Welcome to Raven Ministries' Fresh Bread Newsletter! Feb 2007
Two things in this issue, just keep on scrolling:
North to Alaska by D.Richardson
Cloud by Day, Fire by Night by Faye Higbee
The message of both: Hear the Lord and do what He says.
the Cloud is moving.
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© D.W. Richardson, House of Prayer. Excerpt from "North to Alaska" used by permission.
When we first got here (we learned later) folks wondered if I was FBI or somehow hooked up with the CIA. George wondered what we were up to as well. But he came around and decided we were okay. He wouldn't come to church though. When he asked me about the Church, I invited him in: "No, I don't go to church...just don't. Went to a funeral a few years ago but that's all. I don't go."
George drove an ancient Chevy pickup, right arm draped over the wheel, Pall Mall in his lips, with his small, perky black dog perched next to him. It was a kind of off-something colored truck that had to be about as ageless as George. On his way to Grandma's store, not long ago, the pain of his heart attack caused his arm to jerk the truck off the road and send it hurtling into the muskeg. By the time anyone found him, he was gone and his little dog refused to come to anyone's calls. The dog was found dead on the road the next morning, probably hit by a car that night while he looked for George.
The Cloud moved for George. The Cloud now moves for us. We came to Alaska, but the Cloud wouldn't stand still. We had to come then, we have to go now. Maybe we'll try it somewhere else. You don't hit a home run every time. But there's only one reason not to go to bat. Clouds are strange, sometimes you never know where you're going. Perhaps we are just being born.
The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit. - John 3:8
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Cloud by Day, Fire by Night by Faye Higbee
In daylight, the Presence of the Lord appeared as a cloud before them,
leading the way through the wilderness. At night, He appeared as a pillar of
fire. It also says that the “angel of the Lord” went before them. When they
reached the
For a moment, think about that picture. Let that vision soak into your spirit as you meditate on the Exodus journey. The two in one: cloud and fire. He is Living fire, Living Cloud, in pillar form as foundation of protection, a fortress from the enemy. WE are now supposed to be the carriers of the Cloud and the Fire of God. And we have a job to do in the earth.
In daylight the Presence of the Lord was a cloud to LEAD them. The word “cloud” (Hebrew anan) means a thundercloud covering, and was used almost exclusively to represent the Presence of God. Throughout the Old Testament, God manifested Himself in thunderclouds, which we know today scientifically are harbingers of storms. But look at them differently: see them as intense signs of POWER of God. Can we lead without His Presence or Power? Not really.
When Elijah saw the tiny cloud in the distance, he recognized it as a sign of rain: a sign of the power of God coming to help them in the drought. If we are carriers of God’s Presence today, we should be the carriers of God’s Presence and Power to others in a VISIBLE manifestation. We carry the rain of God upon the land, upon the people, to satisfy their thirst. Isaiah 55:1, John 7:38.
We are also to carry His fire: fire shines brighter in darkness than in light. Scripture reminds us that when the enemy floods the earth, God raises a standard against it. And in Isaiah 60, we find that as “deep darkness” covers society around us, His glory rises over His people. He becomes that pillar of fire that even our enemies can see. It is a picture of what happened at Pentecost, when the tongues of fire rested on the people in the upper room.
In the days of the wilderness
trek, the Israelites were known well throughout the pagan cultures of the area
because of the way God worked in their behalf. He is the Cloud by day, and the
Fire by night – power to move obstacles, power over enemies, protection that was
supernatural and impenetrable. No wonder the people of
As we grow closer to the days when the “revelation of the sons of God” will be seen in all the earth, we need to be open and ready. (Romans 8:19). Supernatural things and the favor of God create more conflict even than we have now. But it is upon us.
We need to be open to Him. Did you know that the word “night” in relation to the pillar of fire comes from a root word that means “difficulty?” In order to overcome difficulties, we must follow His Presence, His Fire, His leading with precision and faith… and Power.
The season of history we have entered will see our enemies increase- not just the national enemies, but the internal ones as well. False witness will grow more common both in and out of the church. God’s people will have clear choices about who they serve, and what kind of attitudes they exude. As Luke 18:14 reminds us, we have to stay humble before the Lord in the process, and allow His mercy and grace to take over instead of our own arrogance.
It’s not a milk-toast job. And just anybody can’t do it. YOU have been called to do it. YOU are called to let God’s glory shine over you!
It’s not always fun, it IS frequently discouraging, and the way is often uphill. We have families whose focus is not where we’d like. We have finances that are constantly under attack by spirits whose purpose is to steal our blessings. Our bodies seem to give out at all the wrong moments and we are constantly under attack by germs, viruses, diseases, and spirits of death. We run into Christians who care more about themselves than what Jesus wants and don’t care if they step on you in the process. And we find secular barriers that are hugely successful in keeping us in a tight little box. WE have to fight our way through all of that with the weapons God gives us.
So now do you see why we need to be carriers of Light and Power: The Cloud of God and the Fire of God?
The Cloud is on the move, don’t miss what He is doing. The Fire is here, let His Flame burn. Be the life-giving, life-changing people that strikes fear in the hearts of the enemy! There is a time and season when God moves…and we’ve hit it!
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