Celebrate the Source

My church background is various and vibrant. I have been a part of many different “streams” throughout my journey in following The Lord. My desire has always been to know him, in every way possible. In laying my life down to follow Jesus, He has led us into many different places, connecting us with beautiful people all over the globe. Sometimes, I sit and think back on the journey, the faces of these brothers and sisters brought to mind, and my heart fills with great affection.

In this yes, we have moved a lot. My dad used to say, “y’all need a house on wheels” (which I would actually be down for, sounds like a fun adventure! ha!). After many years away, in 2025, The Lord called us to move back to Louisiana where Luke and I are both from. This past year has been full of full-circle moments. Reflecting back on the past twenty years, I marvel at the beautiful tapestry of family that The Lord has woven through our lives. It is as if, he moved us from coordinate to coordinate, healing, imparting, teaching and establishing our hearts along the way. But one thing I have come to recently recognize is the connection of family that The Lord has been collecting and building in the background. All throughout the different streams he has been and continues to, establish us in authentic love and family. Which is the ultimate desire of Abba’s heart as well as the preparation of the beautiful bride.

As you can imagine, in moving many times, we have experienced both the excitement and the pain that comes with transition. It is truly bittersweet. Bitter in the breaking away, sweet in the excitement and blessing that comes with obedience. I have found that often times people get stuck or struggle in these moments of transition. I also feel like there is a lot of shifting happening within the body of Christ right now. Many people are finding themselves here in this place. It may feel chaotic, but I truly believe many of us are being aligned and reassigned into spaces to prepare us for all that The Lord is desiring to pour out upon His bride in the coming days. Still, transition can be very hard for many people. It is very common in church culture to be offended when someone leaves a community. It can often feel like rejection which unfortunately, in some unhealthy cases it is. Either way, if not surrendered to Jesus, holding on to the wound of rejection will lead to a walled-up, calloused heart. It stunts the growth of the individual as well as clouds one’s ability to hear and receive what Holy Spirit is saying. Because we are the body of Christ, holding onto these wounds, not only affects us but the whole body. Painfully, we are seeing a lot of that on social media right now.

On the other side of this, when one does leave in a healthy way, out of obedience, in attempt to maintain relationship they too can also experience feelings of rejection and misconception. There is a felt shift, things are not what they used to be. Things suddenly feel different because of a separation of sorts. This perceived shift in relationship communicates “you are no longer one of us”, also leading the person to experience rejection.

Over the years, we have experienced both sides of this coin. These thoughts and emotions are normal to the carnal mind, BUT we are not those who live by the carnal mind, we are those who have the mind of Christ! (1 Corinthians 2:16)

This truth changes the game. It calls us out of our feelings and into truth that empowers. It is a choice to lay down our perceptions and choose to take up His. This is the ONLY way the body of Christ will experience the unity it is called to.

There is ONE head of the body and that is Christ Jesus. HE is the river that sources the different streams. What if we actually believed that? How different would the modern day church look if instead of criticizing the streams, we celebrated the source?! How can we be one body if we still see through the lens of one leaving one body and joining another? Are we not ONE body, the body of Christ? Just like a river delta breaks into many streams, it is all sourced by one river. I believe there are natural changes that come to a relationship when one begins to flow in a different stream than another. If I am in a flowing stream, next to my friend, naturally there is a connection between us in our shared experiences. We are experiencing the same twists, turns, climate, debris. This shared experience creates a natural connection. So when one leaves that stream and either joins another or pioneers another path, obviously that shared experience stops, but that doesn’t mean the connection isn’t still there. (Hopefully, this is making sense to someone…) We remain connected because we are sourced by the same River, Jesus, who is love!

I remember an encounter I had in prayer one morning. I was laying down some offenses that I had toward someone in the church that I loved very much. Laying down some things that had really left me hurt and angry. As I laid these things before the Lord, I surrendered my perspectives and asked Him to give me his. I said “Holy Spirit, show me how you see this.” Suddenly, I saw before me the slaughtered, bleeding back of JESUS. My tears come even as I recall now. It was brutal and horrific. All I wanted to do in that moment was to cover him, bandage the wounds and stop the bleeding… I gently placed my hand on his back as to release healing. I asked Holy Spirit, “What are you showing me?” He said “This is my body. You are called to be a healer”. In that moment all I could see was love taking its rightful position. The religious are who crucified Jesus. They were fully convinced that they were serving God by crucifying Christ. How wrong they were. This same religious spirit is at work today seeking to divide. Every time we come against one another in a spirit of criticism and accusation, we are the ones with the whip in our hands, we are the ones yelling out “crucify him!” In showing me this, I knew the Lord was inviting me into His heart of “Father forgive them, they know not what they do”. Yielding to this heart position is where you authentically learn Christ. It is where true life is found and where Christ is formed within.

From personal relationships to global ministries, may we keep our hearts on the altar before the burning eyes of Christ, lest we find ourselves partnering with the hands that ripped open his back, or the voices shouting crucify him! It is time for our perspectives to be surrendered, for love to take its rightful place. For the church to receive grace, humility and the Spirit of The Fear of THE LORD. As long as we are, like scripture says, devouring each other, the Kingdom’s advancement is delayed.

Let go of your offenses, partner with Christ in forgiveness and let’s celebrate the source, Jesus!

All Eyes on Jesus!

Last week I had a dream where I was in a house with many rooms and many people. Some I recognized, some I didn’t. There was a dark heaviness throughout, and everyone was chattering about it. They were all talking about this demonic spirit that would come in this specific room and torment this man named ‘Christian’. Everyone was scared out of their minds and no one knew how to help him. So I walked into the room where this demon would come and manifest. There were others there too. As I stood there I felt the strong presence of this demon enter the room. Eventually coming into view, it took the form of a woman. While all were feeling intimidated and terrified staring at this demon, I lifted my head up to the heavens, closed my eyes and began to release thanksgiving to The Lord naming all of His attributes in worship and praise! Declaring His power, authority and faithfulness! The demon left and the room shifted. I then began telling everyone, “Stop looking at the enemy! We must look to The Lord! Look at Jesus! Look at Jesus! Declare His goodness in the land! This is how you overcome the enemy!” No one was really listening to me, they were all distracted and preoccupied and I was getting so frustrated…

There is a fire in my belly to declare this morning “Christian, come out of fear and torment! Stop looking at the enemy and set your face towards the throne!” Stop magnifying the problem and magnify the answer! Our eyes were created for ONE lover. Our mouths were formed for praise. There is great power released in the spirit when God’s people declare who He is! From a broken heart, a broken body…to a broken nation The Lord desires to heal and this healing is not found in focusing on brokenness, but on the healer! Worshipping The Lord from the place of ‘it is finished’. When we set our gaze on who HE is and not where we lack, we are infused with His power. So today fix your eyes on your beloved and remember all of his benefits! Repent for being distracted and receive fresh focus. Surrender your fears and let his love nourish your hearts.

Spiritual Warfare

Spiritual warfare is a hot topic within the church. Some give their lives to this, while others are weirded out by it, afraid of it, or just want to pretend it doesn’t exist. Throughout my life, even from early childhood, I have experienced enough to know, without a doubt, that the spiritual realm is very real and the name of Jesus holds ALL authority… period. I believe that we are living in a time when spiritual discernment is crucial. We are living in the information age, where our senses are flooded with messages like never before. Email, texts, social media, news reports… at a click of a button, we are bombarded with messaging from all sides. The younger generations are especially targeted in this. All of these voices fighting for influence, have an agenda. They each stem from a root of something and without Holy Spirit’s equipping, we have no ability to distinguish what is truth and what is false… what is life and what is death.

Ephesians 6:10-18

“Now my beloved ones, I have saved these most important truths for last: Be supernaturally infused with strength through your life-union with the Lord Jesus. Stand victorious with the force of his explosive power flowing in and through you. Put on God’s complete set of armor provided for us, so that you will be protected as you fight against the evil strategies of the accuser! Your hand-to-hand combat is not with human beings, but with the highest principalities and authorities operating in rebellion under the heavenly realms. For they are a powerful class of demon-gods and evil spirits that hold this dark world in bondage. Because of this, you must wear all the armor that God provides so you’re protected as you confront the slanderer, for you are destined for all things and will rise victorious. Put on truth as a belt to strengthen you to stand in triumph. Put on holiness as the protective armor that covers your heart. Stand on your feet alert, then you’ll always be ready to share the blessings of peace. In every battle, take faith as your wrap-around shield, for it is able to extinguish the blazing arrows coming at you from the evil one! Embrace the power of salvation’s full deliverance, like a helmet to protect your thoughts from lies. And take the mighty razor-sharp Spirit-sword of the spoken word of God. Pray passionately in the Spirit, as you constantly intercede with every form of prayer at all times. Pray the blessings of God upon all his believers.”

Union

UNION with Jesus is our supernatural source of strength and victory! Because of the shed blood of Jesus, we have been given the greatest gift ever, to any who would receive, oneness with Him and the filling of His Holy Spirit. From this union in the Holy Spirit flows explosive power both in and through us, as we yield to Him! Apart from this union there is no victory, strength or power. This beautiful oneness is the gift purchased by the body and blood of Jesus and is available to all who believe and receive. All things are to flow from this union unto His kingdom coming in us and in the earth.

All we need has been provided

“you must wear all the armor that God provides”… again, we see here that God is the source and He has provided all that we need for our protection and our ability to fight against the strategies of the accuser. This is not anything that we have to strive for, it is already been done, we must awaken to the reality of what has been made available through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Belt of Truth:

“Put on truth as a belt to strengthen you to stand in triumph”: How will we be able to recognize a lie from the enemy if we do not know the truth? How important then is it to KNOW the heart and mind of the Lord… to immerse ourselves in his presence and word!? I am not taliking about memorization, although that is great, Im talking about Holy Spirit burning His truth into our hearts like a brand on a steer. Reading scripture with your mind alone, will not stand in the battle. We must consume the truth in the power of Holy Spirit, becoming one with it. We must become aquainted with the spirit of truth that brings life, peace, joy and freedom. So that when, confronted with a lie, whether it is about identity, shame, guilt, fear, anxiety, we recognize the false. An analogy that I have heard several times from several people is, those who are trained to recognize conterfeit money, are not trained by studying the counterfeits. they train by studying the authentic. The more we mingle with Christ and learn him intimately. The more quickly our spirits will be able to recognize the counterfeit. So when faced with a situation, dont focus on the lie, ask The Lord “What is the truth?”. I often here the phrase “My truth”. This is not truth, this is your opinion. This idea does not come from God, but the spirit of the age. Eventually, it will shift or crumble, whereas real truth that flows from the Spirit of God is unchanging and never wavering. Jesus said, “I am the way, the TRUTH and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6 This truth is the rock on which we can stand and build upon. His truth is our stronghold and protection, the covering of our soul.

Breastplate of Holiness/Righteousness

“Put on holiness as the protective armor that covers your heart” Remember and Receive:

There is so much power in remembrance. (It RE-members us into wholeness and strength! that is another post for another day) Remember not what you have done but what Christ has done. HE is our holiness! We are covered in His blood, by embracing Christ, we are born again. We are a completely new creation. Dead to sin and alive in Christ. We lay down our lives and receive his life and are now made holy, righteous and blameless! This is our inheritance that Christ shares with us. His righteousness becomes our righteousness. This is our identity! This is the truth no matter how we feel in the moment.

I remember one night I was laying in the bed crying to the lord. I had a really rough day, I lost my patience with just about everyone in my family. I felt like the most awful wife and mother, frustrated at myself. I just had one of those days where I felt like I blew it on every front. Feeling so much shame and condemnation, I laid there apologizing to the Lord through tears… confessing all of the ways I sucked it up… to which he whispers his reply to me “You are the light of the world”. Immediately I felt his love and the invitation to believe what everything in my consciousness was arguing with. I did say “I dont feel like the light of the world, I feel like a pile of crap, but I believe you Jesus. I yield to your perspective and receive your truth.” Had I laid there arguing focused on all my failures, I would have stayed stuck in a pit.. but by grace I received the truth which helped my heart heal, get up and keep going. His Holiness, imparted to us, is the protection of our hearts.

Rooted in peace

“Stand on your feet alert, then you’ll always be ready to share the blessings of peace.”

“I leave the gift of peace with you—my peace. Not the kind of fragile peace given by the world, but my perfect peace. Don’t yield to fear or be troubled in your hearts—instead, be courageous!
John 14:27

The peace of Jesus is rooting. It holds the power to transform. His peace is shepherding, a lighthouse in the storm. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit. We have the divine privilege as ones filled with His spirit to discover the heart of God. We have been invited to rest our head on the Savior’s chest and listen to the whispers of his heart. His whispers for us, for our families, for friends, neighbors, strangers… for the world. We are to live awakened to this truth. Not yielded to our perspectives and judgments but only to those of his heart. When we yield our perspectives to His, peace will follow. What is God saying? Lean in and seek the voice of the Lord. Like rushing waters it will drown out the voice of fear and awaken the heart back into His love.

Faith

“In every battle, take faith as your wrap-around shield, for it is able to extinguish the blazing arrows coming at you from the evil one”

I used to read this and feel empowered, yet painfully aware of my weakness. I have heard it said and taught a lot over the years that “We must have faith!” I have learned, especially over the past six years, that my faith is not enough. Walking through the fires that I have walked, I boast not in my faith, but only in the faith of Christ. In the moments where I had no consciousness, it was his faith that held me. When I had no strength to walk it was his faith that carried me. I knew going into this journey that my faith would never be enough, but when we are joined in perfect union, one with Christ we share in his faith. We are able by the power of his spirit to tap into the faith of christ. we have been given all access! It is not faith in ourselves, it is the unwavering faith in HIS FAITHFULNESS. He is faithful and we can hide ourselves in his faithfulness, which is his wrap around presence. This is the protection from the fiery arrows of doubt and unbelief.

Salvation

Embrace the power of salvation’s full deliverance, like a helmet to protect your thoughts from lies.

I love the way the passion translation uses the word “Embrace”. One of the definitions of ‘embrace’ in this context says, “To fully take hold of God’s promises as your own reality”. There is power in salvation! This power is available and continues to deliver, transform and protect today, yesterday and forever. The power of the cross is still in operation today. We are not victims, we have been made victorious through the blood of Christ. The only restrictions we are under regarding this are the ones that we yield to. The curse has been fully broken and Jesus the victorious one has delivered us! Throughout our journey, Holy spirit continues to deliver us! This gift is nothing we could ever earn, it is ONLY by The Father’s great love for us! Fully receiving this gift of love from God the Father and Jesus his son, releases power. He has saved and delivered us FULLY. It is finished, completed, done. When we fully embrace this truth, it infuses us with power. We stand in the assurance of Christ, rooted deeply, tapping into salvations deliverance bring its power into the present moment. This is the helmet that protect our minds!

Word and spirit

“And take the mighty razor-sharp Spirit-sword of the spoken word of God”

What has God said? What are His promises? What has he promised you personally? What is He saying? We have both His written word and the Holy Spirit who is continually speaking the word of The Lord. He is still speaking. His word will come to pass. Stand on it! It is immovable and unshakeable. It is not up for opinion or debate. The Word of God will stand.

Hebrews 4:12

For we have the living Word of God, which is full of energy, like a two-mouthed sword. It will even penetrate to the very core of our being where soul and spirit, bone and marrow meet!

The Word of God is power. When we join in agreement and release His word it goes forth in power in both our being, our lives and the atmosphere!

All eyes on Jesus

As I began to meditate on these truths. Holy Spirit asked me a question, “What commonailty do you see in each of these?”

They are all focused on Jesus!

Sadly most of spiritual warfare is focused on either the problem or the enemy, which is why there is little breakthrough. When the fruit of warfare is fear and anxiety, we know something is off. We were not meant to seek the demonic, we are called to seek The Lord. When confronted with darkness, seek Holy Spirits guidance and yield to whatever he says. This we see in the life of Christ. There was no formula, only yielded fellowship with Holy Spirit. Power, deliverance, healing and freedom streamed from Jesus. He walked in perfect humility, yielded to the lordship of Holy Spirit. So we are to follow our shepherd in the way He has walked before us.

Whatever enemy you are facing… whatever mountain.. health, finances, relationships.. Jesus is greater! Set your face towards the throne! Magnify the Lord in your worship! Magnify the Lord in your thoughts! Magnify the Lord in your words and watch what happens!

I hope this helps someone today!

Blessings,

Mel