The Creative Edge

Zech 1:16-17, "Therefore thus says the Lord: I have returned to Jerusalem with compassion (lovingkindness and mercy). My house shall be built in it, says the Lord of hosts, and a measuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem [with a view to rebuilding its walls]. 17 Cry yet again, saying, Thus says the Lord of hosts: My cities shall yet again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord shall yet comfort Zion and shall yet choose Jerusalem." AMP

I believe that God is answering the prayer of His people "let Your Kingdom come."  We have seen in passages throughout the bible that at times the Lord has come down to see what man has done. I believe that He has come and He has pulled out His measuring line to measure the Church. Our representation and how we have built has not measured up to kingdom standards.  Thus the shaking!  
 
One of our first tasks in this commission is to put away our concepts of how it will be and what it will look like, because the thing God wants to do cannot be measured.

This is a season where God is putting emphasis on the marketplace because He wants to be known there.  He wants to be seen and revealed.  Why the marketplace? Many times the thing that we profess or have faith in does not work in real life.  In the marketplace you cannot hide your character.  People know whether or not you are true and if the Gospel has affected your life.
 
"When unbelievers lead the way in inventions and artistic expression, it is because the church has embraced a false kind of spirituality."  Bill Johnson

This year God wants to stretch your capacity.

Throughout much of church history, people have been stripped of their God given gifts, talents and desires under the umbrella of devotion to Christ.  It has removed the believer from the ministry of creativity, which brings through them the glory of their Creator. One of the most natural parts of being created by God is the ability to dream and create.  It is a God given gift.  Most believers in ministry have been reduced to relying solely on the financial and emotional support of others, rather than using this God given gift to create.
 
A renewed mind understands that in the Kingdom of God, He wants his rule and dominion in every part of society. Every problem that society experiences, there's an answer in God.  God has the solution!!! With a kingdom perspective and a personal relationship with the Creator, we can have answers to problems in the same way that Daniel and Joseph did in their day.

Wisdom and creativity are related subjects in the bible. Creativity is a manifestation of wisdom with excellence and integrity.  Both wisdom and creativity must not be separate in our minds. They are the tools needed to bring the unbeliever to the realization of the Creator of all things.
 
We must take over the planet.  The church must take ownership and stewardship of God's earth (Ps 24).  Muslim children are trained from a young age on how to take dominion, while most Christian children are trained to refrain from being involved in this world because the ultimate goal is to escape it.  
 
It's time to ask the Lord for creativity to flow through us at a new level, along with the wisdom to know what to do with this new revelatio.

Eugene Strite