Thought for Friday, 04/12:
"Funny how people despise platitudes, when they are usually the truest thing going. A thing has to be pretty true before it gets to be a platitude." ~ Katharine Fullerton Gerould

Border Patrol Union Trashes 'Lifetime Political Hack' Biden After SOTU: 'Epitome of What So Many Americans Despise' https://valiantnews.com/2024/03/border-patrol-union-trashes-lifetime-political-hack-biden-after-sotu-epitome-of-what-so-many-american-despise/

Did God Give Patterns for Approaching Him?

People told me, "You can't teach people HOW to hear God's voice. It is different for each person." I have chosen to reject those ideas. Right-brainers despise steps (a set of rules). Left-brainers worship steps. Both are wrong. God has given us patterns (steps) that we can walk through, asking the Holy Spirit to meet, anoint, and empower us in each step. Below are biblical patterns (steps) that draw us into living encounters with Almighty God. Begin with the first pattern below and then work down through each of the other patterns.
________________________________________
The Pattern God Gave to Moses for Entering into His Presence

God provided the tabernacle as a pattern, shadow, and copy of the approach we are to use as we come into His presence (Heb. 8:5). Chapters 8 through 12 of Hebrews describe this heavenly pattern. I encourage you to read these five chapters now, especially if you need to come into His presence to receive His healing touch. In this pattern, we stop at six pieces of furniture as we prepare ourselves to stand before Him in the Holy of Holies. Here is a short listing of what these six pieces of furniture are and the experiences we are to have. They are condensed from chapter 10 of the book 4 Keys to Hearing God’s Voice.

I Am Living the Tabernacle Experience (Heb. 8-12)
1. Altar — I have laid down my self-initiated lifestyle (my ideas, self-effort and strength)
2. Laver — I am being cleansed by meditating upon Scriptures
3. Shewbread — My will is ground fine so I can love and honor all people
4. Lampstand — I have switched from reasoning on my own to Spirit-led reasoning
5. Incense — I come into God's presence through worship
6. Ark — I gaze upon God’s radiant glory, becoming a reflection of the One I gaze upon

I am applying the Tuning Dial of Habakkuk 2:1-3 – The 4 Keys for Hearing God’s Voice
1. Stillness - I have quieted my thoughts and emotions
2. Vision - I gaze upon Jesus, the One Who is always at my side
3. Flow - I am tuned to His River within (Flowing: pictures, thoughts, emotions, and power) Journaling - I record what God is revealing to me

I Am Applying the Fine-Tuning Dial of Hebrews 10:19-22
1. Sincere heart - My heart is true, honest and sincere
2. Full assurance of faith - I believe I hear God’s voice and He is faithful to His word
3. Clean conscience - I am clean before God through Christ's cleansing blood which washed away my sin
4. Obedience to what God has spoken - I have been obedient to what God is asking me to do

I Confirm What God Has Already Spoken
1. It lines up with Scripture, the character of God, and the names of Jesus
2. My two or three spiritual advisors' hearts confirm it is from God
________________________________________
Fan the flames of revival by sharing this blog with your friends on social media!
________________________________________

Four Prophetic Words for 2024 from Malachi Talabi

God speaks in various ways: dreams, visions, visitations, Scripture, flowing thoughts, numbers, the inner witness—the list could go on. This year, God has been speaking to me about what is on His heart, and for the first time in my life, I have received multiple words.

I usually only get a major theme for the year. I know God loves me, but I just don’t believe ALL of these words are just for me and my household alone. I believe there are people who need to know what God intends to do this year. "Without vision, people perish." Well, God has a vision, a plan, and an agenda, and below are the things I believe that our Father will be doing in 2024.

Word 1: The Year of Midnight Miracles (24-Hour Turnarounds)

Towards the end of 2023, God kept drawing my eyes to the 24-hour clock, the military clock. On the military clock, 24-hour time begins at midnight (00:00 or 0:00), and the last minute of the day begins at 23:59. “Where convenient, the notation 24:00 may also be used to refer to midnight at the end of a given date.”

I heard a few phrases in my mind: Midnight miracles, 24-hour turnaround, last-minute miracles, overnight success. This Scripture came to mind:

Joshua 3:5 - "And Joshua said to the people, 'Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.'"

Joshua experienced a 24-hour turnaround, and so can we! Things can turn around in just 24 hours! Midnight is significant in the Bible; God performs many miracles at midnight. One of them was when Paul was trapped in prison. At midnight, everything turned around (Acts 16:25-27).

I asked God why wait until midnight, and here’s what I journaled:

"Just like in a soccer game when victory comes in the last minute, there is a rush of adrenaline, which leads to a great shout and excitement. I could perform miracles immediately, I could give breakthrough immediately, but I love to perform last-minute miracles because of the type of praise it brings. Last-minute miracles also teach my people to always keep hope and trust on a deeper level."

Expect many last-minute miracles in 2024 because you serve a miracle-working God (Hebrews 2:4).

Pray for the following FOUR things! Signs, wonders, various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit. You will have many "by this time tomorrow" moments.

Word 2: Open Doors in 2024

On the 12th of December 2023, I had a dream. The dream lasted 15 seconds; then, I woke up. I saw my car—all of the doors were open, from the passenger seat to the boot. Every door was open. I woke up and thought, "OPEN DOORS IN 2024!" I laughed it off, although I wrote it down just in case God was speaking.

Yes, I know there are prophets out there who understand the Jewish calendar and the prophetic time. To be honest, since having my dream, I've seen videos online talking about 2024 being the year of the open door. In fact, I remember seeing a video about open doors as far back as September.

What makes my dream significant is that it was a dream that God gave ME. Something I didn't make up and wasn't triggered by what I had been feeding on.

In December, I was focusing on thanksgiving and gratitude, and I was reading the book of Philippians. Although I dismissed the dream, I still wrote it down. Then, in early January, a career door that was once closed to me suddenly opened. Then I remembered my dream! (Thank God I wrote it down.)

I agree with the declaration of others—not by faith and hope, but by revelation—you'll experience open doors in 2024.

Things that have been closed off, opportunities that seem to have passed you by, and doors that you thought would never be open, will be open to you! If you are in bondage or addiction, those prison doors will be open too! (Revelation 3:7-8)

Confirmation of the Open Door: On the 14th of January, I woke up and reached for my phone; it read 4:44. I got excited—why and what do these numbers mean? Well, 4 means door in the Hebrew alphabet, or entryway. I had seen the number 444 the day before and it caught my attention. (I know God speaks in various ways, including numbers, Hebrew 1:1.)

I believe all the 4’s I have been seeing symbolize multiple open doors. It's time to walk through these doors, knowing that no one can shut a door that God has opened!

Word 3: Ridiculous, Unusual Favor

Ever thought prophecy was fluffy and silly? Well, I thought that when my pastor declared it to be a year of ridiculous, unusual favor. Initially, I thought this was just a trendy thing to say until God reminded me not to despise prophecy (1 Thessalonians 5:20-21) and that we know in part and prophesy in part!

This means when prophetic words are declared, they come in parts. Just like a jigsaw puzzle, you might think one part looks strange until you put them all together, like the words above regarding midnight miracles and open doors. They seem disconnected until you go to the Scriptures, and you’ll see that Paul was in prison, and the prison doors were open at midnight. He experienced a midnight miracle of an open door.

The word God gave me about midnight miracles and then open doors came to me at different times—they were weeks apart and seemed disconnected, but they aren’t. They are just different parts of the same prophetic picture.

As I meditated on my pastor's prophetic word about ridiculous favor, I realized to have opened doors, it is going to require ridiculous, unusual favor—for jobs you might apply for, business deals, auditions, property investments—all of these will require ridiculous, unusual favour.

I pray you have ridiculous, unusual favour in 2024.

Word 4: More in 2024

This one came from a journal I was writing as God began to speak to me concerning stirring up the gifts of the Spirit. Suddenly, the phrase came to me: 2024 is your year of more. Then, I journaled:

"There is so much more that I have in 2024. It is your year of more. I've given you a four-letter word that encapsulates what you will experience in 2024: more blessing, more increase, more breakthrough. I will do more in 2024."

This Scripture came to my heart:

Exodus 1:7 "But the children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them."

I believe this will also happen in 2024.

Why so many words? Why should God be quiet when the devil is being noisy? In reality, the words above are part of the same prophetic picture, and that picture is a winning picture because God always causes you to triumph.

Here are your four words: Midnight miracles, Open doors, Ridiculous, unusual favor, More in 2024.

I pray these words bless you and resonate with you.

Have a great 2024!

Cruz Blasts Move To Protect Epstein Flight Logs

In a recent episode of his “Verdict” podcast, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas criticized Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin of Illinois for his refusal to subpoena the flight logs of Jeffrey Epstein, convicted child sex predator. Durbin had falsely claimed that no one wanted to subpoena the logs, prompting Cruz to condemn the statement.
Cruz accused Durbin and his colleagues of using subpoenas as a means to harass the Supreme Court and target Justice Clarence Thomas. He asserted that the Democrats despise Justice Thomas and that the subpoenas were part of their ongoing efforts to delegitimize the Supreme Court.
To counter this, Cruz and several Republicans proposed different amendments. They intended to force a vote on their amendments if the Democrats insisted on voting on the subpoenas. One such amendment, put forward by Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, called for subpoenaing Epstein’s estate for the flight logs, particularly those of the infamous “Lolita Express” private jet that allegedly transported mostly Democrat politicians to Epstein’s private island.