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It has always fascinated me that certain people derive incredible joy from digging dry places to discover what occurred tens of hundreds of years ago.

But I do get it.

Although the idea of a desert and a miniature pickaxe does not float my boat, I still like to excavate.

My dig in the book of Micah revealed a gem that I couldn’t resist sharing.

It’s a delightful insight into the nature of the prophetic.

Dripping Truth and Dropping Words of Life

The Hebrew word for prophesy is nataph, and it literally means to ooze, i.e. distil gradually; by implication, to fall in drops; figuratively, to speak by inspiration:—to drip or drop(-ping), prophesy(-et).

Prophetic utterance is a distillation of truth, a dripping of reality, a refreshing rain on the dry ground of life.

I find myself dripping Jesus most days, and I’d love it to become a deluge!

The word prophet could rightly be rendered, “a word dropper”.

So I thought I would drop this word in your inbox.

Not that I’m a prophet, but simply to encourage you.

Keep drip, drip, dripping truth and life wherever you go.

No need to grandstand.

Just distil your experience of God into words and actions that will bless others.

And let it ooze!

Learn to lean.

Instead of relying on yourself alone, leverage those who’ve learned before you.

This may be through coaching, courses, books, or other training resources.

Excellent choices.

I’m presently educating myself in a number of new disciplines and immersing myself in products and publications around the subjects I’m interested in, created by people who’ve pioneered the way before me. That way I don’t have to carve my way through the jungle – someone has already done that groundwork and I follow their footsteps.

But learning must lead to leaping.

You’ll never truly learn something until you apply your new knowledge in real world scenarios. Don’t be afraid to step out on limited knowledge. Just enough is more than enough to get started.

And once your knowhow is being refined in the fire of actual projects capable of failing or flying, your learning takes on a whole new nature. You know exactly the right questions to ask because they are no longer philosophical.

And thirdly, the other key to quick progress is to connect with others walking the same road.

Nothing is more inspiring or helpful than sharing the journey and trading your trip ups and triumphs with others following the same trajectory.

As the proverb says, “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together”

It's tough being both an artist and an entrepreneur; there's a lot to juggle. Leaning on each other makes all the difference.

I’ve found small and intimate connections with a handful of invested individuals, centered on specific outcomes and arenas of interest, is the most efficient and exciting way to grow quickly, and to go far!

My youngest son, Joshua, likes to experiment.

Our most recent venture came by accident when we picked up a bread-maker in a thrift sale.

Although our first attempts were not entirely successful, the fun we’ve had exploring something new more than made up for the small investment of time and money it cost to try it out.

Our conclusion?

You have to test and try different ways of mixing things up to get the results you want. Today will be another day to throw ingredients in the mix and see what comes out.

I’ve found the same to be true in life and business.

In my business, I’m always ready to step out on new ideas, and to try different ways to mix it up. Every failed experiment, discovering what doesn’t work, is one more step towards understanding what does.

The pathway to success is often paved with many failures experiments.

And in life, especially prayer, I’m an avid scientist.

I keenly push the boundaries to crack that hard shell of familiarity that can form around the edges of my experience.

There’s always more to discover.

I’m not talking about chasing novelty, simpluy encouraging you to allow your curiosity to lead.

Don’t settle for dry lifeless drudery in the prayer closet. God forbid.

The place of prayer is the Oasis in the desert, not the desert.

Keep baking, testing, trying, mixing it up in different ways, and discover what works for you.

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.

Just Jesus!

Not “the universe” or “a higher power”

Not “a teacher, prophet, guru”

Not “the power within” or the “mystery without”

Not the same, similar or comparable to anyone else. Not even close.

He is the greatest, the only, the uniquely, wonderfully beautiful, fearfully glorious Saviour of the world.

The King of the universe and all that’s beyond its bounds.

Nothing is outside His rule and jurisdiction.

His name is JESUS!

The name above all names. Immeasurably above.

The ONLY name by which anyone can be saved.

Don’t beat around the bush with sugar-coat silly ways to say it without really saying it. Put it on the table, nail your colours to the mast. Tattoo it on your forehead (metaphorically, please don’t!).

Jesus is Lord!

So today,

Just Jesus.

Jesus my King,

Jesus my Lord,

Jesus my Saviour, healer, wisdom and righteousness.

Jesus my all in all.

“And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong” (Acts 3:16 NKJV)

Oh, what a wonder He is!

Consistency is your superpower.

Habit is more powerful than discipline.

Habit makes repeated tasks easy.

Don't bleed your will with unnecessary choices.

Decision fatigue is a creativity killer.

Decide once, and bake it into habitual action.

Applying your time and strength to develop stalwart systems will be harder in the short term, but pay dividends in the long term.

Show up every day to move your most valuable tasks forward, even if just for a short time.

15 minutes each day will compound more than a long random sessions when you feel ‘inspired’.

Learn to ‘be inspired’ on demand.

Even a bad day’s lean (uninspired) output is better than none.

Remember…

“…the hand of the diligent maketh rich.” (Proverbs 10:4 KJV)

Selah.