My husband would tell you I suffer from severe key-loss-syndrome. The on-going joke is I can tell you what you were wearing at a party 15 years ago but I can’t tell you where I put my keys. Of course I blame it on the side effects (or well, umm the permanent damage) of being pregnant and or nursing straight for a non-stop period of five years All jokes aside, it truly is a moment of pure panic when I manage to get all four of my boys along with all their coordinating bags/gear packed in the car and alas my keys are no where to be found. The realization that I’m not going anywhere without them begins to set in as I rush from room to room trying to remember what I was doing when I last had them. Because with out my keys I cannot access the power in my Mom-Moblie to go where I need to go let alone where I WANT to go.

One morning recently, one very similar to the situation I described above, one where I … again … was desperately praying that Jesus in all His mercy would help me find my keys, that my mind lingered on the power of the key to unlock the potential of the power to move in my van. My van was only potential power until the power was unlocked and activated. It was one of those ah-ha moments when the Holy Spirit rests down on a thought and begins to download divine revelation. I quickly realized this isn’t a thought anymore. This is now a conversation with the ever-present God.  My heart responds to Him, “We’re not talking about my physical van keys anymore are we? We are talking about greater keys than those, ugh?”

Instantly Matthew 16:19 came to mind; “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” I’m no theologian so I had to go check it out in the word, because my interest was peaked. “What are these keys Lord? I want keys. What do you mean by the kingdom of heaven? It’s got to be something powerful because any key worth mentioning has to unlock something truly fabulous right?! Just saying Lord.” I do have a reputation for asking a lot of questions, well because, you have not because you ask not … right? So I realized Jesus is talking to Peter after He told him he is the rock he is going to build His church on. I believe Peter is an extension of us as believers (His church) and He wants to show us how to use the keys He has given us (because of what Jesus did on the cross) to unlock the kingdom of heaven’s powerful living now. Because Luke 17:21 (Amp.) says, “Nor will people say, Look! Here [it is]! or, See, [it is] there! For behold, the kingdom of God is within you [in your hearts] and among you [surrounding you].” There is a whole lot of now-ness wrapped up in that scripture, describing the Kingdom of God within and around us, um power just waiting to be unlocked in our lives.

You might have a mind that works like mine. “What kind of power? Power to what? I want power. ” Well then, I have a question for you; “What do you have need of? Healing … physically or emotionally?  Hope? Wisdom? Self-control? Change?” I believe that God would say to you, “Power for all that and more!”

Well you might ask me, “Well what are all the keys then?” To which I’d have to quickly reply without hesitation or shame, “You know what? I really don’t know what all of them are. I’m still having that conversation and loving it. I hope this sparks the beginning of your own conversational journey with Him that unlocks His kingdom now power in your life. But I will tell you what I do know. I’m pretty confidant there is a master key in which the power of all the other keys are revealed and have been crafted, that key’s name is Holy Spirit.”

So I start thinking in this word picture. I’ve imagined that I am my mini-van. I’ve called on the name of Jesus and received His promised salvation (this vehicle doesn’t have a dead battery, it’s operable.) I’ve gone a step further dethroning myself and making Jesus the Lord of my life (it’s His hand on the wheel and His foot on the breaks.) I take the master key of the Holy Spirit and place it in the ignition (my heart), asking and receiving the Holy Spirit by His leading. In obedience to His voice I turn the key that makes available the power of the kingdom of heaven (within and surrounding.) As it collides with my heart by the empowerment and revelation of the Holy Spirit it brings about supernatural wisdom, direction, counsel to the many issues of life my heart is crying out to for. Who would of thought me and my mini-van had so much in common?

Matthew 11:12 says, “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.” I love it even better in the (Amp.) version, “And from the days of John the Baptist until the present time, the kingdom of heaven has endured violent assault, and violent men seize it by force [as a precious prize--a share in the heavenly kingdom is sought with most ardent zeal and intense exertion].”

Many years ago I made one simple and at the time hard choice to lay hold of and seize by force the Kingdom of Heaven. Wherein there was power made available by the Holy Spirit to overcome shame, bitterness, anger, rage, hate, as well as life habits of control and manipulation that came from a life-style of drug addiction and the pains of life that lead up to it. I don’t walk around with the invisible nametag of victim but with the Holy Spirit’s signature of OVERCOMER written on my heart. I had a run in with the Kingdom of God on earth that changed not only my life but also my identity.

So I’ll ask again, “What do you have need of? The empowerment to be all you know He’s called you to be? A healing make-over? A more gracious wife or mother? A positive attitude? A variation of D.) All of the above? He kind of loves miracles and He’s really good at them! DON’T lose heart. Have HOPE! Dig your feet down deep into the sands of His faithfulness. It’s time for a new key ring for all the keys (Holy Spirit inspired wisdom) that He is going to use to unlock our full potential as we take hold of the Kingdom of Heaven now. These are keys I know I don’t want to lose!

Holy Spirit,

Would you just keep having this conversation with us as you unlock your power in our lives. Give us greater revelation of your Kingdom now. In your graciousness speak your wisdom to every askew way in us making them straight. Thank you for teaching us fabulous lessons when we least expect it and surprising us with your goodness! In Jesus name, AMEN!

Great love!

Dialogue from my five year old son:

Hudson: Mom, do you know why Jesus lives in my heart?

Me: Why sweetheart?

Hudson: Because Heaven is in there.

Ephesians 3:16 ”May He grant you out of the rich treasury of His glory to be strengthened and reinforced with mighty power in the inner man by the [Holy] Spirit [Himself indwelling your innermost being and personality].”

Matthew 16:19 in The Message: “And that’s not all. You will have complete and free access to God’s kingdom, keys to open any and every door: no more barriers between heaven and earth, earth and heaven. A yes on earth is yes in heaven. A no on earth is no in heaven.”

Marissa Star

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