INTIMACY WITH GOD JOURNAL
Written by Linda Schreurs
MAY 2011
Opening Article: Too many words! Listening is a hidden treasure
Compromise and Persecution: Beware of the Sword in the Lord’s Mouth
Enlist in the Army of Intercessors Marching Across Iowa and America! See back page
Quad State Tour of IOWA Update: Spiritual CPR revival meetings! (Christ Performing Resuscitation) NE QUAD OF IOWA MEETS IN WATERLOO, MAY 20! See back page
Mike and Linda Schreurs
TOO MANY WORDS!
One recent day as I was working on my next book, Holy Communion! Holy Invasion!, I was overcome with ‘words.’ I can’t explain it. It was an odd experience to be sure because personally, I love to write, and it can be for me like dessert! However, it seemed all of a sudden I became very weary. I laid down for awhile, but felt incapacitated to write another word. “How strange,” I thought to myself. “I love what I’m doing because I know it’s one of the things the Lord has called me to do. “How could this debilitating thing have come upon me?!” How was I to write anything at that point?! Did the gift suddenly leave?!
So I did what I’ve done a few times, and perhaps you’ve done the same. Just sit and cry! OK, perhaps you don’tdo that. But I felt confused and at a loss for WORDS on even how to pray! My mind felt totally blank. I sat alone and still, just trying to LISTEN for the Holy Spirit’s voice and direction. Then…I began to relax. I began to enjoy the silence. I began to enjoy the atmosphere of listening prayer – again. Taking women on hermitages is the very focus of this kind of experience, so you’d think I’d get it! But I can tell you, it’s something we have to work on all the time.
The question is, most of know how to pray, but do we know how to LISTEN?! A conversation with our mates or with friends or co-workers requires an exchange of listening skills, right? Why do we neglect this in prayer? Too often we do all the talking and do not let the Holy Spirit get a word in edgewise. We must stop, physically sit still, and LISTEN. Quieting our world is difficult.
Just ‘be’
So as I sat there with tear filled eyes listening intently to my Holy Beloved’s glorious voice, a vision began to unfold before my eyes! In this vision I saw as it were, ‘words’ filling up the earth. They were visible things…words were everywhere. They filled the atmosphere…they floated through the air. They filled up people, houses and nations. Words, words, words! Life is filled up with words. They’re all around us, all day long, all our lives. Spoken words are sounds. They absorb life and dictate life. They’re consuming. Words are in books, words are in languages of the world, words everywhere!
That was the entire vision and it was overwhelming.
I grabbed my journal to write down the vision. I penned: “I can’t seem to speak them (words) anymore or even write them! I’m longing to just ‘be’!” Wham! The Holy Spirit used my hands to write more words! What a dichotomy!
I continued journaling, “I’m longing to just BE in my Holy Beloved Lord, just BE in Him, in that place of being, only listening, only observing. Discerning the deepest pleasures of His holy heart is where I want to be. There’s so much peace, joy and rest in just ‘being,’ just sitting still, just being quiet within and without. No words, no thought-words, not a syllable, just being with the Holy Spirit, just BEING. Not doing, not thinking, just - being!”
The words continued to flow. “Yes! It’s my heart’s greatest desire! BEING TOGETHER - no words spoken, none! His ever-filling Presence is the deepest place of all. It is non verbal. It’s the holy, wordless realm of glory where your breath is taken away simply by His awe. The wordless realm of glory is simply ‘being,’ not doing.”
Most of us are very familiar with Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know God.” But I’m not sure how many of us know how to ‘be.’ Even in prayer, we often do not know how to be quiet. Ecclesiastes 3:7 tells us there is a time to BE SILENT. But are we, ever?! Don’t misunderstand me. Of course we need to verbalize some of our prayers, but there is another side of prayer perhaps even more powerful. Listening prayer! It’s often not accessed.
Listen to live!
We must learn to quiet our minds, souls and entire being in order to enter those deeper still waters. Why else would Psalm 23 tell us how the Lord will lead us into such a divine place? To be refreshed in our spirit, we need to cease striving and just ‘be’ in the Lord’s Presence basking in His glory. His Presence IS everything! Isaiah 55:3 is quite profound in this regard, “Incline your ear and come to Me. Listen, that you may live.” (My emphasis)
My final words of journaling that day were: BASK IN BEING! Psalm 16:11,“Thou wilt make known to me the path of life; in Thy presence is fullness of joy; in Thy right hand there are pleasures forever.” Truly, listening is a hidden treasure.
Jesus of course, is THE WORD, so listen to Him! (John 1) Listen for His words in your life. His Word is all consuming and reigns forevermore. When you listen, you see things, hear things, you are taken into His divine Presence and receive revelation. You begin to see His gestures, the influx of His voice, the tone, the clearness of it, the holiness of what He speaks, the power and glory of it. He, being the WORD, fills up all created things. Hallelujah!
COMPROMISE AND PERSECUTION
Some things in life just can’t be compromised! How do we know this? If anyone knows the story of Calvary’s indictment of Jesus, they will know! The Son of God, who is HOLINESS IN AND OF HIMSELF was given over into cruel and tormenting hands. He never compromised one word, not a comma, not even a dot of the Holy Scriptures. He went after its fulfillment with every drop of human blood, sweat and tears He had within Him.
God the Father is not looking for lukewarm people, but for those whose hearts are ablaze with fiery, passionate commitment to Him even if it costs them their jobs, family, friends, homes and lives. Where are those people today? Comfort from within and without is the norm for many believers these days, especially in America. It’s not just about having a nice air-conditioned sanctuary or a static free life with no problems. Nevertheless, many simply want to float along in life like a springtime kite in the air, without any turbulence that might take them higher. But we know that in order for an airplane to ascend above the clouds, it must go through some strong winds or turbulence to get there, thus the need for seat belts to keep us secure.
Our spiritual security is through love, trust and obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ in all things, at all times, at all costs. If you or I have started to count the cost, we’ve already lost ground in our spiritual ascent and growth.
Persecution is going to happen! What are you going to do with it? Grieve and grovel in it, or grow through it ascending to new heights as a result? Which door do you choose? I’m sure the Holy Spirit would love for you to choose Revelation 4:1“After these things I looked and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.” (Rev. 4:1. My emphasis) Wow! Then the rest of the book tells all the unusual things that will happen on the face of the earth – bad things for those who did not choose Jesus or obey Him, good things for those who did.
Balaam
Balaam was an interesting character in the Old Testament book of Numbers, chapters 22-25. This guy was good at compromise. He does the right thing, then the wrong thing. Then the right thing, then the wrong thing which in the end, brought harlotry and Baal worship into the lives of some Israelites for which he was put to death!
As the story goes, the king of Moab sends an envoy to him with a wicked gift of divination asking him to curse the multitude of Israel that was encroaching upon his territory. Let’s stop right there. How often do we attack someone if we think they’re encroaching upon our coveted things, property, title or reputation? Ask yourself right now, “What am I trying to defend?” If we’re truly walking in the power of the Holy Spirit, we won’t need to try to defend anything, HE WILL DO IT HIMSELF! Jesus stood before Pilate and said nothing. Pilate was also good at compromise. He knew full well Jesus was being brought to court because of the jealousy of the Pharisees. (Matt. 27:14,18) But because of the wishes of the screaming crowd, he gave in to the Lord’s crucifixion. Unbelievable compromise!
Then too, when Jesus stood before Herod, he said nothing to defend Himself much to the shock of this wicked ruler. (Luke 23:9) You and I must learn that righteousness defends itself simply by its behavior, by its love, by its humility, sometimes words are not needed. There’s no greater example of that then in our Beloved Lord Jesus.
Back to Balaam; our interesting old character in Numbers tells the king of Moab that he can only speak what the Lord tells him. Time and time again he does just that. Sounds good enough, right? No! Why? Because he continues the journey to meet with the ungodly king knowing the Lord really does not want Him to. It takes a donkey’s mouth to intercept his travels saying, “…your way is contrary to me.”
Balaam certainly didn’t take any cues from Moses who told God that if His Presence didn’t go with him and the entourage of Israelites, he did not want to go at all! (Ex. 33:15) Beloved believers, oftentimes we move out without a covering, without an anointing, without a calling and it can lead to great frustration or even devastation as it did with the bludgeoning of Balaam! Beware. We are living in precarious times. Compromise, lukewarmness, lack of true commitment to the Lord are dangerous situations. Not taking a stand for righteousness and staying neutral can be very costly to the condition of our souls. Take note of Balaam. This reputed prophet, even though he blessed Israel so many times in his dissertations (which was wonderful!) nevertheless brought a compromise to the king of Moab (which was bad!). He gave ungodly counsel to him whereby sexual immorality and idolatry were integrated into some of the Israelites by the people Moab. (Numb.25; 31:8,16; Deut. 4:3; Joshua 13:22)
Beware, beloved friends of any ‘prophet’ in your midst who does not live God’s truth, compassion and purity in every area of their lives. We must ‘walk the talk.’ If we’re going to walk with our glorious Savior, Jesus, we will not compromise anything, we will not stay neutral where the things of God are concerned, and we can certainly expect persecution as a result! It’s time to arise and take a stand according to 1 Corinthians 13. Be very cautious of anyone who professes to have gifts of the spirit…speaking with the tongues of men or of angels, faith as to move mountains, gives away possessions to feed the poor, etc…, but they do not display true, godly, compassionate love.
Spiritual gifts may not equate with love
Balaam had a prophetic gift, but he didn’t have LOVE. I believe that at this juncture of church history, we need to examine ourselves to see if we’re really walking in true, godly, holy, love with humility, grace and compassion. If the characteristics of Jesus are not present, then it’s all for naught. (1 Cor. 13) We must display God’s love to the world in order to bring the true message of the Gospel. Love speaks louder than words!
Let’s learn from other examples in scripture. The beloved Apostle Peter walked very closely with the Lord, but when faced with persecution, he denied him three times. Judas also walked closely with Jesus, but sold out for the goods of this world taking the 30 pieces of silver as his compromise. One was restored, one was not. What is the distinction between the two? Peter repented. So did Judas. But Peter turned back to the Lord in even greater hunger, anointing and fiery passion for Him. Judas gave up and was not willing to humble himself before the Lord. It was a tragic mistake. (Matt. 26:69-75;John 21; Matt. 27:1-10) Humility and love are key components to any gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Precious friends of God, you and I have no doubt been in these places of decision to either face a situation with compromise, lukewarmness or with a full blown surrender to Jesus no matter the cost of any perceived possible persecution. In our church world, the dividing line of those who are true followers of Christ and those who simply ‘go through the motions’ is about to change! The Day of the Lord fast approaches and no one knows that day or hour. Let us not be deceived. Judgment will begin with the House of God.
Salvation and judgment
Most of us know there will be a dividing between the goats (unbelievers) and the sheep (believers), but are we also aware of the division between sheep and sheep?! Ezekiel 34 declares it this way: “For thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. And as for you, My flock, thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I will judge between one sheep and another, between the rams and the male goats. Is it too slight a thing for you that you should feed in the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pastures? Or that you should drink of the clear waters, that you must foul the rest with your feet? (criticism, accusations, lack of love, etc.)…”Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them, ‘Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat sheet and the lean sheep. Because you push with side and with shoulder, and thrust at all the weak with your horns, until you have scattered them abroad, therefore, I will deliver My flock, and they will no longer be a prey: and I will judge between one sheep and another.” (Verses 11,17-18,20-22. My emphasis)
Then too, Hebrews 10:30 is very specific declaring, “For we know Him who said, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.’ And again, ‘The Lord will judge His people.’” (My emphasis) Yikes! That’s us! We must now take a closer look at ourselves to see if we are in right standing with our Creator God. 1 Peter 4:17 says judgment begins with the house of God. 1 Peter 5:4 affirms that if we are true followers of Christ, when the Chief Shepherd appears, we will receive the unfading crown of glory. Amen!
Ladies and gentlemen of the Most High God, we simply have to get ourselves together spiritually and reflect the love of God in every area of our lives. We are about to enter the Promised Land of a huge revival in Iowa, America and in the nations around the world. I believe we all stand at this precise moment in time, at the precipice of something huge! Which pathway do we choose?
Our hopes and dreams fulfilled
Joshua was the man chosen by God to take the Hebrew children into their Promised Land. We are shown in chapter 5 of his book, that the night before they were to launch out, he meets a man with a drawn sword in his hands! Joshua asks him, “Are you for us or for our adversaries?” The ‘man’ answers, “No, rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of the Lord.’ And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and bowed down, and said to him. ‘What has my lord to say to his servant?’ And the captain of the Lord’s host said to Joshua, ‘Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.’ And Joshua did so.”
Our own Promised Land of fulfilled hopes and dreams lie in humility, obedience, faithfulness and passionate love for God and others. The ‘man’ here, being of the angelic host, then gave Joshua the detailed orders for the victorious battle to take the land. Have you heard what YOUR marching orders are? Are you taking back things the enemy has stolen from you? The way into that victory is to humble ourselves, as did Joshua by bowing low, removing our dirty sandals, (our contaminated dusty walk of criticism, compromise, etc.) and stand on holy ground! (See also Ex. 3:5)
Remember the opening article of this month’s IWG Journal and all the ‘words’ I saw? It’s imperative we remember that life and death are in the power of the tongue according to Proverbs 18:21. Therefore what words we use with others or even to our own selves, has the capacity to create one or the other. The end of humanity comes with judgment when Jesus appears at His Second Coming. God’s WORD will reign and rule forever. Revelation 2:16 is relevant now! “Repent therefore; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth. (My emphasis. See also Rev. 1:16; 2:12;19:15,21) Let’s remove our shoes!
ENLIST IN THE ARMY OF INTERCESSORS!
ENLIST IN THE ARMY OF VICTORIOUS INTERCESSORS FOR THE COUNTY IN YOUR AREA OF IOWA AND MARCH ACROSS THIS STATE AND AMERICA WITH YOUR PRAYERS! Go to www.intimacy-with-God.com and click ‘Iowa Map’!
UPDATE - IOWA QUAD STATE TOUR
(Copy the announcement below and send to your own e-lists so everyone can know!)
Five Spiritual CPR Meetings
Christ Performing Resuscitation – Revival!
Intimacy With God Ministries
FULFILLMENT OF GOD’S PURPOSES IS NOW!
Since our book, Words Aptly Spoken, was published after our prophetic prayer journey to Iowa’s 99 county courthouses, the Holy Spirit has been calling us according to Acts 15:36, “Let us return and visit the brethren in every city in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.”
Therefore we are calling churches, prayer groups, ministries, intercessors – all those concerned about the fulfillment of God’s purposes and plans in your area of Iowa to gather for a one night spiritual CPR meeting! Attend all the meetings if you can. The Lord is about to fulfill some amazing things that Iowa has never seen before! Go to our website at www.intimacy-with-God.com to see the schedule. Click onto the current ‘Journal’ for more information. Then click the ‘Iowa Map Tab’ to register to be an intercessor for your county. Please pass this information on to your own lists! See you soon!
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Each Quad Meeting (consisting of approximately 20-30 counties in those regions), are scheduled to begin at 7 PM. They will consist of prayer regarding specifics in those counties, not just those from our book (Words Aptly Spoken), but things others are seeing/hearing as well. Worship will be key, followed by Linda Schreurs leading the group into an intimate, life-changing encounter with the Lamb of God in Holy Communion. (This is the content of her next book and CD!) This will be followed and concluded with a message by Randy Bixby from KHOP, Des Moines. We are honored to have him as God is using him powerfully to heal the sick. You are welcome to bring your worship banners and shofars to add to the celebrations of what the Lord is doing.
God’s Shekinah glory is prophesied to fall in our midst, where the atmosphere is charged with healings, signs and wonders from on High! Plan to attend the Quad meeting in your area, or all of them if you can, and especially the Grand Finale Celebration on 11-11-11. Anything can happen! In fact, we are required by the Holy Spirit to look for it! (Eph. 3:20)
SCHEDULE OF QUAD STATE MEETINGS
Come to all of them if you can!
1) NW Quadrant of Iowa was held on April 29th.
2) May 20 - Counties from the NE Quadrant will meet at IHOPE, 722 S. Hackett Rd.,Waterloo,
Ia. 50701. Host: Mike Peters; Worship led by Bre Rottinghaus and team.
3) Sept. 23 – Counties from the SE Quadrant will meet at Trinity Friend's Church, Richland, Ia.
Host: Rev. Tim Hadley.
4) Oct. 14 - Counties from the SW Quadrant will meet at HHOP in Council Bluffs, Ia.
Hosts: Jim and Teri Kohl,
5) Nov. 11 (11-11-11!) Center of state and Grand Celebration for all the Lord has
done, is doing and is about to do! These are all Spiritual CPR (Christ Performing
Resuscitation) Revival Meetings! This last one will be held at the Foxboro Conference
Center on 86th St. in Johnston, Iowa.
* More details will be forthcoming upon each upcoming meeting.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Women’s Spring Hermitage – May 12-15th. Register now! These are precious ‘alone’ times with the Lord that take you deeper and higher! It’s an awesome, intimate encounter with God in the privacy of your own beautiful little cabin in the woods. The autumn dates are Oct. 6-9th. Contact us for more info.
KHOP (Kingdom House of Prayer) Randy Bixby, Founder. Amy Waldron, Director. Let this be the time in your life where you become enthralled with prayer, praise and worship of your mighty King of glory. May you be inspired to come and partake of amazing things happening many hours of the day and night at KHOP. Healing and prophetic ministry are also available. It’s located at 1212 NW 36th St. in Ankeny, Iowa 50023. Check the schedule by going to: www.kingdomhop.org
LINDA’S BOOKS:
Armageddon Bride, endorsed by Lou Engle, the late Jill Austin and others, is about true intimacy with God and the moral issues of our day that are playing havoc in many societies globally, mainly the marriage issue. Who is the true Bride of Christ? Will she stand up for truth at all costs? ($14, plus shipping & handling). Order from web site or address below.
Words Aptly Spoken, endorsed by Francis Frangipane, Randy Bixby and others, is about IWG Ministry’s prophetic prayer journey to Iowa’s county courthouses declaring righteousness and truth to come into these places of governmental decisions on various issues. All the states of America ought to do this very thing for the area in which they live. May our prayers shake America for revival! ($20, plus $4 shipping & handling) Order from web site or address below.