We are about to see
a really cool thing
happen at the beginning
of Luke Chapter 19

Get ready to observe
a mustard seed of faith
sprout into a root
before taking its shape.

Zacchaeus was his name,
and his soul contained
the Faith Mustard Seed.

He probably didn’t know
that it was even there,
until he heard the word
that Jesus was coming near.

He was the Chief Tax Collector
of the region of Jericho;
and this notorious rich man
found the eye of the needle!

This is the perfect representation
of the camel
who goes through
the eye of the needle,
that Jesus spoke about
in Luke Chapter 18
verse 25.

It may have been curiosity
that opened up his mind,
or it may have been loneliness
that opened his heart.

Regardless of the reason,
His desire to see
made Zacchaeus draw in closer
to the coming of the Lord.

He made it his mission
to get a good look at Jesus,
so he found an elevated position
that would overcome
his physical disposition.

His small stature
did not leave him much hope,
he was way too short
to see over the crowd.
So he ran ahead
and climbed a sycamore tree.
It was his heart’s desire
to be able to see.

Potential faith
is what this man had,
all beneath
a soiled facade.

The surprising thing
is that when Jesus came by,
He looked up
and called Zacchaeus
by name.

“Zacchaeus!” he said.
“Quick, come down!
I must be a guest
in your home today.”

Zacchaeus quickly climbed down
and took Jesus to his house
in great excitement and joy,
his potential was found.

But the people who saw this
were highly displeased.
“He has gone to be the guest
of a notorious sinner,”
they grumbled ferociously.

Meanwhile,
Zacchaeus stood
before the Lord
and said,
“I will give half my wealth
to the poor,
and if I have cheated people
on their taxes,
then I will give them back
four times more!”

Jesus responded,
“Salvation has come
to this home today,
for this man has shown
himself to be a true son of Abraham.
For the Son of Man
came to seek and save
those who are lost.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭19:1-10‬

Isn’t this story of
Zacchaeus and Jesus,
the most beautiful thing
you have ever heard?

Here we see,
the Faith Mustard Seed
sprouting into a Man of Humility,
and my guess is
he stopped collected taxes,
but instead became
a servant to the Lord 
joyfully collecting souls for God.

The announcement of Jesus
brought crowds to the road,
but this was not enough
to keep this sinner away.
Although there was doubt,
Zacchaeus moved forward in hope.
His wonderment
drove him into position
to get the perfect look out!

He was strategic in placing himself
by acknowledging his disposition
and running ahead.

Then he must have waited
for Jesus to come,
patiently enduring
without losing his hope.

And when their paths crossed,
the most interesting thing happened,
Jesus knew his name
without even having an introduction.

Can you imagine?
The Lord knowing you
without ever having to be
formally introduced?

Isn’t God good?
It seems that just the act
of drawing in close,
is actually the process
that draws Jesus closer to us!

And not only
did Jesus know Zacchaeus by name,
but He said He must
be a guest in his house today!

I suppose the house
symbolizes our own human hearts,
and Jesus represents the Holy Spirit
living inside of us.

That has to be why
Zacchaeus had a heart change,
immediately when Jesus
called him by name.

All that he had done,
came straight to his mind;
He was totally convicted
of the damage he had caused,
and his desire was to repent
and pay it all back,
but not just what he took,
he wanted to pay back more.

Repentance is the reaction
for anyone who has
been accepted by Him;
and Restoration
is the response
of a Spirit-filled heart.

The story ends when Jesus says,
“Salvation has come
to this home today,
for this man has shown
himself to be a true son of Abraham.
For the Son of Man came to seek
and to save those who are lost.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭19:9-10‬ ‭

As I sit here soaking up this story,
I am completely entranced
by its beauty!
Every Parable
is an edible delight 
into the heart of Jesus.

The Faith Mustard Seed 
can be found in those who doubt,
and the Faith Mustard Seed
can be found in those who sell out.

A chief tax collector
had to be the worst kind of man,
he taxed the poor
to put money in the pockets
of rich men.
He served the government
of a worldly kingdom
that taxed to death
the citizen's that lived in them.
Yet we see beneath his occupation
that his heart is truly good.
He did not let the flesh
keep him away,
rather he focused on his faith
and believed that Jesus was coming.
He prepared a position
that would allow him to see,
the miracle worker
​that was heading to Jerusalem.

The other day
I told my Christian friends
that the world was cursed
instead of blessed,
and they looked at me
like I had three heads.

I suppose
I would react like them
if the Lord wasn’t pressing on me
to declare
1.  Repentance and
2. Judgment is Coming

So many people
think they are blessed
when the truth is
they are really cursed.

How can you possibly
understand God’s mercy
if you have no idea
about Bible Prophecy,
or the Seed of Adam.

Everyone who screams
“I am blessed, look at me”
is really a foreigner to me.
What a prideful thing to believe.
That you are so blessed,
and God only stands for you.

How can you scream "I am so blessed," 
when the world is dying around you.
Where is your humility?

If you think God’s Word
will stand on selfish pride,
then you have another thing coming.

There is nothing in God’s Word,
that says that selfish pride is good.
Yes, you can raise his banner high,
and you can declare victory
in the name of Christ.
You can say just about anything you want,
but God know the intent of your heart.

If you don’t know his Holiness,
If you don’t hold Him In reverence,
if you don’t understand His mercy,
then how can you truly say
that you have a personal relationship with Him?

Your claim to grace
will not hold up in court,
if you have not laid down
your life for Him.

Let me speak the truth in love -
Everyone can come to the table!
Everyone can eat the bread of life
and everyone can wash it down
with His wine,
but if you come as a guest
filled with prideful intent,
then none of his substance
will stick to your bones,
and His body will go right through you.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are those who mourn,
for they shall be comforted.
“Blessed are the meek,
for they shall inherit the earth.
“Blessed are those who hunger
and thirst for righteousness,
for they shall be satisfied.
 “Blessed are the merciful,
for they shall receive mercy.
“Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they shall see God.
“Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called sons of God.
 “Blessed are those who are persecuted
for righteousness' sake,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when others revile you
and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil
against you falsely on my account"
Matthew 5:2-11


Deceit is accelerating
in the streets,
while humanity is decaying
on the sidewalks.

Lust and greed
and power and control
are running rampantly
in the global world,
and people are dying,
by the thousands,
without even knowing God’s Word.

Believe me,
I wish I had something else to say,
like living the blessing
instead of enduring the curse.

But the world is spinning the opposite way,
and people are consuming false testimony.

We have internalized the Word of God
from a twisted perspective of self.
We think it’s all about us, instead of Him.

We have become fattened cows
taking advantage of the choices we have.

Instead of being humble servants
who disciple men,
we flaunt “God is good” in people’s face
and leave them alone to figure it out.

How many say,
“God is Good”
only when it's going their way?
And we only seem to pray
when something goes wrong.

In fact just the other day,
someone saw on Facebook
that I was praying over a region,
and she said, "What is wrong?"
I said, "Nothing.  I just sense the Lord
leading me to pray over this location."

Our hearts are deceived
if we believe
that we will All go to Heaven
when we don’t know God.

And we don’t know God,
unless we pursue
a personal relationship with Him.
So we must all stop, and repent
for these are the Days of Amos,
and God’s judgment is coming.

You don’t have to believe
anything that I say,
but I am still going to say it anyway.

The Lord is wringing out his remnant
for one drop of his blood
covers a multitude of sin.

His message has not changed -
Not once since the day
I first received it
on May 24, 2019
while desperately crying in the shower.

In fact, the wringing
is becoming even more pressing,
and I can see the remnant shrinking
from ten to one.

I interrupt the Good News
shared in the Book of Luke
to remind you that
Judgment Day is coming.

You can accept my grace
and say that you are blessed,
but the truth is
if you don’t know who I am
then you are nothing to me,
but a false witness.

Your testimony will not stand,
in the courtroom of Heaven,
because you are nothing
but a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

If you think you can have my grace,
without understanding my mercy,
then you really do not know who I am.

How can you possibly
be a servant to me,
when it’s all about you,
and not about Me?

I have taken this prideful woman
and I have been wringing her out.

She is a now a humble servant
who knows who her master is.
And I have anointed her
to stand in my wall
and shout out,
“ Rest and Repent.”
“Judgement is coming!”

Rest and Repentance
is coming to a close,
get ready for the horses hooves.
A stampede is coming your way,
and they will trample anyone
who stands in their way.

The Days of Amos are upon you.
Go now,
and read the words
of the the man who lived among you.
He was just a man, a quiet shepherd
who carried my voice,
just like this woman does.

You can choose not to believe her,
and you can choose to condemn her,
But that will NOT change
what I have commanded her to say.

These are the Days of Amos!
Now Go and read them for yourself.
And get ready, because MY WORD is coming!

Do not run
Do not hide
It’s time to take
response-ability.

You can hide behind
excuses and blame,
but it will not do you any good
because I have X-Ray vision.

Your shame reaction
to a sinful choice
will not hold up in court.
You can drape reasons
over yourself,
but these metaphorical
fig leaves
will not work.
I have X-ray vision
and I can see
right through them.

And you can
point your finger
at another man,
but that response
will not stand.

I will ask YOU
what you how you responded,
despite other peoples' actions.

Think about this:
Has your anger
driven you to sin?
Has your envy
created back-biting gossip?
Has your jealousy
caused covetousness?
Has your resentment
caused slanderous talk?
Has your pride
caused you to blame,
instead of moving on
and forgiving them?
Has your guilt
led you to lie?
Has your shame
caused you to hide
behind even more
foolish actions?
Has your greed
filled your heart with lust?
Do you struggle with
“I need more of this!”
Has a murderous thought
come into your heart?
Have you developed
roots of bitterness?
Has rejection
set you apart?
Have you withdrawn
and given up on people,
or yourself?
Has your depression
caused you to give up hope,
despite knowing that I am good?
Has control taken over you?
Have you held onto anxiety
instead of keeping My peace?

Do you feel any of this?
What is your response- ability?
And this is just one list
of human-centered feelings,
get ready to hear the list
of human-centered thoughts!

“I can’t. I am dumb.”
“I hate them because they don’t love.”
“Nothing ever works out for me.”
“God must not hear me.”
“There’s no point in even trying.”
“Everybody has it better than me.”
“This will last for eternity.”
“I have no choice but to give up on me.”

These are ALL 
thoughts of pride,
although internalized.

This is where human thoughts go,
when humans are placed
at the center of their world.

Humanism is an outlook
or system of thought
attaching prime importance
to the human
rather than a divine entity
known as God.
Humans are put
at the center of their world,
and they become the main character
of their show.
They believe
in their own potential,
instead of relying
solely on God;
and they seek secular ways
to solve human problems.

But the Bible says,
The human heart
is easily deceived,
and the human mind
is subject to sinful intent.
This is because
the spirit is dead,
and without God,
humans live
according to the soul
and the flesh.
But when
we accept Jesus,
the Lord gives us
His blessing back.
And when
the Holy Spirit
lives in us,
we are no longer
slaves to sin.

Jesus is the WORD of God -
and He is the one
who blesses and curses.
"I lay before you
life and death,
choose life so that you
and your descendants may live." 

The day is coming
when you will have to
take the stand -
you must decide
if you will stand
on the WORD of God.

This is why you must forgive,
and this is why you must choose love.

This is why you must repent,
and this is why you must come back.

This is why you must listen to Him,
because the Holy Spirit
will give you strength.

He will develop
a God-centered conscience
to help you overcome
your human-centered-ness.

He is the Spirit of Truth,
and has declared,
“Whosoever believes in Me
shall have eternal life.”

His blood covers a multitude of sin,
that is why He is wringing out His remnant.

Holy Spirit
leads you through
the Valley of the Shadow of Death
where Satan attacks you.
His rod and His staff
will comfort you -
and you will fear no evil.
He has prepared a table for you,
in the presence of your enemies,
and He has anointed you
with His oil, the Spirit of Truth.
His goodness and mercy
shall follow you,
all the days of your life, 
and you will dwell
in the house of the Lord,
forever and ever more.
 
There is no human
who can hide away
from the response-ability
He has placed upon them.

Everyone is accountable to Him.
Everyone will stand in His courtroom.
Everyone will face this righteous judge,
and everyone will receive a final judgment.

God has set an appointed time
for every person to appear
in the Heavenly court.
The day of judgment
is coming soon,
so decide for yourself
what you will choose.

Will you overcome the world
by the blood of the lamb?
Or will you spew up
a false testimony?

Whose banner will you raise?
Does it say “Jesus is King”
or
“I am a the king of my own humanity?”

Every heart is marked
with a permanent certificate of birth.
And when He takes the census
He will be looking
for those names
who are written
into the Book of Life.

I hear the Lord say,
"My judgement is coming soon."
"I endured a terrible baptism for you."
"Now what will you do?"
"Will you pledge your allegiance to Me?"
"Do you believe that I came to redeem you?"
"Do you understand how much I love you?"
"Do you realize that you were cursed,
until I reversed it back into the blessing?"
"It is by my mercy and grace,
that I have saved you from eternal death."

"Now everything comes down
to your response-ability!"

I hear the Lord say, 
"My Children,
pay attention and listen to Me.
Bow your heads
in reverence to Me.
Seek My face
with every choice;
die to self
and lay your life down.
Judgment Day
is coming soon,
and you accuser has been
invited as well.
Do not worry about anything
because I am the lamb
who has overcome him.
Death passes over my  blood 
located on the doorposts
of the human heart,
at least for the ones
who eat the whole lamb
and swallow all of it’s parts.
My blood covers Him,
as he walks faithfully,
even in doubt.
And my cloud and fire
comes day and night,
to guide him into the promised land.
The Land of Milk and Honey
is waiting for them,
as the run the race
on the Highway to Heaven."

So I ask -
Are you a true witness for Jesus?
Do you believe He is the Son of God?
Remember, He has X-ray vision,
and He can see the intent of your heart.
So be honest with yourself,
determine if you have exposed
every hidden thing?
There is no condemnation
for anyone who comes freely,
there is only
a transformation
of the enduring heart.

Do not hold anything back.
Do not blasphemy the Holy Spirit.
Do you want more of Him, 
or do you want more of yourself?

You will need to lay everything down,
including your human-centered
thoughts and feelings.

Are you ready to unveil yourself?
Are you ready for God to search you?
Are you ready to be transformed,
by the renewing of your mind?

Every human has a response-ability.
Everyone will be judged justly
for the choice they make.

​What will you do?  

The parables found
in Luke 18
are great metaphors
for Hebrews 12.

My heart jumped
when I heard Jesus start
talk about the widow
who had persistent faith.

Justice was served
not because of her,
but because of
the Holy Spirit,
who lived inside of her,
would not give up!

Then there’s the Parable
of the Pharisee
and the Tax Collector.

In my opinion,
this is the beginning
of the faith journey
that represents the image
of the mustard seed.

It's speaks about
a religious man
who is spiritually dead,
and compares him
to a sinner
who falls on his face,
overwhelmed by the disgrace
of acknowledging
who he actually is.

He becomes spiritually aware,
that he is just a man  -
who lives inside
a world of sin.
 
And he understands
that only following Jesus 
can save him.

He takes an honest reflection
of who he is -
and sees that he is simply a man
collecting a fee
for a worldly kingdom,
knowing full well
the money
will not be used
to take care of the citizens.

Instead it will fill
the pockets
of rich men,
who use power
and control
to rule over them.

I believe
that the tax collectors
who followed Jesus
had to be
the greatest servants.

They had an awareness
of the price
that Jesus’s sacrifice
was worth.

They represent the children of God -
the ones who fall on their face,
fully submitted to Him.
They do not dare to exalt themselves;
and they know full well
that their faith
far outweighs their doubt.

And after learning
about the Tax Collector,
Jesus tells them
“Let the children come to me.
Don’t stop them!
For the Kingdom of God
belongs to those
who are like these children.
I tell you the truth,
anyone who doesn’t receive
the Kingdom of God like a child
will never enter it.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭18:16-17‬ ‭

Did you notice,
that Jesus said
“LIKE these children?”

We must be able
to read between the lines
to fully understand
that He is not only talking
about the young,
but instead
He is declaring
that those who desire
to come to Him,
should never be stopped.

Then there’s the rich man
who declares,
“Jesus I want to follow you.
Tell me, what should I do
to inherit eternal life?”

First let me just say
that the key word here
is “should!”

"Should"
implies
no heart change.
"Must" 
would be
the proper word
spoken by a person
who has actually chosen
to follow God.

And instead
of answering the rich man's question,
Jesus asks him
if he has followed
the Law of Moses.


And as you can assume,
the man replies,
“I’ve obeyed
all these commandments
since I was young.”

When Jesus heard this,
He said,
“There is still one thing
you haven’t done.
Sell all your possessions
and give the money to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven.
Then come and follow me.”

"But when the man heard this
he became very sad,
for he was very rich."

When Jesus saw this,
He said,
“How hard it is for the rich
to enter the Kingdom of God!
In fact, it is easier for a camel
to go through the eye of a needle
than for a rich person to enter
the Kingdom of God!”

And those who heard this said,
“Then who in the world can be saved?”

He replied,
“What is impossible for people
is possible with God.”

And this, my friend,
is the moral of the story!

A mustard seed of faith
is all that it takes
to begin the journey
of Holy Spirit intervention -
a process known as
sanctification.

Jesus came
with the end in mind.
He is not like us,
who takes Heaven for granted.

He knows that
every human
will experience
eternal life, or eternal death
depending on whether
they choose the blessing
or the curse.

His desire is 
that no one should perish,
not even one.
That is why He came
with a plan
and a three-fold purpose

First,
He came to be
our final sacrifice
because He knew that we
could never be perfect.
His blood was shed
for all humans,
on the table of God;
where anyone who chooses
to eat of Him can. 
His flesh is the bread of life,
and his blood is the wine
that washes away sin.

Second,
His blood purifies us,
and this permits
Holy Spirit to live inside us.

The Seed of Abraham
is miraculous!
It reverses the curse
declared against
the Seed of Adam.
Holy Spirit
brings dead bones
back to life,
and He guides us back
to the Tree of Life.
He is in charge
of sanctification, 
and He prepares our hearts
and our minds
to face the Judge.

Third,
humanity will continue
to live in the world,
until the appointed time;
and we must be prepared
to leave at any time.
We must always have oil in our lamp,
because when the time comes
there will be no time to ask.
This is the race
that has been set before us,
and though we walk
through the valley
of the shadow of death,
we shall fear no evil
for the Lord, our God, is with us.

Hebrews 12:1-3 says
“Therefore, since we are surrounded
by such a great cloud of witnesses,
let us throw off everything
that hinders
and the sin that so easily entangles.
And let us run with perseverance
the race marked out for us,
fixing our eyes on Jesus,
the pioneer and perfecter of faith.
For the joy set before him
he endured the cross,
scorning its shame, and sat down
at the right hand of the throne of God.
Consider him who endured
such opposition from sinners,
so that you will not grow weary
and lose heart.”

That's it folks!
That's the moral to the story.
We must begin with the end in mind,
in order to finish the race
that leads to the Kingdom of Heaven.
The journey of sanctification
leads to the Just Judge
and the King of Righteousness
who has required
a persistent faith,
humility and kindness.

If you are not prepared,
you will fall with
the shifting of the sands,
and the exhaustion of the world
will overtake you
and make up give up.

You must look ahead
to see
the "FINISH" sign,
and believe
that Jesus
is holding it up.

And you must submit
to the fire
that is deep inside,
Holy Spirit
is the One
who does not give up.

In your own power,
it is not possible,
But with God,
all things are possible.

Luke 18 ends
with the Parable
of the Blind Beggar,
right after Jesus predicts
His own death.

It's about a poor man
who is also blind, 
who is spiritually hungry
and wants to have sight.

The man discerns
Jesus coming close to Him,
and He shouts,
“Son of David,
have mercy on me!”

When Jesus heard him,
He stopped
and ordered
that the man
be brought to him.
As the man came near,
Jesus asked him,
“What do you want
me to do for you?”
“Lord,”
he said,
“I want to see!”
And Jesus said,
“All right,
receive your sight!
Your faith has healed you.
Instantly
the man could see,
and he followed Jesus,
and praised God
for giving sight to him."

And the interesting this
is that "all who saw it 
praised God, too.”
In that moment
they could see
what only God could do.

It's amazing to me,
this journey we call Faith.

Matthew 18
holds the perfect Parables
for my life verse,
which is Hebrews 12.

Faith
it is a choice,
and it is a gift.
If you draw in close,
God will give you it.
And when you ask for seconds,
He will give you even more of it.
Taste, and see that I am good.
Milk and Honey goes down so easily.

Luke 18
is a great story
about persisting
through adversity!
 
But it’s not about us
moving in our own strength;
it’s about us
enduring the race
that has been set out for us -
through persistent faith,
​justness and love.
 
Here’s what Luke says in 18:1,
“One day Jesus told his disciples
a story to show them
that they should always pray
and never give up.”
 
He said,
“There was a judge
in a certain city,
who neither feared God
nor cared about people.
A widow of that city
came to him repeatedly,
saying, 'Give me justice
in this dispute with my enemy.'
The judge ignored her,
for a while,
but finally he said to himself,
'I don’t fear God
or care about people,
but this woman
is driving me crazy.'
'I’m going to see
that she gets justice,
because she is wearing me out
with her constant requests!’
 
Then the Lord said,
“Learn a lesson
from this unjust judge -
even he rendered
a just decision in the end.
So don’t you think
God will surely give
justice to his chosen people
who cry out to him
day and night?
 Will he keep putting them off?
I tell you,
he will grant justice to them
quickly!
But when
the Son of Man returns,
how many will he find
on the earth
who have faith?”
Luke 18:1-8
 
I love this story
because it’s simple and true.
If you seek to find Jesus,
then He will show himself to you.
 
The judge represents a man
who is filled with evil intent.
He has the desire to condemn
because he does not fear God,
nor does he care about men.
 
The woman represents
the Holy Spirit,
living in us,
who does not give up
when pursing righteous in love.

By human standards
she would have given up,
but Holy Spirit gifted her
with a faith so strong.
And because her heart
was filled with love,
she kept coming back,
even when it looked like
the door was closed shut!
 
I'm sure she knew
that he didn’t care,
but his insolence made her
even more aware -
persistence would be the only way
that he would ever declare
justice for her.
 
She was probably desperate
for an answered prayer,
so she pressed in even harder,
even though doubts were there.
 
And in the end,
it was humility
that gave her the ability 
to keep coming back.  

Most humans
would have given up,
when a hardened judge
says "No, I'm not!"

Most humans would build up 
their own stubbornness
when nothing would seem
to move an immovable judge.

This is how corruption
breeds injustice,
and this is how injustice
breeds discontentment.

We must be willing 
to keep coming to the Lord,
so that Holy Spirit can work in us -
injustice should create a heart of love
rather than developing 
roots of bitterness.
 
We must stop looking to men,
who are really just sinners
driven by evil intent,
and expecting them to change
when they are walking blindly
in prideful-ness;
instead we must persist
in love and forgiveness,
and wait on God
to show mercy to us.
 
The characteristic of persistent faith
is found in the woman
who endured in confident hope.
Not only in hope but in action, 
consistently going to the Judge,
even if it meant she annoyed him.

She didn’t care
what he would think,
because she was driven
by the need to be redeemed.
Her desire was stronger
than his corruption,
which is why he finally decided
to give in.
 
Can’t You See?
God is good?
If you pursue His Love,
then there is nothing that the enemy
can take from you!

Not a hard heart,
or an evil judge,
not an evil man
or a bitter woman.
No one can get in the way
of God's love!
No one can take away
what He has called Just.
 
Children of God,
keep knocking at Gods door.
Hold onto your faith -
the King of Righteousness
has paid the price for you.
Don’t put your eggs
in the basket of a man,
whose heart is filled
with evil intent and corruption.
And be careful
not to corrupt yourself,
by losing hope
and growing roots of resentment.
Be careful not to fall into depression -
by giving up hope
and quitting on Him.

Keep your eyes focused on Jesus,
He is the one
who writes your name
in the Book of Life.
He is the Just King
who shed His blood for you.
He is the Suffering Servant
who died for you.
His blood covers all of your sin,
and His fist
is the gavel that says,
"Not Guilty"
"I have freed this man from His sin."
"I have redeemed this woman for myself."
 
May we all hear
the message in this.
May we all chase after Jesus,
the King who is Righteous and Just.
"May we all do justice,
love kindness,
and walk humbly with our God."
Micah 6:8