Hi Brian!
The word for this week is actually a phrase, "get out". We see this in these three verses:
Luke 13:31 The same day there came certain of the Pharisees, saying unto him, Get thee out, and depart hence: for Herod will kill thee. KJV
Acts 7:2 And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran, 3 And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee. KJV
Acts 22:17 And it came to pass, that, when I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the temple, I was in a trance; 18 And saw him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me. KJV
This is the Greek word "exerchomai". Thayer's Greek Lexicon says: to go or come out of, to go out from some assembly, to come forth from physically, arise from. In Luke 13 this was a warning to Jesus to flee for His protection, but He was not afraid of what Herod was theatening because Jesus knew Who He was and what He was there to do. In Acts 7 Stephen is reminding those asking him questions of what God had spoken to Abraham to do in order to fulfill God's will for him. In Acts 22 Paul is telling of his instructions from the Lord to get out of Jerusaslem for his own safety. Whether for our protection, for our blessing or for fulfilling our calling and anointing, we should always be ready to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in every situation. There are times when people will receive what we have to say and times when they will not. There are times when being in a certain place or participating in a certain activity is God's plan for our blessing or for someone else to be blessed by our presence. There is a Scirpture that we use to know when to go and when to stay! Isaiah 55:11-12a:
11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. 12 For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: KJV
If what we plan to do or where we plan to go is of God then there will be peace and there will be joy! If either of those is missing, then take a moment to step back and hear what Holy Spirit is saying. It may just be a slight variation in timing or it may be that there is something more or less that needs to happen. Then when the peace and joy come, go ahead with boldness! This "formula" for being led of the Lord keeps us from sitting around waiting for God to say something. If we have plans to go somewhere or do something and the peace and joy are there, then God is involved! I have a strong sense that you and your family have affected so many people already just by being in their presence and I believe that this is only going to happen more often in this new year! As you and Kristine spend time in HIS presence and then go about your daily lives, people will KNOW that there is something different about you! Here is a new song by Taya Gaukrodger called "Getaway" that speaks of this time with Him that HE loves to have and uses for our benefit!
Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!
