Kathi Pelton's prophetic and teaching articles and words all available through Righteous Resources

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Learning to Lean or Leaning to Learn?
By Kathi Pelton

Vision

Recently while I was ministering in Alberta the Holy Spirit took me into a vision that involved a scene from the holiday movie “The Polar Express”. In this movie, a group of children who have stopped believing in Santa Claus are taken on a magical train ride to the North Pole. When they get on the train each child is issued a golden ticket that has a letter punched into it by the train’s conductor. When each child gets back on the train to return home after their visit to the North Pole (having learned valuable lessons about childhood and belief) the conductor then takes each ticket and punches more letters into their ticket that spells out a word that best sums up the “lesson learned”. One girl gets the word “Lead” punched onto her ticket while another boy gets the word “Believe”. But one young boy receives his punched ticket and reads the word “Lean”. He looks curiously at the conductor because he does not understand the significance of the word. The conductor tells him to read it again, and the young man sees the word is actually “Learn”.

As the Holy Spirit reminded me of the scene in this movie I instantly heard the verse out of Song of Solomon 8:5:

“Who is this coming up out of the wilderness leaning upon her beloved?”

Then the Spirit spoke and said, “In order to learn the new ways to walk in this new time you must first learn to lean. You first must lean upon Me in order to learn from Me.”

What Are You Leaning On?

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3: 5-6

Leaning on our Beloved often requires us leaning away from our own understanding. His ways are not our ways, nor are His thoughts our thoughts. This often leaves us with a lack of understanding. When leaning and depending on God for direction, more often than not He will ask us to do things and go places that make no sense to our natural ways of thinking. And when we begin to obey His leading, the “leaning” will become even more essential. Intimacy and dependency are vital for receiving knowledge and revelation about how to walk and where to go—as well as the timing of each step.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart…” What is trust? According to the dictionary trust means “a firm belief or confidence in the honesty, integrity, reliability, justice, etc. of another person or thing (faith; reliance)”.

Often we will say, regarding a spoken promise: “His/her word held a lot of weight,” meaning that we are leaning, depending or putting our trust in the promise spoken by another person. We are willing to do that with each other, yet God’s spoken word to us should be given far more weight than any promise of man.

If an individual worth millions of dollars walked up to you and said, “I would like to purchase a million dollar property for you,” you would likely believe them because you had seen their wealth. What if God says to you, “I am going to give you a million dollar property”? Would you trust Him to fulfill His word? For some reason it is easier for us to trust in the riches of men than the spoken word of God. We tend to put our trust in what we see and hear with our physical senses rather than put our trust in the invisible God who speaks to our spirits.

This is nothing new, but in the days ahead it will be even more important to lean closely into our Beloved in order to hear His voice and to depend fully upon His words that will lead and direct us.

Exchanging Lies for Truth

Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. Psalm 25: 4-5

Last month our local ministry team met together for a day of prayer and worship. During our time together the Holy Spirit instructed us to take pieces of paper and write down all the lies that we struggle with or have been ruled by in our personal lives. Those of us present were well-versed in God’s Word, yet there was no shortage of small slips of paper containing lies that directly contradicted God’s revealed truth. As a matter of fact, there were more little papers than I care to admit in my hand. After allowing the Lord to search our hearts and writing down what He showed us, we then took the paper slips to an outside fire, where together we burned and renounced the lies from our lives.

How can God guide us in His truth if we believe lies that have no place in Him? God desires to free us from the lies that have entangled us in the Accuser’s snare. The enemy has caught us in this web of lies for long enough and kept us from moving into our inheritance as sons and daughters. My sense is that we are moving into times where the miraculous will be common to those who are leaning upon their God.

We are moving into days that will require us to receive careful and detailed instructions from the Holy Spirit as to our direction and strategy. If we are about to see a massive harvest of souls, we will need to know how to care for them, nurture them and walk with them. The preparation time we have been experiencing has been unlike anything in the body of Christ I personally have ever witnessed. Though it appears that the enemy has wreaked havoc upon God’s people, I think that the truth is more likely that God has come and mercifully stripped us from all that would destroy us in the days to come. Some appear to be stripped of everything that would be essential to move forward, but once again this may be another case of “His ways not being our ways”. I can say this because we have been counted among those who have been stripped of everything but absolute dependency.

I encourage you in this time to allow the Holy Spirit to show you every lie that has held you in bondage, and allow Him to exchange them for the truth that will set you free. The Accuser has been shouting accusations at God and His people, but we need to know how to quiet our hearts in order to hear the voice of the Spirit that will lead us into all truth.

To Him Who is Able

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Ephesians 3: 20-21

It is time to live like those who know that HE IS ABLE! God keeps speaking to me that I am to “Dream Big”. Then, after I have dreamed as big as I can He tells me that my “big” is still not big enough! He had instructed my husband and I to look at property for the vision that He has given us to start a home for teen boys without families. I began (in faith) looking at foreclosures and very inexpensive homes that might work for a small beginning. Then the Lord told us to look on a particular road for a property for sale. The only property for sale is a 54 acre piece of land with three homes, barns, workshops, etc. that is priced in the millions. It has everything we would need to move into the dream that He has given us. Then He said, “Go possess the land.” What? That’s crazy—but now we are in the process of believing for a miracle.

Why am I sharing this? Because God may ask you to do something that would exceed what you would ask for or even imagine. He may give you something that is more than you imagined, but you must be willing to hear and obey even when it makes no sense. Do I have the kind of wealth to purchase this land? No, but my Heavenly Father knows where all the wealth is stored and it brings Him great pleasure to transfer it into the hands of His children.

What is God asking of you? What are your dreams? What are His dreams for you? Are you ready to see God do immeasurably more than you ask or imagine? Is His Word truth? Then He is able to do more! His power is at work in you so you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. Get ready for dreaming big and then learning to follow His lead as you lean.

Dream big, Beloved!

Kathi Pelton
Light Streams Ministries
jkpelton@sbcglobal.net

Song of Solomon 2: 9-16

My beloved is like a gazelle or a young hart. Behold, he stands behind the wall of our house, he looks in through the windows, he glances through the lattice.

My beloved speaks and says to me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.

For, behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing [of birds] has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.

The fig tree puts forth and ripens her green figs, and the vines are in blossom and give forth their fragrance. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.

[So I went with him, and when we were climbing the rocky steps up the hillside, my beloved shepherd said to me] O my dove, [while you are here] in the seclusion of the clefts in the solid rock, in the sheltered and secret place of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.

[My heart was touched and I fervently sang to him my desire] Take for us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards [of our love], for our vineyards are in blossom.

My beloved is mine and I am his! He pastures his flocks among the lilies.

These beautiful and intimate verses from Song of Solomon chapter 2 are descriptive of the time that the Body of Christ is in. In the past season it was as though our Beloved was behind a wall, peering at us through a window or the lattice of the structures that we had built or walls that had been erected. These structures, though initially created because of hearts desiring to serve Him, had become fortresses that, over time, erected walls between Him and us. Many of them even kept us from His deepest longing: unity. They kept us independent from one another and focused on building our individual ministries rather than corporately, as one body and one bride, seeing His Kingdom established on earth as it is in heaven. But as His longing for His us increased and the timing was upon us, He called us away with him, out of our old structures and fortresses and into His desire that we would be one as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are One.

“…That they all may be one, [just[ as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be one in Us, so that the world may believe and be convinced that You have sent Me.

I have given to them the glory and honor which You have given Me, that they may be one [even] as We are one: I in them and You in Me, in order that they may become one and perfectly united, that the world may know and [definitely] recognize that You sent Me and that You have loved them [even] as You have loved Me. John 17: 21-23

There seems to have been a shift in the Body of Christ as we entered 2010, a re-posturing that has called us out of our old systems and mindsets, old structures, in some cases even our existing ministries.

For some, the walls may not have been tangible ministry structures, but walls erected within our hearts due to disappointment and hopelessness. Either way, our Beloved wants to be face to face with us so that He can breathe upon us once again with the breath of life and intimacy.

Intimacy has been a key word for many years in the Church and there has been an intentional pressing into relational intimacy with the Lord, as well as a greater understanding and awareness of His longing for us. But still there have been walls, even if only made of lattice. A time of coming away with Him and getting face to face with the One who longs to share the mysteries of the age with us has arrived. A time of corporate unity and seeing His corporate bride engaging in intimacy with Him is upon us.

The Winter is Past

For, behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing [of birds] has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.

Our spiritual drought is over! Though there has been a long season of the cold winter rains, these storms have produced a cleansing and a time of saturating our dry ground. Now, it appears that the season of singing is upon us. If we were land, I would describe the past few years as years of drought with dry grass and hardened soil. But as we have entered this new year and the spring of 2010 it feels as though the ground is softened with the saturation of His rain, the trees are in full bloom and the grass is vibrant green. Even the rivers and streams are bursting with the fullness of the winters’ downpours. We are ready for fruitfulness!

God sent us a plentiful winter that healed many with the downpour of His cleansing, love and restoration. But now our spring has begun and the time of singing has returned to the Church. It is a time of rejoicing, of releasing songs of love and thanksgiving to our God. It is a time to see the blossoming of the vines and know that a plentiful harvest is coming. I see us moving from a time of hope deferred to a time of desire fulfilled.

There is still rain, but it is a spring rain that refreshes. There is a rain of blessings and refreshing that beckons us into the fields together to see what He is doing. If I could paint a visual picture for you, it would be of Jesus standing in a field of blossoming trees with a warm spring rain gently falling, causing the blossoms to glisten with His light as the dew rests upon them; and He is calling His body together to meet Him in this place.

The Fig Tree

The fig tree puts forth and ripens her green figs, and the vines are in blossom and give forth their fragrance. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.

In the mountainous regions of Israel, by December the fig-trees have all shed their leaves. They remain bare until about the end of March when they begin to bring forth their tender leaf buds. At the same time, in the leaf axils, tiny figs appear. These are the early signs of spring in Israel.

We are in the early stages of our spiritual spring. Our fruit is not ripe but the signs of the birthing of fruit and harvest are upon our branches. Though the world still goes on in all of its turmoil, there is something that is happening with God’s people that gives us great hope and joy.

His body is blossoming and signs of fruitfulness are upon her. But this time, rather than every one having their own field, it is as if we are running to His field where there is only one root system…Jesus. We are becoming those who respond to His desire for unity (as we read in John 17) and laying down our names, individual ministries, our crowns in order to fill His longing for one bride that moves and has her being in the unity and movement of the Godhead alone.

Individually we are allowing all the walls of self protection and self preservation to be removed so that we no longer relate to Jesus from a distance but we surrender to His embrace.

I believe that between now and June we will see more and more of the body of Christ responding to the longing of the Lord to be one with Him and with one another. Great fruit will come from this and the world will know that we belong to Him.

“Let Me see your face and hear your voice…”

[So I went with him, and when we were climbing the rocky steps up the hillside, my beloved shepherd said to me] O my dove, [while you are here] in the seclusion of the clefts in the solid rock, in the sheltered and secret place of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.

Is the face and voice of the Bride of Christ an individual’s beauty or sound? No, it is multi-faceted because it is made up of the beauty and sound of all who know and love Him. The beauty of His bride is like a flower garden with many varieties, colors and fragrances and yet still one garden. The sound of His bride is like a symphony of music playing one song, yet with many instruments. He is longing to see our face and hear our voice together. He has been preparing us in the clefts of the solid rock—hidden from public view—so that we can learn to move together and love more deeply. Like a Broadway musical, there is an extended period of coming together as a cast to learn how to move together before the stage curtain is opened for all to see. We are learning to move together, to not jostle one another or break ranks but as a Warrior Bride we follow our Commander as one army.

“They charge like warriors; they scale walls like soldiers. They all march in line, not swerving from their course. They do not jostle each other; each marches straight ahead. They plunge through defenses without breaking ranks. They rush upon the city; they run along the wall. They climb into houses; like thieves they enter through the windows. Before them the earth shakes, the sky trembles, the sun and moon are darkened, and the stars no longer shine.

The Lord thunders at the head of his army; his forces are beyond number, and mighty are those who obey his command. The day of the Lord is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it?" Joel 2: 7-11

Catch the Little Foxes

[My heart was touched and I fervently sang to him my desire] Take for us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards [of our love], for our vineyards are in blossom.

In the great love and mercy of our God He has awakened our love and desire. As we have been touched there is a cry that the Lord would remove all the “little foxes” that spoil our love and cause our fruit to drop before it is ripened. For each of us the “little foxes” may be different. But anything that exalts itself above the purity of love must be removed so that our vineyards are not destroyed before they yield their fruit.

This is a time to be asking the Lord to remove all those “little foxes” from our lives, our families, our ministries and relationships. This is our time of blossoming and coming together as one body and one bride. We are His beloved and He is ours.

My beloved is mine and I am his! He pastures his flocks among the lilies.

Let us run together~

Kathi Pelton
Light Streams Ministries
jkpelton@sbcglobal.net

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Sing for joy, O heavens, and be joyful, O earth, and break forth into singing, O mountains! For the Lord has comforted His people and will have compassion upon His afflicted.—Isaiah 49:13

Did you know that compassion has a sound? Do you realize that compassion releases the power to bring freedom where captivity currently reigns? Daily we hear the sound and see the power, but rarely do we comprehend the weightiness of it.

Compassion is a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.

Beginning this past January—and continuing still today—we heard the sound of compassion in Haiti, as trucks and helicopters arrived to help the masses of suffering people with food, water, and medical supplies. At times the people's cries of sorrow turned to singing over something as small as a bottle of water. As rescue workers swarmed through the rubble of pulverized structures, locating survivors in the midst of devastation, again and again cries of anguish were transformed into joyful singing.

How were we able to see these things? Because of compassion! As we watched the deep suffering of the Haitian people, the very emotion that moved Jesus to heal moved us to give and to go in order to alleviate their suffering. Yes, compassion has a sound, and the power to turn wails of anguish into the delight of joyful singing.

Recently I had a powerful experience that lasted the entire night regarding "the sound of compassion." I was shown a container that had the appearance of a large vase. This vase had been wrapped in a secure package until this present season, in order to be poured out upon the people of God. As the package was opened I looked into the container but could not see anything inside. Then, I began to hear sounds coming forth from the darkness. I heard many sounds overlapping: a baby's cry at the time of its birth, children playing, songs being sung (songs that came from the compassion of Heaven), chains breaking, birds singing, people applauding. There were so many sounds—but they blended beautifully together like a heavenly orchestra that was releasing a new song.

As I heard this "song" the Holy Spirit said to me, "This is the new sound that I am releasing. It is the sound of My compassion coming forth that will set the captives free."

I felt overwhelmed throughout the experience. The song took my breath away. I not only heard the sounds, but as the night continued I was shown many things that would take place as the sound of compassion was poured out upon God's people. I saw injustices reversed and lives restored. This was not only for individual lives, but for people groups, cities, regions, and nations. It was like the sound of anguish and the prayers of the afflicted were suddenly being answered with the power to set them free. My sense was that this "package" had been sealed up for this very hour in history, and as it was poured out over God's people, the power that Jesus walked with on earth to heal, save and deliver was restored. It was like God baring His mighty right arm against injustice and suffering. The power of compassion was anointing men and women to release captives as we have never seen before.

Though we know that as the days progress darkness will increase because of the evil one, we also know that the Lord will pour out His compassion upon those who cry out to Him and will deliver them into light. Though I did not sense that the container was being poured out just yet, in my vision I could tell it was being unpackaged at this time for the sake of being poured out. I knew that when that happened it would be like a weapon of might and power for God's people.

I don't completely understand why I saw what was released as a "sound," but this sound was a mighty weapon. Many of the sounds that I heard were the result of compassion being released, but I also heard sounds which I cannot describe that were the release of anointing of the compassion of God upon His people. His compassion will fall upon worship leaders, teachers, evangelists, pastors, prophets and apostles. When that happens, wisdom, power and miracles will suddenly appear. His compassion will be poured out upon all who will receive it.

The most amazing thing that I saw in this experience was cities and nations being changed. Those who had cried out to the Lord for His mercy and compassion were suddenly experiencing the glory of the Lord. His compassion not only healed and restored their land and people but it also reversed issues of injustice that had plagued them. Because of the corporate release of compassion, individuals were set free and the lost were saved.

I was also aware of this sound opening the eyes of many people groups in the Middle East. I was aware that His compassion would be poured out upon the Middle East and that many would be saved and relationships restored (or formed for the first time). These events were breathtaking.

Sing, O barren one, you who did not bear; break forth into singing and cry aloud, you who did not travail with child! For the children of the desolate one will be more than the children of the married wife, says the Lord.

Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; spare not; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes, for you will spread abroad to the right hand and to the left; and your offspring will possess the nations and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.

Fear not, for you shall not be ashamed; neither be confounded or depressed, for you shall not be put to shame. For you shall forget the shame of your youth, and you shall not remember the reproach of your widowhood any more.

For your Maker is your Husband—the Lord of hosts is His name—and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; the God of the whole earth He is called.

For the Lord has called you like a woman forsaken, grieved in spirit, and heartsore—even a wife in youth, when she is refused and scorned, says your God.

For a brief moment I forsook you, but with great compassion and mercy I will gather you (to Me) again. In a little burst of wrath I hid My face from you for a moment, but with age-enduring love and kindness I will have compassion and mercy on you, says the Lord, your Redeemer.—Isaiah 54:1-8

I believe that this amazing outpouring of the compassion of Heaven for this time will usher in Isaiah 54:1-8. We will call Him Redeemer as never before. There will be a sound from Heaven that redeems those on earth.

Get ready! Allow the Lord to position you, empty you (so that you might be filled) and purify you so that you might be a container for this compassion to be poured into.

Break forth into great hope! Though many of you have been emptied, and feel as though your emptiness has somehow disqualified you, know that your container is about to be filled. Be careful not to try to fill the empty places on your own, but wait for the Lord to pour into you. Though the emptying process is painful, the purifying of the empty vessel can be even harder because it involves waiting and resting—though I believe the time of filling is coming. We tend to be restless and impatient, but now is a time to HOPE! Let hope arise in your hearts, because a great infilling will come upon those who wait for Him.