“He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end” (Luke 1:33).
At the end of 2016, I began to seek the Lord for insight. I wanted to understand what many prophetic voices had been sharing about the coming New Year 2017. Many were speaking similar words like reset, rebuild, reboot, refresh, This captured my attention. As I pondered these words the Lord revealed to me there is power in the prefix “re.” The prefix “re” has its origin in Latin. It means “again” or “again and again” to show repetition. It can also mean “back” or “backward” to show withdrawal or backward motion.1 It means to “do something again; return to an earlier a condition.”
I shared a few of my thoughts and considered different words in the Bible that start with the prefix “re.” I remembered a commercial where a little girl is pushing a revolving door. She is running in circles and shouting “again!” I instantly thought of what I call the 3 Rs, redemption, reconciliation and restoration.
We have been redeemed through the blood of the Lamb. “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace” (Eph.1:7). And because of him we are reconciled back to God through His death. Romans 5:10 says, “For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son. How much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!”
We are reconciled back to God and given the ministry of reconciliation. “All this is from God. He reconciled us to himself through Christ. He gave us the ministry of reconciliation. God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ. He was not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation” (2 Cor. 5:18-19).
The Church is at a defining moment. We are presented with opportunities to change our minds. We can correct our course if necessary. Jesus’ words to the early church in the Book of Revelation should command our attention today. That’s a good thing, because sometimes we make wrong decisions and take wrong turns. The decisions the Church makes today will not just affect tomorrow. They will decide your future. These decisions will impact the lives of others for eternity.
Let’s take a look at the meaning of rediscover and manifest:
Rediscover2
to discover (something lost or forgotten) again
Manifesto3
Merriam Webster defines manifesto as:
1 of 2
: a written statement declaring publicly the intentions, motives, or views of its issuer
2 of 2
: to issue a manifesto
I was captivated by the root word in Latin. The word manifesto is related to manifest. Manifest occurs in English as a noun, verb, and adjective. Of these, the adjective means “readily perceived by the senses.” Something that is manifest is easy to perceive or recognize. A manifesto is a statement in which someone makes their intentions or views easy for people to understand.
My spirit promptly went to Hebrews 5:14. But solid food is for the mature. These individuals, because of practice, have their senses trained to distinguish between good and evil.
As Believers, our spiritual senses must be trained to discern good from evil. I have blogged continuously about the importance of discerning times. Jesus rebuked (admonished) the crowd for their inability to discern, “Whenever you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, ‘A shower is coming,’ and so it turns out. And whenever you feel a south wind blowing, you say, ‘It will be a hot day,’ and it turns out that way. You hypocrites! You know how to analyze the appearance of the earth and the sky, but how is it that you do not know how to analyze this present time?” (Luke 12:54-56).
Spiritual discernment gives one the ability to know and be informed of what is happening in the spiritual realm. In this time of uncertainty the enemy will try to cloud our spiritual vision and defuse our ability to discern the times in which we are living. In Luke 12, Jesus admonished the crowd for not being capable of discerning the times and the divisions that will arise dividing people against each other before His return. He said, “Whenever you see a cloud rising in the west, you instantly say, ‘A shower is coming,’ and so it turns out. And whenever you feel a south wind blowing, you say, ‘It will be a hot day,’ and it turns out that way. You hypocrites! You know how to analyze the appearance of the earth and the sky, but how is it that you do not know how to analyze this current time.” I can’t over emphasize the importance for the Body of Christ to discern these current times. As we are witnessing wars and rumors of wars, nations rising against nations, and kingdoms against kingdoms. Famines and earthquakes occurring in various places (Matt 24:6-13). Many will turn away from the faith. They will betray and hate each other. Many false prophets will deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. We are not to fear these times, but instead continue the serious business of making disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to follow all that He commanded; knowing that He is with us always, to the end of the age (Matt. 28:19-20).
Our senses must be trained to discern signs of the times. World Vision reports that in Africa, one in five people faced hunger in 2020. The number of hungry people continues to rise because of conflict, drought, and economic woes. The COVID-19 pandemic is reversing years of progress4. Russia invading Ukraine – Fatalities were reported after shelling hit buildings in residential areas across Kyiv according to Ukrainian authorities. Widespread across Ukraine, including damaged houses in a village near Kyiv and smoldering homes in the besieged city of Mariupo5. Millions of people fleeing for their very lives. Yet, Americans war over white supremacy ideology, critical race theory, feelings of ‘discomfort’ in teachings about racism in US history, wearing face masks in public spaces. Things that make you wonder??
Blessings,
Notes:
All Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) unless otherwise noted.
- “Re.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/re. Accessed 15 Mar. 2022.
- “Rediscover.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rediscover. Accessed 15 Mar. 2022.
- “Manifest.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/manifest. Accessed 15 Mar. 2022.
- Reid, Kathryn. “Africa hunger, famine: Facts, FAQs, and how to help.” World Vision, 21 May 2021. Accessed 15 Mar. 2022
- By Aditi Sangal, Adrienne Vogt, Meg Wagner, Helen Regan, Adam Renton, Ben Church and Jeevan Ravindran, “Russia Invades Ukraine.” CNN. https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/ukraine-russia-putin-news-03-15-22/index.html accessed 15 Mar. 2022
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