Author: Russ

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Standing Face to Face

AUTHOR: Juan Comesana

John 6:50 Mirror Bible
This, what you have here in me standing face to face with you, is the very sustenance of your life; the bread descending out of the heavenly sphere for everyone to eat their fill and not die.

(Reread, seeing yourself front and center in the crowd locking eyes with Jesus as He speaks.)
Here are some questions for us to ponder on, and speak with Holy Spirit, as we meditate on this verse:

Who is in Jesus?
How can we be face to Face?
How can we feed on Him as our Life source?

I also want to encourage us to connect with Him, spirit to Spirit (John 4:24) each and every time we partake of communion.

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See Yourself as Royalty

In thinking about which aspect of the This Royal Life to share today, a song continued to echo in my spirit! (see link below)

Some songs, with their messages, are Timeless. I consider this to be one of those songs.

To think of ourselves as Royalty sometimes seems too far fetched.
But the truth is, we are part of an Upside Down Kingdom, with a unique privilege to bring change to our society and our culture daily and for generations to come.

Our King doesn’t structure His Kingdom the way that others might; but has invited us to be a part of what He is doing.

What captures me is thinking of hearing the footsteps of my King, beckoning me to come close, to draw near to Him, to learn more about Him and His Love.
We are citizens of a Kingdom that cannot be shaken; a Kingdom that draws those in darkness to an incredible Light.

Knowing that one is Royalty brings unique privileges and responsibilities.
Our Father has us here on Planet Earth at this exact time on purpose.
It’s no accident that you are here to complement and to complete the Body of Christ on earth, at this time.

If you have not yet seen yourself as Royalty, I invite you to listen to and read the words of this song. I pray that you embrace what is being said to the point that you get excited!

I bless you to see yourself as your Father sees you.

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What Strongholds have a Strong Hold on You?

AUTHOR: Jennifer Lescano

Well. Hello Again.

Remember my last post? That little girl, Orphan Annie. What a change when she stepped into Daddy Warbucks’ mansion, huh? If you’ve watched the movie or the song I shared, you noticed her questions and comments and the responses that followed.

That leads me to today’s post.

As I thought about what I wanted to share and as I asked the Lord about it, I heard 2 Corinthians 10:4 “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds.”

I asked the Lord about this once. I said, “Lord, what is a stronghold?” And he answered, “It’s something that has a stronghold on you.”

I grew up in the church. And I heard leadership using this scripture as a warring prayer. Like, “Lord, we come against every stronghold and say go. We pull it down.” However it was said. But that’s not exactly what Paul is talking about here. It’s not about pulling down this “imaginary thing.” That’s not my understanding of it. It’s not about an invisible man or a demon of strongholds that we talk to. I’m not saying there’s no demonic influence. I’m saying that a stronghold is a mindset.

This Royal Life is a life of freedom. Freedom means so much to me. And I want to say it’s been a major part of my walk with the Lord and my Royal Life. It’s a strong desire of mine to see God’s children walk in total freedom.

No one really talks about this subject. Some of us have strongholds where we think that the very talk about freedom is a sign of weakness when in reality it’s a sign of strength. Some think it should be tucked away and many of us are walking around longing for a conversation with someone we can trust about the very thing we’re struggling with.

Ok. So going back to stronghold. The Greek word for stronghold in this scripture is “ochuroma.” 3794 oxýrōma (from the root oxyroō, “fortify”) – a fortified, military stronghold; a strong-walled fortress (A-S), used only in 2 Cor 10:4. Here 3794/oxýrōma (“a heavily-fortified containment”) is used figuratively of a false argument in which a person seeks “shelter” (“a safe place”) to escape reality.

Did you get that? Read it again. A safe place to escape reality.

A mentality of lack or poverty is a type of stronghold. You might be thinking, “That’s not me, Jenn. I’m a son and daughter of the kingdom. I trust Him to provide all of my needs.”

That’s great if it’s true.

But can you trust him to provide your wants?

Are you setting limits on your asking?

Are you asking for what you truly desire or are you settling?

If you’re settling, why? Do you believe God can do it? If not, why not? What’s stopping him? What’s stopping you?

There are so many strongholds. I even started writing about another stronghold and expanded on it. But I felt I needed to stick to this one. Have you asked your Heavenly Father for anything recently? If not, why?

And if you asked, what did it look and sound like?

When I heard the Lord tell me, “Ask me for a Havanese,” I thought, “Havanese?” (You can see the video below.)

We had no idea that Havanese dogs were royal lap dogs. “They were the small white dogs who sat on the queen’s lap in royal portraits.” Got that from the internet.

“The breed was preferred by wealthy families in Cuba and visitors from France, Spain, and England later took the breed with them back to Europe.” (facty.com)

Not only was God telling me to ask for a specific breed, but in his telling me that, he was saying more. He was saying, “You’re royalty.”

I encourage you today. Talk to your Daddy. Your Heavenly Father. He delights in you. The verse Psalm 34:7 Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.

That was a verse in our wedding invitation. And several years ago, the Lord opened my eyes to that scripture. He led me to understand, “And He will give you the desires of your heart” meant the desires I had were the desires He had placed in me. Wow. It got so much deeper for me.

Imagine that. God’s desire in you. If it’s his desire, don’t you think he’s given you the green light to ask and have it?

Father, we give you this area of our thinking. We say, “Here take my limits. Sorry. Didn’t mean to put the lock and key on the very things you had opened. Today, we receive your desires and the right to ask and dream.”

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Prayer That Begins in the Heart

AUTHOR: Joe Lescano

“Prayer is the application of the heart to God, the inner exercise of love.”
Madame Guyon mid 1600’s

I’ve been thinking about what to post, and even though I would like to write about health optimization, exercise and hormones, I feel influenced to write about my experience with prayer. We share life with our King, in the incarnation He became one of us, so that we can become just like Him (Athanasius), but in our life of walking with the King, we all have our own individual way of relating and praying to Him.

Sometimes in our “Evangelical Journey” we lose our individuality in the way we talk and relate to God, after our coming to Christ experience we begin to adopt the mannerisms and styles of all those who surround us, and then comes the day when we all sound the same, move the same, address Him the same, rock our bodies back and forth like everyone else, do you see it yet? We lose ourselves and become another evangelical clone.

The Royal Life is a life of individuality, a life of co-expressing hearts, Spirit’s and ours, in one inseparable heart.

One of the ways the life of Holy Spirit is manifested in our lives, is in the way we relate to our Father. In the beginning, was the Logos and the Logos was with (pros=facing towards) God, and the Logos was God. Each one of us who has his blood running in our veins is free to be himself/herself and manifest one of the trillions of facets that is his life in us.

Many of us have a prayer life that doesn’t look like the conventional evangelical format. Some of us who are more spiritually introvert types find a great delight and pleasure in enjoying an awareness and knowledge of our unbroken union with Spirit, an effortless union, a work-free union, a stress-free union.

In ancient times, the most secure place in a kingdom was in the throne room where the king was, surrounded by the kingdom’s most elite guards protecting that room. In this New Covenant, we have become that throne room, and the one who has the title deed to the universe not only lives in us, but decided in his precious inclusive incarnation, to make us participants of the Trinity itself.

IN CHRIST, has been humanity’s new normal for the past two millennia, and this beautiful gospel is the proclamation of it. You may now be asking, “What does this have to do with prayer?” I tell you, for me, it has everything to do with it. This royal life is a life of unbroken union with our King, ever present with Him in the throne room of our heart, our thoughts, desires and feelings. Never absent from Him. His heart and ours beating as one. His mind and ours as one.

So how do you pray Joe? In my life, I have come to the realization that I am always in “his presence,” and He is always in mine. Never separated. I never have to “enter it”, “pull it down”, or “work it up.” Every moment of my life is prayer. Whether I open my mouth or not, when I exercise, homeschool the kids, or I’m sunbathing I’m praying.

My dear princes and princesses of the Most High, His blood runs in your veins. You’re not royalty by your Bible reading, worship or verbal utterances, you’re royalty because your life has been absorbed by the last Adam. Your life ceased to exist at the cross, and now you are of Christ and IN-CHRIST, for eternity and beyond.

I leave you with these words of Madame Guyon:

“You see, the only way to be perfect is to walk in the presence of God. The only way you can live in His presence in uninterrupted fellowship is by means of prayer, but a very special kind of prayer. It is a prayer that leads you into the presence of God and keeps you there at all times; a prayer that can be experienced under any conditions, any place, and any time.

Is there really such a prayer? Does such an experience with Christ truly exist?

Yes, there is such a prayer! A prayer that does not interfere with your outward activities or your daily routine.

There is a kind of prayer that can be practiced by kings, by priests, by soldiers, by laborers, by children, by women, and even by the sick.

May I hasten to say that the kind of prayer I am speaking of is not a prayer that comes from your mind. It is a prayer that begins in the heart. It does not come from your understanding of your thoughts. Prayer offered to the Lord from your mind simply would not be adequate. Why? Because your mind is very limited. The mind can pay attention to only one thing at a time. Prayer that comes out of the heart is not interrupted by thinking! I will go so far as to say that nothing can interrupt this prayer, the prayer of simplicity.”

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Enjoy the Joy of Royalty!

AUTHOR: Lisa Perna

Hi Beautiful Kingdom Family!
It’s so exciting to be a part of this awesome crew. I’m so happy and honored that I get to share a small part of my journey with all of you.

I asked God what I should talk to you about and in an instant, I heard in my spirit JOY. Did you know that you can let each and every day become filled with the overwhelming JOY of God? Its a choice you can make and it’s easy when you know what to do.

First take off those robes of sadness, condemnation, guilt, anger, resentment, fear, and unforgiveness. They don’t fit you any longer. You have new clothes to wear as a child of the King of Kings. Try putting on His robe of righteousness, wholeness, acceptance, worthiness, love, compassion, and most importantly joy!

Go about your day singing out loudly that you were once weak and now you’ve been made strong! You were once alone and now you have been adopted! You were once lost and now you are found! That alone should bring a smile to your face.

Start to dance and smile knowing that you’re recognized as His beloved child. Twirl around and know Your Father has His eyes on you. The delight in God’s heart is immeasurable as He watches you move fully free throughout your day.

So many days we can forget how truly blessed we are. In life get so caught up in the worries of the world that we forget that we don’t have to live by the rules in this world. You can operate in the ways of His Kingdom. Cast down your troubles and rejoice in His promises. He loves you! You are His! You belong to the King of the Most High! So be joyful you are royalty!