Send Them Out

Acts 9:40 Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed.

You may recognize this from the banner above. This has always been something that spoke to me. Sometimes you just have to send the others out.

Sometimes you have to be the one to go before God alone for the one(s) you are wanting to arise. Why? Because sometimes you are the only one who knows that God,  indeed, has the power to grant what you desire. 

To me it just seems that people give up on others so easily. They say the person is "too far gone."  I have some good news though. They aren't too far gone. 

The people I've seen die spiritually did so because of the religious forgetting they are supposed to be a reflection of God and not just a set of rules to follow or a mold to turn others into what they think a Christ follower should be. God created each person and gave them gifts and talents and desires that make them a unique creation to fulfill a unique purpose. Trying to fit everyone into a certain mold only creates problems by destroying the uniqueness God put into the individual. 

The best medicine for that is to just love people. Love people where they are, how they are. God is love. What better way to portray Him to the world than by showing true, honest love?  

Sometimes love means sending away people who don't believe God's heart is to bring back to Him the Tabithas of this world  

Christ, the Center of All

I received a book to read and review, Jesus Manifesto. I've only finished the first chapter so far, but it was a reminder to me about the main problem I see in churches and with "Christians" today . . . Christians are to be living reflections of Jesus. Not the "Jesus" that is politically correct and pleasing to everyone--for that is not our Lord. We are to lift Him up . . . and HE will draw them. He will draw them to Him. But how do we lift Him up if we've forgotten who He is? We first prepare ourselves by reminding ourselves who Jesus really is, who we are to reflect in every area of our lives. Then we put that into action.

Peter knew Jesus. He hadn't forgotten the man he spent 3-4 years with, he remembered Him and remembered His life. By putting into practice the lifestyle Jesus modeled for him and the other disciples, Peter was a living reflection of Christ to the world around him. And it was through the power of Jesus that Tabitha was raised. We cannot expect to raise the "Tabithas" in our own lives if we don't know the true Christ--the one with the life-giving power.

So . . .

So I started this blog as a way for me to figure out what I am to do with this desire on my heart, this desire to see the "Tabithas" arise. I was talking to a dear friend of mine about it and as she was praying for me, she received this in her email, which she then forwarded to me:

I want you to begin to speak by the Spirit to those who are spiritually dead or dormant. Call them forth into the light of life and truth. Prophesy to their dead bones and to their breath so that they will rise up and live. Do this by faith, and My word will not return to Me void, says the Lord. The windows of heaven are open, and this is a critical time for many to come into the Kingdom. Your part is to simply be obedient to the leading of My Spirit.

Ezekiel 37:1-9 The hand of the LORD came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. And He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" So I answered, "O Lord GOD, You know." Again He said to me, "Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: "Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the LORD." So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them. Also He said to me, "Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.'"

Tabitha, Arise!

Acts 9:36-41
36 At Joppa there was a certain disciple named Tabitha, which is translated Dorcas. This woman was full of good works and charitable deeds which she did. 37 But it happened in those days that she became sick and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. 38 And since Lydda was near Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent two men to him, imploring him not to delay in coming to them. 39 Then Peter arose and went with them. When he had come, they brought him to the upper room. And all the widows stood by him weeping, showing the tunics and garments which Dorcas had made while she was with them. 40 But Peter put them all out, and knelt down and prayed. And turning to the body he said, "Tabitha, arise." And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. 41 Then he gave her his hand and lifted her up; and when he had called the saints and widows, he presented her alive.

I once used this verse for a beautiful friend who was once a beautiful worshipper of God. Times got rough, she went through so many things, and she spiritually died. There for a while, I prayed God would bring her back to life in Him. That hasn’t happened yet, but I pray that one day it will, that one day she will be dancing before the Lord once more.

But now these verses have come to represent a more numerous group of people. These are guys and girls that were once full of life, and they were hungry and eager to follow God. Yet, along the way they got “sick.” Things happened that weakened their faith and their resolve to follow Him. And instead of being built back up in their faith, they died. These are the ones I want to arise. These are the ones I wish to see restored to the beauty of life in Him. These are the Tabithas. These are the dead in spirit that need to be brought back to life.

It pains my heart to see those that let these beautiful people die. They mourn them but do nothing to see them restored to life. They say how great they once were, but don’t dare think that God could raise them up to be an even greater testimony of His love. This is where Peter comes into the picture. Peter put everyone else out of the room. He didn’t want the mourning and those who believed Tabitha dead to keep Tabitha from rising again. We need to be their Peter. We need to be the ones that believe and pray and know that God can and will return them to Life. I want to be a Peter to these beautiful people.

But praying them back to life isn’t where it stops. In verse 41, Peter gave Tabitha his hand and lifted her up. Once the Tabithas have been restored to life, they will need to be lifted up. They will need to borrow some strength from their Peter.

This is a big calling. But I know God is faithful. I know God’s heart yearns to have these people return to Him even more than my own heart when I think of the Life these people once had. He just needs some Peters out there to pray. He needs some Peters to lift these Tabithas from their deaths and into Life again.