I am on my way to Israel with a seminary study tour, and can not wait for the transformation that will come with this experience. Even now, the time I have spent with my traveling mates has been so enriching.
I just opened an Instagram account to stay in touch with my family through pictures. My username for those who may want to follow is: theresashell.
Tyndale House Publishers is giving away NLT Study Bibles, Apple iPads, and even a trip to Hawaii. Check out the details below:
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Apple iPad 16G and a Life Application Study Bible Awarded when the New Living Translation Fan Page hits the second milestone Retail Value: $499.00
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Prize Eligibility – Recently updated to include more countries
Sweepstakes participants and winner(s) can be U.S. residents of the 50 United States, or residents of any country that is NOT embargoed by the United States, but cannot be residents of Belgium, Norway, Sweden, or India. In addition, participants and winner(s) must be at least 18 years old, as determined by the Company.Sweepstakes Starts
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April 30, 2010 @ 10:24 am (PDT)
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Where is my focus? How much have I truly wanted God and how much may I actually be desiring the things of the world (safety, health, physical needs…)?
When did I last hear Him and what did He say? Was I obedient with the last message He gave me? Did I learn and grow from it? Was it an encouragement that I need to rest in during this rough time? An exhortation that I still need to obey?
What things am I hearing and who is saying them? Am I believing deceptive spirits and worldly advice? Is the Lord speaking in small ways that I’ve brushed off as something else?
Am I really listening for Him? Have I limited His response by assuming He will say something particular? Am I open to Him speaking whatever He wants through any means?
Have I been willing and able to rest in His presence in silence? Does my faith depend on His affirmation, or can I abide in Him knowing His silence is not an absence?
Do I know His voice well or is a personal encounter and relationship with God something I need to put extra focus on? May it be that His silence is a hint for me to look for Him more thoroughly—an invitation that He’s hiding so that I can find Him?
How can I simplify my life to make room for the Lord’s voice? How can I position myself to receive more of the Holy Spirit?
Have I forgotten anything? Can you think of other helpful things to reflect on and consider when God seems distant, silent, or absent?
There is so much more to life than surviving in the ranks of the world, so why is it often so hard to break past the daily needs into the fulfilling and exciting parts of life?
The book of Haggai shows us that we can’t break through the surface level survival needs until we have our priorities straight. God must be our foundation because nothing else is great enough to fulfill us.
Haggai was written after the exile (in the second year of King Darius)—there is peace among the nations and the Jews have returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. It was really a sacrifice for the Jews to return to Jerusalem because they were making so much money in Babylon. So not too many returned, and those who did lost their nice houses and nice jobs, and fertile land and all that Babylon had given them. (Hag 1:1)
When the book begins the Jews have stopped trying to rebuild the temple because they are frustrated and are instead just struggling to survive. They say to themselves, “The time has not come for the house of the Lord to be rebuilt” because since ceasing the construction of the temple they’ve experienced even worse poverty. But through the prophet Haggai, the Lord rebukes them saying, “Consider your ways!” He shows them they are focusing on rebuilding their own houses before focusing on building the temple, and that is why the Lord Himself has caused them to suffer (agriculturally, economically, and so forth). He says it’s like they’re putting money into a purse with holes, and exhorts them to get their priorities in order—to first rebuild the temple that He may be glorified. (Hag 1:2-11)
We too, must have our priorities in order. I don’t think it’s uncommon to find ourselves caught up in trying to make a better life for ourselves. Perhaps, some of us have even experienced a similar move toward worse and worse situations in the attempt to pull together the basic pieces of our lives (or ministries). Why? The Lord answers here that it’s because we run to our own houses as His lies desolate—we turn to our own needs before we consider Him who has provided everything.
Fortunately, when Haggai gave this rebuke, the people listened, “obeyed the Lord” and “showed reverence for the Lord.” And as a result, the Lord promised He would be with them and stirred up their spirits so that they would be productive in building the temple! (Hag 1:12-15)
Notice, the promises the Lord gave the Jews were not physical, but of spiritual strengthening. This is so simple: when God’s people demonstrate they love Him more than anything else, He provides them with all the tools to carry out their calling—above all, giving the Holy Spirit: God with us. When the first things come first, the rest are easily carried out.
Deception is the number one sign Jesus told His believers to look for in recognition of His second coming—deception not in the world, but among believers, even the elite. Warnings against such deception are also strongly proclaimed by the apostles and appear in almost every book of the New Testament—both as something to come and as a rebuke to those churches in which it had already started. This isn’t a small thing; it’s something ALL Christians are affected by, whether they are interested in theology or not. Christians had better be on the alert, asking the Lord to test and refine their hearts, that they may not be deceived.
So in what areas may we have formed a wrong worldview? What are we sure about that we have never tested? How much of our faiths are based in personal revelation and knowledge and how much from social or church tradition?
It’s so easy to see problems in other denominations, churches, and peoples; we had better also be praying into the refining of our own faiths. Those who assume their theology and traditions are solid are often the same who are being mislead. But the Lord will continue to reveal Himself to those who are hungry for Him and fear His ways.
As a child, Christmas was always my favorite holiday, not because we celebrated Jesus’ birthday (which we most definitely did), but because Santa was coming, and with him, presents. I just want to be honest: Santa has many of the same qualities as Jesus, plus he’s tangible, comes every year, and gives just the right gift; of course he seems more exciting.
I remember staying up late to listen for Santa and his reindeer on the roof as someone made an imitating sound. I remember my excitement in waking up the next morning to see that Santa had eaten every bit of the cookies and eggnog we left out for him. And, of course, I felt great affirmation that the full stockings and presents meant I had been judged ‘good’ by the one who sees all things.
I didn’t just believe in Santa. My childlike faith caused me to put a great deal of stock into both him, and the ideals he represented.
Then in late elementary school when I was recruited by my parents to be one of “Santa’s elves” and wrap presents, I was heartbroken. I had wanted so much to believe Santa was real and had even defended my position against elementary school rumors. If Santa wasn’t real was the Tooth Fairy? the Easter Bunny? Jesus?
If you’re teaching your children to believe in Jesus, I urge you not to also teach them to believe in Santa without being fully informed of the potential consequences. Certainly having Santa in the home does not necessarily lead to spiritual apostasy (I must say, my parents did a good job raising us to have faith in Jesus and all four of us still love the Lord today)… but do we really want to distract our youth from Jesus Himself?
This article by a Baptist ministry gives a very thorough history of Santa throughout the centuries, while comparing Santa to Jesus and giving verses and commentary to show how dangerous the belief in Santa can be. It is well organized and easy to skim; the history starts in section two: http://www.av1611.org/othpubls/santa.html
This article is a much shorter comparison of the main attributes of Jesus and Santa: http://www.biblebelievers.com/jmelton/SantaClause.html
What do you think? Should Santa be taught in the Christian home?
I’m not abandoning my blog, but have had to put more energy into my personal prayer life in order to maintain a zealousness for the Lord within the sickness I’ve been dealing with in pregnancy. Also, some days it’s hard to sit up and concentrate long enough to write. No, it’s not gone yet. :)
To those of you who have emailed me via awaitingtheking.com and have yet to get a response: so sorry! My lack of availability has not been a lack of prayer and thorough consideration for your situations. I’m sure my typical promptness will return at some point. :)
Coming from an athletic family, I like to call these the “defensive” verses. They focus on what to do before the spiritual attack comes—how to “put on the armor of God” so you aren’t shaken when the battle shifts to your home front. It is not, by any means a ‘complete’ list, but rather a sample of the verses I’ve collected through my experiences.
The themes are:
“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success” (Joshua 1:8).
“All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything” (1 Corinthians 6:12).
“Finally, brethren, whatever is true…let your mind dwell on these things” (Philippians 4:8).
“Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth” (Ephesians 6:14).
“The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light…put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts” (Romans 13:12 & 14).
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm” (Ephesians 6:10-13; continue through verse 17 for specifics).
“With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints” (Ephesians 6:18).
“Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ” (Colossians 2:6-8).
“Let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall. No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry” (1 Corinthians 10:12-14).
“Keep watching and praying that you may not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Mark 14:38).
“Run in such a way that you may win…I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:24, 26-27).
As I was going through the most severe moments of spiritual warfare—this was as I was in the process of fully giving my life to Christ, which was not easily accepted by the devil—I began collecting verses to help me with the battle.
This first section is rather incomplete because the spiritual battle was quite easy for me to recognize; the spirits of darkness were in fact all over our apartment in obvious ways.
What did help me quite a bit was to recognize that there is an absolute line of truth and not-truth (good and evil) in the spiritual realm. Coming from a mindset of New Age philosophy, I had not even considered this ‘black and whiteness’ as a possibility, but as I started to read the scriptures, that’s exactly what I started to see. And as I continued to spiritually clean our living space, the spiritual battle began to diminish a little at a time.
Verses on Recognizing the Spiritual Battle:
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).
“For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace” (Romans 8:5-6).
“And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:3-4)
“But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons” (1 Timothy 4:1).
“For men will be lovers of self…lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these. For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:2-7).
“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses” (2 Corinthians 10:3-4).
The last two weeks I spent working full-time as a parking enforcement officer. Each day brought so many memorable conversations with co-workers, as well as intermittent moments of dealing with angry and confused people—a great chance to strengthen my faith.
I also recently discovered the bud of a new spiritual gift for interpretation as the Lord allowed me to understand a young woman speaking in Russian (not as a word-for-word translation, but as an interpretation of each of her main points). Having understood the main ideas of the conversation she was having with another, I then asked if I could pray for her, and was able to pray (in English) regarding her concerns. Of course, I don’t actually know Russian beyond a few simple greetings; this was definitely a gift given for the moment, and I was very excited by it!
This week, I’m adjusting back into my “regular” schedule—if that’s possible, I think the Lord’s been teaching me to live spontaneously and nomadically, which is against my natural tendencies. My husband and I are also spontaneously rearranging our living/dining area, which has become an adventure in itself. :)
I’m reading an excellent book: The House Church Book by Wolfgang Simson. It goes through the Bible and history to show and critique the structure and progression of the church (how it was, is, and should be), and provides one of the best explanations I’ve seen of the five-fold ministry.
Here is my shortened version of what Simson describes:
Pastor: the pastor is the shepherd of the flock. He’s right in the midst of his people, making sure that the flock functions as a family. He is internally and relationally oriented (making sure the sheep connect with God and to each other). It’s also his job to defend the flock against false prophets. And since he is so intimate with the flock, he may have trouble seeing the big picture.
Prophet: the prophet is always so far ahead of the flock that few understand him. He’s on the lookout, listening to God’s voice and seeing visions of the future. He’s so radically different from the pastor that they usually don’t get along as well. While the pastor defends the status quo, the prophet is always questioning everything and wanting immediate action. His job is to provide spiritual intelligence, cast personal and corporate vision, and exhort people according to God’s calling.
Apostle: the apostle is like the ‘army commander’. He’s away from the flock (but not so far as the prophet) so that he can see the big picture. Most concerned with strategy and missions, he is the problem solver and talent spotter of the team. He unites the group (working hand in hand with the prophet) but is constantly running around so much he has no time to stay one place very long.
Teacher: the teacher is most concerned with ‘truth and nothing but the truth’. He is detail oriented and thorough, focusing intently on the parts of the whole rather than the big picture. He sits right outside the flock so he can discern how they’re doing. He is passionate that his students learn to understand, explain and defend their faith.
Evangelist: the evangelist circles the flock closely, but is far enough away that he won’t smell like the sheep pen. He introduces a healthy outward focus to the church and disciples new believers. He’s passionate about the depth of conversion and the retention rate of new disciples, and wants everyone to find Jesus.
These positions of the five-fold ministry come from Eph 4:11: “He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers.” All Christians are commissioned to evangelize (demonstrate the Christian lifestyle), prophecy (hear from God), disciple (strengthen and deepen the faith of other believers), et cetera, but the five-fold ministry describes ‘offices’ or ‘positions’ within the Christian community that are necessary for the church to function as the body of Christ.
Unfortunately, I’ve noticed that many churches have too many pastors (internal relational people), and even more sheep. This makes many churches very family oriented, safe, and encouraging places to be (assuming the pastors are fully fulfilling their roles), but doesn’t show believers with other giftings how to naturally grow and enter non-pastoring roles. Worse, those working in these roles (particularly, the apostolic and prophetic) aren’t usually encouraged to participate in the church. Consequently, many sheep are either not interested or not prepared to take on an active role in the body of Christ.
If the body of Christ is going to walk in fullness—as is prophesied must happen before Christ’s return (Eph 4:13)—then every member has it’s part, both in office, and in gifting. So, if you’re a Christian, which position most fits you?
There are two commandments that stand out within the entire Bible and are particularly emphasized by Jesus in the New Testament. The first commandment is to love God and the second is to love other people. The first is first and the second is second—they aren’t equal. If we forget to love God, it really doesn’t matter how much we love people (1 Cor 13). The first commandment is a requirement for the second, and it is greater (Mat 22:37-38).
I’ve mentioned these commandments before, but it’s very important to recognize the difference between them. They wouldn’t be highlighted separately if they were the same; thus, we do not love God BY loving other people, we love God THEN we love other people. This is not a subtle difference.
So how do we love God? Scripture says we love God by keeping His commandments—we completely submit ourselves to God in obedience of whatever He has for us (John 15:1-11).
This is why loving God has to happen before the loving of people: God has a specific design for how we should individually love those in our spheres of influence. We aren’t called to random acts of kindness; we’re called to specific works which He prepared beforehand for us to do (Eph 2:10)!
If we neglect to focus on a relationship with the Lord foremost (on truly and wholeheartedly loving Him), then instead of being led by His voice to pour out His love, we become recklessly attempting to earn or prove our salvation to God, ourselves and the world. We may help people to feel good in the now, but aren’t able to offer them insight toward a stable relationship with the Lord because we don’t have it for ourselves; what is Christianity unless Christians can offer both? This ‘being good’ wears us out, makes us feel constantly inadequate or in competition with others, and most importantly, it doesn’t work—God knows our heart.
The ‘goodness’ has to come from the inside out. As we spend time with Him, we know Him and love Him. He gives us a heart to love Him—more and more as we seek Him—because He knows how small we are. And as we completely submit to Him in love, we can’t help but be stirred in our spirits to help His other loves. It really does happen naturally. And it brings with it a confidence of being a true heir and son or daughter to the Most High God.
Recommended: An insightful and beautifully written piece of fiction.
This novel reveals modern day Afghanistan realistically and astutely. Windle juxtaposes the perspectives of three characters: 1) a slightly naive Christian woman, in Afghanistan to start a relief project, 2) an intelligent but rough-on-the edges American security chief to the MOI, and 3) an Afghan native with a tragic past who only wants to please Allah.
Veiled Freedom mixes Western and Middle Eastern culture, politics, and Christian and Islamic spirituality; it has action and mystery while still being a lighthearted, easy read.
The novel’s strongest theme is quite relevant: change has to happen from the inside out. No country can force freedom or lifestyle on another country, nor can anyone spiritually ‘convert’ those who are content as they are—our personal and corporate freedoms must be taken from the inside out.
The only downside was the superficial way in which Christian character, Amy’s, faith was portrayed. I felt the novel worked much harder to reveal Islam than Christianity, yet, in this day where not all ‘Christianities’ are alike, I would have liked to feel that Amy was deeply and desperately connected to God—especially as she’s made to be the story’s ‘model’ Christian.
Overall, this was an enjoyable and educational read, deepening my understanding of Afghanistan and its people.
I’m on an extended vacation visiting family and have been helping with some ‘Spring’ cleaning now that my youngest brother is off to college and my parents will have a large home to themselves. It has certainly been interesting to sort through old linens and old memories.
So much of what I’d personally collected and designed over the years is so out of character with who God has re-created me to be. I was throwing things out left and right, and even chose to destroy a couple pieces of art I’d made while being influenced by the wrong spirits.
I’ve learned that physical cleaning and spiritual cleaning often go hand in hand. It is not within God’s nature to be cluttered, dirty, and deteriorating, but rather to demonstrate His glory: we are to be good stewards of what He’s given us (whether small or large). There’s a reason why physically cleaning can be more relaxing and make things look newer and more valuable. Simply: cleanliness is part of God’s nature, and the other is not.
Of course, both the physical and spiritual realms are important. If you’ve never spiritually cleaned your home, it’s just as essential. You keep your home spiritually clean by regularly inviting the presence of the Lord (spending time worshiping God through prayer, song, reading the Bible, talking admiringly about Him, et cetera), and by keeping out that which is detestable to Him.
That second part is especially important: getting rid of the detestable stuff. If you own anything that isn’t pleasing to Jesus, especially if it’s been involved in a religious ceremony for other ‘gods’, it can be like a beacon to attract spirits who think they can make a home in those who are using the ‘demonically sacred’ item. This can plateau your spiritual growth (and, in my experience, even invite tormenting demons—in my case, I wasn’t aware of the affect until I was advised to get rid of some things and the torment decreased).
You do this kind of spiritual cleansing by walking through your home and praying that if there is anything you need to get rid of that Jesus would make it clear. Then be obedient to what you think you’re hearing—even if it’s your favorite book, or a great CD, or the token you bought abroad, or the necklace that’s been in your family for generations. Nothing in this life can compare to knowing Jesus on a personal level.
There is a promise that if we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us (James 4:8), and one of the ways we do this is to chose to honor Him over every other thing by (as the verse says) “cleansing our hands”. We physically and spiritually clean the best we can, and thus, invite His Spirit to come in to renew and strengthen the rest of us.
Some of you may have heard about or noticed a transition in the church—a “new breed” of Christians that are arising (especially out of the pentecostal type churches). Well, there are actually two transitions: some of the church is beginning to adopt New Age doctrine (the emergent church), others of the church are moving into a greater move of the Holy Spirit (we’ll need this outpouring in order to fight the spiritual battle at hand; Acts 2:17-21).
The two transitions seem alike without prudent discernment of the spirits. Many in the fundamentalist churches are confused or mad about the changes. The high percentage of Christians throughout the denominations, I think, haven’t even noticed.
I want to make it clear that the Lord freed me FROM New Age thinking. As a result, I recognize it seeping into the church more clearly than most, and I’m not about to fall back into that movement. That said, God has power (much more power than the enemy!) and He wants to work through His people as a demonstration of His glory. I’m sure I’ll discuss both sides in more detail in the future.
What the church needs is to be fully opened to the Holy Spirit, and fully closed to the multiple deceptive spirits.
Fortunately we know that when we ask God the Father to reveal Himself to us that we may know and love Him more, He will not give us deceptive spirits but His Holy Spirit in abundance (Mat 7:11, Luke 11:13). As long as we’re plugged into the right God, we’ll have the right Spirit. If you love the Lord, there is no reason to fear what He has for you—He loves you too!
On the other hand, some personalities are so good at being open to new things, that they willingly trust and want whatever friends, family, pastors, etc advertise as being excellent ways to connect to God. When it comes to spiritual matters, we should never trust anything but the Word of God (Psalm 146:3, Jer 9:4-6, Mic 7:5, Acts 17:11, Prov 3:5). There are already many false prophets in the world, so it’s very necessary that we test every spirit to know whether or not it’s from God (1 John 4:1-6 and 2 Cor 11:3-4, 13-15).
I don’t recommend Real Church, although the title certainly caught my attention. While Crabb asks very relevant questions with interesting discussion and surprising vulnerability, his vision of the ideal church misses the mark. Despite all the struggling variations of churches, it seems he wants to create yet another one—a better model, perhaps, but still another man-made plan of action.
What it comes down to for me is that church isn’t ‘working’ because the Presence of God (the Holy Spirit) isn’t truly invited. We’ve reduced Jesus and His gospel to what is humanly possible. It isn’t possible for us to walk the way Jesus commissioned us to walk—that’s why we need Him to lead the church. We’ve got to give up our control, stop complaining things aren’t right, and start giving our hearts to the Lord that we may know Him, hear Him and follow Him.
I admire Crabb’s honesty and his fervor to want a desire for the things of God, but his writing doesn’t reflect the leading of the Spirit. Crabb has excellent insights into many of the church’s problems, he just doesn’t connect that the full invitation of the Holy Spirit is the bridge to us walking as Christ intended.
Ben and I returned last night from six days in Las Vegas for the Holy Spirit Conference at the International Church of Las Vegas (ICLV). We had an excellent time. Hundreds of people received physical healing from the Lord.
Although there were many great messages, my favorite speaker was Heidi Baker. Her and her husband, Rolland, are missionaries in Mozambique and have experienced the supernatural side of God’s love and provision in amazing ways. They’ve seen food multiplied, deaf ears opened, the dead raised, the sick healed, and countless other miracles. But more impressively, Heidi carries the Holy Spirit so strongly that He is heard in her words and physically seen in her countenance.
As Heidi spoke, one theme keep coming up: how much do we want to know Him? How much do we want His presence?
“The hungry always get fed”, she said, “how hungry are we?” (Isaiah 55)
I work occasionally as a parking enforcement officer—a job I started to get myself through college, and have enjoyed so much I probably will never fully quit.
As I write parking tickets, I’ve often encountered angry people and have had to share with them what they’ve done, while still executing justice. I’ve heard every excuse, and one time was nearly killed by a man who had parked over an hour in a 30 minute parking zone and, in rage, attempted to run me over with his truck before the police got involved.
One of the most common excuses is not knowing the rules of the road: “I didn’t know that wasn’t a parking space.”, “I didn’t know I needed a permit in that area.”, “No one told me I couldn’t drive through the bus center.”, and so forth. Some of the people I meet are really nice people who really didn’t know they were in the wrong; more of them are lying (evidenced by the computerized system I carry of every ticket and warning they’ve had in the past). Regardless, it’s the responsibility of those who drive to know the rules of the road (and of parking). It’s my responsibility as parking enforcement officer to judge rightly and execute judgment according to the law.
I say this because many Christians neglect to actively pursue the Lord—even though it’s clear that love (demonstrated through obedience) is the first and foremost commandment. We don’t, in the new covenant, have a rule book to follow as the Jews did; instead, the Holy Spirit writes the law on our hearts and connects us to God so that we can know and walk out His will. Without the pursuit of God through the Holy Spirit (by reading the Bible, dialoguing with the Lord in prayer, connecting with other Christians in fellowship,…) we miss knowing Him. And if we don’t know Him, well, He’ll still have to execute perfect judgment.
The season of God’s mercy is NOW. Right now we’re alive and have the choice whether to learn God’s heart and choose His ways, or whether to drive our lives by our own rules. And while I can give ‘warnings’ to those parked in the wrong spot (the gift of surprise mercy), God’s mercy is only available until we die, after that His judgment can be nothing but Just because He can’t go back on His word.
The Holy Spirit is literally the Spirit of God. 1 Corinthians 2:10-16 tells us that just as we have a spirit in us that knows the depths of our thoughts, so does God have a Spirit that knows the depths of His being—and that’s the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is the same Spirit that resides in God the Father and Jesus themselves. He’s the third person in the trinity God.
Since the Holy Spirit is the inner Spirit of God Himself, He knows all things. This more than qualifies Him to be the Spirit of truth, the Helper, who Jesus promises will teach us all things (John 14:17 & 26) and guide us into all truth (John 16:13).
This is really exciting! And it means that when we ask for more of the Holy Spirit, what we’re getting is the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16)! Even recognizing only the surface level issues of our flesh, we know that the mind of Christ is something we need much more of; we should be diligently pursuing the Holy Spirit so that we can closely partner and connect with God in the way He intended.
In 2 Corinthians 7:11, Paul tells the church of Corinth what repentance looks like. True repentance is evidenced by:
Remember when God the Father instructs Moses about how the Jewish people should sacrifice to the Lord? Exodus 29:10-30, amongst other places, shows that there was to be a “sin offering”, “burnt offering”, “wave offering”, and “heave offering” (other passages even include “guilt offering”).
Let’s not cut repentance short by stopping after ‘sin offering’; let’s continue to offer a fragrant aroma of prayer to the Lord and to continue fighting against our flesh until everything in competition with the Lord is purged from us.
It’s not enough for us to JUST confess our sins and receive forgiveness—this is a good start, but Christianity is more about seeing and knowing Jesus than simply being forgiven. That is, a Christian can be forgiven and ‘saved’, and yet not be walking in the freedom Christ intended. The freedom occurs when we let godly sorrow move us to full submission and a renewed mind. As we experience this full repentence, we also begin to experience the Lord Himself because the cloudiness of sin clears itself from us enough that we can begin to see our Lord.
A friend of mine started going to a new church and invited me to check it out with her. It was a pretty charismatic church: passionate speaking, dancing, and singing. The atmosphere was intimate, warm, and intense. I mostly enjoyed myself.
There was one problem: I personally had a really hard time connecting with the Holy Spirit. And I began to realize that just because the people were moving and singing and loudly proclaiming blessings over themselves, didn’t mean that the Holy Spirit Himself was moving through them.
This isn’t to say that it wasn’t a good church (maybe I was having an off day?) or to criticize any type of worship (we have so many personalities and each connect to the Lord best in our own ways). It is important to remember though that when the Holy Spirit moves it happens in the hearts of the people first and overflows in various personalities, so loudness and physical movement aren’t necessarily an indication of His presence.
I spent the last four days in Yosemite National Park camping with some friends from college. The views and weather were fabulous, and it was exciting to see all the tourists with their various languages and cultures (in fact, we made many new friends).
I had so much fun with the women, but also missed my husband by the time I returned. When I came back and told Ben I missed him, he said, “Sometimes you have to miss me to remember you love me, otherwise you might take me for granted.”
Sometimes we have to miss the one we love in order for that love to be stirred. I know there have been seasons in my relationship with the Lord where He’s seemed harder to reach, and yet it’s been in those moments that my heart’s cried out with deeper fervor to hear His voice and know Him more.
The Bible is the key to the heart of God. There’s power in it, because it’s the testimony of the true God, and He Himself speaks in and through it (literally). It’s a powerful thing to capture the words of the Lord—and this is just what the Bible has done. It’s the transcript of dialogs with God throughout history.
A friend asked me once whether we can trust the Bible since the translations vary slightly from language to language and version to version. She, being linguistic minded, felt it wrong to credit God for potential human errors—and how can we say that each are the inspired Word of God when they aren’t exactly the same?
All good questions. But here’s the thing: it is the HOLY SPIRIT who reveals the Word to us (John 14 & 16).
Well, wait! What about the Bible? Yes, it starts with the Bible. Our lives should revolve around the Bible because it IS the inspired Word of God—it’s His transcript to us. But Jesus is the Word that became flesh (John 1). The Holy Spirit is the spirit of God Himself, and it’s the Holy Spirit speaking through the Bible that makes the Word come alive for us (1 Cor 2)! In essense, it’s the Bible plus the Holy Spirit—the Bible is the living Word only when read with the Holy Spirit’s divine guidance. So, it’s all about the Bible (which is Jesus, the Word, as a lingual transcription for us); and it’s all about Jesus, who is the Word Himself and still speaks through His Spirit!
The first commandment is to love the Lord your God with your whole heart, soul and mind. This is absolutely the MOST important thing. (Deut 6:4-5, Ex 20:1-3, Mark 12:28-30)
The second commandment, while not equal, is also important. We are to love our neighbors—to love EVERYONE with the love He’s shown us. This is the second most important thing, and is catalyzed by our love for the Lord. (Mat 22:36-49, Luke 10:25-37)
When Jesus commands us to love other people, it’s not arbitrary, it’s because HE LOVES them. It’s Jesus giving us His heart for the people of the world—whether they will choose Him or not. We can love the lovable and unlovable only through Him. This is why the first commandment is first and the second is second! Without a firm love of the Lord, we really can’t make ourselves love—we can go through the actions (even with enthusiasm), but that’s all it is: working out the expression of love rather than actually loving from that deep place in our spirits. (1 John 4:7-21)
We connect to Jesus solely to experience Him, know Him, and love Him. And as we enter into that relationship, He begins to give us His heart. Our heart begins to break for the people we never thought we could like, let alone love; and it’s such a deep love that we are stirred to outwardly demonstrate that love through evangelism, giving, service, and many of the other spiritual gifts. We can’t help but love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19).
We can choose to believe whatever we want—we have the privilege to think freely, and no outward force can enforce our inward thinking. This is a great freedom. But in the case that we are persuaded wrongly about something, there are still consequences. If fired from our job, for instance, no amount of believing it hasn’t happened will bring in the missing paycheck. And, theologically speaking, not believing in Hell doesn’t make it nonexistent.
When it comes to the big issues like “is there a god?” and “who is God?” we had better be pretty certain we’re confident of the truth—not based on polls, opinions and research, but on our individual quests through life and reality.
Years ago I went through a long season of not wanting to feel any more. I had been reading a lot on psychology and Buddhism and hypnosis, and started experimenting with ‘transcending’ my feelings so as not to have emotional pain and unrest.
Actually, I was successful in ‘not feeling’ for a time.
It was a very powerful time in my life—charmingly dark and powerful. I was also working to develop my psychic abilities, self hypnosis, and vision of the unseen; and I was very successful in my occult interests.
There was a problem though, and I’ll tell you why I wasn’t satisfied with the “New Age” way of living: I became so good at not feeling that I didn’t feel anything. My family and friends had shown me glimpses of love and joy, but I had stopped feeling altogether—no love, no joy, no peace, and so on—and yet, I remembered that I had often felt those good feelings in the past. So slowly I began to soften my heart so I could feel the good parts again, despite the additional torment.
It wasn’t until years later that I learned Jesus really can, and wants to, take away all our pain—that regardless of circumstance we can rest in the fruit of His Spirit. The irony is that to receive the Lord’s peace, we must circumcise our hearts—making ourselves vulnerable by cutting away the skin of our hearts, that the softer part would be out in the open. This is contrary to our thinking because initially it is so painful to sacrifice even our wounds to a God we can’t see; it takes a great deal of trust and faith.
The alternative, however, is the hardening/thickening of the heart—an empowering of the self in order to block out emotional intrusions by building up a defense barrier. This is one of the ways which seems right to man, but leads in the end to death (Prov 14:12). The higher and longer and stronger we build the wall around our hearts, the more we cover up uncleaned wounds, perceive happiness and peace when there is none, and the harder it becomes for the wall to be destroyed.
It’s painful to be vulnerable (thus, the Biblical analogy of circumcision, which I’ve heard is painful as well—and increasingly so with age); but, it’s also necessary to rip emotional problems and wounds out by the roots, which requires entering into the most sensitive places. And it’s not just about reaching the sensitive places, but about allowing Jesus to adequately and thoroughly heal and cleanse us from the inside out. The Lord Himself is the only one trustworthy to handle our hearts, so we can put it all in His hands!
So, I had posted briefly that there are no gray areas in the spiritual realm: everything is either of God or it isn’t.
This is so simple it becomes complex. (And, yes, I’m still speaking rationally, just outside the visible box. We must pragmatically articulate the invisible realm because it exists—one day it will even be visible!)
We know that something is of God if it lines up to the attributes of His nature, and if it doesn’t line up to that standard (even if it’s just minutely off) than it is not of God (or ‘evil’). This is in the spiritual realm.
As humans we intersect the spiritual realm, whether or not we’re cognizant of it. We think we come up with our own ideas (and to a certain extent we do), but more often our thoughts are coming from the unseen spiritual realm. When we repeat or believe something we hear from God (through the Holy Spirit) it’s called prophecy or truth. When we repeat or believe what we’re hearing in the demonic realm, it’s evil. Engaging evil thoughts (or acting on them) is sin. It’s not the hearing of the demonic realm that is sin, but the entering in by believing and thinking on those things.
It’s very important that we recognize good and evil (God and not-God) as occurring on the spiritual level first, because the fruit (the outward ‘doing’ of the good or evil) is totally dependent on the seed itself. (A good seed blossoms into good fruit and vice versa.)
So, if my actions are an overflowing of the Lord’s love within me, I am doing ‘good’. If the motivation of my actions is not aligned with the full nature of God, I am doing ‘evil’ and entering into sin. And it really is that simple.
This is why 1 Cor 13 says that without a foundation of love (God), nothing we do matters—even if we’re feeding the poor, or acting in spiritual gifts, or engaging in other seemingly good activities. God is love, and everything must be filtered through Him.
In another post I’ll discuss the large variety of choices and experiences we can have within the ‘God’ and ‘not-God’ realms. There are no gray areas in the spiritual realm, but since we have God-given freedom and creativity, there are multiple manifestations of how we use the gifts and wisdom He gives us—I wouldn’t say this is a ‘gray area’ so much as a colorful spectrum of opportunities.
Tonight, Ben and I went to Target, and in the parking lot met a homeless women and her son.
I wouldn’t say I’ve ever been particularly moved to give to or talk with homeless people, but in the last few months, God has really given me His heart for the poor. And the Bible makes it quite clear that we are not to neglect the poor, the widows and the orphans.
When this couple approached us, without hesitation we talked to them, gave them money and a Bible, and told them that the Lord loves them—and they were very excited. The young boy, especially, said, “A Bible! Is that where it talks about God and stuff?!” And when I told him that yes, and God loves you as much as He can possibly love, his face was glowing with joy.
Afterward, I felt so deeply for them that we prayed on their behalf in the store, and I wished I could have spent more time talking with them and sharing the good news of the gospel in its full depth. Lately, it seems, I am often moved to weeping when the Spirit shows me glimpses of His love for the poor. It is so important to me that everyone know that the Lord is enough to sustain us—physically, emotionally, and spiritually, no matter how poor or rich or what our circumstance. He really is all we need.
Yesterday was Ben and my second year anniversary!
On July 7th, 2007, we had a beautiful and joy-filled wedding and an exciting, adventurous honeymoon in the Bahamas and Florida. Then enter our first year of marriage… What we didn’t share with people at the time was that our first year of marriage was very very rough.
Everything each of us brought to the marriage, spiritually speaking, seemed to multiply as soon as we became “one body” in marriage. I, especially, was very emotionally and mentally awry, and I became violent and difficult to live with—living with myself was particularly hard. It was at this time that I started seeing a secular psychologist and psychiatrist (again), and attempted to stabilize myself through medications, knowledge, positive thinking,… (again).
The change in our marriage occurred right about the one year mark. We had each been seeking the Lord with great fervor—not together, though we’ve always prayed together in the evenings, but independently. And I’d been going through a deliverance ministry with a pastor who was physically pulling the spiritual forces of darkness out of my life a little at a time.
It wasn’t until we each became spiritually stable independently that our marriage fully reached a place of not just comfortableness but intimacy. And that intimacy keeps growing on a regular basis, and is especially wonderful when our connectivity with God is high.
We can now testify that a marriage anchored in God is very rewarding! We hold each other accountable to walk worthy of our callings by staying in the Spirit. And when there’s a problem, we are able to quickly identify that it’s us and the Lord against the enemy—never Ben against me or me against him. When we approach marriage from the standpoint that we’re always on the same team, with the Lord as our coach, there is no problem that can’t be defeated. The Lord Himself can always bring perfect peace, joy, and love to a marriage.
I highly recommend The Bondage Breaker; it is one of the only books I buy in ‘bulk’.
Jesus promised that if we continually read His Word (the Bible), we will become His disciples, we will know the truth, and the truth will make us free (John 8:31-32)! But it can be really hard to press in to the Lord and hold on to the truth—especially when we are tormented by negative thoughts, nightmares, addictions, depression, and so on.
This is probably the BEST book on how to achieve complete freedom in Christ. It is so dense in scripture and spiritual truths that it can be read over and over again.
It exposes the spiritual battle going on behind every psychological disorder, addiction, negative thought, et cetera, and teaches Christians how to fight and win those battles through Jesus. As a spiritual counselor and University professor, Anderson came alongside many people in deep bondage and recalls their stories, battles, and successes. He also outlines a concise guide to personal freedom based on the structure used in his own deliverance ministry, and includes a Biblical list of how to intercede for the possessed and tormented.
Whether you are in bondage yourself, or just desire to help others find freedom from the only one who can give it completely, this book will be a powerful aid.
Happy American Independence Day! Today is also the anniversary of my baptism in water!
I was baptized, first, as an infant in an ELCA Lutheran church, per German tradition. I won’t say there’s anything wrong with baptizing infants, but true baptism is a personal choice. As I began to understand my own relationship with the Lord, I wanted to demonstrate my commitment to Him through baptism. I didn’t have a home church at this time, so I went back to my family’s Lutheran church and met with each of the pastors until I had convinced one to baptize me ‘again’—this time by immersion, since the word baptism literally means ‘to immerse, to submerge, to cleanse, to overwhelm’.
I consider that this “second” baptism was my ONE baptism, as Ephesians 4:5 says (“one Lord, one faith, one baptism”).
The baptism in water is a baptism of repentance (Matt 3), an appeal to God for a good conscience (1 Peter 3:21), and a baptism into death as we symbolically (and in our hearts) lay down our lives for the Lord that we may be resurrected in Him with a renewed mind (Rom 6). Baptism in water isn’t the only baptism (there is also the baptism in the Holy Spirit and the baptism in fire; Matt 3:11), but the baptism in water is special because it marks our heartfelt commitment to God the Father and the significance of our decision to follow Jesus by sacrificing ourselves. And while we should continuously ask for more of the Holy Spirit and to be refined by His fire, it only takes one heartfelt baptism in water to enter into a covenant commitment with the Lord.
Being baptized in water was a very special day for me—as it should be. I was baptized in the bay at my parent’s summer property with only a handful of close friends and family. I cried through the whole ceremony because I was so moved by the gravity of my commitment to Jesus. I could barely say the vows I had chosen.
I didn’t plan to be baptized on the Fourth of July, but the symbolism is perfect! Just as we celebrate our country’s freedom, I am celebrating my personal freedom through Christ. Praise the Lord!
Tonight I’m asking the Lord: How long will your people value the world over You? What will it take, O Lord, to wake up the Western church?
We who call ourselves Christians have forgotten to love the Lord with all of our hearts. We have a large bubble of “permissible but not beneficial” activities that we choose over our God. We pray for His blessing, and forget that He’s all we need—literally!
The problem is not that we aren’t thinking about others, it’s that we aren’t thinking about God. Connecting with God’s heart overflows into a love of others, but if it doesn’t start with a fear and knowledge of God Himself, it’s worthless.
Jesus warns us about false prophets, saying: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits” (Matt 7:15-16).
But what is that fruit?
Fruit is the outward evidence of the inward seed. So, for instance, if you have the seed for a plum tree, and it grows, it will produce plums. A banana tree will produce bananas. You know that it’s a plum tree and not a banana tree by looking at the fruit.
Sometimes this takes a little discernment. The difference between a plum and a pluot, for instance, isn’t so significant that you could immediately see it unless you were adequately familiar with both. So, to discern God’s fruit, we need to spend time getting to know Him lest we get caught in something that seems true but isn’t.
And if we want to produce God’s fruit, we must first have His seed (a foundation of intimacy with Him).
It’s not the outward things we do that evidence the seed (you can give to charity, feed the poor, love animals, etc whether or not you know God), but it’s the outward manifestations of the inward things (the deep Joy that can’t help but bubble over, the true Peace regardless of circumstance…) that point out whether our fruit is good or bad.
My husband and I were watching the church sermon of a leader we’d never seen before. We’d heard really good things about this speaker, but when we heard him speak it was clear that he wasn’t preaching through the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:22-23; Eph 5:9). Instead of the joy and peace of the Holy Spirit, we distinguished anger, hostility and offense—even though he was quoting the Bible.
You see, it’s not just about what people say—in this case, much of the sermon was from an adequate Biblical perspective. What matters more is the spirit in which the message is given. We don’t want to graft ourselves into the wrong tree by allowing ourselves to be mislead by someone who isn’t connected with the Lord’s heart.
God not only loves everyone, but He loves all of us with the same fervor with which He loves Jesus!!! Jesus Himself tells us that “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in my love” (John 15:9)!
Isn’t this excellent!?! There is nothing we can do to fall out of the love of God. He can’t love us more and He can’t love us less. His love is already at full saturation for us whether or not we know Him or have pursued a relationship with Him!
We may not always feel like He likes us (let alone loves us), but this is a lack of perspective on our part. God sees us within an eternal perspective: He knows where we’ve been, where we are, and where we’re going. So, we can’t let our circumstances convince us that God doesn’t care. God does allow us (and in some cases, causes us) to go through difficult circumstances in order to expose our weaknesses that we might cry out to Him. He wants a relationship with us. He wants to be a Father to us. And because He knows the eternal consequences for our choices, He will do whatever it takes to shake us now so that when eternity comes we might receive His full blessing.
God created. His creations chose to sin (disobey God). The world was no longer good. But God STILL wanted a relationship with us, so He chose the smallest and weakest of the people groups (the Jews) and gave them extraordinary favor that they may demonstrate His glory to the nations. God always wanted the nations, but He chose the Jews to be the evangelical messengers.
To the Jews, God made four covenants (with Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David). In the covenant with Moses, God gave 613 commands for His people to follow, and the idea was that by acting out righteousness, their hearts would begin to manifest a burning desire for God. Unfortunately (and quite fortunately for us gentiles!), there were very few Jewish people who really developed that love. And sacrifice without love is meaningless. That’s where Jesus comes in.
Jesus is God. He’s the physical representation of the invisible God (Col 1:15). He’s the outward manifestation—the exact representation—of God (Heb 1:3). And He’s God’s Son (Matt 3:17, Matt 17:5, Mark 9:7, Luke 9:35).
When God saw that the Jewish people struggled to keep His commandments and develop true love for Him, He spoke to His prophets about a new covenant that He would bring. The new covenant would allow the people to really connect with Him because His commandments would be written on their hearts (internally) instead of on stone (externally). And though Christians are still to follow the commands of the Lord, Jesus promises that we would find rest for our souls, for His yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matt 11:29-30).
Jesus came to earth for several reasons (He tells us many in the gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). But these I want to highlight:
The church has done a pretty good job of making heaven sound un-ideal and hell sound horrific—or at least, this was my impression as a young kid. I’d envision heaven as clouds and harps and angels, and I’d imagine myself getting so tired having to live forever, that I’d wish it were possible to just die. Only I didn’t want to die, because, what if I went to hell!
As a slightly older kid, someone told me that heaven was different for everyone: we’d all get our unique paradise filled with all the things and people we loved most.
I don’t remember that Jesus was visibly connected with heaven in my mind, though certainly the idea was that when someone who says they’re a Christian (or was nice) dies, they would “go to heaven to be with Jesus.”
The Bible actually says quite a bit about what’s to come in eternity, and it doesn’t line up (at all!) with what Sunday school taught me—hopefully there are Christians who have had a more positive experience.
As it turns out, the next age is actually very exciting and worth looking forward to for those who have accepted Jesus as Lord and are actively cultivating that relationship!
If you have never studied this (by study I mean: prayerful dialog with the Holy Spirit as you read the Bible), it may be an area you want to search the scriptures for. I especially suggest reading through the gospels for what Jesus says, and through the Book of Revelation, which is God’s end time battle plan. :)
Here’s the gist of it (to be expanded on later, part by part):
Hell is real, but was created for Satan and the other fallen angels and demons. God does not want any of us to go there—in fact, He wants to make us heirs to His kingdom!—but, He’s also just, and so those who don’t want Him as their Lord, will not be able to inherit His promises. Also, Satan doesn’t rule in hell, he’s tormented there; hell won’t be a party for ‘bad’ people.
Heaven will not be about us, but will be centered around God, who is loving and worthy of all praise. The more we read the Bible and begin to understand who God is, the more attractive it is that we would have the privilege of eternally worshiping the Lord.
But there’s more: Jesus is coming back to earth to fulfill the prophecies as the Jewish Messiah. There is ‘heaven’ now with God the Father, but the ultimate goal is that Jesus would reign on the earth and bring heaven with Him (a perfect unity of the spiritual and physical). The heavens and earth will be made new, and there will be plenty of excitement for us, as the saints from history gather to rule with Jesus!
Hallelujah!
One of the best ways to grow spiritually is to stop indulging the flesh.
Paul writes:
And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men...for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men? For when one says, 'I am of Paul,' and another, 'I am of Apollos,' are you not mere men? (1 Corinthians 3:1-4)It sounds like the church in Corinth struggled primarily with envy, offense, and division (putting more emphasis on earthly leaders than Jesus Himself). But whatever our personal battles, when we get rid of the things of the flesh, we have more room in us for things of the Spirit. We also clear ourselves of the 'static' of the world, so that we can better focus on God and His voice.
So how do we get rid of the stubborn parts of our flesh?
Who wants to spend $15 on a devotional book when you can read the Bible in a fulfilling way for free! :)
Here’s a list of some of my favorite ways to get more out of the Word of God. And remember, it’s the Holy Spirit’s job to guide you into all truth (John 14:26 & John 16:13), so remember to pray for His help before you read!
The prayer I typically pray is: “Holy Spirit, help me to understand everything I read today and write the words of scripture on my heart. Give me wisdom, and help me to gain a better understanding of Jesus so I can be a faithful witness to Him.”
Focus on one book. Many Bible studies do this, but it’s even better to do it on your own. I recommend reading the book over and over and over again, paying attention to the big picture first (who is writing the book to whom and why? Can anything be gleaned about the historical context?), then the smaller details (what is the Holy Spirit speaking to you personally?). Since the books were written as individual units, it is essential we also read them that way.
Focus on one author or audience. Read and compare Paul’s letters, or all of John’s writings. Or focus on one church (say Ephesus), or one people group (say the Philistines) and follow that audience through the scriptures.
Make a comparison. Try comparing one book to another (say, Genesis to Revelation, or 1 Cor to 2 Cor). It can be especially interesting to see how the Old Testament mirrors the New. Or watch to see how different apostles reveal unique aspects of the same mysteries.
Ask for divine guidance. One of the easiest ways to practice hearing and identifying the voice of the Holy Spirit is to ask Him where in the Bible to read and then pause and listen for what He says. He will absolutely tell you something! Dig deep in prayer and wait for His voice! Often He’ll take you to surprisingly relevant and personal truths!
Look for Jesus. Every story in the Bible points to Jesus, and reveals something unique about the nature of God. Pick a chunk of scripture or a book and start praying that the Holy Spirit would allow you to know Jesus in a deeper way. You could even ask specifically, “Holy Spirit, show me how this passage reveals Jesus’ first (or second) coming,” or, “Holy Spirit, reveal a facet of the Father’s nature that I’ve never seen before.”
Take it slow. Read a very small portion (especially of something already somewhat familiar so you don’t accidentally take it out of context) and meditate on it throughout the day, or during a “quiet time” with the Lord.
Pray the scriptures. It can be really powerful to connect to God by agreeing and proclaiming what He’s already spoken in His word. You could do this by praying a Psalm, or one of the prayers of the saints already recorded in the Bible. Or you could turn something else into a prayer. For instance, take the words Jesus spoke and start dialoging with Him about them, and proclaiming and pledging your allegiance to Him and His wisdom.
Pick a historic time period. For example, strive to learn us much as you can about the church right after Jesus ascended into heaven, or the building of the first temple, or the time of the first Diaspora, and then search the scriptures for everything pertaining to that specific time (including those looking back, or prophesying forward, to the time period of interest). If you were looking to understand the time of the building of the second temple, for instance, you could read Ezra, Nehemiah and even parts of Daniel and Isaiah.
Other Ideas:
Last night and earlier today I was under intense spiritual attack. It began after I’d experienced great victory with the Lord, and it was so sudden and unexpected that I was feeling weak, depressed, lonely, physically sick, exhausted, …, all at once and couldn’t quite remember how to deal with it (even though I counsel my good friends on spiritual warfare on a regular basis).
I reached out to a few people for prayer, I considered that I should be praying for strength, or taking authority over the lies of the enemy, and yet I continued to engage negative thoughts and wallow.
Then a friend spoke to me and mentioned something like, “it’s okay, we all feel down sometimes”. I can’t explain what happened in my spirit, but it was like Truth rose up inside me and my spirit shouted, “No! It’s not true! It’s a spiritual battle! I’ve been up against this before and won!”
Too often we give our flesh credit for what is happening in the spiritual realm. But Ephesians 6:12 says “Our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” When we feel anger, or sadness, or fear, or hopelessness or any other negative thought it is a spiritual thing. There are deceptive spirits speaking lies to us. It doesn’t matter how believable those negative thoughts may seem—they are all lies!
But 2 Corinthians 10 encourages us that if we have chosen Jesus Christ as our Lord, then we have spiritual weapons available to us through the Holy Spirit: “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.”
Our job is to “take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor 10:5). When we hear ourselves thinking a thought that is in any way negative or outside the nature of our Lord, we choose to cast it aside. We recognize that it’s false, claim the truth, and let the truth sink into our spirits setting us free (Phil 4:8).
This is exactly what I chose to do this evening, and I’ll testify that there is nothing better than the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23), and complete freedom in the Lord. If you’re a Christian, this is absolutely available to you all the time, no matter the circumstance; but you do have to choose to resist the temptation and lies of the devil!
Some months ago, I found myself comparing myself to another Christian. I began to feel like my gifts weren’t as useful as hers, and coveted the skill set of my dear friend. Then the Holy Spirit immediately spoke to me, giving me this illustration:
The Lord is creating His body to be like a buffet table of choice desserts. There are cakes, and cookies, and pastries, and pies--desserts of every kind! And within each type is are many unique varieties; not one dessert is exactly the same though some are more similar to others while some are quite unique.Each recipe has its own unique ingredients—some are more basic, while others exotic. And each must be made in a particular order so that it can come out just perfectly. It would be a terrible mistake for one to get sugar prematurely, or too much flour, or to be baked as a bare pan…
You, beloved, cannot compare yourself to another because your recipe is entirely different. Only the Lord knows the recipe, and it’s Him who is preparing you. Have faith! Stop resisting and objecting to His perfect plan!
The Bible says that God is Love (1 John 4:8, 16). The Greek word for this particular kind of love is ‘agape’ meaning ‘unconditional love’—a love without cause. But we know the pure essence of this love can’t be found in earthly language (even Greek!) because it’s representing a spiritual entity, so the better place to find what this means is in the rest of the scriptures.
Song of Solomon 8:6 says that love is as strong as death, it’s jealousy as severe as Sheol, and its flashes are flashes of fire—the very flame of the Lord! Love is the flame of the Lord! This is a pretty intense Love!! We should be praying into this! It’s also interesting that love and jealously go together! (The Lord’s jealousy, by-the-way, is like ‘passion’ and ‘zeal’, rather than ‘envy’ or ‘covetousness’.)
The Lord, being Love, is jealous for our hearts!! He will never stop pursuing and refining us because He wants ALL of us!
In Hosea, the prophet Hosea is told by God to marry a prostitute. She keeps running away from him, and even bears another man’s child, but Hosea continues to chase her and bring her back. This is the same love that our Lord shows, and, in fact, Hosea’s story is a living demonstration of God’s love for the Jewish people who He chose and will never forsake.
But whether Jewish or not, God has this same burning desire for all people. God will do whatever it takes to get our attention (just as a suitor who is passionately wooing his beloved). Unfortunately this also means that if our attention is set on another (any fleshly love or secular pursuit), then He may have to get our attention in a way that’s uncomfortable to us—not because He doesn’t love us, but because He DOES!
Christians are often talking about “the body of Christ” and how ‘the church’ is to be and act as His body. I can’t recall that I’ve ever heard anyone ‘define’ this in a helpful way, which makes sense since different circles of ‘the church’ have an unspoken connotation of this lingo within their communities.
So, I’m going to do my best to articulate what “the body of Christ” means. I think this is actually very profound. :)
Jesus came to earth as a man. He was fully God, but fully man. And, being fully man, He had a “man” body rather than a “God” body (in fact, He still has a “man” body of sorts—though now a resurrected body).
Jesus was also fully walking in the Holy Spirit (read the gospels carefully to see this), which is how He could not and did not sin (1 John 3:6, 9). And Jesus had all the spiritual gifts, and all power, and all authority, and all wisdom through the Spirit… Most Christians, I think, know this about Jesus, but haven’t put much thought into it. The point, essentially, is that He is the fullness of “man”—the only one found worthy (Rev 5).
Okay, so anyone who calls themself a Christian is (or at least has the invitation to be) a member of ‘the church’, which is also called ‘the body of Christ’.
What this means is that, as a collective unit, we will embody Jesus.
In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul uses the metaphor of how each Christian represents a part (or member) of “Christ’s body”‘—this is a more literal description than I’d realized.
See, Jesus had all the spiritual gifts for Himself. We each have one, or a few, or a bunch—whatever the Lord has blessed us with (and given us responsibility over). Together, we will have all of the gifts to the full extent that Jesus Himself had them! That’s what it means that we are His body!
Jesus had all power and all authority, and He passed that mantle down to us (commanding us to walk as He walked!). But only together will we have the strength and power worthy to be the “bride” of the King!
Jesus had the ability to stay in the Spirit, whereas we have “on” and “off” moments as we fight out the spiritual battle before us. He never sinned because He walked in the Spirit, while we would be lying if we said we had that same fullness in the Spirit (1 John 1:8). But as “the body of Christ” we will learn to walk in righteousness, and the members of the body left when our Lord comes will have made themselves holy and unblemished as the collective bride (Rev 19:7).
We can’t accomplish the fullness of Christ individually. But if we AREN’T individually pursuing and cultivating a love for the Lord, godly character, wisdom, and the stirring of our spirits to walk worthy of our personal callings through our spiritual gifts, then the body of Christ will arise as His bride without us! We’ll find we aren’t one of the members of His body.
Let’s spend the time to learn from Him on our own, so we can fulfill our unified calling as “the body”!
I’ve been asked how I know the Bible is true, and before I returned to the Lord, I went through a whole lot of investigating (especially to pull together science and the Bible) before deciding I could believe it 100%. I would encourage anyone with this question to also do research and especially recommend Answers in Genesis as a great resource regarding the Creation/Evolution debate. But here’s what it really comes down to:
Jesus promised that His sheep will hear His voice (John 10) and would be able to discern true teaching from false teaching (John 7:14-18). I do hear His voice, and I have discerned that the protestant Bible is inspired by God (though I like some translations better than others, and a couple, I absolutely couldn’t recommend).
I have not, as a Spirit-filled Christian, read any of the Apocrypha (catholic and orthodox Bibles have additional books), so whether they are also inspired by God is outside of my jurisdiction.
In my time with the Lord yesterday it hit me that all three of these verses reveal a common pattern of spiritual growth:
This weekend I had the pleasure of attending via webstream the Israel Mandate Conference hosted by IHOP-KC.
It was an excellent experience to hear guest speakers Asher Intrater and Dan Juster from Israel, and I was deeply touched by their messages regarding the significance of Israel as a key to understanding end time prophecy.
How can we serve the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob if we continue to ignore the Jewish perspective as being the foundation of our Christian faith?
There is a clear dichotomy between what is of God (good) and what isn’t (evil)—there are no gray areas (which I’ll post about later).
BUT, unlike ‘natural world’ dichotomies, good cannot be defined by its absence of evil—it just IS (just as God Himself is, was, and will be!).
You see, God exists as the pure paradigm of good, regardless of whether evil does or doesn’t exist. And evil exists because, in being purely good, God allows for free will. From the point He began to create, both in the heavens (angels) and on the earth (humans), His creations had (and have) the freedom to become any kind of vessel.
I used to justify that Jesus is not the only way to heaven with the emotional plea that surely a god who is love would not judge everyone based on one ‘truth’ since it’s not culturally and readily available to everyone—that would be unjust after all, and the Bible says that God is a just god.
The truth is that Truth exists outside of what we feel or choose to believe. I’ll spend a lot of time in future posts breaking down the little bit that I know about who Jesus is and how I know. For now, let’s leave it at this: we have a very limited understanding of who God is and how He speaks, so let’s try not to limit what we think He can/will do.
2 Corinthians 5 says that everyone has a groaning in their hearts to be reunited with the Father in His heavenly dwelling place. We also have the promise that those who seek the Lord with their whole hearts will find Him (Jer 29:13, Prov 8:17).
The events that happen between the passing thought that something is missing, the wondering what or who is out there, and actually finding that there is a god and that He’s a specific God, is unique for each person—perhaps even drastically unique for some individuals (like the heathen). I’d like to share a very small portion of my own experience as an example:
Sometime after my third serious suicide attempt—and, by-the-way, I did know there was a God and that Jesus was God at this point; I’d even experienced personal miracles—I had a very unusual encounter with the Lord.There’s more to the story, and I didn’t actually return to the Lord directly after this experience, but I’ll leave the other angles and details for another time.You see, I had been walking in direct disobedience to what I knew was God’s will for me, and yet, was so charmed by the apparent benefits of the devil’s power (I had, somewhat knowingly, made an agreement with the devil) that I wasn’t totally convinced that Jesus was the One I wanted as Lord over my life.
Yet in a moment of intense emotional pain, I walked into my bedroom after an early-release day of high school when the whole neighborhood was quiet, and in my heart felt a groaning that something in my life was not and could not be fulfilled the way I was living it. I don’t remember if I went as far as to make an audible prayer at this moment, but my heart definitely cried inside me something like: where is the Lord!?
Then, I began to hear music—like an orchestra was marching right outside my window (not just a ‘band’ but a full orchestra!). It was the most beautiful music I’d ever heard, and music was so important to me.
I started looking out my windows for the source of this wonderful music, and it was overwhelming loud, but there was nothing to see. The street was completely empty; no cars in any driveway; nobody. And it sounded live, but I began checking to see if maybe a radio was on, only to find that, no, they were off.
So I listened.
I laid down on my bed and listened.
And as I did, a man’s voice, deep and gentle, flooded me. It was an audible voice, and I knew immediately it was the Lord’s.
He sang to me, accompanied by the music, and along with the song came pictures—it was like a panoramic video came before my eyes as small fragments of my life shown in high speed across my vision (likely my entire life, though I could only remember a handful of the images afterward). To the best of my knowledge, the voice of the Lord was singing to me the song of my life. It knew and made audible my every desire, my every anxiety, my every hurt—and I remember feeling as if my whole subconscious (which I had been longing to get to through hypnosis) was being audibly presented before me.
This lasted for several hours—I was surprised when I finally arose to see my clock. And of all the images He showed me, one stood out more than the others: a short glimpse of friends gathering and laughing at an outdoor wedding reception (I could only see the group from their waists down, ironically, but held onto the vision knowing it would occur at my wedding)—and, yes, the vision was fulfilled when I got married several years later.
So, back to that poor heathen who wants to know God but is too far physically and culturally from the Bible distribution centers and missionaries…
Why is it so hard to believe that if God can speak to each of us in any way He desires, He can’t also speak to this person?
So, why is it so hard to believe that if God can speak to each of us in any way He desires, He can’t also speak to other people?
He could choose to speak through a missionary, or a suddenly appearing Bible, or creation itself… Or He could speak through an angel, a dream, a vision, or even His audible voice.
Those thoughts about ‘what if somebody else won’t find the Lord’ is preventing YOU from finding Him. Have faith! He’s going to draw those “heathens” to Himself using their environment—just as He’s drawing you to Him using yours! Remember: the Lord’s people will come from every tribe, tongue, people group, and nation—and that means EVERY (Rev 5:9). There may not be a many in every nation who find Him, but He promises that each person has equal opportunity to search for and understand the truth, even if the circumstances are vastly different!
So, let’s talk about you… You may be pondering my story thinking: ‘My life sucks; I’ve tried to kill myself too; why wouldn’t He have spoken to me audibly?’ Or perhaps you just don’t feel like you hear Him and are wondering if maybe He didn’t “choose you” (He did: 2 Peter 3:9!).
Let me encourage you in this: if you are thinking about the Lord—even to wonder if He doesn’t exist—if you are asking yourself all the difficult questions about who He is, and why He did or didn’t do something, or whatever, then you ARE being pursued by the Lord. He is trying to talk to you! You may have so much traffic, so many voices, in your spirit that you’re confused about which voice is His, but KEEP LISTENING, keep seeking answers! You don’t need the audible voice of God, you just need an attentive ear!
Julie Meyer (of IHOP-KC) spoke recently on how the wilderness often becomes a door of hope and divine encounters:
Hosea 2:14-15 says, “Therefore, behold, I will allure her / Bring her into the wilderness / And speak kindly to her. (15) Then I will give her her vineyards from there, / And the valley of Achor as a door of hope. / And she will sing there as in the days of her youth, / As in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.”
Another example of this is when Moses was in the wilderness and then in doing his daily routine the Lord appeared to him in the burning bush—when he turned and looked, God opened the door to him…
She exhorted the church to therefore be clothed with humility (1 Peter 5:5-6), meaning to cheerfully submit to God’s plan even when He gives your dream to another—humility, she said, is the willingness to be ignored by men and serve the lowest of the positions for Jesus’ sake. We have to find great Joy where He has us—even when it’s the back row. When we truly humble ourselves, God brings opportunities we couldn’t imagine: 2 Chron 7:13-14, Prov 8:34-35.
I’ve heard and read John Bevere speak with a similar heart about how God transforms us from the wilderness to power in the Holy Spirit. He’s said, roughly, that the Lord is raising people up in the wilderness—training them in a powerful way through obstacles that others aren’t having to go through so that He can give them the Elijah anointing (which was also given as a partial fulfillment to John the Baptist). The wilderness is like a special boot-camp to strengthen us in the Lord. Then, we will proclaim the Truth (there will be a stress on repentance) without the fear of man because we have such a strong fear of God. The fear of God is the beginning of all wisdom.
John the Baptist was trained for ministry in the wilderness, then, “Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him” (Mat 3:5). We don’t have to worry about the details of our ministry if the Lord is behind us because “a man’s gift makes room for him…” (Prov 18:16).
The key is consecration to the Lord—it’s a spiritual wilderness (though sometimes with physical realities).
We are led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit, but come out of the wilderness in the Power of the Holy Spirit. Think Jesus as He’s tempted in the desert… or Joseph… or Abraham… or Moses… or John the Baptist… and so on… most every powerful leader is trained in the desert before facing the giants—and supernaturally releasing the power and glory of the Lord.
When I asked the Lord why it would take a wilderness experience to find that door of hope and that power of the Holy Spirit, He immediately brought to my mind the following answers:
Have you ever noticed that Jesus’ exhortation about anxiety comes directly after His warning that “no one can serve two masters”?
No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.It recently hit me on the heart level that Lord and master are synonymous. This means that if I genuinely give Jesus Lordship over my life, there will be no reason for me to have anxiety (even a little bit) over anything. Not only that, but we have His word that He is and will be a GREAT master! He understands that as a master, He has full responsibility over His servants. And when we seek Him (give Him Lordship) above all else, He promises to provide everything we truly need. But if we choose that we will be our own masters—or that a spirit of anxiety, wealth, or any other thing would be lord over us—then we put ourselves out of His protective covering and give that other master responsibility over us.For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?…
For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
But seek first the kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Mat 6:24-25, 32-34)
This is a short segment of an email I wrote today responding to a discussion based on an article about hearing from the Lord (the author of the article argues that dreams and visions have no place among today’s Christians and therefore, come from a demonic or natural source when experienced):
In the Old Testament, God’s relationship with the people was corporate—if the husband of the family was saved, the rest of the family would also be saved and so on. It was because of the people’s sin that they could not interact personally with the Father, and, in fact, the Glory of the Lord acts so powerfully against sin that they could not safely approach the places where the Lord would choose to rest His presence (the Mountain, the Holy of Holies, etc).The Holy Spirit was not fully available, so God would pick only one or a couple of the most righteous people to send the Holy Spirit to, that they would be able to speak to His people. Notice that in Numbers 11, Moses wanted the burden of prophet/judge to be split among other men because it was so much for him to bear, so God led him to appoint seven elders to share leadership. And God does something surprising: He says, “I will take of the Spirit that is upon you, and will put Him upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you will not bear it alone.” The Holy Spirit wasn’t fully available yet—and couldn’t be under the Mosaic Covenant—so God the Father split the portion He gave to Moses so that they each had a piece of the responsibility (for that instance; after they had prophesied once, they never did again: Num 11:25).
Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection was the sealing factor in a new covenant—the Messianic Covenant—and as a result, He promised that the Holy Spirit would now be available to every believer. Not only that, but because God could now communicate with each individual person, people would be judged individually for their sins. We’re now entirely responsible for our own relationship to the Lord; and Jesus promises that His sheep will hear His voice (John 10) and that the Holy Spirit would be with us to lead us into all Truth (John 14 and John 16), but we do have to diligently ask to receive the Holy Spirit (Luke 11:13)—not just one time, but consistently so that we can truly walk in the Spirit. The power of the Holy Spirit became fully available at Pentecost, but we can only receive as much as we can handle and as much as we want, and since we are continuously sanctified and growing in faith, we need to continue to ask for Him so that the world doesn’t seep into us instead.
Also, God does speak to us through the Bible, and we should always compare everything to it. However, it’s important to realize that when Hebrews 1:2 says God speaks to us through His SON, it means exactly that—Jesus is Living and He speaks. He speaks to us through the scriptures (which are the inspired Word of God through the Holy Spirit), but He also speaks to us through prayer, dreams, visions, the gift of tongues with interpretation, and even through other people as they are led by the Holy Spirit. I agree that we should test every spirit to see if it is of God—the devil is speaking too, and since he doesn’t have the power to create as God does, he uses the gifts that God has already set up for his purposes. Many people think they’re hearing from Jesus through dreams, visions, pastors, prayer, tongues and a variety of other sources when they’re really hearing from deceptive spirits or false prophets! That’s why it’s so important to stay in the Bible (John 8:31-32) and to spend lots of time practicing hearing the Lord’s voice. We can’t assume that all of the God-given gifts are bad, but we do have to be very aware so that we can discern whether the voice being heard is from God or the devil.
Jeremiah is probably my favorite prophet. As I was reading his words, I got caught on this verse: Jeremiah 24:7 says, “I will give them a heart to know Me, for I am the Lord; and they will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with their whole heart” (emphasis mine).
The most important word here is that second ‘for’; it means ‘because’. The Lord promises that IF the people return to Him with their whole hearts, then He will GIVE them a heart to know Him. This is huge. Only the Lord can give us the perfect Love to love Him with, and yet loving Him is the first commandment (Deut 6:4-5; Mark 12:28-29)! We must absolutely return to the Lord with all our hearts!
Soon I will be posting a “real” entry… The Lord’s been downloading so much into me that I hope this blog will be an encouragement to others seeking the precious wisdom that only the Word of God can offer. I expect to use this mostly to dissect scripture and may throw in a few stories about how the Lord radically heals, saves, and transforms His people as we seek Him.