The Portal

Yesterday morning I got up early to pray. I have a few prayers I have written posted here on this site. As I was praying “Paul’s Four Prayers” I felt that God gave me a fresh revelation regarding

For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: (Col 1:9-14)

so I said out loud what I felt God was showing me, “We live and move and breathe in the Kingdom of God’s dear Son – we are not bound by the limitations of this physical world, but we are overcomers operating in the spirit realm.

It was so good I just had to share it with someone, so I called my friend Belinda and read her the passage in “Paul’s Four Prayers” and shared what I felt that God had been revealing to me about this passage.

I told her that I imagine a large red circle in front of me as I am standing and praying this part – that the red circle represents the blood of Yahshua (Jesus), which gives us redemption and forgiveness of sins, and as I step through this imaginary red circle that I am being “translated into the Kingdom of His dear Son” where I live and move and have my being and am not bound by the limitations of this physical world.

I explained that I used to always hike around the ranch looking for caves, but one day as I was hiking and looking for caves while praying it hit me that caves are dark and dirty, so I said, “LORD, I don’t want a cave, I want a portal!”

I knew I had found the portal God has provided for us – the blood of Yahshua (Jesus) is our portal! Through the power of His blood we are translated into the Kingdom of God’s dear Son! Through the redemption and forgiveness of sins only made possible by the blood Yahshua shed on that cross 2000 years ago for us!

After I ended the call with Belinda, I finished praying some other written prayers then pulled up “The Book of Mysteries” by Jonathan Cahn, as I usually read it after my prayers. I nearly fell off my chair when I saw the name of my next daily portion – “The Portal”. I knew that was confirmation from God that somehow we were on the right track. Of course, I had to call Belinda and tell her about that, too!

Then I was reminded of years ago when I was at a big camp out for the Feast of Tabernacles. I was sitting with Thurston McCutchen, Clay Mitchell and Eric Blanchard (the “three musketeers”) having an interesting discussion about other dimensions. Eric is a scientist with a lot of electric/magnetic knowledge. Clay told us of a dream that he had, where it seemed like we were in the time of the tribulation and people were chasing us. He said that we had these circles and squares that we would throw on the wall or on the ground and then jump through them into another dimension and the people chasing us couldn’t follow. He said we threw the circles on the wall and the squares were thrown on the ground. Eric was very surprised at Clay’s dream and indicated that it was correct from a dimensional perspective.

There’s only one way to have access to this portal – sincerely ask Yahshua (Jesus) to forgive you of your sins and save you. He has already paid the penalty for your sins, all you have to do is ask Him to forgive you. It’s a simple thing to do, but it changes your life forever!

Here’s hoping I see you on the other side of the portal!

Cody’s Miracle

We were working cattle at our family ranch near Crystal City, Texas. When we worked cattle, it was an “all hands on deck” type of situation, because it was mostly a shoestring operation, meaning we didn’t have money to hire hands. So, it was my Dad, my brother Tony, my son Jess, my daughter Cody and myself. My 13 year old daughter Cody was working the cutting chute that day while the rest of us were pushing the cattle through the working chute. The object of the game was to separate the calves that were old enough to go to the livestock sale from the rest of the cattle. Cody was laying face down on her stomach on a platform about eight feet in the air. She was watching the cattle come down the chute below and in front of her, so that she could swing the cutting chute gate to the left for the big calves or to the right for the cows and smaller calves. Directly underneath Cody was a concrete slab that was very rocky and uneven. Things were going along pretty well that day until this cow with ear tag # 23 came along. If it’s any indication, we called her “Ole Loco”. I don’t know if maybe her calf was already in the pen on the right, or if she was just being her usual loco (crazy) self, but when Cody moved the chute gate to the right so she would go into the pen on the left with the rest of the cows, she stuck her head behind the cutting chute gate and pushed her way into the pen on the right side. She was so big and strong that when she did that, she actually moved the post on the right side of the chute that supported the platform where Cody was lying. She moved it so much that the platform support broke loose and the platform fell down on the end where Cody’s head was. Cody fell too. She fell from about eight feet in the air, head first and landed on the back of her neck right on that rocky, rough concrete! I was afraid at first it had killed her. We all gathered around Cody. She was unconscious for a few minutes and when she came to, she was delirious. She was talking but her words made no sense at all. Dad ran and pulled his white double cab pickup as close to where Cody was lying as he could, then they loaded Cody into the back seat with her head in my lap. While Jess and Tony stayed to finish working the cattle, Dad drove Cody and I to the hospital in Carrizo Springs. Even though I know he drove as fast as he could over those roads, the trip seemed to take forever. Cody kept talking deliriously, but I held her hand with one hand and put my other hand on her forehead and prayed in the Spirit for her all the way to the hospital emergency room. She was transferred to a gurney and then wheeled inside from the emergency room entrance. They began to evaluate her and then took her for x-rays and maybe a CT Scan. Coincidentally, (I don’t believe in coincidences!) my mother was working as a registered nurse at the Dimmit County Hospital that day, and she came to meet us in the emergency room just minutes after we got there. Now, my mom was a real prayer warrior (and I’m sure she still is) and I know she and Dad and Jess and Tony were all lifting up prayers for Cody that day. I knew that blackouts and delirium were both signs of concussion, but we all just kept praying. After what seemed like hours but may not have been that long, they brought Cody back out. The doctor explained that they had checked her over extensively but found NO sign of concussion and no broken bones or internal injuries. The doctor put a neck brace on her before discharging her, just to be on the safe side he said. I thank the good LORD for answering our prayers that day and that He healed my daugher from any and all injuries from falling eight feet, head first and landing on the back of her neck on rough, rocky concrete. Yes, our God does still work miracles!

[KJVA] Psalms 103:2 
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:

[KJVA] Psalms 111:4 
He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered: the Lord is gracious and full of compassion.

Jess’ Miracle

My son, Jesse Jerome Baxter, was born six weeks premature, so he had a struggle from day one. The doctor said he had been unsure whether Jess would make it through that first night because his lungs were not fully developed. However, through prayer and the diligence of the doctors and nurses, Jess did make it through those first few days. He looked so cute with his little “party hat” which was really a dixie cup that had been taped over the IV in his head to keep him from dislodging it. I was driving back and forth from home everyday to breastfeed, because the doctor felt Jess was still too small to be taken home. Our goal was 5 pounds – up a half pound from his birth weight of 4 pounds 8 ounces – the doctor had said then I could take him home.

One day when I came in to breastfeed, the nurse told me that the doctor had asked me to come by his office. When I did, the doctor informed me that there was a problem – the bones in Jess’ skull were grown together at the top of his head. He explained how the bones should have a little space between them that would allow Jess’ head to expand as he grew. I remember he said that you could even feel the ridge on the top of his head where the bones were fused together. I don’t remember much else of what he said, I was too upset after talk of brain damage, retardation and other possible effects of the bones having grown together. After leaving the doctor’s office in a daze I went back to see Jess again and felt the top of his head. Yes, it was just as the doctor had said – I could feel the ridge along the top of his head.

Distraught and crying, I called my mother and tried to explain the situation to her through my tears. My mother was a strong believer in the God of the Bible, a real prayer warrior that had prayed me through some challenging times already. She cried too at the news, but promised to ask the churches in our small Texas town to pray for Jess. Still crying, I found a place alone and prayed to the God that I had asked to save me at Vacation Bible School when I was nine years old. There had been a lot of rebellion in my life since I was nine years old, both against my parents and against God. In my teen years I thought God didn’t want me to have any fun, so I pretty much turned my back on Him to party through my high school and college years. This situation with my new baby boy was a real wakeup call though, so I asked God to forgive me for my rebellion against Him and promised that if He would take care of Jess that I would straighten up and fly right.

Jess was transported from the small hospital in Kerrville, Texas to St. Jude Children’s Hospital in San Antonio that same day while I rode in the ambulance with him. Mom arrived soon after we did and we all settled into the small hospital room for the night. The female doctor in charge of Jess said that they would start tests on Jess the next morning. Hospitals being what they are, no one slept much that night but nurses arrived early to take Jess off for the battery of tests they had scheduled for the day. I remember at one point, Mom changing Jess’ little preemie diaper which came all the way up to his armpits. For some unknown reason, Jess picked just that time of open air on his bottom to have an explosive bowel movement. Luckily, Mom was wearing a yellow and green multicolored top so no one else ever knew she had to clean baby poo off of it! Jess was so small that when his head was in the crook of my elbow his little feet fit neatly into the palm of my hand. He was just about the size of a football. Mom and I cried, prayed and visited while Jess was in for the tests, knowing that people back home were praying too.

When the doctor came by the room late that evening, she told us that they had completed the tests that they had scheduled for Jess, and they hadn’t been able to find anything wrong! “In fact”, she said, “if you feel the top of his head, you can feel the space between the bones.” I picked Jess up, cradling him in my arm while I felt the top of his head. Just as she said, I could feel the gap between the bones in the top of his little head. I’m not sure exactly when it happened, but sometime between when I felt the top of his head at the hospital at Kerrville and when I felt it again in San Antonio, God worked a miracle!

Jess was discharged from the hospital with a clean bill of health and I took him home. I praise the LORD that He healed my baby boy who is now a grown man with a wife and children of his own. Never discount the power of prayer! Thank you to all those who prayed for Jess – you know who you are!