Dear Friends, 

Times of stress can make us feel as though we have been thrown overboard, tossed from the safety and comfort of our ships into a tumultuous sea. Traumatic events - whether injuries, losses, wars, or relational fractures - shock our systems like a plunge into cold water, momentarily destabilizing us. All we can do, it seems, is watch as waves and wind batter and shatter the only sources of security we have ever known!

We are living in a time of unprecedented trauma, when storms of epic proportions are being unleashed against our world. It’s a time of compounded trauma: each event triggers another. Stress is emerging like bands of a storm, wanting to draw us into the very center of its turmoil.

King David expressed so well how this feels. He wrote: “For the waves of death encompassed me, the torrents of destruction assailed me; the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me.” (2 Samuel 22:5-6)

It is important for the Bride of Christ to remember that her security is in Christ alone, not in things she might hold dear. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Although it may seem like the Lord Himself has cut your lifeline and detached you from the safety of any “ship” you have relied on in the past, I believe this SEVERING from the old is what’s necessary for a stronger TETHERING to your empowered, new-creation life! 

Christ in you is the hope of glory! I hear the Spirit saying: “We have this hope as an anchor for our souls.” 

Dear Friends, 

Happy New Year!

This word for 2022 can be viewed and shared on YouTube as well as on the blog for those who prefer to watch or listen. I believe what the Lord is sharing with me at this time will be a blessing to you as you set your focus on the new year! At the end of this post you’ll also find a link to a companion study sheet which you can download or print for free. 

On Christmas night, I was awakened by the Lord at 3:16 AM. Throughout that night, I was also given a series of three related dreams, which I will share below. When I awoke from the third dream, I heard this phrase ringing loudly in my ears: “2022 is the year of VISION and PROVISION!” 

VISION and PROVISION are significant themes for the Body of Christ in 2022. The Lord wants you to know He is releasing KEYS OF DELIVERANCE this year which will UNLOCK your ability to SEE more clearly and RECEIVE more abundantly!

Using the “code” of 3:16, Holy Spirit highlighted a number of specific scriptures as He unfolded this word. The verses are included below, woven into the content of the prophetic word itself. 

“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.”
~Malachi 3:1

Dear Friends, 

This week, I was working my way through a checklist as I prepared to welcome family and friends home for the holidays. 

As I went to sleep one night, I marveled at how quickly my list seemed to have been completed; there were only one or two items left for me to take care of. I was delighted to find myself two full days ahead of my own schedule! 

Then, early this morning, I was overtaken by the Fear of the Lord as I sat quietly with Him. As God's unmistakable Presence enveloped me I heard the Him say “The Master of the House is coming to visit His Vineyard.”

For God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
​~2 Corinthians 4:6

​Dear Friends, 

Early in the morning on November 14, 2021, I was worshiping Jesus, inviting Him to share His heart. He began speaking to me about “The watch of the Lord.” 

Intercessors often describe the “watch of the Lord” as an all-night prayer meeting; watching and praying for Israel; or perhaps being “watchful” against the enemy. All are essential! 

Yet at this particular time, I felt a strong desire in Christ’s heart for us to remember to WATCH HIM. 

Dear Friends,

Last weekend I had the opportunity to attend the "Jesus Gathering" in central Massachusetts. Friends of His Inscriptions alerted me to these gatherings, which also took place in California and Texas this year. 

The purpose of these gatherings is to unite believers of any denomination as they allow the Holy Spirit to move freely through worship, fellowship, and prayer - with no agenda.

The Lord moved powerfully! I want to share a few brief testimonies with you from that time together.

On Saturday morning, some of us gathered in the Douglas Camp chapel where Charles Finney once preached. This is a wonderful, large barn-like building* with sky-high beams and a truly "New England" feel to it!

​Almost immediately, the Spirit of intercession fell and I was impressed to share a short testimony about how God brought me to college in New England 36 years ago. 

I told the story of how the Christian founders of Wellesley College (along with several other local universities) had prayed that if the school ever ceased to glorify God, it would burn to the ground. 

On March 17, 1914, Wellesley did burn, and nearly closed. (Details here and here.) 

Nearly every Christian-founded university in New England now operates from intellectual and worldly, idolatrous spirits, not honoring the Lord or their founders' ideals. 

We prayed corporately for the fire of God to return to these New England institutions, and to touch the youth which come from all nations into the Boston area. After an anointing for healing and deliverance fell, we spent the next hour ministering individually to one another.

Dates are significant, and one of the most interesting things about the March 17th, 1914 date is that it corresponds to our March 17, 2020 shutdown from COVID-19, 106 years later. 

What's remarkable is that this year, 2021, marks 106 years since the start of the Azusa Street Revival!

Dear Friends, 

On 7.27.21 I had a vision of the Lord Jesus, followed by two encounters in the Spirit which the Lord asked me to describe to you exactly. Please know that it is not my desire to call attention to the encounters themselves, but to the messages contained within. 

I saw the Lord comforting those who were suffering from trauma.

​We are living in increasingly difficult times, and as trials increase, the manifest Presence of the Lord is also increasing to release grace and peace to His people!

I believe the Lord wants to impart hope and healing to those who face trauma and opposition for His Name, and I am praying that these words will impress you as deeply as I was impressed when I heard them. 

At the end of this post you will find a recorded prayer you can use to receive ministry yourself or share with a friend.  (Click here for audio podcast or scroll down for YouTube podcast)

WATCH: LIVE BROADCAST ~ DEBORAH SHARES THIS WORD WITH SPIRIT FUEL'S JOEL YOUNT

Dear Friends, 

I hear the Lord saying: “I am solving the puzzles of your life, one piece at a time!” 

I believe the Lord is saying that there has been a massive attack of confusion: a demonic attempt from the enemy to send confusion over people's lives and over the directions that they should take. 

This morning I heard the Lord say, “Take heart, because I am solving the puzzles of your life one piece at a time. What the enemy has used to keep you in a maze of confusion and darkness will not stand. I am releasing light into tunnels of darkness, hope into caverns of confusion, and a new clarity to see how the pieces of your life should fit together to bring Me glory.

I will not only show you how to solve complex situations with people on the outside, but I will show you how to connect the dots on the inside, so that you can see what I have been doing in the background all along. I have never stopped working on your behalf! I have never stopped moving the pieces together so that they can be assembled correctly. I have not forgotten you and I will not leave you until the puzzles of your lives are finished!”

Many believers including myself have seen tsunami “waves” of revival coming in the Spirit: waves of God's power and glory crossing the earth to wash away evil, corruption, or sin. 

Yet this morning as I prayed I heard the Lord say, “Look at this wave, Deborah.” When I looked, I saw waves of people - worshiping armies - moving across the earth, bringing refreshment and restoration to dry places. 
​

On January 22, 2020 I wrote that the glory of God had entered my home, igniting and electrifying the atmosphere before settling down around me with a holy hush. (Read the story here.) 

What began that night as a gentle stream has become a great flood! 

For the past 46 days, I have seen a steady increase in the Presence of God in my life, a rising of the River of the Spirit to "flood stage." I am not talking about being "baptized in the Spirit" or coming to know the Lord better. No; we know Him already, we are filled with Him already! 

What I am noticing is an increase of the manifest Presence of God. His weighty glory is  rising to fill dry, empty places. This powerful Presence can be felt, seen, and heard in the Spirit. Friends, the River is rising, awakening has begun, and your overflow is coming! 
​

Dear Friends of His Inscriptions, 

The Lord is so good! 

Thank you to those of you who encourage me weekly with your calls, comments, and emails and who, I know, are praying for me this during this upcoming weekend's conference! It is already a busy spring - and spring has not yet sprung here in New England!

We have just about a full class for the E3 Prophetic Training Course which begins this March. But I want to share another new development with you and ask you to join me in praying for what I believe is a highly significant time for New England. 


Several days ago, as I was preparing for this weekend's “222” conference in Rhode Island, the Holy Spirit led me to pray through Daniel 9, which contains a 6-fold confession of repentance. (Click this link to receive your free download: "Repentance Brings Revival: Prayer of Confession from Daniel 9.") 

What do you need right now in order to fulfill the call of God on your life? 

I asked my friends on social media this question. Here are some of the answers I received: 

Wisdom.
Confirmation.
Recognition.
Direction.
Time. 
Money. 
The kids grow up and leave home. 
Healing from a physical ailment. 
A life partner. 
An audience to preach to.

All of these are good things, of course, helpful to anyone in ministry. Partnership and support are essential, while time and physical stamina enable us to do what God has called us to do. 

Yet the Bible gives a very different answer to this question. 

Jesus tells us there is just ONE THING we must have in order to do the kinds of works He does, and it encompasses all of the above. 

At the beginning of this week, my husband departed on a three-day business trip to Maine. Immediately as he stepped out the door, another powerful Presence stepped in and filled my home. The spiritual atmosphere around me shifted and the glory of God suddenly became manifest and tangible. I must say that I was not seeking this! 
 
I was sitting at my dining room table studying the Word when the Spirit of God entered. The air around me seemed to come alive with His glory. Then a deep stillness settled around me like a blanket, and I retreated to my bedroom to seek Him. 

One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple. 
~Psalm 27

Holiness is not a popular teaching in the church today. Our ears itch for powerful promises, personal prophecies, and protection from anything that would add to our already stressful lives! 

To be holy - well, that seems almost impossible, doesn’t it? Since we live in a New Covenant age of grace, why focus on holiness at all? Isn’t holiness just the doctrine of legalism and works in disguise? We want to think about nicer things than dealing with sin: lovely and beautiful things, like Paul describes in Philippians 4:8!

What is holiness, and why do we need it at all?

I am writing to you this week from about 35,000 feet - roughly 7 miles up - in the air.

Two of my children and I are returning from a visit to North Carolina with my sister and her family. My younger boys have never flown before, and one of the most wonderful parts of our journey is showing them what it is like to soar above the clouds, in a place where bright daylight is radiant no matter what the weather below. We took off in a fog; we now soar in a luminescent sky with pillow-like clouds that beg us to somehow step out and walk upon them! 

The contrast is amazing. My boys have loved every minute of their flights to and fro, with the change in perspective they bring. To be "above and not beneath" (Deuteronomy 28:13) is a blessing indeed, and it started with a simple choice to shift our focus. 

Have you ever taken a personality test?

People around the world have used personality profiles to understand each other better. Knowing our strengths and weaknesses has become a trend, especially in Christian circles. The information can be a helpful tool for teambuilding and for leaders, to know how best to motivate the people who serve them.

I have taken many of these tests over the years and emerged with a series of “labels” designed to define me. I’m sure you have, too!

I know, for example, that I am equally balanced between introversion and extroversion (although my husband might question the “balanced” part!). I love a good party, love connecting with people, but recharge alone and need some time to “regroup” after a series of social events.

I am a researcher, a teacher/trainer, a high achiever, a creative, a prophet with a pastoral bent, an intuitive “feeler” and a very passionate person. I have been called melancholic, choleric, a leader, a judge, a mystic and - help me Jesus - a "Beaver!" 

What are you?

More importantly, who does God say you are? How does God define you?

Here is what I believe God is saying to us today: “I want to develop personality in you - not YOURS but MINE!”

God knows who we are. He knows what labels we’ve been given. He’ll even use our strengths and weaknesses for His glory. Yet ultimately, He wants to infuse us with HIMSELF, filling us with His Divine Personality.

On the day of Pentecost in Acts 2, followers of Jesus were gathered together in Jerusalem to pray. They had no idea what to expect; they only knew what Jesus had told them: “Wait until you are clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49).  

That first church prayer meeting resulted in an outpouring of the Holy Spirit so great that it enabled every person present to hear, see, and experience personally the power of God!  That day alone, 3,000 people were saved.

Our tendency as modern-day believers is to leave the Pentecost story in the history books. After all, we think, God was just beginning to establish His church; He had to do something amazing like that!

Too many years of powerful encounters and answers to prayer have convinced me: that kind of thinking is nothing more than a cop-out. God’s power is alive and well, and the only reason we don’t see more of it is that we don’t pray for it!

My life has been powerfully impacted by prayer. The prayers I pray and the prayers others pray for me bear amazing fruit. There are countless stories I could share of God’s faithfulness to answer prayer, but I want to remind you, instead, of God’s stories.

No one was more skeptical of the supernatural than I. Raised in a world governed by the intellect, I was trained from an early age to focus on learning and self-development while rejecting emotionalism and spiritual “fanaticism.” Truth was limited to what could be discerned through science or the five physical senses alone.          
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In fact, when I finally discovered the Holy Spirit, the very first “label” my family put on me was that of a “fanatic.” Never mind that I hadn’t actually done anything worthy of that label yet; my confession of faith in the third person of the Trinity was enough to worry them! 

There is power in prayer, but we don't want to stop at just receiving God's power for ourselves. God's power has a purpose. We can know for certain that we are praying effectively when we partner with that power!

The Lord once said to me, “I am a Speaking Spirit.” To define Himself in this way is to emphasize His desire for communication with His creation. Although He is Spirit, and seems very different at first from our own flesh and blood, we must remember that we, too, are spiritual beings who have the capacity to hear what the Spirit is saying:

“Draw near to listen to My “Speaking Spirit,” and you will be rewarded with a deeper understanding of who I am and what motivates Me!”​

These are His words for us in this season. How do we get to know this “Speaking Spirit?” We return to one of God’s introductions of the Holy Spirit in Isaiah 11:

Too often we want God to agree with us in prayer, when the real work of prayer is to agree with God! We see in scripture that we are to pray with “all kind of prayers and supplications,” and jump joyfully into prayer, asking God to agree with our human assessments of life’s difficult situations. Then we wonder why our prayers didn’t work. I know. I’ve done it!
​
Here are just a few of my not-so-fruitful prayers: “God, would you take that difficult person out of my life?” Or, “Can you please (I even said please!) get me out of this trial?” Or even better: “Make my children (wife, husband, etc) obey you!”

I’ve found that God is not interested in agreeing with my flesh. My human nature. Nor will he override someone’s free will to get them saved! While praying through our emotions can be cathartic (David did it in the Psalms), it’s not the most fruitful way to pray. So what really works?

​Here is an encouraging word I received from the Lord this month for "Kingdom Creatives" -  those who sing, write, dance, craft, paint, build, and worship creatively in the Kingdom of God, especially those who are venturing into new artistic endeavors. For a second, related word on creativity, click here. 
Deborah 

I took a walk down to a local pond last week to rest and pray. The stillness of water relaxes me, and I sat for a while enjoying the warm sun and the beautiful scenery. Psalm 19 tells us that "the heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge." (Psalm 19:1-2, NKJV) 

The Lord told me once that the "ancients" - our fathers in the faith - used to meditate far more often than we do, and as a result, they were rewarded with far more wisdom. I sought rest, not wisdom, yet God gifted me with both. 

He reminded me that water in Scripture is sometimes used to symbolize the Word (see Ephesians 5:26). And wind ("pneuma", or "breath," in the Greek), often represents the Holy Spirit. When wind blows upon the water, creating ripples or waves, suddenly the direction of the wind, normally invisible, can be seen. Asking the Holy Spirit to breathe upon the Word as we read it will help us to discern more clearly His direction for our lives. The Bible comes alive. The movement of the Spirit is seen. 

In the same way, a topical look at the water of the Word gives a certain amount of peace. But when we choose to immerse ourselves in water, rather than just look at the surface of it, we find that deep within that water is life. All kinds of living creatures abide there, things we would never see if we did not immerse ourselves. Tides, or perhaps the directional pull towards a waterfall, can now be felt. In the water, it is easier to sense the direction that water is taking, and we can allow ourselves to be carried along to where the water - or rather, the Word - wants us to go. 

Living water! Isn't that what Jesus was talking about? We came to the Word seeking peace and rest, and yet as we immersed ourselves in it, studying it, we began to gain wisdom from God. We now know the direction He is taking us, and with the wind at our back and the swell of the waves, we float effortlessly to our destination. 

Christians have a ritual of immersion called baptism. My youngest son is obeying Christ's command to be baptized this weekend. He is choosing to believe that his interaction with the water will yield new life in the Kingdom of God. I pray that as he grows, he will continue to immerse himself in the water of the Word, which has the power to guide and direct him all the days of his life. 

Isn't it interesting that following Jesus begins with a command to be baptized in water and ends with a command to abide in the water of the Word? 

To help you study the relationship between the water of the Word and the wind of the Spirit, I am including a link to a teaching I delivered recently at Indian Lake Community Church in Worcester, MA. I believe it will bless you and challenge you to take the plunge: to dive into the Word daily and to enjoy the feel of the wind on your face as you follow Him. 

https://db.tt/iA55MsQg


*Please note: Because this is a live recording, there is some background noise. I encourage you to press in and discover all that God wants to say to you through this teaching. 

c. Deborah Perkins, 2015

Deborah Perkins is passionate about helping others to connect with God. She writes about knowing God and hearing His voice at HisInscriptions.com. For speaking invitations, or to contact her directly, please click here. 

Would you go to church naked?  No?
​ 
Maybe you're shocked that I asked such a question. It's not the type of topic Christians usually write about, is it? 

Well, I have a good reason for asking the question. Many people DO go to church in the buff. Spiritually, that is. They sit next to you in the pew, vulnerable and unclothed. Surprised? 

You shouldn't be. You've seen them: believers dressed in their "Sunday best" suits and stilettos, with a look that is designed to lead you to one conclusion: they really have it all together. The truth is, not all of them are as dressed up as they think they are!  

Sound - the very idea of it - has always fascinated me. I grew up not knowing there were certain sounds, like the sound of birds, or machines, or the tick-tock of a clock. I heard only in part, because of deafness. Childhood nerve damage to my ears left me hearing only the loudest of noises, or those closest in proximity to me. I did not know that some sounds even existed until, in fourth grade, I was given hearing aids.

The shock of sound alarmed me beyond belief. The moment an audiologist turned up the volume for me, I screamed. Suddenly, there was sound, and a lot of it! An air conditioner outside the window, humming noisily, made me jump out of the chair I was sitting in. I remember thinking it was the hum of an aircraft invasion! Refrigerators make noise - did you know that? And birds, mice, all of God's creation has something to say - if you can hear it. 

Heaven is like this, too. Not to alarm us, of course, but heaven is a noisy place! John gives us amazing descriptions of the sounds of heaven in Revelation. As one deeply intimate with the Lord, John was given access to sights and sounds that most humans will never see or hear. And it all started with sound. 

Look at the first Pentecost. The disciples (including John) were gathered in an upper room, waiting for a promised encounter with God. Acts 2 says that "Suddenly, there came a SOUND from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting." (Acts 2:2). I am certain that the noise of this whirlwind made at least some of the disciples jump out of their seats, as I did when I could first hear! These believers were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak "as the Spirit gave them utterance." (Acts 2:4) What a powerful initiation to hearing the sounds of heaven! 
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​From the moment the Holy Spirit opened the ears of the disciples, He also inspired them to speak the gospel. The Holy Spirit, whose job it is to amplify the sounds of heaven in our ears, filled the first believers with language, not just hearing, so that thousands of others heard about God in their own languages and became believers themselves. The amplification of the sounds of heaven brought the multiplication of men into the Kingdom of God. 

And so it still is with us today. If you are listening, you will also be speaking. And speaking - telling others the Good News of the Gospel - is the primary call and commission of every believer. (See Matthew 28:18). 

But the reverse is also true: if we are NOT listening, we will not be hearing either. If we do not hear the Words of God, we will not be saved. If believers do not listen daily for the sounds of heaven, those specific and personal instructions He wants to give us, we will not be led by the Spirit. And if we don't know where we are supposed to be or what He wants us to be doing, we will not be living and sharing the testimonies He wants to give us, which will lead others to hear more about Him. 

What does heaven sound like? John's experience with the incredible sounds and sights of heaven began with the sound of a trumpet: "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, saying: I am the Alpha and the Omega...write what you see in a book and send it to the churches..." (Revelation 1:10-11) This would be the first of over 20 times John would hear loud voices, thunderings, earthquakes, music, loud cries of angels, harps, and worship. 

In contrast, only once are we told (in Revelation 8) that "there was silence in heaven for about half an hour." (Revelation 8:1). This coincided with the opening of the seventh seal. (Seven is the number biblically connected with rest and sabbaths). 

The noises and voices John hears take him successively higher in the heavenly realm, until at last he is able to see the Bride of Christ and the New Jerusalem, the final destiny of all believers. Yet even in his first glimpse of the throne of God, John writes that "...from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings and voices." (Rev 4:5) The seven Spirits of God were burning like lamps before the throne. He also sees living creatures and elders worshiping day and night, speaking of the holiness of God. Their praise never ceases; they do not rest. 

What can we gain from this? The knowledge that the closer we get to the throne of God, the more constant our speaking will be. The Spirit of God mysteriously abides both within us and near to the throne. What He hears, He speaks to us. What we hear, we then speak, preach, prophesy, and sing. As we draw as near to God as we can, we will be compelled, as these elders are, to speak of Him constantly, to worship Him 24/7, and to yield to the inspiration of the Spirit within us. 

Jesus cried aloud when He gave up His Spirit and when He summoned Lazarus from the tomb. Angels cry loudly and trumpet the proclamations of God. Man cries out in his prayers of distress or decree. All are normal responses to the pneuma, or the breath, of the Spirit of God in us. Hearing from God compels us to speak. Sharing what we hear will cause others to hear Him also.

Hearing and speech are intricately linked in both the natural and spiritual realms. Don't let a deaf and dumb spirit silence you. Listen for the loud sounds of heaven, and then speak in such a way that you'll compel others to hear heaven, too. 
 

You who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent,
and give Him no rest till He establishes and till He makes 
Jerusalem a praise in the earth. 
~ Isaiah 62:7

​Have you ever wished there were some kind of "litmus test" to tell you if a prophet is for real? Or to discern whether a prophecy you've received is true? I have. In this noisy world full of voices, it's probably a good idea to have a "back pocket" checklist of some sort to help us sort things out! Will this make us faithless Christians or doubting Thomases? Actually, no. It will help us  tune in much more accurately to what God is saying. Here's why. ​

1 Thessalonians 5:21 summarizes the essence of a biblical approach to prophecy. It says:  "Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast to what is good." Likewise, the apostle Paul, discussing prophecy (1 Corinthians 14), says he desires that all should prophesy. He elevates prophecy to be among the highest of the gifts. He also encourages believers to judge prophetic words. (Notice that he wants us to judge the words, not the people giving them!) 

The New Testament clearly favors the idea of God speaking to us today via the prophetic. It also gives us clear guidelines for how prophets should operate and how we can know if their words are true. Taking a look at five of these will give us greater confidence as we give and receive prophetic words. ​
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