The apostle James says to "count it all joy" when we face various trials, for the testing of our faith produces perseverance. We know that allowing perseverance to finish its work brings maturity to our faith, but how do we find such "impossible joy" in the middle of increasingly difficult times? Today's podcast includes practical teaching and prophecies that will enable you to stand in the midst of any trial you face as the joy of the Lord sustains you. Listen now on Apple, Spotify, or Anchor, then share this broadcast with someone who needs encouragement! © Deborah Perkins / www.HisInscriptions.com. Recorded live on 8.23.20 at Indian Lake Church, Worcester, MA. To watch the video on Facebook, click here. Dear Friends, For the past two nights, I have encountered the glory of the Lord in a powerful but unusual way: through the book of Ruth. Most of us know the story of Ruth and Naomi as a beautiful Old Testament "gospel" of redemption through Boaz, the kinsman-redeemer. It is impossible not to notice the love story foreshadowed between our heavenly Bridegroom and His Bride! Yet this week, the Lord has been speaking to me about deeper truths contained within the lives of these two women; insights that have direct application to us as redeemed people called to reflect the glory of the Lord in a dark time. The book of Ruth is an allegory: a Jewish parable containing hidden keys for a life of faith. I invite you to walk with me for a moment through its pages, allowing the Lord to inscribe on your hearts the very personal and prophetic messages He has for you today! Dear Friends, Those who follow His Inscriptions know that I usually write my messages to you, but this week I felt compelled by the Lord to see you face to face! If you are feeling weary from your battles, please watch and share this short video, which will encourage you to find places of peace and joy in the midst of your trials. I believe there are many of you who need a "word in season" to combat the work of the enemy. Join with me at the end of the broadcast to receive freedom as we pray together. May you be blessed by what I'm hearing from the Lord this week. For Him, Deborah "Draw near to Me and I will draw near to you." ~ James 4:8 As we joyfully celebrate this feast of Pentecost I am overtaken by the glory of the Lord in a measure such as I have never seen! I want to release a word to my readers which is essential to hear in this hour because along with the glory, there is significant turmoil raging around us. This word will pierce through confusion and help bring clarity and focus to you in what is a troubling and difficult time. The Lord desires to bring His people stage-by-stage into a greater glory such as we have never known! The glory that is being released at this moment is a GREAT EMPOWERMENT for those who can receive it: empowerment like the apostolic church in Acts experienced. Dear friends, it was never the Lord's desire for us to leave the eternal place of "lockdown" in His Presence! Those who love Him are called and destined to remain and abide IN HIM forever! 
Dear Friends, Nothing God does is an accident! There are no “coincidences” in the Kingdom of God. You are here on earth at this time for a specific purpose predetermined by the Father. Do you know what that purpose is? 
The voice of the Lord is thundering from heaven! As my friends and readers know, the hand of the Lord has been heavy on me since January 20th of this year, when the Spirit of God released a weighty, tangible glory in my home. (Read the story here). This glory has remained and steadily increased as I have pressed in to hear His voice day and night. One of the most interesting things I have heard the Lord say again and again is: “Come inside the sound of my voice.” My spiritual father has a favorite saying he’s used for years when things get tough. No matter how difficult the situation, he’ll put a big smile on his face and say, “We win!” 
What does it mean to be a “burning one?” To be passionate for Jesus, bearing fruit in every good work? There was a tremendous response to this topic in a previous post. I promised you I would share more about what it means to be a “burning one,” and I believe today’s practical prophetic word will be a blessing to you as you seek to burn brightly for the Lord! 
“We are like common clay jars that carry a glorious treasure within, so that the extraordinary overflow of power will be seen as God’s, not ours.” Dear Friends, Never is it more clear that we are “treasures in jars of clay” than when the pressure is on! Our desire to love dissipates as we are squeezed, it seems, almost unmercifully, and what spills out of us is not love or power at all but hatred, judgment, anger, or fear. “Lord, I can’t take this anymore! I am so stressed. People don’t understand. I simply can’t continue doing life this way.” This complaint was mine recently, as life itself seemed to strangle and choke me. Pressure and disappointments from family, a lack of time for the things I most needed to do, some boundary issues that needed confronting, and - for good measure - several troubling issues with our house all conspired to crush me. The funny part? That was the week the Lord whispered to me: “Write about love.” LOVE?! For a moment, I wondered if God had missed something. Perhaps He was slipping as eternity wore on? Because at that point in time, my attitude was far from loving! 
Author and speaker Graham Cooke says that when your mountain doesn’t move, perhaps it’s because you are meant to learn something from it. I agree, and here’s how I’d say it: Sometimes mountains need to be mastered before they can be moved. 
For the past few weeks, the Lord has been bringing to my mind a vision as I’ve reflected on prayer. The scene is so unlikely to ever happen in the natural that it is almost humorous! Yet the Lord is impressing on me that this scenario happens daily in the lives of many believers, and spiritually, it can mean the difference between victory and defeat. Today I’d like to share this vision with you because I believe it identifies a particular problem we face in prayer and gives us a strategy for greater victory. This vision could be the one major reason why Christians are defeated on the battlefield, and I don’t want you to be a casualty! As I listened to the Lord this week, I heard God saying that He is cultivating in His people an ability to work through the noise and distractions of battle right now. It is so easy to be distracted by the sights and sounds of spiritual war! The battlefield can be a painful, ugly place, and not an easy road. For those of you who feel like you are in the middle of a battlefield today, I hear the Lord saying, “I am calling My people to take a higher view of their territory, looking up from those wounded and slain who are past help and returning wholeheartedly to their true mission, which is to make Me known. Do not be surprised by the torments of the enemy! Learn to live and thrive in the midst of his noise, for I will create an oasis of peace for you if you look only to Me. “Ten thousand will fall at your right hand” - you will see My miracles here on the battlefield more clearly than in any other place of your life, and praise Me for My goodness! Your praise will then become a gateway to greater victories overall, as others around you join in your song. I will set ambushes against the one who destroys when you repeatedly surrender to Me on your battlefield. Don’t look around you, but look UP to the heavens and see My salvation. My mercy is always at hand. Only believe and you will see My goodness!" Standing with you for your victories! Deborah 
Around the world today, people are dealing with unprecedented levels of stress. Never before have we had such widespread fear, anxiety, and even terror. In response to this, I believe the Lord wants to release not just the grace to deal with stress, but strategies to overcome it. Keep reading for a prophetic word on this subject, and a prayer strategy you can use to eradicate stress from your life altogether! God is Raising Up Mighty, FEARLESS WarriorsClick to Watch Video or Scroll Down to Read:God is looking for fearless leaders who are unafraid of confrontation. If the words "fearless," "leaders," or "confrontation" make you think of other people, not yourself, then rejoice! You are a work in progress! However, it is the wholehearted warriors who win the war. This is the truth the Lord is impressing on my heart this week, as I return to Deuteronomy 20: the Lord's protocol for battle.
On 7-17-17, as I reread the story of Nehemiah, the Lord showed me a vision that will greatly encourage you! Click the video to watch the YouTube, or scroll down to read a summary.
A very special benefit of working at His Inscriptions is that I get to meet all kinds of amazing people who love the Lord! One of my favorite people is Teresa DeMatos, who co-pastors Indian Lake Church with her husband, Lee DeMatos. Together, they have experienced some powerful encounters with Jesus and - even more exciting - some very personal answers to prayer! 
In prayer this morning I heard the Lord say, “Your victory does not lie in your defense but in your offense.” He followed this with a prophetic word (below) that will encourage you to resist the temptation to trust in your defenses and instead, to advance with Him in a victorious offense! 
There is a deception in the church today that concerns me. Like all deception, it is based on a measure of truth. But taken too far, it changes from a helpful tool for understanding spiritual seasons, to a prison in which we lock fellow believers and throw away the key. 
Because prayer is a work done mostly in secret, it is rare for an intercessor to immediately know whether his prayers are effective. It is rarer still for someone to realize they are being prayed for, since humility constrains us from boasting about our praying! Yet from time to time, we do hear of amazing answers to prayer, and have the joy of knowing that there is indeed power released when we pray. In the midst of a very difficult week, God allowed both me and my pastor to see the power of prayer. I want to use this story as a "case study" on prayer. 
I had the unparalleled joy of running around my yard at 6:48 this morning, half-naked in my robe and slippers, chasing eight mutinous chickens who escaped, somehow, from their coop. I'm sure the neighbors thought I'd lost my mind. 
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The crucifixion of Christ is a reminder that all of us have to deal with times of death in our lives. We may have to face the death of a loved one, or the death of a dream, or the death of a hope we hold dear. At some point, we all come to our tombs, as Mary did in the resurrection story, and we have to confront the harsh realities of our mortality. 
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Deborah Perkins 
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August 2020
AuthorA severe hearing loss from childhood caused Deborah Perkins to develop what she now calls her secret weapon: tuning in to God's voice. A Wellesley College graduate and an award-winning writer, Deborah is now a wife and mother of 3 boys. Deborah has devoted over 25 years to professional and lay Christian ministry in New England and beyond. Her passion is inspiring people to cultivate greater intimacy with God. 
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