The death of one's parents - especially occurring together - has such a profound impact, that everything else disappears into its shadow for a while.  The great joy that they are safely together in the arms of Yeshua is mixed with the sorrow that I won't be hearing Mom's contagious giggle or enjoying Dad's hilarious sense of humor. There is a void that none other can fill when a parent dies; yet I have to confess that upon returning to Colorado, I have had to move on rather swiftly to keep up with all that the LORD is doing here in the new little community He named "Door of Hope."

We have a little website posted now and you can view it here: Door of Hope

When the Spirit first led us to this wonderful, old church building, and told us this would be the place where HE wanted to do a NEW THING, I felt like Moses crying out, "Can't you send somebody else? Can't Aaron go for you?"  That was the voice of weariness and exhaustion; but it was soon replaced by the voice of obedience. I know the Lord is looking for obedience first, but perhaps there was even a similar moment when our Glorious Savior Yeshua uttered, in a voice of weariness, "....nevertheless, not my will but Yours be done."

His will is indeed being done now that four of us who shepherd this community have said "yes" and then gotten out of His way! Each Shabbat since August 16th there have been about sixty people streaming through the "Door of Hope," hungry to get closer to God and to one another.  The Body of Messiah in our area had become fractured, divided over issues that really have no significance in the whole glorious plan of Salvation in Yeshua.  I am so encouraged that we are learning to set aside our differences, and instead focus on how we can become the embodiment of Yeshua's High Priestly prayer in John 17:22:  "I have given them the glory that You gave Me, that they may be one as we are one."

The word glory is the key to this unity of the Body.  God's glory is manifested through His Presence among us.  To seek His glory is to seek His Presence, to be intimately connected to His heart and His mind, to be one with Him, just as Yeshua prayed in this passage.  Finally, we are beginning to understand that we must enter into this glory, in order to overcome the darkness of this age we are living in. 

An awesome and powerful prophecy for this new Hebrew year of 5775 just came forth from Phyllis Ford, a woman whom I know hears the Voice of the Lord.  She wrote, "Many statements have been made concerning this year. One of them is that this year will represent GRACE. Though that is true the grace that we are referring to carries with it the Lord's strength and power. The Father’s light and glory is the power of this grace. It refers to His ability to accomplish things that we are not able to do in our own strength. This last year represents the year of the open door, but this year Yeshua enters into the door and extends His great light and revelation. 

Of course this word impacted me strongly, as I received the Father's confirmation for the Door of Hope!  For the last ten years I have operated under the name DoorKeeper Ministries - and now, at His direction, DoorKeeper Ministries has opened the Door of Hope in the midst of the Valley of Trouble (Hosea 2:15).  Though the threats of terror and horrific violence through ISIS and the fears of dreadful pandemics such as Ebola are encompassing us all around, in the Valley of Trouble, we can arm ourselves with the grace of God, which is truly His strength and power!!  His glory and light arising upon US will increase as the darkness of the earth and the peoples grows heavier.  Isaiah 60:1-2 is the passage I have been proclaiming all of last year, to call God's people to see that these are simultaneous occurrences!


Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.
See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples,
but the LORD rises upon you and His glory appears over you!!

It is time now, beloved, to seek the LORD as never before.  Seek His Presence. Spend time with Him in His Word. Set aside the distractions that keep you from having time with Him. As the world gets darker, you are called to become His light. This year Yeshua (Jesus) enters into the door and extends His great light and revelation. His glory arises upon you. Enter into this holy fast of Yom Kippur with this Scripture on your hearts (Hebrews 10:19-23):
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, His body, and since we have a Great High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful!"