INTIMACY WITH GOD JOURNAL
MAY 2010
Opening: Fragrant Bouquets
Hilarious Laughter - Coming to a town near to you!
See Annc. - Linda speaks at KHOP May 7th
Mike & Linda Schreurs
Fragrant Bouquets
Last month I shared about being a student of God’s Breath. We learned that the Lord’s Presence often ushers in beautiful fragrances! The Old Testament Book, Song of Songs says He is the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of the valleys. (SS 2:1) Many have been in meetings where the saints have gathered in praise and worship to our Most High God, and actually discerned and breathed in these fragrances!
What I love about these two beautiful flowers mentioned in this portion of scripture is the contrast of shapes and colors. The brilliant red rose, represents the shed blood of our Savior at Calvary. Its circular bud shows the Lord’s saving grace that circles the entire globe to every tribe, tongue and nation. May they all be willing to embrace His divine Redemption!
The white lily represents our Lord’s holiness. The angels cry day and night, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.” (Rev. 4:8b) Let our voices chime in with their divine anthem. Jesus is coming again!
There is a pure white lily called lilium candidum and is from the ‘trumpet species.’ When the Lord’s final trumpet sounds, His second earthly visit will take place! But this time, it will be to take His adoring, pure, spotless Bride {believers/the Church} away to be with Him forever. (Matt. 24:31; Zech. 9:14; 1 Cor. 15:52, 1 Thess. 4:16) No more tears. No more pain. (Rev. 7:17; 21:4) The fact that the lily has a broad and sweeping blossom represents the Lord’s arms are open wide for those who bow before Jesus having given their hearts to Him in purity and holiness. (Eph. 5:27)
Oh, the fragrant bouquet of His astounding, powerful Presence upon saved humanity! It’s beyond description. May you fully embrace His glorious, fragrant, bouquet personally now and forevermore. Holy! Holy! Holy!
Linda Schreurs
HILARIOUS LAUGHTER
I’m sure all of you reading this have had deep belly laughter from time to time. Something no doubt caused you to erupt with hilarious laughter and you just couldn’t stop laughing! Maybe it even became contagious and people around you erupted with laughter as well. You can feel so good afterwards as if a burden has been lifted from your soul. Precisely! I truly believe this is exactly what the Lord is purposing to do in our lives right now, this year, this month – today!
What burdens have you been laden with? Have family or financial situations caused you heaviness of heart? What doubts have assailed your walk with God? What fears have kept you from growing and going higher in your elevations of spiritual authority against the enemy of your soul? “Why are you in despair, O my soul? Why have you become disturbed with me? Hope in God for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God.” (Ps. 42:11)
Dreams
I have to tell you, I’ve been awakened early in the morning several times within a two week period with hilarious laughter. Both occurred during two very different dreams. But I laughed so hard and so loud, I woke myself up along with my husband. I could not stop laughing! I almost felt as though the joy of the Lord was tickling me! It was both funny and fun. In each of these dreams, miracles and the awe and wonder of God had taken place. I can tell you, without a shadow of a doubt, the Lord is up to something! And it’s going to bring much laughter and great, great joy!
The first night I awoke with this belly laugh, I realized that just one week to the day, I’d had this ‘holy laughter’ erupt over me while at the ‘Angels and Miracles’ conference at our church. It came so unexpectedly and so profoundly, I was embarrassed. And yet, I could not squelch it. I went into the ladies room, but ladies began to laugh along with me there. I went into the ‘mother/baby/cry room’ laughing till ‘I cried!’ So I decided I’d better go outside to ‘laugh it off,’ but that very thought made me laugh even harder. I’m laughing now just thinking of it!
I really couldn’t believe this was happening to me. I’ve experienced holy laughter before but this was something else. It went much deeper. It actually felt like a raging river of pure, clean, cool water was rumbling through my entire being almost as if I was being tickled. I suppose it’s not ironic that four weeks earlier, while on a winter vacation, my husband and I stayed at a hotel called, The Tickle Pink Inn. The Lord certainly has a sense of humor!
Divine synchronization
I realize more and more how the Lord has everything in our lives divinely and strategically synchronized for His glory and honor. We are so precious to Him that He allows many things, good and bad, to come into our lives in order to teach us His will and His ways. His divine purposes will be accomplished and our paths are set in motion so we can prosper in Him in varying ways and degrees. “For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” (Jer. 29:11)
I realized after the conference, I’d been given a clean bill of health from my lung specialist the day this hilarious laughter erupted in my soul. For the past year I’d been battling a very serious health issue and this seemed a celebratory statement from the Lord that I’d been completely healed. I think that’s quite wonderful, don’t you?! Don’t hold back your enjoyment of God. Don’t hold back your fun and laughter for all His marvelous deeds!
I also came to realize that I had actually been up in the early morning hours before attending the conference that night. I could not sleep as I was praying for so many things and decided to get up and journal. Suddenly my intercessory prayers gave way to simply basking in the Lord’s Presence. As I did, I began to write these words:
“Just being together is my greatest joy, O Lord! Just being with You, being in Your magnificent Presence is of utmost joy! So holy! So holy! So immensely pleasurable! It’s simply You being here that fills me with such delectable delight! The things of earth, how fleeting they are compared to You.
Holy Spirit, You have overwhelmed me. I am Yours forevermore. Do with me whatever You desire.”
Then I recorded the Lord’s response, “You are sitting in a pure place with Me. I love you, Linda.” {Place your own name here} “You have given your all to Me. I will give My all to you. You are being moistened by My Spirit. You are supple and shapeable in My hands. You have been designed for My glory. Listen carefully. Act carefully.”
I responded to Him by saying, “Holy Spirit, help me! How can I please you the most?”
The Lord answers: “By loving Me with all your mind, soul, body, strength; with all your being. Love Me with everything within you. Do not hold back anything. The more you pour out to Me, the more I can pour in. I’m covering you with My canopy of glory. The fear of the Lord is coming! You will see! You will see!”
Another confirmation
The fact that all this laughter happened in such a short period of time, confirms what the Lord is conveying. Joy is erupting in our lives! “By the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed.” (Matt. 18:17)
Several days ago, I was listening to a teaching CD by Rick Joyner of Morning Star Ministries (the ministry of which I’m ordained). Imagine my shock when I heard him say that “in 2010 there would be an outpouring of joy!” I began to laugh at the orchestration and synchronization of God. Rick went on to say, “People will literally die laughing. Not that the laugher killed them, but that there would be so much joy…they’d be so excited about going home…and that it’s their time to go home… they would die laughing.” Now that’s radical love of God! He went on to talk about the Lord’s “righteousness, peace and joy” as stated in Romans 14:17.
I can attest to this as I’ve already known someone who has recently gone home to be with the Lord and went in great peace and joy of soul. Amen Lord. “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones.” (Ps. 116:15)
In our pursuit of intimacy with God, Psalm 16: 11 will be near and dear to our hearts, “Thou wilt make known to me the path of life; in Thy Presence is fullness of joy; in Thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore.” Ladies and gentlemen of the Most High God, did you know He has such astounding treasures and pleasures for us that we can’t even imagine how glorious they truly are!
Let’s be done with heartache and pain. Let us be done with striving. Let us be done with salty tears that run down our faces day and night. Let us be done with these things and live life to the fullest degree in Christ Jesus. His tortured Body on Calvary has paid the price for our lifetime of victories. Our lifestyle is to be one that reflects the power of the other side of the Cross – Resurrection power! In other words, what is not possible with man certainly is with God! (Matt. 19:26)
God laughs too!
If God laughs, we surely ought to! His Word declares in 2:4, “He who sits in the heavens laughs, the Lord scoffs at {the enemy} them.” Saints of God, we have so much authority over the enemy through the Name of Jesus, we just need to laugh because it’s so amazing! This is stated again in Psalm 59:8, “But Thou, O Lord, dost laugh at them; Thou dost scoff at all the nations.” Why would He laugh at the nations? Well, who do they think they are anyway?! It is the Lord God Almighty who reigns over all the earth! And for those who think otherwise, they are playing with fire – very dangerous hell fire. Verse 10 of that same passage in Psalms reads: “My God in His lovingkindness will meet me; God will let me look triumphantly upon my foes.” You and I have the assurance of victory over harassments from the vile enemy because of the power of the Holy Spirit within us.
We really need an awakening in our hearts as to the profound authority residing with us as a child of God. Just as the Lord laughs at His enemies, we shall also. Let us not whine and bemoan our trying situations whatever they may be. But let us take on the characteristic of God wherein we too can laugh at the powerlessness of enemy. It is a fearsome thing to fall into the hands of the Almighty, living God! (Heb. 10:31) Calvary’s cross bought the insurance policy for victories over our enemies. That’s worth a lot of celebrating, joy and laughter, don’t you think? So why not just go for it! Laugh yourself into victory today!
Abraham and Sarah laughed
We’re entering a time of deeper revelations as the End of the Age draws nearer. One of those insights is this profound joy of the Lord.
Take a look at the father and mother of our faith, Abraham and Sarah. They laughed at the absurdity and impossibility of the promise of a child in their old age. If they laughed at such a prospect, then we too will laugh because of the power of God taking place in our lives. (See Genesis 17 & 18) Laughter is our family legacy! And just as everyone around me began to laugh during that episode I had at church, the contagiousness of it will spread to those around you. Genesis 21:6 confirms this, “And Sarah said, ‘God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me.’”
I strongly sense the Lord is releasing in this season, a time of great joy and laughter because of the utterly profound healings, signs, wonders, miraculous provisions and spectacles of His glory! It will cause many to beat a path to our door. They will want what we have! Why? Because there is so much pain, sadness and suffering going on right now around the world, that multitudes need release from the bondages of sin, sickness, disease and poverty. When the lost around us see that in the midst of these sufferings you and I have the love of God, His peace, and His joy in our lives, they are going to want what we have! When they see encompassing sorrows and yet the church is experiencing the Lord’s power through amazing salvations, healings, deliverances and divine provisions, they will come running. Evangelism doesn’t get any easier than that! The Word of God tells us of these things in Amos 9:13, “‘Behold, days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘When the plowman will overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sows seed.’”
Mourning turned into dancing
In and through the Name of Jesus, His Body, the church worldwide, is a force to contend with. Therefore, it’s time we fully embrace the powerful strength of the Lord through His abounding, overflowing joy. Hilarious laughter, such as neither the church nor the world has ever seen, is coming to a town near you! Get ready! It’s coming to those people of God, who refuse to be bitter, angry and resentful in the midst of their trials and tribulations. Jesus has already said to rejoice, for He has overcome the world. (John 16:33) And we do that through the authority of His Blood. (Rev. 12:11)
Hilarious joy is coming to those saints who love, adore and worship Jesus with everything within them. Their eyes are not set on themselves but on the Lord Jesus and all He has done through His sacrifice at Calvary.
Let’s begin to pray and decree Nehemiah 8:10b into our lives: “Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
After all, even our Savior, going through the most torturous death known to man, went to the Cross, suffered and died, because HE KNEW THE JOY set before Him meant that Resurrection was imminent! This is the joy set before us as well! (Heb. 12:2) In fact, this road to Calvary was one of the dreams I’d had.
Astounding love
I saw the Lord in an extremely profound way as I’d never seen Him! I saw His eyes peering into my very soul with the most amazing, sweet, kind, compassionate, loving, holy, beautiful, glorious, heavenly tender smile you could ever imagine! I just cannot describe it! I’d not EVER experienced the Lord’s Presence in this manner of intense, overwhelming love. That one look of passionate, holy, divine, sacred, pure, powerful love took my breath away! It completely took me by surprise as I saw His torturous pain, but in the midst of it, He imparted the perfection of true joy into my being! That in itself is utterly profound! Salvation is priceless! I saw it! I saw it clearly! The Love! The magnitude of the Lamb of God’s love is overwhelming! It was HE who made me laugh from my innermost being. The JOY OF THE LORD IS MY STRENGTH AND MY SONG!
Amazing strength
We have to understand that it was this kind of strength that caused the first Christian martyr, Stephen, to be able to have the look of glory on his face while being stoned to death. He could see God’s glorious love to an astounding depth. I think I saw what he saw! Stephen’s face became like that of an angel as he’s being tortured because the glory of God was all over him! We must follow suit. (Acts 6 & &) We’ve simply got to stop whining about our circumstances and begin living a holy, vibrant, powerfully pure testimony unto the Lord. “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness will cover the earth, and deep darkness the peoples; but the Lord will rise upon you, and His glory will appear upon you.” (Isa. 601-3)
Beloved believers, we truly cannot comprehend how wide, how deep, how vast is His love for us! (Eph. 3) The scope of it transcends all human understanding. It’s taken purely by faith. What comfort to know we too can have that kind of joy in the midst of sorrows knowing release is forthcoming. I knew the Lord was confirming a very powerful message in these dreams where I woke up laughing because one of them, I had three times in one night.
Whatever it is you’re going through, it doesn’t matter the scope of its impossibility, the Lord has given you victory through it. We need to remember that His Word declares, ‘weeping may last for the night, but JOY comes in the morning.’ (Ps. 30:5) How long has your ‘dark night of the soul’ been? Let your heart begin to rejoice, because your praise and worship of the King will cause holy laughter to erupt in your soul bringing divine release!
Here’s an old song that has brought me great comfort through the years, it’s called, ‘O Love That Will Not Let Me Go.’
O Love that will let me go,
I rest my weary soul in Thee.
I give Thee back the life I owe,
That in its ocean depths it’s flow,
May richer, fuller be.
O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to Thee.
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And know the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.
Sing!
Remember, one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit is joy. (Gal. 5:22) That may very well include hilarious laughter that releases the pain spoken of in the above song. As one of today’s sayings go ~ “How’s that joy workin’ for ya’?!” If not, why not? Precious saints, we need to mature into passionate love and adoration of our Most High God that brings healing to our body, soul and spirit. Therefore, it’s extremely beneficial to sing in the midst of your troubles. It lifts you up into higher ground. Psalm 137 gives testimony to how the Israelites, through their tears, sang songs to the Lord in front of their captors. We can do no less. Again, this is our legacy.
A person can be in the midst of a storm and still be standing like Peter. (Matt. 14) Our peace and joy is not in people, careers or things. It’s only in Jesus. I want to encourage you, if you’ve been in the midst a lot of tears lately experiencing pain, sorrow and grief in various ways, it’s time to let loose with love songs to Jesus. The Lamb is worthy of praise – always! Psalm 126:5 is knocking on your door and your reward is forthcoming. “Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting.”
Saints just because you may be unfamiliar with this aspect of healing and deliverance, please do not condemn or judge the holy laughter that is being released. It is not only scriptural, but very healing. As Mike Bickle from the Kansas City International House of Prayer states, “Let’s not try to police the move of God.” I chime in by saying, “Let it flow, let it go!”
As I’d awaken with laugher from these dreams I’d had, one of the things the Lord imparted to me was how the holy, reverential FEAR OF THE LORD was going to fall. I was led to Isaiah 6:3 and 8:13 in this regard. Hilarious laughter is coming because of the power of God that will bring shock and awe around the world. The Holy Spirit also gave me Psalm 57: 7-8, “My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises! Awake, my glory; awake, harp and lyre, I will awaken the dawn!”
It’s coming to a town near you. It’s coming to your house. Sing! Sing! Sing! And as King David, you just might dance some too! (2 Sam. 6:14)
So go ahead and laugh at your tomorrows. It’s your legacy. And, the Lord has given you permission because it glorifies Him! (Prv. 31:25) Enjoy your God!