Now the serpent was more subtle than any other wild creature that the LORD God had made.  He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree of the garden’?”  And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’“  But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die.  For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”  So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, and he ate.  Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons.  Genesis 3:1-8
Have you heard any of the following?  God is not telling you enough; you need more details.  Yes, He did say that; but you know He is really not going to do it.  Why look at you; God knows if you had a little more … you would be doing better or you would not be in this situation.  God is really withholding something from you.  God should be doing more for you.  If you were just,…you’d be able to take care of…, the circumstances would be different, or you could change the situation, or etc…
Do these statements have a familiar sound to you?  Remember back when… it wasn’t really so bad, remember the…
Lack of trust and insecurity in God’s promises towards us motivates us into trying to do it ourselves, causing something happen.  Realizing something is not working, our first instinct is to cover up with something, usually the very something God has given us for our good.  We take His provision and make something out of it He never intended.  We know we are exposed but we don’t want those around us to know.
Take just a minute; really picture this in your mind.  A grown man and woman together with some type of clothing made out of leaves.  The leaves are beginning to turn brown, the edges are curling, dry, and brittle, and they are sitting in the bushes hoping not to be seen.  If we can really picture this, we cannot help but laugh.
There is a difference between a covering and a cover up.  God is our covering.  The times when we do not feel we have what we need, things aren’t going according to our plan, and these are the times when we are tempted to make our own covering, causing something to look better resulting in a cover up.  God in His faithfulness brings us to a place where we will trust in His love covering us.  He wants us to rest in His provision, sit under the tree and know He loves us.
Each of them will sit under his vine and under his fig tree, with no one to make them afraid, for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.  Micah 4:4)
Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.  Proverbs 10:12
And Judah and Israel dwelt in safety, from Dan even to Beer-Sheba, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, all the days of Solomon.  Proverbs 10:12
Above all, hold unfailing your love for one another, since love covers a multitude of sins.  I Peter 4:8
When we set out to cover up there is deception involved.  We think we can hide, when in reality all we are doing is drawing attention to ourselves and probably looking ridiculous.
Eve told Satan they were not touch the tree.  God told them not to eat, He did not say anything about touching.  We are the one who sometimes make situations more difficult by adding an additional requirement.  We are enticed by what is pleasing to the eye.  If we look at something long, enough it begins to look like the very thing we think we need to accomplish what God has spoken.  Our mind says if our eyes were opened and we knew good from evil, we would be better equipped to take care of this garden.  How many times have we said in our hearts, If God would do… then I could… or I would be… or if I just had?
We are to allow the Lord to cover us in His love and rest in His provision.
We have been laughed at and ridiculed because we are trees with leaves and no fruit.  The gifts have operated in our midst, but we are seen as self-righteous by the world due to our lack of love and fruit of the Spirit.  We’ve seen a trickle here and there, but our heart’s cry is – more, Lord!  More, Lord!  We are to come into the place of rest in the Father’s love, rest in His provision, and rest in His plan, rest in who He is and rest in His ability to do all that He has promised.  We are to cease from our labor and enter into His rest.  God expects there to be the Fruit of the Spirit in our lives.  We can no longer take what we want and cover up.  .
Have you felt dry and wondered where the water is?  Has it seemed like there has been an unusual amount of dust – clouding of your vision?  These are prime conditions for fig production.  Figs are best produce in soil that is well balanced.  We can have faith in God, operate in the gifts, and still have bitterness, unforgiveness, and anger in our hearts.  It sounds like acid or maybe self-righteousness.  If the soil of our heart is, too acid it will not produce fruit and many will be defiled.  Jesus is saying the world won’t eat from that fruit any longer
On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry.  And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it.  When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.  And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.”  And his disciples heard it.  Mark 11:12-14
Figs were a food staple in Bible culture with some varieties producing three different crops.  They were God’s provision.  They were easy to come by as all one had to do was shake the tree.  Fig leaves appear later in the season than those of other fruit trees.  The unfolding of the leaves is thought of as a symbol of a new season.
From the fig tree, learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near.  Matthew 24:32
Figs are formed on the tree as soon as the leaves appear.  The leaves and fruit also disappear together.  The culture of the fig tree was “no leaves – no fruit” and “no fruit – no leaves”, not one without the other.  If it was not a time for figs then there were to be no leaves.  Figs are green until just before they ripen, so they remain hidden within the leaves, hidden in their immaturity.  The offering of leaves is saying there is fruit.  Leaves without fruit were offering an empty promise – deception.
We seek to cover ourselves with the things of God rather than be producers of the Fruit of the Spirit.  Gifts or words without fruit are showy, but deceptive.  Do we show our leaves without the real fruit?  Deceptive thinking has allowed us to operate in the gifts or do the works of the Kingdom without fully knowing and being known by the King.
On that day, many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’  And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers.  Matthew 7:22-23
Now is a season for fruit.  People will keep coming to partake of the leaves, self-righteousness, empty words, promises without power and a lack of genuine love.  People are desperate for the real fruit!  Be fruitful.
And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.  And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Lo, these three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none.  Cut it down; why should it use up the ground?’  And he answered him, ‘Let it alone, sir, this year also, till I dig about it and put on manure.  And if it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.”  Luke 13:6-9
When the root of something dries up it can no longer produce life.  We’ve sought to cover ourselves with the gifts, – leaves of God, we become deceived, thinking our works are acceptable to the Lord because as people we are being blessed.  The world will not know us by our gifts, but by His love and power.
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  By this, all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.  John 13:34-35
He expects fruit, but He does not expect us to produce the fruit on our own.  Fruit comes from seed, the seed of His Kingdom that He has planted within us.  He is accomplishing His word in us and we rest in Him through the process.  We are to praise Him with a grateful heart.  We have a new, a new season.
Rest in Me, trust in Me and you will see Me do those things you have desired, even longed for, but first let Me do that within you that will produce good and lasting fruit.
For God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.  Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.  Philippians 2:13, 14

In our current calendar today is the 28th day of the 9th month of the year.
I will be glad and exult in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.  When my enemies turn back, they stumble and perish before You.  For You have maintained my just cause; You have sat on the throne judging righteously.  You have rebuked the nations; You have destroyed the wicked; You have blotted out their name forever and ever.  The enemy has come to an end in perpetual ruins, and You have uprooted the cities; the very memory of them has perished.  But the LORD abides forever; He has established His throne for judgment, and He will judge the world in righteousness; He will execute judgment for the peoples with equity.  Psalms 9:2-8
According to the Jewish calendar today is the 1st day of the New Year.  Yesterday, I wanted to be alone and just spent time doing some of the things I needed those things I’ve been putting off, and some things I just wanted to do that didn’t fall into either category.
So it was with this past year, we the church accomplished some things, put off many others and sometimes did just what we wanted.  Times and seasons have changed.  In the coming year we will experience different from our previous experience.  We will truly see Him as one to be worshiped.  We will experience the reality that He is the one who has defeated His enemies in our lives.  The things of the past, which have deterred us from His purpose, will fall away and be forgotten.  He is the one who rules.  He abides in those who call upon His name.  His Kingdom is built with living stones by His hands.
We will understand in a new way that which we have not comprehended – not only does He abide forever, but also His word does not pass away nor return to Him without accomplishing His purpose.  People come and go, passing away, but the things He’s spoken abide forever.  There will be many opportunities for those with eyes to see and ears to hear to pick up the mantles, the gifting, and the calling that are spoken of through the generations and step into a new day.
We have entered a new year and a time to do those things the Lord has destined us to do and be.  It is time to tie up loose ends getting on with the business of the Kingdom.  Jesus stated that it was time to be about his Father’s business.  We’ve turned a corner and are entering a season.
He is building and establishing His kingdom in us.  His kingdom is within; for today is the day, He stands at the door and knocks.  His Word and His words to us are forever true.  He is establishing and continues to establish His Kingdom in us, through us and many times in spite of us.  He has gifted us, called us, and anointed us for one purpose – that His Kingdom with the ruling, reigning King is demonstrated in the earth.  We look to the heavens and all of creation is waiting for the revealing of His sons in the earth.
Early this evening there came a storm, the wind blew, the sky darkened and a steady rain began to fall.  It seemed unusual, as it was so sudden; someone asked if there had been any storm warnings.  We have entering into a season of suddenlies.  A wind of the Spirit is blowing will catch us off guard if we are not tuned to the moving of the Spirit.  Many will think this is a bad thing, but from the storms will come much fruit.  We will experience a steady outpouring of His word coming to those who have ears to hear and eyes to see and a heart to understand.
After the storm passed the sky was still dark, but in the distance was a perfect double rainbow with a few scattered clouds to one side.  His promises are true and they are available, the double portion to all who will focus on His promise rather than on what appears to be blocking the fulfillment.
The 9th month and the 28th day.
Jesus died in the ninth hour.  He gave us nine gifts of the Spirit and by His work in us, there is to become nine fruits of the Spirit.  Jesus is the second person of the Godhead; He sent His disciples out two-by- two as a witness.  It takes two to establish a witness and two is double.  In the last days, He will send the Spirit of Elijah that hearts would be turned.  Elisha followed Elijah; he asked for and received a double portion.  Eight represents new beginnings; eight people were saved from the flood and circumcision is performed on the eighth day.
I am establishing My Kingdom.  My name will be lifted up and exalted as the Fruit of My spirit is seen in the earth.  I would pour out to all who ask a double portion.  A new day is coming for My church, a day of signs, wonders and miracles that hearts will turn to Me.  Out of death, I will bring forth life and life more abundantly.

How do or did preceding events lead, or prod us to where we find ourselves today?  Where are we?  More importantly where are we going?  The crucial questions for our times – what condition are we going to be in when we get there.
What is or where “there”?  For most, it seems to be ministry, based on giftedness.  What will we have manifest along the way?  As a child, we always ask, are we there yet?  A tragedy in the church today is that most assume getting there is the goal.  We as individuals, a society, and as Christians have lost sight of the race.  Yes, the goal is to finish, but more importantly is how we run.  Can one run the race and reach the destination based on calling and giftedness?  Where does the Fruit of the Spirit enter into the picture?  The word says a man’s gift will make room for him.  The Word says we will be known by our fruit.  What do we have if we have a place but do not manifest fruit?
We all faced with situations and circumstances that have led or prodded us to where we are right now.  When I was younger, I went one way and then another all by my own choices.  Even if circumstance and situations had been perfect, due to my heart, my will, and conditions in which I was surrounded or based on what I had experienced, seen, or thought I knew – I made choices.  Well, today I find myself places I really don’t want to be, with mindsets I want to have all the time wondering – how did I get here?  Sound familiar?  We really do reap what we’ve sown.
As I look objectively at my grown children, what I think may be insight sometimes is in fact, hindsight.  As a parent, we try the best with what we have, and many times, it looks as though we have success and failure in the same child.  We see children in the same environment having different responses, as it is we have those within the Kingdom, or in our church family with different responses.
Will our coming change be for positive or negative?  There are times one must make an accurate assessment of what is real, what is true, what is fact, and what is the Lord saying or doing.  Without divine intervention, we will find ourselves living a life that is out of focus, as we see according to our perspective, and the Lord’s perspective is from a different view.
Jesus said in Matthew, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’  Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you.  Away from me, you evildoers!’
I no longer think it is enough to know the Lord, but we must live our lives in such a way that He knows us.  Fruit is evidence of who we are where gifts are the tools by which we do His purposes.  We will be known by our love and our fruit.

We’re entering into a season of change.  September is a month of transition.  Moving from the old and coming through the birthing process is confining.  We feel confined, restricted and pressed on every side.  It is not a time to be overcome by our circumstances.  We are to live and move and have our being in Christ Jesus.
Stand to transition into the breaking forth of a new day.  As the new day dawns you will see it is not about you but about Me, not about your circumstances or the situations you find yourself in, but it is about what I am doing in the earth.  Go forth in worship, pressing beyond where you have been as it is a new day dawning.  It is Christ in you the hope of glory.  My creation cries for Me to reveal you as the sons of God.  Step into My new mercies each morning as you come before My throne of grace.  You will step into the manifestation of My kingdom on the earth as it is in heaven.  Decree and declare what I have said in the earth.  By faith step into and walk in what I have said.  My winds of change are blowing.  Stand in the days of preparation and you will see Me and I will reveal Myself through you.
Job 22:28 “You will also decree a thing, and it will be established for you; and light will shine on your ways.
(Job lost all, questioned all, but on the other side, he became a blessing because he blessed.)

The following was stirring in my spirit as I drove to a service at “The Land” in Georgia on Saturday morning in June.
July 1st is the first day of a new season, the beginning of a new month of completion, the 7th month.  The Lord is bringing to completion those things unfinished so there are no strings trailing our hearts as we step into the future.  Hearts with rips and tears will become wholehearted and single-focused on new directions, new places, and new ministry in a new land or field.
June is the 6th month and is a season of a closing of the door, a coming to the end of a season of man.  There is healing and restoration to many who have been wounded in the house of the Lord.  As a result, dreams and visions are dormant, dead, but they are about to receive a new breath of life.  In this new breath of life, the Wind of the Spirit, many will find themselves relocated to new surroundings and moving in new things that were the old things prophesied many years ago.  We will begin to possess the land as we’ve dreamed.
August is the 8th month and brings with it a new beginning.  It is a time of newness, a freshness of seeking His face, knowing His glory and a time of release of those things, which have died.  There is a new acceptance and a new ability to receive from the Lord and one another.  There is a grieving over what was, but there is an excitement birthed in the spirits of many as their long awaited destiny begins to unfold.  It is crucial that the old things are buried cleanly and we enter into the new cleansed.
September is the 9th month and it represents a gestation period.  Many of those things conceived in the spirit and carried in the womb of the heart will be birthed during this month.  New gifting, new relationships, and new ministries will be birthed this month and there will be a possession of the land of one’s inheritance.
May was the 5th month.  The enemy came in like a flood and tried to abort many from their calling and destiny, but the Lord’s grace sustained them even though it felt as though all had died.  The Lord has always reserved and preserved those who seek His face and desire to abide in His presence.  He always has a remnant in the land.

Many are the young people who will run to the battle.  Many are the young people who will be on the front lines.  The over fifties will be the ones that will determine the timing of the battle.  They will also be the one who are the strategists, there is a difference in those who run to the battle, they will have their victories, but without the foundations of the mothers and fathers, captains and generals, they will not stand in the place of dominion.  There is a difference in winning a battle and standing in the place of rule and tested authority.  Without foundation principles, this generation of warriors will not produce a generation that will be able to stand in the day of trouble.  Life in Christ Jesus is the fullness of all things and life more abundantly is His promise.  His promise is so much more than doing, His promise is for our whole being.  We are to live and move and have our being in Him.
The over fifties have been the practical generation and without the practical everyday living skills and principles one will not stand in the aftermath of victory and produce a victorious generation that will have the fire to run to the battle; the practical tested stability to live everyday life as a witness and a testimony of Him.  The over fifties are standing on the edge of destiny; all that has been prepared is about to be released as we haven’t seen anything yet.  We have only begun to taste and see that the Lord is good.  He has indeed saved the best wine for last, that which has been tested and true to the maturing process.
Get ready for there is a day of visitation on the horizon.  Moses turned aside, but he was prepared for the day of confrontation and he stepped from a place of being on the backside of the desert to that place of leadership and destiny.  He was the one who mentored Joshua and Caleb.  Truly, we are called to step forward and cross over.

Flames were shooting upwards from a sea of darkness.  My thoughts drifted towards the enemy being cast in to a sea of darkness.  My sense of drifting seemed to intensify with no particular intent or focus, yet just holding on.  I felt myself slipping while thinking – I’m going over the edge.  It was as if I was be nudged to let go, but I didn’t want to fall into the fire.  I was slipping while thinking I am going over the edge.  As I was sliding, my thought was – I do not feel the heat coming from the fire.  I knew I was in the fire, but when I looked at my surroundings all I could see was a clear blue crystal sea.  Everything reflected in a clear blue light penetrating everything in my line of vision.  Where I had expected the fires of judgment, I was experiencing a cool refreshing.  What came to my mind was the phrase – Let go and let God.
Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain.  It is vain for you to rise up early, to retire late, to eat the bread of painful labors; for He gives to His beloved even in his sleep.  Psalms 127:1-2
I am bringing this full circle with those you are standing in the gap for; I am finalizing, I will cause issues to be settled.  You will rest in what I have done.  No longer will you draw back in intimidation.  You will stand in quietness and strength.  When you have not – all you stand – confront.  I am closing the door on the things of the past.  You will step out of the old and into the new.  There is to be and ending before a beginning.  With all new beginning, there is a time of transition, a time of birthing, not always comfortable.  It is in this time that old things fall away.

Awaken, O sleeper to a new sound the sound of My love song over you, for there is a new sound arising.  The rising of My Spirit is brining a new sound.  I am wooing and drawing you into My presence.  In My presence, you will hear a new sound.  A sound of the trumpet is calling you to arise and come into My rest.  From My place of rest, you will awaken O sleeper and you will come forth on a new sound.  A sound of war has arisen.  Arise to the sound of My presence.
Do you hear the sound of marching?  A sound of war is in the land.  Arise to your place of rest in Me. Rest in My finished work and you will know My peace.  Through the rest and peace of My presence, you will defeat those things, which keep you from pressing forward.  Arise to My new sounds.  The song of My love for you is the battle cry that will cause you to march forward.  March to My sound, My love, My presence.  Come to My presence and arise to the place of rest.  It is from the place of rest in Me that you will go forth in My name and do exploits.

Wake: The track left by a vessel in the water.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re in a small pond, a lake, a flowing river or even the ocean.  You are not to be determined or identified by where you are or what you are moving in.  It doesn’t matter if you’re a slow moving fishing boat or a giant barge pushing large containers of oil or a luxurious cruise ship carrying many passengers or a fast moving speedboat.  It doesn’t matter if you have a glossy sleek new finish or you’re a pitted, rust stained, chipped painted vessel.
What matters in the Kingdom – what is in your wake?  What is behind you in the taste and hearts of those you have walked with in former places and past seasons?  Wherever you are and whatever the condition you are in, the destination is the same.  We are all on a journey into the Kingdom, into His presence – transformed into His image.  It matters not who is with you, because He is always with you
What matters – what’s in your wake?  How did you leave those past seasons?  Is there debris in the wake of past relationships, places and methods?  Are things hidden under the surface, those hidden things are what ensnares us and prevents us from the fullness of our destination, Kingdom living.
Those things in our wake may only appear to be behind us, but they are part of who we are, connected to us by invisible cords and bonds.  They may not seem to be relevant to our destination.  We may be revving our engines; water may be moving past us giving the illusion of forward momentum, but are those things in our wake holding us in place with patterns of the past?
The purity of our wake is the determining factor of our forward progress.  If the propeller of a boat fouls with invisible cords, we can hear the sound of the engine and see the movement of the water – but we are not moving.
The Lord is saying – It’s time for us to be known by the fruits of the Spirit, our love for one another not for our gifts, insight or the critical/negative words towards others, most especially to those we consider we have moved on from or are no longer connected with.

Vision during early morning prayer meeting in the city Atlanta, GA
Against a clear blue sky, a great eagle began to soar, circling higher and higher, gliding effortlessly, seemingly at rest, but yet climbing to greater heights.  The eagle was not flying by the power of its wings, but using the unseen wind currents.  I did not see the eagle flap its wings during the entire flight.
Wind currents and shifts in the atmosphere are created by the Holy Spirit unseen by available to those who are leg by the Spirit.  As the eagle, they will rise to new levels of intimacy, as they trust the wind of the Spirit.  In this season, it will not be by power nor by might but by the Spirit of the Lord.
Later in the same meeting, another person saw a lone blue bird singing followed by a group of sparrows flapping their wings, almost in a panic.
After leaving the meeting, while still in heavy (Atlanta) city traffic there was a wild turkey by the side of the road. The turkey appeared disoriented, not knowing which way to go, just walking in a circle on the grassy area by the side of a very busy street, in a semi-commercial area.  A wooded area was nearby, but the bird seem too dazed and confused to head in that direction.
New beginnings will not come by works, but by the resting on the new wind of the Spirit, allowing it carrying us into a higher place with the Lord Himself.  From the place of rest in intimate relationship with Him renewing comes.  We are to be renewed, see with greater clarity and revelation receiving “new strength” to do the greater works we long to see.
It is a time of one-on-one intimate relationship with the Lord Himself that brings us to the place of contentment in Him that will bring forth a new song birthed from love and worship from the inner most being.
The caution during this season is to remain in the place of rest with the Spirit and not shift over into doing the “works”, as it feels we should be doing something.  No matter how vigorous we flap our wings, so to speak, we will not add or build one lasting thing.  The Lord is calling us to rest in Him, cease from our labors and rest in His promises.  Trusting God, we stand at a crossroad as does our city and nation.  Our positioning in the Lord’s presence during this season will determine if we cross over in His rest or if we labor in vain.
He gives us the choice to flow with Him in His purposes, building and establishing His Kingdom, His house or to stand along the sidelines watching things pass us by, not understanding how we came to be in that place, and seemingly going in circles, instead of soaring on the wind of His Spirit.  His place and position of destiny is calling us to bring change, to change and to be change in our individual our individual relationships, but also our churches, city and nation.
The winds of change are in the air and we have a choice in how we respond.  Will you be as the eagle or the turkey?
Do you not know?  Have you not heard?  The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth
Does not become weary or tired.  His understanding is inscrutable.  He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.  Isa 40:28-31
Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain.  It is vain for you to rise up early, to retire late, to eat the bread of painful labors; for He gives to His beloved even in his sleep.  Ps 127:1-2