Under The Canopy

In the summer of 2014 I had a vision in which I saw a small group of people standing under a white canopy.  The wind was blowing very hard. Even though the wind was blowing quite hard, the edge of the canopy was barely fluttering.  It was not going anywhere.  I heard the Lord say, "The winds of change are blowing and everything that can be shaken will be shaken. But you have a kingdom that cannot be shaken."  We have the kingdom of God within us. Every place where Christ rules is His kingdom.  His kingdom cannot be shaken and will stand forever.

Hebrew 12:25-29 ESV See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. 26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” 27 This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, 29 for our God is a consuming fire. 

I then saw that the people were standing on a rock and the canopy was anchored into the rock.  This caused me to think of Matthew 7:24-25 ESV Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 

The canopy of the Lord and the Rock are not going anywhere.  We need to find and stay in that place on the Rock and under the canopy of the Lord, in that secret place of the Most High.  We must abide under the shadow of the Almighty.  One time God said to me, "the secret place of the Most High is a place to abide, not just a place to visit." It is not just a place to run to in time of trouble.  We need to learn to live there.

Psalm 91:1-2 ESV He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. 2  I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” 

When I was trying to find a picture of a canopy to go with this post in 2015, I couldn't find a canopy that looked like the one I had seen.  Several weeks later I was reading Isaiah 4:5-6 ESV Then the LORD will create over the whole site of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, and smoke and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory there will be a canopy. 6 There will be a booth for shade by day from the heat, and for a refuge and a shelter from the storm and rain. 

With a little investigation into the original Hebrew for canopy, I realized the word translated as canopy is the word  chuppâh, which is the Jewish bridal tent.  It is the canopy under which a Jewish couple would get married.  When I looked at pictures of  chuppâhs I realized that was the type of canopy I had seen.  This spoke to me of the importance of maintaining our intimate relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

In the vision I saw the wind was blowing their hair of the people standing under the canopy, which to me means they were affected in some way by the winds of change that were blowing.  But they were not moved.  In these days of we will be affected in some ways by the things going on around us.  But if we stay on the rock and under the canopy we will not be moved.

The wind is beginning to blow and things are beginning to shake  and there is much more coming.  Now is the time to be prepared.  Now is the time to find that abiding place and stand there in faith.  When the things swirl and shake around us we need to keep our focus on the Lord and not on the things swirling and shaking around us.  God has spoken that very clearly to me when I have gotten my focus in the wrong place.


(This is a slightly revised blog post from 2015.)

Simon Becomes Peter (Part 2)

And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: ³² But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. (Luke 22:31-32)

Jesus will do whatever is necessary to see us restored even as He did for Peter. 

Jesus told Peter that He had prayed for him.  We can be assured that even now the great intercessor, Jesus is interceding for us, as He did for Peter during that time.

After  Jesus' death and resurrection, when the women met the angel at the tomb his message to the women was "But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you."  (Mark 16:7)  I find it interesting that the angel called him Peter, his new name and not Simon.  Jesus wanted them to make sure that Peter knew that the message was for him too, even though he had denied Jesus.

Shortly after that in an encounter recorded in John 21, Jesus asked Peter if He loved Him three times and told Peter to feed His sheep.  I believe in that encounter Peter was set free from his shame and guilt  and was restored by the love of the Lord Jesus. 

I believe that failure that exposed a weakness in Peter was a key event in Peter's life to prepare him for the important ministry role he had in the early church after he was restored.

Not long after that encounter with Jesus, by the sea, Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost and preached a sermon that resulted in 3,000 people being saved.  Later in Acts 5:15 was see that Peter walked in such an anointing that people were laid in the street so that when Peter walked by just his shadow would touch them and they would be healed. 

Peter had been admonished to strengthen his brothers after he was restored.  Jesus knew that Peter would come forth on the other side of this failure with something of substance that he could share with others.  Out of that experience Peter could now strengthen his brethren and feed the sheep in the Lord's pasture as one of the undershepherds of the Great and Good Shepherd (1 Peter 2 & 5)

Our healing and deliverance is not just for ourselves, but so we can then go and minister to others as well.

In Luke 22:33 Peter said "Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death." Later Peter did go to prison and to death for the Lord, as he said he would.  But there was a work that needed to be done in his life before he was really ready to do that.  Jesus knew that as He looked at Peter that night.  But Jesus also knew that Simon would come forth on the other side as Peter, the rock.

Simon Becomes Peter (Part 1)

When Jesus first met Simon, He looked at him and called him "Peter," which means a rock.  (John 1:40-42)  In the Bible names were often changed by God to indicate a change of character or nature.  Jesus was seeing that Peter would indeed one day be a rock, one of solid character and one of the foundational apostles in the beginning of the church.

Just after the Last Supper, Jesus and Simon Peter had the following exchange:  "And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: ³² But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. ³³ And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death. ³⁴ And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me"  (Luke 22:31-34)

Jesus called him by his old name Simon, but also by his new name Peter. I believe it was because Jesus was letting him know that on the other side of his failure he would be restored and would indeed be Peter, the rock.  Although Simon Peter, would fail the coming test, he would not be disqualified. 

Jesus knew Peter was about to act out of his old nature, instead of the new man he was called to be.  Sometimes there are things in our lives that we do acting out of our old nature and it surprises us.  But it is not a surprise to God.  He knew it was in there all along and arranged a circumstance for it to come out so it could be dealt with.  Satan is often used as God's tool to sift us.  That sifting brings a purity.

The dictionary definition of sifting is ”examine (something) thoroughly so as to isolate that which is most important or useful." 

Peter was indeed sifted by this experience.  Jesus could see beyond the sifting that was about the take place in Peter's life. It was like Jesus was saying "you are going to fail in the coming test, but I still see the rock in you."

Jesus loves us as we are but He also loves us enough to not leave us in our current condition.  And He makes available to us all we need to become all He had in mind even before we were conceived. 

Just as Jesus had told him he would, Simon denied him. When he realized what he had done he went out and wept bitterly. 

(The only other place I have found it recorded in Scripture that Jesus called Simon by the name "Peter" is  Matthew 16:17-19 "And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. ¹⁸ And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. ¹⁹ And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.")

Under the Canopy of the Lord

Some of this is going to be a repeat of a previous post.  But I really feel like I should share it again.

Last summer I had a vision in which I saw a small group of people standing under a white canopy.  The wind was blowing very hard. Even though the wind was blowing quite hard the edge of the canopy was barely fluttering.  It was not going anywhere.  I heard the Lord say, "The winds of change are blowing and everything that can be shaken will be shaken. But we have a kingdom that cannot be shaken."  We have the kingdom of God within us. Every place where Christ rules is His kingdom.  His kingdom cannot be shaken and will stand forever.

Hebrew 12:25-29 ESV See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. 26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” 27 This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, 29 for our God is a consuming fire. 

I then saw that the people were standing on a rock and the canopy was anchored into the rock.  This caused me to think of Matthew 7:24-25 Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 

The canopy of the Lord and the Rock are not going anywhere.  We need to find and stay in that place on the Rock and under the canopy of the Lord, in that secret place of the Most High.  We must abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91 is the place we must live.  The wind is beginning to blow and things are beginning to shake  and there is much more coming.  Now is the time to be prepared.  Now is the time to find that abiding place and stand there in faith.  And when the things swirl and shake around us we need to keep our focus on the Lord.  

Psalm 91:1-2 ESV He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. 2  I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” 

WILL NOT BE MOVED

Recently while waiting on the Lord I saw people standing under a canopy.  There was a strong wind blowing.  As the wind passed over it the canopy fluttered a bit, but it did not go anywhere. 

The people were unmoved by the very strong wind.  I heard these words, "the winds of change are blowing and everything that can be shaken will be shaken." 

The canopy was solidly anchored in rock and the people were standing on a solid rock.  The following scriptures came to mind:

Hebrews 12:25-29 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: ²⁶ Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. ²⁷ And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. ²⁸ Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: ²⁹ For our God is a consuming fire.

Matthew 7:24-25 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: ²⁵ And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

Psalm 62:2, 6-7 He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence; I shall not be greatly moved..... He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved. ⁷ In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.