up to a woman in the house. That’s what he’d been looking for.

After the vision, I prayed and asked the Lord what it meant. This is what He said to me...

It’s the spirit of the prophet looking and searching. Investigating. Looking for what is the problem. Looking for what is happening in the spirit.

To me, it was interesting that God used a dog to show me this. And not just any dog. A doberman. I started looking up online about dobermans. I didn’t know the United States Marines used them as scout dogs during World War 2. Because they are especially good at 5 things...

• Detect mines and enemy troops.

• Carry messages and supplies.

• Protect friendly troops.

• Discern or distinguish between friend and foe.

• Lead patrols (oversee, watch, control, govern).

As I read this, there had to be a white cloud of smoke that suddenly rose from my head.

What is the job of a prophet?

• Detect the movements and traps of demons.

• Carry the message of God to His people.

• Protect the Body of Christ from harm.

• Discern between what is Spirit of God and what is another spirit.

• Lead by overseeing and governing in the spirit world.

This amazed me how God used this dog to symbolize a prophet.

What I saw in that vision, I believe, holds particular interest for us as believers. God said the dog represented the spirit of the prophet investigating and seeking.

If you are ever around someone prophetic, the foundation of what they will talk about is ...

• Seeking God.

• Intimacy with Jesus.

• Hunger.

This is because their call and God-given mission is tied to seeking God, intimacy with Jesus and hunger.

Like when the prophet said that God was going to give me an “insatiable hunger.” I live that. It’s like I have this ongoing fire inside of me where I can’t stop thinking about Him. The dog in the vision represented how a prophet is compelled by Holy Spirit to seek, investigate, to dig into the things of the spirit world.

They have to know. They have to know because Holy Spirit wants them to know.

Look at what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 2:10-11...

10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

The Spirit of God is constantly searching, investigating and digging into everything. He searches past, present and future. He searches motivations, thoughts, actions. He searches in light and darkness. He searches through different states of being: the physical world, the soulish realm, the spiritual world.

He searches and investigates everything.

He does this because His job is to reveal to us what He finds. This is the Spirit of God working in you and I as believers. God reveals to the sons of God by His Spirit.

Holy Spirit seeks and investigates. And He stirs inside of us that same desire to seek. Just like that dog in the vision. He was seeking to find. Seeking to understand.

Peter wrote that this hunger to diligently seek God is normal for prophets and prophetic people.

1 Peter 1:
10 Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:

11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.

Yes, it’s normal for prophets to want to seek God.

It’s normal for you as a believer to want to seek Him as well. When I meet “Christians” who don’t want to seek God, I always know there’s a problem.

This is why I’m talking about this. Because sometimes Christians can misunderstand prophets and prophetic people. “Oh, it’s that intimacy thing again.” Or, “there they are talking about hunger.” Or, “again with seeking God? I already know that.”

But the heart of God concerning the prophetic is to teach the Body of Christ to...

• Be passionately in love and faithful to Him as a Bride is in love with and faithful to her Husband.

• Enter into deep intimacy and connection with Him.

• Listen to His voice and follow Him.

• Be aware of what God is doing, as well as the enemy.

If you notice that list, the ministry of the prophet is to the Body of Christ. Prophets are the voice of God to the Church. In Revelation 2-3, Jesus operates as a Prophet. He is speaking to His Church. He tells John (a prophet) to write the prophetic vision and say it to the Church.

So, don’t be surprised if you feel this deep passion to seek Him. Don’t let it irritate you if a prophet or prophetic person is provoking you to seek the Lord.

Holy Spirit is doing His job to bring you into deeper connection and intimacy.

The key is learning to set up your lifestyle to seek Him consistently. Consistently seeking Him will satisfy the passionate intensity you have to know Him.

Until next time,

Eric

Scripture Verses To Stand On

1 Peter 1:10-11
10 Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:

11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.

1 Corinthians 2:9-12
9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

He is smart. He is not a scatter-brained, schizophrenic lunatic. He is actually a great conversationalist.

Here’s the rub for us sometimes...

• We may not recognize His voice when He’s speaking.

• We fail to record each time He speaks.

One thing that helped me learn to recognize God’s voice is simply writing it down. When you record what God says, it will help you recognize when He is speaking about the same topic.

Let me give you an example...

Dream - A Woman Named Amy Comes To Help Me

I wrote in the very first Prophetic Daily about two dreams I had that morning.

In one dream, I saw a woman named Amy who came to help me. The other dream was longer. The short version of it is a woman named Amy helped me by positioning me where God wanted me to be. In the dream, it was a major movement that I couldn’t do myself. She paid for me to be moved and positioned.

After I woke up from those dreams, I wrote both of them down. Just like I always do. And I looked up the meaning of the name Amy because names mean something in dreams. That’s why I wrote about the “man whom God loves.” Because Amy means “greatly beloved.” It reminded me of Daniel and how angels came to help him numerous times. And they called Daniel “greatly beloved.”

With my dreams, I saw that God is helping me because He views me like He viewed Daniel. A man greatly loved.

Fast forward to last night. I had two dreams.

In one of them, I saw a woman named... Amy.

When I wrote down the dream in my notes, I linked it to the dreams I had about the woman named Amy before.

This is why I say God is a great conversationalist. Because He’s revisiting a topic He started with me on July 8, 2026. Over a month ago. So, let me break down what I now know from what God has shown me.

First, in God’s eyes, I am greatly loved.

The dream I had today reminded me that He’s helping me. It instantly took me back to what He said to me 33 days ago. This is why I write stuff down that God says and shows me. Because it helps me recognize, “Hey, He spoke to me about this before.” Then when I connect the dots, it strengthens it.

The Bible says that something is established on the basis of two or three witnesses (2 Corinthians 13:1). Right now, I’ve got three dreams in a little over 30 days where He showed me I’m “greatly loved.” And He’s helping me.

Obviously, I’m speaking about something that is personal for me. But that doesn’t mean I’m special. Nor does it mean I’m loved and you aren’t.

The reason I’m telling you is to show why it’s important for you to document what God says to you. And to show how God speaks in conversations. He does not spit out random bits of disconnected information. He speaks about topics. He’ll even revisit them to give you more.

Second, this “woman” who is helping me isn’t a “woman.” A woman named Amy isn’t going to show up at my house and camp out in my bathroom. Amy represents an angel. In the dream, God showed me as though it was a woman. But the form isn’t important. God could have easily used the form of a man. Which He has many times. He used the name Amy to convey a message. For me, a man named Amy would be weird. So, he used the idea of a woman named Amy to tell me an angel is helping me. Angels help you as a believer accomplish what God wants you to accomplish.

Third, God is positioning me and putting me where He wants me to be. He continues to help me.

Fourth, He’s doing for me what I cannot do for myself.

There is more I could say, but I think you get the idea. This is why I write down what He says to me. Because over time, you’ll see and understand a lot more than you realize. He’s keying you into what He’s doing in your life.

No one told me to begin writing these things down. I wanted to begin to document what He said to me for my own purpose. Because I was at the stage where I felt like God was speaking. But I wasn’t sure. So, I wrote it down with a date. Then if it came to pass or He spoke to me again about it, I would know, “hey, I wasn’t crazy.”

You may already be writing things down. That’s great. Then you know what I’m talking about. There’s something about when you start to record what He’s saying to you. It helps you begin to recognize His voice more.

I was just reminded of a book I read years ago. It’s called, The Four Laws Of Debt Free Prosperity. The book says one of the laws is tracking your money. Just begin to write down what you spend. You will recognize where you are wasting money. Before you wasted money but didn’t realize it. But by recording your transactions, you’ll see it.

In the same way, when you start to “track” what God says by writing it down, you’ll recognize His voice more. Because you’re paying attention. You’ll see when He’s starting new conversations. You’ll notice when He’s revisiting topics He’s spoken to you about before. And you’ll be able to go back and review what He said to keep the promise in front of you.

If you haven’t started writing down what He says to you, start. Even if you’re not sure it’s Him. Write it down. Record the date. And then let Him begin to confirm His voice to you.

Until next time,

Eric

P.S. I list scriptures below for you to read and meditate on. In Exodus 17:14, God said to Moses, “write this down and then repeat it to Joshua.” God wanted Moses to record what He said. He wanted Joshua to hear and see it over and over again. Because there was a promise God had for His people. This method kept the promise before them so they never forgot it. This gives new meaning to Joshua 1:8, speak and meditate on what is written continually so that you may do it and have good success.

Scripture Verses To Stand On

Hebrews 1:14
14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?

Habakkuk 2:2
2 And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.

Exodus 17:14
14 And the Lord said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.

Joshua 1:8
8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

The night before, there was a powerful storm. When my boys woke up in the morning, they told me how the rain woke them during the night. They saw the continuous flashes of lightning and the thunder that shook the house.

Then in the morning when we woke up...

It was sunny and clear. The mountains to the east stood tall and green. And the air was fresh and cool. A stark contrast from the storm during the night.

Yesterday, I talked about a vision the Lord gave me. In that vision, He spoke to me a scripture. And I wrote about seeing in the realm of spirits. It’s so important for us as Christians to see in the spirit. Because I promise you, there are those who live in the realm of spirits and are not Christians. They are not fellowshipping in light like you and I are. And if they live in the deep realms of the spirit, see and interact with spirits, yet we are blind to it, then we can have problems.

Which connects with what I planned on talking about today.

Scripture - Watching Over The Word To Finish It

In the vision I had yesterday morning, the Lord spoke to me this scripture...

Jeremiah 1:12
12 Then said the Lord unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten my word to perform it.

I talked yesterday about seeing in the realm of the spirit.

When I started writing yesterday’s post, I wasn’t planning on writing about seeing. I wanted to get to this...

... for I hasten my word to perform it.

I spent time digging into this because I wanted to understand it. The Hebrew word translated “hasten” is a verb meaning “to watch over.” Frankly, that didn’t excite me much. I mean, I knew this was connected to Hebrews 3:1 where He is watching over the confession of His Word out of our mouth.

Still, I felt like there was something deeper that I wasn’t grasping.

When I looked up the word “hasten” in the dictionary, it means “to accelerate or quicken.” That made me sit up and take notice. A few years ago, God took me through one scripture in John 6:63 for a year and a half. Imagine, a year and a half in one scripture. And it was all about...

... quickening.

That’s why when I saw that hasten means to “accelerate” and “quicken,” it meant something to me. Because when God is “watching over” His Word, He’s not staring at a book with ink and paper. Watching over His Word means He is actively injecting it with life to execute it.

One famous scripture that we often quote as Christians is Hebrews 12:2, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith...” But what does it mean that He is the author and finisher of faith?

It means He starts faith. He starts the process of it. I wrote about how He injects faith into you. That’s God being the author of faith. He’s starting it.

But you know what?

He also finishes it. This is where it gets exciting for you and I as prophetic people. (To be honest, this whole process is exciting. But the end is the payoff.) It’s exciting because all throughout this process He involves us. We are involved with Him. And at the end, to finish the process, He involves us as well.

First, let me talk about His part. Then I’ll talk about our part.

Here’s the deal...

The word “hasten” is actually a very powerful word to use in that scripture. Because it signifies much more than just “watching” like a watchman. It signifies “quickening.”

Quickening is God’s resurrection power that turns dead bodies into living ones. Quickening is God’s resurrection power that turns sick, broken bodies into healthy, whole ones. Quickening is God’s resurrection power that causes something to be…

• living

• breathing

• functioning

• operational

… that was dead.

Quickening is God’s resurrection power that injects life into something. An injection like lightning. This is why I stood looking at the storm, amazed at the majestic power of God. Because that lightning that flashed across the sky is symbolic of what raised the dead body of Jesus back to life.

Think about it...

What is a defibrillator?

It is a machine that injects a shock of electricity (or man-made “lightning”) into a person’s body and resurrects a heart back to life that was dead.

When the body of Jesus was lying in the grave, God injected the quickening power of Holy Spirit, that lightning-like life, into Him. And what was dead, inert, without breath, without heartbeat, suddenly began to live. Not only that but that body that was so mangled and torn, so destroyed from the beating it received, was instantly and immediately healed.

The lightnings of God did that.

The Spirit of Quickening, Lightning-like Life Himself, resurrected what was dead.

This is what it means when God said to Jeremiah, “I’m watching over My Word to perform it.” He’s in the process of injecting His lightnings into and through His Word to execute it. To cause it come to pass.

That’s God’s part.

Now, here’s our part...

We are “watchmen.” Just like God is watching over His Word to execute it, there is a part we play as watchmen. Our job is to monitor and provoke the process as it unfolds.

Here’s what I mean...

I just wrote that the Bible says in Hebrews 12:2 that Jesus is the “author and finisher of our faith.” As the “author” it means that He starts the process. Jesus is the Word made Flesh. So, what starts this process that God wants to do in our lives?

The Word.

Who speaks the Word?

You.

You are the one with a physical mouth in the earth. Your mouth is God’s mouth in this physical world. It’s your mouth declaring His Word that “authors” the process of His promise.

Then, prophets as watchmen, watch over the process. They monitor its progress. They do this by God revealing to them what stage the process is in. What is happening. Who is trying to stop or hinder the process.

Prophets as watchmen are the weed-pullers and tenders of the garden of God’s promises. Prophets do this on a large scale over the Body of Christ, over nations, regions and cities. God told Jeremiah that He set him over nations and kingdoms (Jeremiah 1:10). Jeremiah was to monitor and govern nations in the spirit.

Here’s the good news…

You’re not waiting for a prophet for a prophet to do this for you.

You are the prophet of your own life.

This is why intimacy and relationship with God is so vital. You need to be able to hear accurately what He is saying to you. So that you can cooperate with Him in the process.

As the process continues, you govern over it by your words. You speak what He says regarding it. You worship and live in His presence. Words and Spirit keep the process of God moving along His timeline as He wants. Without sufficient prayer and worship, the timeline can be affected negatively. It can be slowed or stopped by the enemy. So, just keep being consistent with Him. And He’ll keep doing His part.

At the end of the process, your mouth declaring His Words are vital to finish and complete it. Because it’s time to harvest. It’s time to end it. Jesus is also the “finisher of our faith.” So, His Word coming out of your mouth will help complete the process as He promised.

Now I realize why it was important I wrote about seeing yesterday. Because it is connected with this part of monitoring the processes of God as a watchman. I couldn’t talk about monitoring today without talking about seeing yesterday. Seeing in the spirit is not only important to see what spirits are operating. It is also important to see the timeline of the process God has you in. If you are on time or late, He’ll show you. If you lack something, He’ll show you.

This is why I said that the seeing, hearing and knowing are all part of God’s complete communication system. He’s unlocking you to be able to co-operate with Him in mighty ways that will make you wonder and stand in awe.

You may not be a prophet to nations or regions.

But you definitely are the prophet of your own life.

Until next time,

Eric

Scripture Verses To Stand On

Jeremiah 1:12
12 Then said the Lord unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten my word to perform it.

Hebrews 12:2
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith...

John 6:63
63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

John 1:14
14 And the Word was made flesh...

I jumped out of bed and hurried to close the windows.

The lightning and thunder were impressive.

Constant flashes that lit up the sky from north to south and beyond the mountains. And real thunder. Not the little baby stuff where you don’t know if you heard something or not. House rumbling thunder.

I loved it.

I stood looking at the sky in awe. Taking in the raw power. I love lightning and thunder because they are symbolic of the voice of God. When I see and hear them, I see a model of how the power and presence of God is supposed to function in our lives.

After a few minutes, I got back into bed and lay down. While I lay there, I had a vision. I won’t share it with you because it’s personal for me. But in the vision, the Lord spoke to me a scripture.

Scripture - The Importance Of Seeing In The Spirit

The scripture the Lord spoke to me is in Jeremiah 1:12...

12 Then said the Lord unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten my word to perform it.

There is so much in this one tiny verse in regards to the prophetic, it’s crazy.

Let’s take it step by step...

In the verse before, it says “the word of the Lord” came to Jeremiah and God asked him what he saw. I’ll let you in on a little secret...

Whenever you see the phrase “the word of the Lord” in the Old Testament in reference to God speaking, the Bible is referring to a vision. In other words, God “spoke” to the prophet through a visual experience. Not seeing with his physical eyes. But he saw a vision.

This is one example of it.

“The word of the Lord” comes to Jeremiah and God asked him “What do you see?” For us reading the account, we think of “words.” As though God “spoke” to Jeremiah and he heard God speak. But why would God ask Jeremiah “What do you see?” if he wasn’t seeing anything?

Just a little reference for you. “The word of the Lord” is a vision.

In verse 12, God said to Jeremiah, “you have seen well...”

As prophetic people, it’s important that we see well. That we see clearly and accurately.

There are two aspects to seeing clearly and accurately.

The first is actually seeing something. There are many Christians that don’t dream or see visions. However, I believe from the Word of God and my own experience that visions and dreams are a vital aspect to God’s communication system.

These are not the only way God speaks. Nor are they the most fundamental. But there is something about “seeing” that is so powerful. In English, we have the saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Sometimes seeing can explain something in a deeper way than just reading or hearing it. When you see it, even in a dream or vision, there are things you know that you wouldn’t otherwise know.

Think about this...

One day, I was sitting in the airport in Lima, Peru working on my computer. At the time, the airport was the closest place where there was a coffee shop. And the coffee shop was before one passed through security. So, I could walk in the door and go get a coffee like it was a mall. They also had a large food court area where many people sat and ate or waited before their flight.

The “work” I did that day was digging into the Word of God. I was focused. And the Lord was showing me about the having awareness of the realm of spirits.

When I looked up from my computer, I looked around and I saw men pulling their suitcases towards the security checkpoint. I saw women walking with their children. I saw the color of clothes people wore. I saw their faces, if they were happy, sad, hurried or neutral. I saw and could distinguish if they were Peruvian or European.

All of this I could learn simply by seeing. Because my physical eyes saw the world around me.

Suddenly, I understood what the Lord was showing me in a new light.

With the “power” of seeing in the spirit through vision and dreams, I could see spirits functioning just like I saw the people at the airport. I could see and recognize when an angel comes to help me. Or when a demon comes to bother me. I would see and know if they are good or not, what they are holding or doing, and more.

What an amazing thought!

When I returned to look at my computer, I was reading the beginning of Mark 5. That’s the story of the man with a legion of demons.

There I saw Jesus step onto land and suddenly the world starts tripping. Because those demons were accustomed to living in secret. They were used to living hidden in the spirit realm unbothered by anyone. Sure, people tried to restrain the man in different ways. But those people had no idea what was actually happening with him. They couldn’t see or perceive in the spirit realm. Those demons lived a charmed life in secret.

That is until Jesus showed up.

The moment His feet hit the soil, those demons knew something was up. Because Jeus lived in the realm of spirits. Those demons were hidden to mortal men. Their operations secret to all. But Jesus saw them functioning. He saw them controlling that man. And He called to them and demanded them to leave the man.

That’s why the man came running and did a face plant in front of Jesus. That’s why the demons screamed out, “don’t torment us!”

Because someone who walks in the authority and power of heaven, whose eyes are open to see in the realm of spirits...

... is a dangerous threat to hell and its operation.

The good news is, seeing in the spirit is not limited to a few “specially anointed” Christians. The Word of God says very clearly...

Acts 2:17
17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh...

The Spirit of God speaks to all of God’s people. Dreams and visions are part of His communication system. Just like when He spoke to Jeremiah.

The Bible says that God opens the eyes to see and ears to hear.

So, here’s what you do...

Just ask Him. Put your faith in the Word of God and ask. Then begin to thank Him that He is giving you eyes to see and ears to hear. And don’t stop thanking Him.

He does what He says.

Until next time,

Eric

Scripture Verses To Stand On

Acts 2:17
17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:

Jeremiah 1:11-12
11 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree.

12 Then said the Lord unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten my word to perform it.

Proverbs 20:12
12 The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the Lord hath made even both of them.

Deep.

That’s it. That’s what screamed inside of me.

Not shallow.

DEEP!

I can’t get away from it. I have to share this with you...

Vision - Why Won’t The Come Deep With Me

A number of years ago, I went with my parents to a church service. There was a well-known TV preacher speaking at a local church. They wanted to see him. And I wanted to be with them. So, we went.

During the worship, I suddenly saw a vision.

In my vision, I saw Jesus walk out onto the stage. He lifted up and outstretched His arms as though He was receiving the praise. But then He looked over at me. I wasn’t directly in front, in the middle of the church. I was off to one side. He turned His head and looked at me. Then He said, “Why won’t they come deep with Me? Why won’t they come deep? They want to stay in the shallows and play. But I want them to come deep. Will you tell them?”

I will never forget that as long as I live.

He turned His head to look at me and said, “Why won’t they come deep with Me?”

The word “shallow” means “lacking depth, superficial.”

This is what He said to me in the vision. That people lack spiritual depth. They live in the superficial, the insignificant, the external. In Spanish, they could say “plastico.” Plastic.

But that’s not the idea God has for you.

Jesus didn’t die for you to be superficial, plastic and focused on the insignificant. He died and rose again for you to be focused on what is real. The life and reality of the Spirit. He died for you to go deep in the Spirit.

I understood what He meant when He said to me...

Why won’t they go deep with Me?

But as I was sitting here, I realized that even though I understood it personally, I didn’t know how to communicate it. So, I started asking the Lord, “Show me in your Word about ‘deep.’”

Then He reminded me of this scripture in Ephesians 3...

17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,

18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;

The scripture amazed me for two reasons.

First, because I just talked about ascending higher in the Spirit. And then in this verse it literally says for you to know and comprehend the “height” of His love.

You have to climb higher to experience more and more of His love.

But that’s not all the verse says. It also says to go “deep” into His love. Go deep in the Spirit. Go deeper until you are flooded, overcome, overflowing with His love.

He doesn’t want you playing around in the shallows of His love. He doesn’t want you having a drop of faith. He doesn’t want you to be slightly peaceful. Or to have just a tiny touch of joy.

He wants you to be deep in Him. Consumed. Overflowing. Saturated. Intoxicated. Overcome.

I’ve often talked about how it’s easy for a person to stand on the beach and think they see everything. They look out at the ocean and say, “Wow, look at that! I can see everything.” Sure, you can see the boats. You can see some waves. You can see the birds swooping down near the water. But the reality is, there is a whole world down below the surface of the water.

There is a whole world of life below the surface, down in the deep that many never see or experience.

And this is exactly the way it is in the spirit.

Jesus has offered an invitation. He extended His hand and said, “Come deep with Me. I want them to come deep with Me. Will you tell them?”

So, I’m telling you right now...

He wants you. He’s calling you. He’s inviting you into the depths of the Spirit. Into the depths of His love for you. Into the depths of His peace. Into the depths of His joy. Into the depths of His inexpressible, incomprehensible goodness.

But many never make it that far.

They are stuck in the shallows, making sand castles. Or playing with forts. Or something. I have no idea how we can get so distracted from what is truly important.

As for me, I long for the depth and height of His Spirit.

In Ezekiel 47, the prophet had a vision of a river. An angel made him cross the river. At first, it was shallow. Only up to his ankles. But the angel kept making him cross. And each time he did, the water was deeper. Until the final time, the water was too deep to cross.

The water flowed over his head.

Jesus likened that flowing river to the Spirit of God in John 7. So, a deeper, overflowing river means a deeper experience of God in all of His wonder. It means to experience Him in all of His majesty.

Here’s the deal...

Just like Ezekiel in his vision, this isn’t magic. It’s not a switch you flip or a pill you take and you’re suddenly deep.

When you first walk from the beach into the ocean, it doesn’t even reach your ankles. It barely covers your toes. But the more you walk out into the water, the deeper it gets. Soon, it will be to your knees. Then to your hips. Then up to your chest. And if you keep going...

... it will be over your head.

That’s how you go deep in God.

You just keep walking deeper.

The first day, you set yourself to seek Him. To worship Him until you meet Him and He touches you. Then, the next day, you do it again. And the next day, again.

Each day, you’re going deeper and deeper in the Spirit.

Until one day, you realize, you are in over your head. You are tumbling in the river of His Spirit, moved here and there by Him. And it is amazing!

The goal is to live in the deep realms. To live in the deep regions of His Spirit.

There was a Star Trek series called Deep Space Nine. I never got into it personally. But the whole idea is that they were deep in space. Living there. They didn’t live on earth and go out on day trips into space. They lived in the deep regions of space and encountered new things because of it.

In the same way, we can learn to live in the deep regions of the Spirit of God. So consumed with His love and with the wonders of His Person, that we encounter new things all the time.

He said to me...

I want them to come deep with Me. Will you tell them?

I am telling you now. It’s time to go deep.

Until next time,

Eric

P.S. I like to give dates for dreams, visions and words I share with you. This particular vision is in my handwritten journals. And many of those pages are not titled and tagged in my database. So, to find it, may take hours of searching through 6000 pages. If I was to guess, I would say I had this vision in 2016 or 2017.

Scripture Verses To Stand On

Ephesians 3:
17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,

18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;

19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

Ezekiel 47:1-5
5 Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over.

John 7:38
38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

A couple days ago, while I was writing the Prophetic Daily issue, I nearly changed the entire topic. Because suddenly, the Lord began flowing out of me about a consistent walk.

Dream - Practicing To Go, Successful Walk

The first time the Lord started digging deep into this concept was in a dream I had on September 12, 2024.

In the dream, I was practicing a sport. For 8 hours I practiced. All day long. There were people around me who should have been practicing with me but they weren’t. I didn’t let it bother me. I just kept practicing. When it was time to leave, I stood up. I said goodbye to everyone and then began to walk out. As I walked, I passed through a crowd of people on both sides of me. I heard people talking to each other. They said, “Look at his walk. He has a successful walk.”

I learned two things from that dream...

First, a successful walk in God’s mind is a consistent walk.

Second, a key for me to move to the next step the Lord had for me was connected with a consistent walk.

I remember the first time I had an inkling about the importance to God of “the walk.” I was sitting in my dorm room in college. While reading the Bible, I came across this scripture in 1 John 2:6...

6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

If you say you belong to God and live in Him, then you should walk like Jesus walked.

That verse hit me like a sledgehammer. I remember thinking, how is that even possible to walk like Jesus? What kind of superhuman grace and mercy could you access to live how He lived? I literally sat there on my bed bewildered. Dumbfounded. Unable to process how I, as a mortal man, could ever hope to walk like and live like Jesus.

Over the years, He’s shown me more.

But when God gave me this dream, I started digging in the Word and prayer in a new way. What does it mean to walk like Him and how do you do it?

Let me just state what it’s not first.

It’s not the type of clothes you wear. Or shoe wear. It’s not about the church you go to, or whether you wear jewelry and makeup. Or even if you have a gait like Monty Python’s Silly Walk.

Walking like Jesus is about living in the New Man in Christ. It is...

• Walking by faith.

• Walking in love.

• Focusing on His Word.

• Following His voice.

• Walking in power.

Look at what Jesus said in John 8:29...

29 And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.

Jesus said, “I always do what pleases Him.”

What pleases God?

In Hebrews 11:6 it says, “Without faith it is impossible to please God...” So, another way you could paraphrase what Jesus said is like this...

I always walk by faith which pleases God.

So, generally speaking, a consistent walk like Christ is faithfully living in and by the Spirit of God. Think about it...

• Faith comes from the Spirit of God. (Romans 10:17)

• Love is shed abroad in our hearts by Holy Spirit. (Romans 5:5)

• God’s Word is Spirit. (John 6:63)

• The Voice of God to you the voice of Holy Spirit. (Revelation 4:5, John 14:26, 1 Corinthians 2:10-13)

The more consistent you walk in these (along with the fruit of the Spirit), the more you are walking like Him. And the more consistent you walk like Him, the more successful your walk will be in God’s view.

But walking like Christ isn’t only the esoteric. It’s not just the things of the Spirit. It’s also about the lifestyle that supports living in the Spirit. Because at the end of the day, a consistent walk isn’t about being able to do it once. Or live it one day.

A consistent walk like Christ is about being able to sustain living and walking like Him indefinitely.

How do you do that?

That’s why there is a place in a consistent walk for consistent time with God. Because to walk consistently by faith or love doesn’t happen by accident.

Intimacy is intentional.

And what I’m talking about is a deeper level of intimacy. To walk with Him necessitates that someone build into their life consistent seeking. Like consistent...

• Time in the Word.

• Time in prayer.

• Time in worship.

• Time to meditate on truth.

Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not talking about obligation or “works.” I am talking about a revelation of reality. A professional athlete doesn’t wake up one day without training and perform at their highest level. They don’t say, “You know what, I’m going to show up at the stadium and walk on the field and be the best.”

No, they train. They practice. They live a structured life.

The structure they have in their life are things like...

• rhythms of consistent training.

• ongoing practice of fundamentals.

• avoidance of distractions.

• focus on certain tasks core to their sport.

This structure gives them the capacity to perform at levels that spectators say is “successful” or “superhuman.” By structuring their life, they are able to sustain a “professional” level of performance long term.

So, is it that these professional athletes are “superhuman?” Or is it the structure and discipline of a consistent walk that gave them the ability to perform?

With athletes, there may be some talent. But more often than not, the structure and discipline is what ensures long term success.

May He birth in us the capacity of consistency. The framework to be spiritually effective over long periods of time.

Until next time,

Eric

Scripture Verses To Stand On

1 John 2:6
6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

Hebrews 11:6
6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

John 8:29
29 And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.

Beyond frustrated.

That’s what boiled inside of me just below the surface.

One night, 4 years ago, I was outside with the dog. It was late. After 10 pm. While the dog took forever to do her business, I had a little “sit down” conversation with God.

For years, I saw how the American Church functioned. And I didn’t want that game. Since I encountered Jesus at 15, I don’t waste time on useless, powerless things. After a year and a half in Peru, I’d already seen how the Peruvian Church functioned. Not much different.

And I was frustrated.

It’s true, my incapacity to speak the language caused problems. I stammered to the best of my ability but people didn’t understand. That was my fault. And something I worked on diligently every day to learn.

But the language was not why I was having a stern discussion with God that night.

When the fire of God burns inside of you, the only thing that satisfies the craving of your soul is more fire. And I wanted fire. My heart and soul, everything within me craved the God of heaven and earth. His presence and love.

The problem was, it seemed to me like no one around me was possessed by the same zeal for Jesus like I was.

As I talked to God, I posed this question to Him...

Is there at least one person who is hungry for God in this neighborhood? In this city? In this nation? Is there one?

Of course, that’s ludicrous. But that’s how frustrated I was with it all.

Going to church services drier than the Sahara desert drove me bonkers. In the United States, I didn’t waste a minute with that. I walked out of churches in the middle of service when they played religious games. I didn’t care. I want Jesus. I want His presence and power. If “Christian” people don’t want Him, then why do I want to stick around there?

In Peru, I preached right in the middle of religious games. Pastors demanding tithes with accounting books open to make sure people paid up. Arguing about makeup, jewelry and other nonsensical things while their churches have less life than a mortuary.

People who sit in church disinterested. Apathetic towards God. Then they go to the witch doctor the next day. Later, they run to church while they beg for prayer. Because suddenly demons afflict their every minute. They can’t sleep, eat, do business, and more.

I wasn’t angry at people.

It’s that my heart craved the presence and power of Jesus. And to be with people who passionately desired Him.

Hunger will draw His presence. Desperate love for Him will draw His attention.

But what I saw and experienced around me were the cold and dull hearts of people who showed up to fulfill an invisible obligation that God didn’t make.

Who could I talk to about this? Who would understand the depth of what I felt inside my heart? I couldn’t talk to anyone. No one would understand the cry and craving of my heart for God.

Only God.

So, I talked to Him.

Dream - Lake Filled With Fish

The next morning, February 13, 2022, my wife told me, “I had a weird dream.” I questioned, “Oh really? Tell me.”

In her dream, she was walking through a forest and she came to a lake. As she approached the lake, a man whom she knew was the owner of that lake stood next to it. He looked at her and asked, “Are there fish in this lake?” She replied, “I don’t know.” The man replied, “There are fish. Come and see.” Then he knelt down on the shore of the lake and began to stir the water with his hand. As he stirred the water, fish began to jump up out of the water. First one, then another. Soon, they were jumping all over.

As my wife told me the dream, tears streamed down my face.

I had told absolutely no one about my “discussion” with God the night before.

No one.

Yet, here is my wife, telling me a dream where God “replied” directly to my question.

I asked Him...

Is there even one person who wants God in this country?

God showed my wife...

He’s got fish everywhere. Abundant fish.

He’s got people who long for His presence. Those who yearn and burn for His intimate embrace. Folks who can’t get enough of His fire.

People who simply want Jesus.

Nothing more. Nothing less. Nothing else.

Right now, they may be mixed in among the multitudes. They might be hidden among the stacks of hay. They could be like lost like Waldo in those Where’s Waldo pictures.

But God knows right where every single one of them are. He’s got the hungry already staked out with GPS coordinates locked in.

That touched me. It encouraged me that God knew right where I was. He knew the passion, the drive, the gnawing desire for Him in my heart.

And He also knows that to reach those people, I need His power. Because like me, the fake rules of religion have no draw. The empty form without the essence is no temptation.

Because they hunger for the reality of the risen Christ.

He’s got fish who are jumping at the chance to know Him.

I believe you are one of those fish. And your heart is jumping at the opportunity to pursue Jesus with passionate love.

Until next time,

Eric

Scripture Verses To Stand On

Matthew 4:19
19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

Acts 1:8
8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

• Peter had no idea what to say. He stammered about building houses. On top of a mountain.

• Jesus told his disciples to tell no one. Not even the other disciples. They held the secret of the experience with Him until after His resurrection.

Which says to me...

Encounters are holy. They are precious. Imagine something so holy and precious, that Jesus tells you not to tell anyone.

That’s not the norm.

But I understand this. Because on one had, there are so many words and dreams I’d like to share with you. On the other, they are precious and holy to me. Each one represents time spent with the Lord. Seeking Him in prayer and worship. Digging into the Word of God. For one purpose...

...to know Him. To be intimate with Him. To be marked by Him as His.

Word - I’m Taking You Higher Than Those Mountains

On January 19, 2021, shortly after I arrived in Peru, I was worshipping the Lord in my office. And the Lord spoke to me...

Do you remember the mountains I showed you in visions?... Well, I’m taking you higher than that now.

As soon as the Lord spoke this to me, I knew what He was referring to. He was referring to the vision I wrote about a couple days ago where I met Jesus at the top of a mountain.

When He said this, I lost it. My wife came into the office to go to church and I couldn’t even function. She left me at home because He overwhelmed me.

That vision of Him and time frame in 2012 was incredible. Because on one hand, it’s when my daughter passed away. So, I was confronting a massive “tragedy” in my physical life. While at the same time, I encountered God in such beautiful and breathtaking ways spiritually.

So, when He told me...

I’m taking you higher than those mountains...

... I knew what that meant.

It meant His purpose for me is to live in an ongoing encounter with Him. Not just visit once a week on Sunday morning. Or even to go there once a day when I’m alone with Him in my quiet times.

But to live from His realm. To live from the spirit world.

Think about this for a minute...

When Moses encountered God at the burning bush, it marked him. His life changed from that experience. In the old classic movie, The Ten Commandments with Charlton Heston, Moses’ hair suddenly changed from short brown to long and white. More than likely, that’s not reality. His changed hair was only a movie effect.

But the reality of him being marked by God and carrying something different is evident in how God dealt with Him. And the results he had.

But Moses didn’t live his life from one encounter. It wasn’t a one-and-done thing for him.

After leaving Egypt with the children of Israel, he ascended Mount Sinai. He spent 40 days in the cloud of glory with God. When he came back down, the Bible says his face radiated with the glory of God.

That definitely would be a sign that would make people wonder.

The bad news is...

The glory faded. The radiating light from being with God went away.

Paul talks about in 2 Corinthians 3 that the system under which Moses operated had so much glory and power that his face glowed with it. But the New Covenant ratified in the blood of Jesus has more glory. It has more power. Not only that...

The glory endures.

Which means, when you ascend, when you climb higher in the spirit, you should be marked by heaven. For the rest of your days. You should carry some of Him, some of His fragrance with you. Not just one time. Or only on Sundays. Every day. All the time. When people meet you, they should be able to tell you’ve been with Him.

This is going to sound so absurd to some. Especially to the apologists and theology buffs. Here goes...

If our lives aren’t marked by heaven, then we are seriously missing it. If we don’t carry the wind of the Spirit, then we’re off in left field. If we aren’t marked by and made of fire, then we’re simply playing a religious game.

That is the differentiation. That is what sets us apart.

Out of all the nations of the world, Israel was set apart because they had God. There were bigger nations. There were stronger nations. There were more prosperous nations.

But none had access to the God of Heaven and Earth like Israel.

Repeatedly the Bible talks about Moses as someone who the spirit realm responded to. When he spoke, spirits listened. The earth listened. The water listened.

Am I saying that you will divide the water in your backyard pool?

No. I’m saying that the time for us to encounter Him is now. And like Moses, Jesus and His disciples had to exert effort to climb higher, so will you.

If you want to live the life of the Spirit, where your life is marked with the fragrance and power of Jesus, then you’ll have to climb higher in the spirit.

The Bible says in Psalm 24:3...

3 Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?

As Christians, we quote that verse poetically. It’s nice, beautiful language, right? Yes, but in the spirit, that’s really how it is. We have to go higher. Ascend. The Bible says heaven is His throne. The earth is His footstool.

Too many Christians live from the footstool and not the throne. They live from the reality of earth instead of the reality of the spirit. The are stuck in the nature of Adam instead of living from the nature of the Last Adam.

We must climb. We must encounter Him.

He said…

I’m taking you higher than those mountains…

That’s how our life will be marked by heaven. That’s where we go to be made of fire. When you look into His eyes of fire, it will completely ignite you: spirit, soul and body. He will engulf you with the fire of His love.

It’s time to go higher in the spirit.

Until next time,

Eric

P.S. Going higher than the mountains to live from the Spirit is really about a deeper level of intimacy with Him.

Scripture Verses To Stand On

Psalm 24:3-5
3 Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?

4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.

5 He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.

Isaiah 66:1
1 Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?

Mark 9:2
2 And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them.

Word - Climb For Encounters

As I was worshipping the Lord this morning, I heard the phrase...

Climb for encounters.

I knew God spoke that to me in connection with the vision I shared yesterday . That was an encounter with Jesus. As I thought about it, my mind drifted to the time when the disciples had a radical encounter with Jesus.

Well, not all of them.

Not all 12 were there because not all climbed the mountain. Not all of them had the same testimony of encountering Jesus when He transformed in front of them.

While the rest of the disciples hung out at the bottom of the mountain, Jesus took Peter, James and John up. When we read that, we often miss what is written between the lines.

Think about it like this...

When you climb a mountain, it’s not easy. You exert yourself. You strain to go higher. Your body can tire. You start breathing heavier. Sweat pours from your head.

And you haven’t even gotten to the real tough stuff yet.

When Jesus climbed the mountain with Peter, James and John, they weren’t strolling around a finely manicured golf course. They strained to go up higher. They pulled themselves up. They pushed the limits of where they were to ascend. They climbed.

But there was a reward for climbing.

When they stood at the top, huffing and puffing, their clothes damp with sweat from the exertion of climbing...

... that’s when they encountered the reality of the glory and power of Jesus.

His face shining like the sun. His clothes brilliantly white.

The tangibility of the God-Man manifested in front of them. Revealed to them. The ones who pushed to climb higher. The disciples who ascended encountered more than just the fleshly body of Jesus, the Man. They saw with their eyes the inexplicable essence of the Son of God.

The disciples who didn’t climb?

They sat on rocks twiddling their thumbs and waiting.

The hungry encounter Him. Those who pursue God and push further, farther, higher than they had before...

... to them God reveals Himself in ways they never thought possible. Paul even had an encounter he couldn’t talk about. He said it wasn’t lawful for a man to utter what he saw and heard.

Talk about a treasure.

Imagine that...

You push higher, you pursue God to the point that He shows you secrets that aren’t even for Men. Maybe it’s too holy. Or it’s something God wants to keep secret for a future time. But to be entrusted by God with something so precious, is beyond amazing. Words fail to describe accurately the honor of such a privilege.

This is why you...

Climb for encounters.

God will entrust things to you that He doesn’t to others.

God called to Moses and said, “Come up here.” The Bible says that Moses climbed the mountain and entered into the cloud of glory on top of the mountain.

On the seventh day, God spoke to him.

This is when Moses received plans for the tabernacle. The laws. The 10 commandments written in stone by the finger of God.

As I was preaching one day about this, I talked about the difference between Moses and the rest. While he climbed higher to encounter God face to face, what did the people of Israel do? They built the golden calf.

Moses pursued encounter with God.

The people pursued other lovers.

That’s why you...

Climb for encounters.

Peter talked about the time on the mountain with Jesus. I can only imagine the conversations among the disciples. The ones who were there. And those who missed out. But Peter said “I’m not making up fantasy stories here with this. I saw Him transfigured with my own eyes. And I heard the audible voice thunder from heaven.” (2 Peter 1)

I don’t know how many years later it was that he wrote that. But that encounter obviously affected him in a powerful way.

Look at how John described it in 1 John 1:1-2...

That which we....

• heard with our ears

• seen with our eyes

• look upon

• handled with our hands.

That’s not looking at ink on a page. He encountered the palpable substance of God Himself. He wasn’t reading commentaries. He wasn’t debating philosophical arguments.

Life was manifested, revealed, demonstrated to him.

He said, “I saw it. I was there.”

But here’s the rub...

It’s not good enough that he was there. That’s great for John. It was good for Peter and Moses.

But now it’s your turn.

Jesus can’t be just a story in a book. He can’t be just a historical figure that did some cool stuff and died. Nor can He just be what Peter and John said about Him.

You need to encounter the living reality of Jesus in His power and glory.

Job said, “I had heard of You. But now I see you.” Paul persecuted and killed Christians... until Jesus came and met him on a road one day.

It’s time to...

Climb for encounters.

I promise you, when you come into contact with the living tangibility of Jesus, your life will be transformed in ways you cannot even imagine.

It’s time to ascend. It’s the hour to climb higher and pursue Him.

Until next time,

Eric

Scripture Verses To Stand On

1 John 1:1-2
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;

2 (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)

Matthew 17:1-2
1 And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,

2 And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.

And to tell you the truth, God pulled a fast one on me.

As I began writing it, I didn’t know why the Lord reminded me of the story. Or why He wanted me to share it with you. Then by the end, I realized He was reminding me of something He said to me...

Connections are coming.

He wanted me to talk about connections because He wants to do something. He wants to bring holy connections into our lives.

Thank you Jesus!

After I published the newsletter yesterday, I was meditating and searching in my spirit about what the Lord wanted me to write to you.

What is it He wants to say? What is it He is saying?

And I have to say, He is full of surprises. He reminded me of a vision He showed me.

Vision - Climbing A Mountain To Jesus

On July 28, 2012, I was at a worship night at a local church in Tampa, Florida. While I worshipped the Lord, I had a vision...

In my vision, I was climbing a mountain. The incline of this mountain was very steep. The more that I climbed, the more I had to press myself towards the mountain to keep myself steady and going up. When I looked up to the top of the mountain, I saw Jesus standing there. I was so intent, so determined to get to Him, that I pushed harder. My eyes were focused on His eyes. In fact, I saw a laser beam between my eyes and His eyes. I was focused. Finally, I arrived at the top of the mountain and I hugged Jesus. Then we began to hop dance around in a circle together. And then we spun around faster and faster until He entered inside of me. When He entered inside of me, the glory of God shone around me like a light.

There is more to the vision. It had to do with how God helped me when my daughter passed. By His power and truth, I went through in victory. Thank you Jesus.

Here’s the reason why He reminded me of this vision...

Because it’s time to ascend. It’s time to climb.

Just like I saw in that vision, that’s how I live. Pursuing Jesus. Pushing to go higher and farther in the spirit realm. To know Him more intimately that I ever have before. Before I had this vision, I never thought of “ascending.” In fact, even many years later, I didn’t think about it. To me, it was a vision the Lord gave me to help me go through difficulty.

It wasn’t until a couple years ago that God took me back to this “ascending” thing. And He began to show me all over the Word of God regarding it. Then I heard a prophet talk about it. And I was like, “What?” That’s what the Lord showed me many years ago.

I didn’t know anything about it. I just did what every Christian should do. I sought Him through prayer, worship and the Word of God.

I can hear your mind think, Ascend? What does that mean? Is this some New Age, pseudo-psychological weirdness?

Simply put, no. When I talk about “ascending,” I am referring to you encountering and experiencing more of the reality of God in your life.

The dictionary defines the word “ascend” like this...

• to move, climb, or go upward; mount; rise.

• to rise to a higher point, rank, or degree.

• to become king.

Remember what the scripture says?

He who waits on the Lord will...

• mount up,

• rise up,

• ascend,

• climb

... with eagle’s wings.

We quote that scripture but don’t realize that He really means it.

God is taking people into a season right now where you are going to go up. There are different ways God takes people up. And I’ll talk about that. But the key here is...

It’s time to go up, rise, ascend into more of Him. It might be…

• More wrapped in His presence.

• More consumed with the truth of His Word.

• A deeper encounter with the reality of the Living One.

• Clothed with His power to do what He has called you to do.

• More efficient and influential in the mission He has for you.

It could be all of the above.

There is something about when you ascend higher in the spirit. When you climb up into the mountain of God to encounter Him like Moses did. When Moses came back down, he carried the words of God written with the finger of God. His face radiated the glory of God so much, he covered his face with a veil.

When you go up higher and encounter Jesus in new ways, your physical face might not shine like a disco ball. But you will radiate His glory in ways you never dreamed possible. You’ll carry the fragrance of His presence that will draw others to know Him.

I don’t know what God will do with you. But I know that when you ascend higher in the spirit and encounter Him in new ways, your life will transform.

Sometimes ascending higher in the spirit can be like climbing a mountain. It takes effort to go up. You have to push. You have to strive to enter into something deeper. (Yes, I said the word “strive.”)

Other times, God grabs hold of you and takes you higher. That’s a whole different ball game. You’re along for the ride.

Either way, this is what He’s speaking to me about right now...

It’s time to ascend higher than ever before. To focus on Him and pursue Him with consistent passion. So that you can win Him and fulfill the purpose you are here on this earth.

I’ll talk more about ascending over the next couple of days.

The good news is, it’s time to go up.

Until next time,

Eric

Scripture Verses To Stand On

Exodus 24:12-13
12 And the Lord said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone,

13 And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua: and Moses went up into the mount of God.

Revelation 4:1
1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.

Isaiah 40:31
31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Today, I’m going give you scriptural anchors that you can stand on while you are waiting. Because sometimes connections come rapidly. Other times, we go through a process of waiting. And while we are waiting, it’s good to understand why you are waiting. And have the assurance from God that He’s working.

Let me give you an example of a time when I thought I had a connection, but the Lord showed me otherwise...

Dream - Seductive Woman And Tree Filled With White Fruit

I met a man from Canada who was married to a Peruvian woman. We began talking about doing a business together here in Peru. It seemed like it would be great. We thought a lot alike. We were both foreigners. Both lived in the same area. And sufficiently computer savvy to start an online business. We were throwing around ideas and both of us were excited. But I wanted to know what the Lord thought about it.

So, I asked Him to show me.

On October 14, 2022, I had a dream where I saw the man sitting on a reclining beach chair. A woman dressed very seductively with short shorts and very revealing top came to him. She said, “Has Eric given you something to drink?” He replied, “No.” The woman got visibly angry. She replied, “Then I’ll do it myself.” And she grabbed a drink and gave it to him. She continued to attend to him. Then I turned to my left and began to walk. I encountered a tree filled with white fruit. It was so full of fruit that the entire tree was white. I plucked one to try it and three fruits came connected together. When I tried the fruit, it was just the right mixture of sweetness. It was so refreshing.

When I woke up, I knew there was another spirit operating with this man. He was not following Holy Spirit. As much as I liked him, I knew I couldn’t work with him because it wasn’t a connection from Holy Spirit. Soon after, he moved out of the country to follow another opportunity. Just as the Lord showed me.

I also knew God had connections and blessing for me apart from him. So, I didn’t feel bad about not moving forward with the business we talked about.

This is why I have shared with you about connections from God. And connections that aren’t from God.

I believe God is going to make connections for you. So, I’m going to share with you scriptures where God connected people and things in the Bible.

Jesus Needed A Donkey

The story in the beginning of Mark 11 is amazing.

It’s a week before Jesus’ crucifixion. He knows His time is near by the Spirit of God. He’s about to go into Jerusalem. But he needs transportation into the city. Or course, He could walk. He walked everywhere. He could ride on a horse. Or a camel. Or even be carried in on a litter.

But there was a problem.

None of those ways would fulfill God’s plan for His life.

Why?

Because the prophet Zechariah prophesied hundreds of years before that the rightful king of Jerusalem would ride into the city on a donkey. (Zechariah 9:9)

Jesus knows this.

Which means, He needs a donkey. But He doesn’t have one.

So, He needs a connection by the Spirit of God. He needs provision.

Long story short, God shows Jesus where the connection for a donkey was. A man in a village had a donkey no one had ever ridden on. Jesus sent two disciples to get it. And He said, “Untie it and bring it here.”

Without that connection of a man with the donkey and a willing heart to give it, how does Jesus fulfill what God said about Him? How does He complete the mission God had for Him?

The Prophet Needed Food

The story of Elijah in 1 Kings 17 is crazy awesome. Elijah needed a place to chill and grub to eat during a famine. God told him he had a connection already lined up.

A widow woman.

That sounds crazy.

Then when Elijah shows up where God said, he meets a woman. But he finds out she has only enough flour to make a small bread for herself and her son. She was preparing to die.

But her heart was willing to help and follow the instruction of the prophet.

Elijah, the woman and her son were sustained by God throughout that whole famine because of that connection. God blessed Elijah and the woman and family.

The Crowd Needed Food

You know the story when Jesus fed the multitude in John 6. He asked Philip where to buy food for the people. Philip responded that a full year’s wages wouldn’t be enough to buy bread for each to have just one bite.

But there was a boy with loaves of bread and fish in his lunchbox. And a willingness to share.

With that connection, Jesus fed all the people, including the boy. Plus, there was leftovers to make tuna salad sandwiches the next day.

The Person Of Peace

Jesus talked about the “person of peace” in Matthew 10 and Luke 10. When his disciples went into a new city, they would find a person willing to help them. That person was a connection into the city. I’ve seen this happen in my own life and in the lives of others.

God will give you access to groups of people or into systems through a person of peace. A Holy Ghost connection that will open doors for you. Introduce you to people. Show you how, where, what and more.

The Key To Connections By The Spirit

These scriptures I shared are just some of the many examples in the Word of God when He made connections for His people. Connections for provision like food and transportation. Connections for ministry like the person of peace. Paul relied on God connecting him repeatedly in the book of Acts. And even connections for business like when Paul worked with Aquila and Priscilla making tents.

So, He’ll do the same for you.

The key is trusting Him. Believing Him. And sometimes, waiting on Him to bring the proper connection.

Because a holy connection can mean years of fruitfulness and blessing for everyone involved.

I know a missionary in central America. Her entire story, more than 15 years of ministry, all happened and continues because of one connection. A person of peace in that nation has opened many doors for her in all kinds of ways. Including land for her ministry, an orphanage, introductions to government leaders, funding and more.

I am believing that our amazing God will make connections for you and I in the coming days. And we’ll have the testimonies to share of His greatness.

Until next time,

Eric

Scripture Verses To Stand On

Matthew 10:11
11 And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, enquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence.

Luke 10:5-6
5 And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house.

6 And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again.

1 Kings 17:9
9 Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.

Mark 11:3
3 And if any man say unto you, Why do ye this? say ye that the Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will send him hither.

Last night, she read yesterday’s newsletter how God connected her and I supernaturally. From two different countries. Even though we didn’t speak the same language.

Through her tears she told me...

Many people are waiting on connections like this. You are injecting faith into them that God can do for them what He did for us. It’s so important.

If He did it before, He can do it again.

While I dug into my notes yesterday on connections, I ran across a dream I had recently...

Dream - Someone Sends Me Two Emails

On June 18, 2026, I had a dream that someone I know sent me two emails.

As I prayed about the dream, the Lord showed me the emails represented connections He is sending me. Sadly, I’d already forgotten about the dream in such a short time. But the Lord used yesterday’s newsletter to remind me...

Connections are coming.

Just like when God said to me...

I have a wife for you.

That was God telling me He had a connection for me. But when He said that, it didn’t mean it was just any woman. He didn’t tell me that so that I could have a warm body next to me.

I was looking for the woman God spoke to me about.

In the same way, these connections God is speaking to me about won’t be just any warm body. I’m not looking for any kind of connection. I’m looking for Holy Ghost connections. I don’t know who they are or what their names are. But I know they will be people who will help me accomplish the step God has me at right now. And this connection will be a blessing for them as well.

The reason I’m talking about connections is because they are important. Here’s why...

When God wants to bless you, He sends a person to connect to you.

When the enemy wants to stop you, he sends a person to connect to you.

I know people whose lives are disasters and their missions from God completely derailed. It started when a person came into their life that wasn’t sent by God. I also know people whose lives advanced in incredible ways in the plan of God. It started when a person came into their life, a God sent connection.

So, it’s important you and I are spiritually aware.

Not everyone is for you. Not every opportunity is sent by God. Not every open door is God opening the door.

That’s why God reminded me of the dream that I received two emails. He has connections for me. So, He wants me to be on the lookout for what He’s sending my way. Not just anyone with a pulse.

The same is true for you. I know God has connections for you. Connections that will help you complete the step and the mission He has for you.

So, I’m going to share two simple keys to help you spot these Holy Spirit connections.

Two Keys To Help You Spot Connections Sent By God

First, be sure you are connected to Him.

Our connection to Jesus is of vital importance.

In John 10:3, Jesus said the doorman opens the door for the shepherd to enter. That means the doorman recognizes when it’s Jesus. But you know what else a doorman does? He doesn’t open the door for thieves and robbers. Because he recognizes, that’s not Jesus.

In the same way, He’ll show you. That opportunity is from Jesus. Or, watch out, that’s not Jesus. That’s a robber. But if you aren’t connected and intimate with Him, then your ability to hear from Him will be hampered.

So, stay sensitive to His voice through prayer, worship and the Word of God.

Second, He goes before you.

One time when many Christians get confused is when connections show up. It is easy for us to wonder, Is this from God or not? Should I take it? Here’s one way you’ll know...

In John 10:4, Jesus said the shepherd goes before His sheep and they follow Him. When it comes to following the Lord, this is a huge. Remember the key...

He goes before you.

Before you go, He will go. He will show you ahead of time what He’s doing. Like when God said to me...

I have a wife for you.

He already spoke to me. He showed me things about her beforehand. If a woman didn’t match what He already said to me, then I simply said, “Nope!” and moved on.

I’ve had other situations where opportunities came to me that seemed amazing. But the Lord hadn’t said anything to me. In the past, I would have gotten excited. Then I would have “prayed for direction.” When I didn’t hear anything, immediately I assumed God wanted me to do it. And I barged ahead....

... right into problems.

But He showed me, He goes before you.

That took all the pressue off because He’ll speak and lead ahead of time. He’ll let you know what’s coming. John 16:13 says Holy Spirit will show you things to come. He’s good at His job. He isn’t lazy. He will show you things that are coming in advance of them arriving. Which also means...

... if He didn’t show you ahead of time, then it’s likely it’s not from Him.

That doesn’t mean you’ll know everything about everything. He still is full of Wonder. But He’ll show you enough for you to know what is from Him and not. All you have to do is follow what He says.

This shows why having a strong connection to the Lord and hearing His voice is important. Because if you hear ahead of time what He is bringing, you’ll recognize it when it arrives.

These two simple keys will help you identify connections God has for you. And ones He doesn’t have for you.

Until next time,

Eric

Scripture Verses To Stand On

John 16:13
13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

John 10:3-4
3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.

4 And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.

I was searching for what the Lord wanted me to write to you about. What is it He is saying right now?

In my spirit, I scrolled past a few different topics. But there wasn’t life on any of them. Then suddenly, the Lord reminded me of something I wrote two days ago.

I talked about God’s crazy talk. And I said that is the reason I was sitting on a couch in Peru writing to you. So, I’ll share that story with you. Because I believe the Lord has something special for us as I share what He did.

Word - I Have A Wife For You

On December 2, 2018, my wife passed away.

Ten days later, on December 12, 2018, I was minding my own business at work. My wife had a cleaning business. So, I was at a client’s house in Apollo Beach, Florida in the master bathroom. While I cleaned, I worshipped the Lord. In the middle of cleaning the shower, the Lord spoke to me...

I have a wife for you.

Immediately the power of God hit me and I started laughing and crying.

It’s not that I couldn’t believe what He said to me. Just the audacity of what He said, the sheer crazy talk was astounding.

Here I am...

• My wife passed away 10 days before.

• I’ve got two small boys.

• I’ve got a business I don’t like, but it’s mine now.

• With clients to serve.

• Bills to pay.

And without asking or even thinking about it, God has the audacity to tell me...

I have a wife for you.

That’s God crazy talk.

At the same time, I understood exactly what He was doing. Because when God speaks, He always speaks faith. He speaks to your future. He speaks His plans for you. So, I knew He spoke to me to focus my eyes ahead. Because in situations like that, it can be easy to look in the past. He wanted me to have hope and faith in the future.

Over the next couple months, God spoke to me specific things about this woman. I mean, specific things. Quickly, without going into deep details, this is what the Lord showed me. I knew by the Holy Spirit that she...

• had a call of God on her life to preach.

• had a call in one of the five fold ministries (I knew which one).

• was not from the United States.

• would travel with me to preach.

• would help me fulfill God’s will for my life.

• was a soldier in the military of her country but now is a soldier of Christ.

• and more.

In January 2019, I was working one weekend. While working, I had time to be in the Word of God because there weren’t a lot of clients. The Lord took me to Genesis 2 about Adam and Eve. While I read, the presence of God exploded all over me with a specific verse.

In that chapter, God saw it wasn’t good for Adam to be alone. So, God made Eve.

But check this out...

Genesis 2:22

22 And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.

That last part lit me on fire.

God brought Eve to Adam. He grabbed Eve’s hand and led her to Adam and said, “Adam, this is the wife I made for you.” Then He looked at the woman and said, “Eve, this is your husband.”

God introduced Eve to Adam.

I had never heard or seen anything like that in my life. Who ever heard of God the Matchmaker? But that’s what happened in the Bible. God connected them. They didn’t do it themselves.

So, I knew God was going to bring a woman to me. I didn’t know who it was. I didn’t know her name. Or from what country. But I knew that when she arrived by the leading and guiding of God’s Spirit, He would show me just like He did with Adam.

Long story short...

At the end of October 2019, I met my wife. When we began to chat, the power of God crashed over me like a tidal wave. Like a tsunami. Which surprised me. Because I am so used to God speaking to me through dreams that I expected Him to show me that way.

But that’s not how He showed me.

She would send me a simple text message and the power of God flooded me. I couldn’t contain the laughter and the tears. I knew this was God. There was no natural reason for me to be laughing and crying. She wasn’t telling jokes. It wasn’t something funny or sad.

It was the presence and power of God all over me for 3 days straight.

God grabbed my attention because it was so different.

Meeting a woman (or any person) isn’t normally like that. It’s normally like, “Hi, what’s your name?” Just normal stuff. But this was different. A text message arrived and... boom! A crash of the power of God.

So, I knew, there was something the Lord is doing.

As we chatted, everything the Lord showed me about her nearly a year before, was true. She literally said to me one of the first days exactly as He said. “I was a soldier for my country. But now I’m a soldier for Christ.” My eyes just about bugged out. She didn’t know that is exactly what God said to me.

I found out that she had numerous prophecies and words from the Lord regarding me. Before she met me. Specific details. So, when we met, it was a Holy Spirit connection.

The story is much longer than what I have time or space to share today. But it all started with God’s crazy talk one day when I wasn’t even expecting it...

I have a wife for you.

Here’s why the Lord wants me to share it with you...

God is in the business of making connections. He makes appointments.

In Adam’s case, God brought Eve to him and made the introduction.

In my case, He brought together two people from two different countries, two different languages. But we have the same Holy Spirit. And that’s key.

I learned something powerful from that experience with my wife. How do two people from other countries meet each other? In a vast world of billions of people?

By the Spirit. I wasn’t looking for just any woman. I was looking for the one where Holy Ghost was all over me and her. I wanted the connection God showed me about numerous times.

You might be believing God for...

• a godly husband or wife.

• a job.

• a business partner.

• funding for a project.

• clients for your business.

• a godly spouse for your kids.

• a good school or job for your kids.

• any number of things.

Whatever it is you are believing God for, you need a God connection. The good news is, God has...

• The right time.

• The right place.

• The right person.

Not everyone is for you. Not everything is for you.

He has connections already lined up. You want the Holy Ghost connection.

Does that mean everything will be “perfect” once you’ve found it? Does God’s connection ensure a picturesque life? Does a godly spouse or the door opening to a job mean everything will be amazing?

No.

But it does mean you are staying in His plan and purpose. And not being taken for a ride in the enemy’s destructive plans for you.

God is in the business of making connections. This is good news for me. I didn’t plan on writing about this. It seemed strange at first for me to share this story with you. But now I understand. Because the Lord spoke to me that He’s got connections for me. So, He used this story to remind me...

He’s done it before. And He’ll do it again.

And I know He’s got connections for you as well. Connections that will help you advance in His plan for your life. Connections that will help you fulfill all that God has.

When God’s connection shows up at your door and He makes the introduction, you’ll know He did it for you too.

Until next time,

Eric

Scripture Verses To Stand On

Genesis 2:22
22 And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.

Isaiah 48:17
17 Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.

Psalm 37:23
23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way.

Outside, everything was the same. But inside, I was fighting.

Years ago, I would have gotten frustrated. I would have let what I felt in my emotions and the brick walls I see around me come out of my mouth. Which would have watered those weeds of negativity and caused them to grow more.

But I didn’t do that. Thank you Jesus.

Over the years of walking with God through many situations, I learned His ways. I learned not to let my mouth speak what isn’t in lined up with the truth of God’s Word. No matter what it feels or looks like.

In fact, I’m very quick to begin to speak God’s Word in the face of whatever situation.

But yesterday, I didn’t do that either. I was busy with the family. So, I didn’t say anything. I didn’t speak the nonsense boiling inside of me. Nor did I speak the truth of God’s Word.

I just didn’t say anything.

So, that fight inside lingered.

When I woke up this morning, I was meditating on dream I had. While I thought about the dream, I had a vision.

Vision - Will You Be With Me?

In my vision, I saw one of my sons. He said to me, “Daddy, will you be with me?”

Immediately, I knew the Lord was speaking directly to the situation I sat in yesterday. Because He said very clearly in His Word in Hebrews 13:5...

... I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

That means, no matter the situation, He’s there. Not only is He there. He’s present.

I believe for us as believers, this truth is so fundamental to our lives. It is imperative for us to settle this in our hearts. Wrap our minds around it. Get it locked and loaded in our spirit.

I will never leave you nor forsake you.

Because here’s what happens many times for many of us...

We’re busy.

We’ve got...

• Bills.

• Appointments.

• Bosses.

• Clients.

• Kids.

• Obligations.

We’ve got so many things to do, so many things screaming at us for attention that we don’t take the time to strengthen the foundation of our faith.

Then when a situation comes up that is beyond our ability to handle, then we get shaken. We fall apart. Our emotions run wild. Our minds spin a million miles a minute. We have no peace or joy anymore because our soul is afflicted.

When I saw the vision of my son simply saying, “Daddy, will you be with me?”...

... I knew those words.

I didn’t say them out loud. I didn’t even whisper them to God.

But that’s the question that is inside the heart of every person. All the way back to Cain.

After Cain murdered his brother Abel, God said he would wander the earth. What I’ve always found interesting about that is Cain’s response. He immediately was concerned that he would live away from the presence of God. That God wouldn’t be with him.

I remember years ago when I first saw that. It really surprised me. Because we think of Cain as this bad dude who killed his brother. Basically, a callous criminal. A heartless hombre.

But the first thing he says when God sends him away is, “But You won’t be with me.”

I’d never considered that Cain was used to living with the reality of knowing and interacting with God.

Moses wanted to know God was with him too. Several times.

During one time in the desert, God told Moses in a moment of frustration, “I’ll send my angel ahead of you to do what I said. But I won’t go with you.”

What did Moses say?

Did he say, “Cool, I’m getting that promise”?

No, he replied, “If you’re not going, I’m not going.”

Several times Paul had radical encounters where God told him, “I’m with you.”

One time when Paul was arrested in Jerusalem. Jesus walked into the jail cell and told him he would stand before Caesar and preach the gospel. Which meant, He was with Paul.

Then on the trip to Rome, the ship he was on was in the middle of a violent storm. Everyone thought they were going to die. An angel came and told Paul that all of the people with him would live. Because he had to preach in Rome.

Throughout the Bible, over and over again, the cry of men’s hearts is, “Will you be with me?” Even with great men of God like Moses and Paul.

The good news is, He gave us the same promise. To never leave nor forsake us.

The issue for you and I is to speak it, meditate on it and let the truth that He is our ever present help completely saturate us. Allow the truth to permeate every part of our being. That our mind and emotions, our soul, is consumed with God’s truth. Until our heart is firmly planted, established in the truth.

And even when we are firmly established in the truth, it’s a daily decision to grab hold of Him. And the Word of God. And never let go.

Until next time,

Eric

Scripture Verses To Stand On

Hebrews 13:5

5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

Psalm 112:7-8

7 He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord.

8 His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies.

Joshua 1:5

5 There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.