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Arise and Shine from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.

Happy resurrection morning! It's a great day to be alive. This week has been slammed unexpected work and things breaking. We are a few days into our Intentional Growth Corporate Fast, and all hell seems to be breaking loose with our network equipment here. Air conditioners pouring water into the house, routers going offline, and databases hanging randomly. It's just been one thing after another.

Instead of being able to get somewhere quiet and work on a message as I would like, I've been putting out fires and coding scripts to monitor the website and automatically restart it. We may have to soon move the website to another server. So, when I came in here to pray about an Easter message, I really had nothing. Most of the day was gone, and I was tired. After praying a while, probably because of my inability to think and brain deadness, I believe the Lord gave me a pearl of wisdom. For when I am weak, then I am strong. I will share what He told me with you.

Over 2,000 years ago, angels rolled the stone away from the empty tomb of the Lord Jesus Christ. When the Apostle Peter and John went inside that morning, they saw the grave clothes laying there with the face cloth rolled up and set to the side. Because, the Lord Jesus Christ no longer needed grave clothes. For though He had once been dead, since that morning, He is alive forevermore.

(Isaiah 60:1–4 NASB)  “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. “Nations will come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising. “Lift up your eyes round about and see; They all gather together, they come to you."

After praying in the spirit for half an hour, I believe the Lord told me this:

It's the dawn of a new day

And today it begins

The restoration of My people to their rightful place 

Arise from the dead, church

Leave behind your grave clothes

And adorn yourself as the bride you are

For I will cover you in robes of righteousness

And I will shut the mouths of your mockers

It's time to rise and shine

For behold, your light has come.

The church has been shaken and many have closed their doors. Others have learned to embrace new technology that they once preached against. Yet, sometimes you have to break down in order to build back better. Today marks the beginning of the restoration of the church into something more glorious than we previously had. I am not sure what that is. He didn't tell me. Possibly a hybrid of technologies and structures, for the days of locking Jesus in a building are over. But it could also signal the start of something bigger, called the latter rain, which would precede the return of the Lord.

(James 5:7–8 NKJV)  Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

I do know something new is coming, and today marks the beginning of it. I am excited for we already called a corporate fast before I even knew about this. Something is in the air. It's a call to the thirsty. Get ready.

(Revelation 19:7–8 NASB)  “Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.” It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

You can pray this with me if you like:

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I am thirsty for more of You. Please let me be a part of what You are doing on the Earth. For the sake of the world, light a fire in me. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!\

Note: Our April month of Intentional Growth started on April 1st, but it is not too late to participate! If you would like  to join our special event, even if you would simply like to pray for those who are, you are more than welcome to do so. This is the place where we will share recipes, encourage each other, and build each other up in prayer. All are welcome!