I'm here because...

I’m here because, in January, the Lord revealed to me that I’m to look at people, and instead of automatically seeing how they appear on the outside, I’m to see the destiny, gifts, and abilities God has released into them since Creation. I felt like Bethel was the place for me to learn that, and the application/interview process for coming here was so supernaturally fast, I knew without a doubt this is where God wanted me to be. I’ve come to find out that what God revealed to me in January is REALLY prevalent here and a huge focus for Bethel; they call it “calling out the gold” in others. Have you ever thought of that? That everyone has “gold” or “treasure” in them?

I think it’s almost funny that “calling out the gold” in others is what God is calling me to do, because I use to be so critical and judgmental of others – friends, family, strangers – which is why prophetic week (um, this was actually several weeks ago…I’ve just been slack on my writing) totally rocked me! So, I just want to share some things that really stood out to me and brought insight concerning prophecy for us that are living under the New Covenant through Jesus Christ. By the way, this doesn’t cover half of what was taught during prophetic week – there was SO much to learn, but these are a few tidbits of info for now.

(Most of this comes straight from my notes, so its mainly Kris Vallaton’s awesome revelation received over the years…not mine)

I think many people get confused over God’s character,  because we see so much battle and killing in the Old Testament, and then Jesus totally throws everyone for a loop with His new message of love and forgiveness in the New Testament. Here’s how it was explained to us, which makes sense: under the Old Covenant, love for God was measured by your hatred toward those who hated God (hating all unrighteousness), because God is a God of justice, but under the New Covenant Jesus tells us to love and pray for those who persecute us; Jesus became the justice through His perfect life, death, and resurrection, so that we could receive mercy. Now our mandate is to love everybody, which in turn changes New Testament prophecy. It’s not about condemning, but about seeing through the “dirt” in people’s lives to the treasure God has put in them; anyone can see dirt, but it takes more to dig through it to find the treasure.

We don’t get into Heaven through our own works, we get in through Jesus’ works – by His grace. I feel like Kris explained the difference between grace and mercy perfectly:

• Mercy – you get pulled over and don’t get a ticket
• Grace – you get pulled over and get $1000 (you get something you didn’t deserve)

It’s by GRACE through faith; it’s funny – we get into Heaven through Jesus works and then we want others to get in on their own; well, this was my thinking in the past anyway, even though sometimes I didn’t realize it. We were created to love and reveal the treasure in others so that they can know the love and grace of Jesus – not the condemnation from the Old Testament or the “law.” Being such a “rule-oriented” person this has been a hard concept for me to break away from, but I’m realizing there’s more peace in loving people than judging them; so I say ONWARD! Onward with loving people and speaking over them the things God speaks over them!

Ok, last thing. Kris tells a story and I don’t remember the details, but basically he told a man to assume that he [the man] was the artist of a painting that was on the wall. The man said, “OK.” Then Kris says, “That’s the ugliest painting I’ve ever seen!” And then Kris asks the man, “Did demeaning the painting glorify the artist?” Of course the man said, “No.” Point being, when we demean each other and speak negatively or critically of others, we’re demeaning the artist who created them – God. This story definitely put things into perspective for me! How much time have I wasted all these years judging others?! It’s time to see what God sees in them and release their God-given destinies over them! Which is basically what prophecy is (of course the Lord may reveal specific things for some to prophecy over others, but for the most part, it’s seeing what God sees and then sharing it with that person and giving them a choice to walk into who God’s called them to be).

PS. God’s always speaking, we just may not know how. Ask Him how He’s speaking to you in this season (whether it’s pictures, impressions, a word or thought popping into your mind, etc.) so that you can begin calling out the gold in others.

Everyday Life

MAN, have I been holding out on you! So it’s been about a month since my last blog – I really need to step it up – and a LOT has happened. I’m not sure if this will be one ginormously long blog, or if I’ll split it up into a few. We shall see.

Let’s see, where to begin…the basics. I’ve been in the AMT (Advanced Ministry Training class) “Union with God” for the last few weeks (I’ll take four different AMTs throughout the year) and it has been awesome! I wasn’t so sure about it at first, but I knew I needed to grow in union/intimacy with God. I don’t think I knew what I was getting myself into. We show up, and our class is at the end of the day, so I’m already tired; and then the focus of this class is meditation. So I go in sleepy, and we BEGIN the class with meditation – I’ve seriously heard people snore before...hilarious! And our teacher says it happens every year; I actually feel super peaceful and relaxed afterward, yet somehow re-energized, so it’s worth it! We get to hear stories of all these great mystics (no, not people in the occult), which are those that are so in tune with God and aware of His presence in them, that the miraculous is a daily part of their lives and follows wherever they go! How awesome is that?! 

Side Note: Because I know a lot of people associate "mystics" or "mysticism" with new age, occult/demon stuff, here's something that I've heard on more than one occasion by different speakers - Everything "miraculous" that comes from those involved in the occult or demonic is a counterfeit of what God wants us to do/experience. For example, people get drunk off of alcohol; that's a counterfeit of being drunk in the Spirit, which is WAY better than alcohol, AND  you don't get the hangover haha; my point being, don't freak out about the word "mystic" until you know the origin behind the signs/wonders that follow them. Trust me, this was definitely something new for me too!

So I’m learning to be aware of God’s presence in me instead of always desiring His external presence and what I can feel; and I’ll tell you, being aware of Him inside of me brings about a whole new meaning/level to “peace that passes understanding.”  I  get done meditating (focusing on God/His word/His presence in me), even if for only 10 minutes, and almost feel drunk, because, my whole being is at peace…now that’s good stuff! How many of you need that in the middle of your crazy schedules? Everyone raise your hand, because we all need that!

Next, let’s see…ACTIVATION! This is our year-long community outreach. There are several Activations to choose from, and we had to wait like a whole month to see what we were placed in - can you say torture?! We chose our top five activations in September and just found out a couple of weeks ago which one we got. Although I didn’t get my first pick, God definitely knows what He’s doing, and I’m super excited to see what He has in store through my outreach – PROPHETIC ARTS. Ok, many of you are like, “What the heck is prophetic arts?” Well it obviously involves the prophetic, which is one of the main reasons I came here. I felt like God  has called me to speak into people’s lives and reveal the “gold” that He’s placed within them, which we do through the prophetic, and the next part – arts – involves anything artistic; it can be music, singing, rapping, writing (in any form), painting, drawing, dancing…you name it. You all probably know I love music (playing guitar and singing), but I also enjoy painting/drawing, even though I have no idea what I’m really doing, so I’m looking forward to growing in new areas of being artistic – we are all creative! I mean, we’re made in the image of the Creator, Who, I would say, is pretty creative…wouldn’t you agree? That means you’re creative too! So start asking the Creator what your creative ability is! The next aspect of my outreach is the specific ministry area I was placed in. I’m part of a “healing art” group; I will have the opportunity (this will be a first for Bethel students!) to go into hospitals (and other places) to release hope and healing  (physical, mental, emotional, etc) through art! How cool is that?! Not only do I get to release hope and healing to people in hospitals, but I get to help pioneer this for all Bethel students to come, since this will be the first time they'll be going into hospitals to do this. Our leaders have built such great rapport with the locals and the city here that the Lord continues to open doors! 

PS. Previously, the Lord has given people in prophetic art pictures to paint, and as people walk by the painting or hold it, they’re immediately healed! CRA-Z! Lots of good testimonies to follow throughout the year I'm sure!

OK, third definitely has to be my SPRING MISSION TRIP! Oh yeah! We chose our top five, out of like 50 choices – that’s a hard thing to narrow down – and found out last week where the Lord is taking us. I’m going to ENGLAND!

Ahhhhhh! So excited; I’ve wanted to go to England for a few years now just to go and experience a new culture, and not only is the Lord blessing me with the opportunity to go, but He’s letting me go to reveal His glory! Yeah, He’s definitely a good Dad :) SO (get ready for the support spiel), in order to take this trip, I obviously need support. The total trip cost is $2100; if the Lord leads you to sow into this journey and send me to England here’s a couple of things you can do (whichever you feel most comfortable with):

·         Donate Online Option #1 (TAX-DEDUCTIBLE) – go to https://www.ibssm.org/a/ and click on “give online” towards the bottom of the page; next click on “mission trip” and you’ll be able to type my name in to continue with giving.

·         Donate Online Option #2 (Non-Tax Deductible) – you can give online anytime through my blog; just click on “make a donation,” and if you’d like to donate towards something specific (mission trip, living expenses, etc) just let me know.

·         Send checks directly to me (Non-Tax Deductible) – some aren’t comfortable with giving online, so you can also send checks directly to me, which I can put towards my mission trip. You can send checks to:

                1781 Conifer Way

                Apt A

                Redding, CA 96002

If you have any questions about donations/giving to help support me over the year, just FB or Email (m.d.henderson8@gmail.com).

Well, I think this is long enough for one blog entry. This was just an update on what God is doing right now, but I’ve learned a lot over the last few weeks through our different speakers, so the awesome insights will come in another blog ;) I love all of you amazing people and am so blessed by you!