On My Heart

So it’s been a time, times, and half a time since my lost blog. Over three years ago my wife and I move from the state I was raised in and the city I lived in for over ten years to Philadelphia. It was filled with excitement and unknowns and a hope for spiritual renewal of sorts…

I’m still looking for said renewal. I was met with an arid spiritual climate. Let me first preface that I believe I am the number one person responsible, if you want to use that term, for my spiritual walk and well-being. That being said I had this notion that God was going to help me get plugged into a fellowship, church, or whatever and it hasn’t happened yet. I’m a Teacher redemptive gift and moved to a Teacher state and a Teacher city. I’ve visited several churches and been a part of two so far. It seems to me that there are either historic, denominational churches (think Catholic, Lutheran, Episcopal) or new “wanna-be” megachurches. I’m not a denominational church guy so those weren’t really an option per se. If God really spoke to me about going I would but it wouldn’t be a choice I would make on my own.

So the first church was a Elevationesque church. Hipsterish. Think Metreosexual if that term is even used today. There were great people there, honest and genuine. But it was young…like very young. Which is fine but being the seemingly the oldest person there felt weird. I don’t wear skinny jeans and don’t have a hard part haircut. I also don’t find value in a lot of what some Millennials hold value in. I’m what can be called an Xennial. I grew up playing outside and occasionally playing Nintendo. I had a computer when I was in middle school but dial up wasn’t worth the wait. I played outside. I didn’t have a phone until I was 16ish. Landlines where the communication of necessity. I didn’t even start driving until 19. I didn’t have Google. I had Jeeves which one would “Ask”. I also had a full Encyclopedia Britannica. (I don’t want to come off as hateful or a virtue signaler but just speaking from the heart and head.)

I like to believe I’m much more relational as well. In reading Brain Rules for Babies (yes my wife is expecting and read this) there was a story where a child was having a slumber party and a bunch of friends came over. Long story short they all mostly had their phones out and were locked into the internet instead of each other. I’m not one for gadgets (even though I fixed computer issues for a living) so the next latest and greatest iPhone isn’t in my radar.  5G can kiss my… Back to the subject in hand, I didn’t feel I fit in. The pastor was younger than me which was also different. He had some good messages but I needed more. That and the worship was the loudest, concert like worship I’ve ever seen. I could hear myself talk. I was on the prayer team and I had to pray for people and attempt to pray loud enough for them to hear me. I stopped because it didn’t seem genuine and only a side note in service (to me prayer lines are very important). There were literally visitors hiding in the bathroom during worship because it was so ungodly loud. Another church we visited actually had ear plugs provided which makes me think…umm maybe the music is too freaking loud.

The other fellowship, of which I’m still a part of, is much different. It’s small and very home fellowship focused. I’m an introvert so much more my jam. The pastor is older than me and also a hipster. I would say they are “progressive”. Not a term I care for in today’s political landscape. Don’t really hear much about holiness and morality unless it’s directed at people who voted for Trump. Sin isn’t talked about much, which can be good because we are dead to it, but Truth sets us free and doesn’t let us hold onto things we shouldn’t. I would venture to say if they knew my political beliefs I might be disbarred. But I suppose that goes for both sides. God’s kingdom is above and supersedes any political party or stance. I like how a pastor once said, “I can’t wait until we all are in heaven and Jesus sets us both straight.” Now I’m thinking I probably shouldn’t post this…we’ll see.

So I’ve been involved with a total of six churches in the past 15 years. All non-denominational, charismatic. Most are matured, established churches. The two last ones are not. If I may, I’m going to talk a little bit about the differences I’ve seen with established churches and church plants. Now these are differences I’ve seen so they are specific to my experience so they aren’t necessarily meant to be general statements.

New Church Plants

They tend to be very specific and tunnel visioned. Which is not bad in their own right but for one must be able to follow, because that’s what they want is followers, what they are doing. Again this isn’t a bad thing. The caveat is that God may be calling you to something specific that either they don’t believe, have room for, or don’t care about. For me it’s prayer ministry which includes inner healing and deliverance. These churches usually want a lot of volunteers, because which laborers are worthy of their wagers except pastors (I know it may seem controversial but there are tons of churchgoers who get burnt out from volunteering with no seeming wages, and yes I know our rewards are in heaven I get it). They want others to come alongside to help them. In my experience they may seem to want to help you get to where you feel God wants you but it seldom gets put into action. This first church plant gave off a huge vibe to accept and welcome new members but after say six months it’s like you’ve fallen off the face of the earth and God forbid you don’t want to volunteer anymore or take a break. The one church had their campus pastor get together with me over coffee. I thought it was to hang out but no, it was to get me back into a group. One girl used to hang out at the pastor’s house all the time then all of a sudden the pastor became unreachable except by appointment through his secretary who live five states away.

That combined with extremely loud music, which was always joked about but never addressed, we ended up parting ways and joined a closer church plant. Another church that has their special flavor and want others to join and promote. Again, nothing wrong with that. It comes with church plants especially plants that aren’t from a more mature parent church. This current fellowship has a lot of keywords that float around. And the pastor likes the word “Coaching”. Likes it’s a sport or something. They are very anti-religious but at the same time have their own Christianese.  A preacher name Kent Maddox once said, “You can make a religion out of being non-religious.”

…it’s now been three years since I saved this post in my drafts. Man how things have change these past three years. Apart from the pandemic and such my faith has surely been, I guess, challenged. After leaving the “mega” church wanna be we got involved with a very small somewhat of a house church in South Philly. The pastor was cool, at first. He grew up in California so lets just say I found out his version of Christianity was very liberal for lack of a better term. His heart was definitely in the right place with being involved in the local community and had what was called Dinner Church or Brunch Church. Every meeting there was a meal provided and then a short message and discussion. It was nice in the beginning. Then when my wife was pregnant we couldn’t go to their meetings as much and then after my kid was born we didn’t really go that much either. Some bitterness ensued with that Pastor and he felt that we didn’t hold out end of the relationship so he cut ties with us…even though he was the Pastor and we were just part of his small congregation. So we haven’t been to church in three years…

I feel as one in the desert, rather parched and if I were to have a label on my head it would declare, “I believe, Lord help my unbelief.” I really need to get “plugged in” with another community but I fear that it’ll be another masquerade ball. I literally just looked up the purpose of a masquerade ball and it is as follows: “They are used for entertainment purposes, as well as for celebrating rituals, rites of passage, and speaking to the dead…” How apt. I don’t like any of those. I don’t have much of a conclusion from my rambles.

I believe, Lord help my unbelief.

Attention Men: Lions Get Wounded Too

“In a sort of ghastly simplicity we remove the organ and demand the function. We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honour and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate and bid the geldings be fruitful.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Abolition of Man

Lions Get Wounded Too

Today’s climate towards men is interesting to say the least. There are screams of “The Patriarchy” to “Toxic Masculinity” to “The New Beta Males”. As if things were that simple. Taglines, headlines, news snippets are a plenty. Also we hear, “Believe Women” and the “Me too” movement gaining ground but that’s a different blog for a different person to write.

Lions do get wounded but how many address it. There is a huge stigma with men and owning up to their issues regardless of self or other inflicted. I think there is a healthy medium to be at. Too far has the pendulum swung. It really has been a slow fade. In the 90’s sitcom and even today’s the man has, generally speaking, come across as a buffoon. Dads are mocked. Fathers are non existent. Men are pointed out as chauvinist or super alpha. Hardly the case in real life but in today’s social media and headline world there seems to be no middle ground.

So…I began this blog post almost 4 years ago…my have things changed. I’m now considered racist, privileged, and nationalistic purely because I’m a man and I’m white. A always thought one was judged based on the content of their character and not the color of their skin but I guess not. What is Operation Mockingbird up to these days? The word “Man” is now under attack as well. This isn’t even a political post, this is a realistic, real life post. The media, in my opinion, are to blame along with “higher” learning. I hope there is a revival amongst the geldings to regain their God given manhood and begin offering their strength once again. There is definitely “toxic” masculinity out there just as there is “toxic” femininity…don’t shout me down when I’m preaching good. It is true that men has ravaged the world but equally true that good men have counteracted and fixed or prevented the ravaging millions to their own death.

So men, buck the media’s false version of you! Rid yourself of the geldingness! Regain your manhood! Stand up straight with chins high, so high as to gaze upon the One who made you a man for a reason! Walk humbly yet confident! Be proud of whatever color of skin you have for that is how God made and intended you to be!

Regret – Poem/Lyrics/Whatever

Things to regret

Regretful of the things

Regret is a cloud

That hovers over dreams

It clips all my wings

I try to regrow them but it stings

But my tears help the fallow

Providing seedlings for the morrow

I wish to edit harrow

But God watches over swallows

He’s the Lamb that was slain

Before the earth became

King on a hill

Blood and Water that was spilled

My life written by His quill

My name’s listed on the will

 

 

 

(k)no(w) where to sit

I never knew where to sit. Every lunch period of every day of every year at school. I was liked by others, I think, or maybe more so tolerated. I’ll never know fully I suppose. All I remember is peering into the large cafeteria in the middle of the entrance with its heavy doors and push bars wondering and posing the internal question…”where do I sit?”

I was never hated in school, that I know of, but it doesn’t seem like I was much liked either. No enemy but no real friends. Maybe others felt ambivalence towards me. The one friend I did know in school never had the same lunch period as me but I knew his other friends wouldn’t have me at their table. So I either sat at the “nerd” table or the table my other friend from Lebanon sat at. Moe was his name. He was the only one who knew me there. I mean it was fine sitting there eating my paper bag lunch next to those who paid using a paper ticket while across the divide there was those eating the delectable round personal pizzas and sub-par cheesesteaks with french fries dipped in the ever so orange-colored ketchup & mayo combo.

It was awkward now knowing where to sit. Not sure if I “felt” rejected though now I know I was. You see, outright rejection is bad but there’s a certain sting when rejected not outrightly but knowing no one cared about you. Cared enough to offer the vacant stool or bench space next to them. I mean it’s school. Ignorant, self-absorption laced with a snub. Should I have expected better? Meh.

But it carried into every day life. Even before public school, when I was homeschooled, there was a girl who I played soccer with in the local community league. We also went to the same soccer camp during the summer…we even carpooled together. Then it was 8th grade and I was put in public school and she went to the same school and guess what…I was met with ambivalence. Not outright rejection but the subtle nagging rejection that creeps up to you when you were looking the other way. I’m pretty sure I remember that hurting.

Even today in adulthood where you’d think things would be different. But it’s not. Now I must confess I’m very introverted so I usually don’t go out of my way either to offer others friendship or simply the emptiness besides me. Maybe the emptiness beside me was from the emptiness inside me? I recall oftentimes where maybe a church gathering occurred or there were open seating for a group discussion or a potluck meal and I would usually sit at an empty circle. Secretly waiting inside me to see if anyone wanted to sit with me and sometime people did but usually they stuck with who they knew and sat with them. I remember the one time I did similar and the pastor of the church saw how no one sat at my table and mentioned it to me. He wasn’t too happy about how it went down.

But one day at a men’s retreat something happened…and is still happening. During a quiet time I saw myself in my mind’s eye in the entry way of my high school cafeteria carrying the baggage which was my question, “Who can I sit with?” With those heavy doors propped open and a full cafeteria I saw a wave. The kind of wave you make when you are picking someone out of the crowd to let them know where you are. The kind of wave that beckons. The kind of wave that shouts, “Hey I’m over here!” meaning I want you here too. That’s the kind of wave I saw. So I saw it and walked over, passing the ambivalence. Passing the lack of turned head. Passed the lack of friendship. Passed the rejection. Passed the lack of everything everyone in school wanted. And into a place prepared for me. An empty space. An empty space not vacant for anyone but reserved for a someone. A place at the head of the table. A place of honor. A place where everyone who is there knows you. And who waved me over? None other than Jesus. And what He told me, broke me.

He said, “You’ll always have a place at my table.”

 

Copyright by Jordan Gresczyk 5/7/2018

this is where i’m at…but i digress

Greetings,

It’s been awhile. Five months. Joyful times and trying times. Aimless yet hopeful. Aiming yet unsure of a target.

I know I’m not alone. I don’t know which was worse. When I was in my early 20’s I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I was solely present-minded but not in a good way. No prospects, aspirations, or dreams. Now in my mid 30’s I feel like I know what I want to do yet it’s either too lofty or grasping for the wind. I moved to a big city (Philadelphia) thinking I would find something of substance but, as of yet, nothing. Don’t get me wrong I’m enjoying many aspects of Philadelphia like the food, activities, sights, street fairs, brews, etc. But I haven’t really found my place. I didn’t find my place where I previously lived either but that was due to other factors like family drama and passive aggressive family member going behind my back to break my then girlfriend now wife apart. I needed out of there. Now we are thinking of moving elsewhere in a few years. I’d like to live in a city where I don’t have to fear school aged children while walking across them on the street since they like to randomly attack people but I digress.

I also have an issue with shame, lack of self-confidence, latent anger, jealousy, etc. I can’t even count how many times I’ve threatened to delete my blog since apparently no one cares when I share them on Social Media. I did delete my blog’s FB page due to lack of any traffic. I desperately want to fit in and be not only accepted but approved and honored and celebrated, which some may say is unhealthy. But I don’t think it’s necessarily unhealthy. We are all individuals seeking to make our own stamp on the world but within a community of mutual respect and honor. I have yet found said community. The current fellowship I go to was amounting to a great church with people who looked after others and attempted community but found out, though I probably am judging with incomplete knowledge, there is community but the usual clique type community. Popular, hipster, millennial types. Church is less about being a community but more about serving the community. Church is life to some but that just isn’t my flavor. I love openness and togetherness. Diversity in community where every single person has a voice and something to offer, not as a commodity, but as an integral stone is the church God Himself is building that is outside four walls or a fog machine. I’m just being honest and may offend some but I feel it needs to be said. I mean why would believers need to schedule time to just chill only if nothing is happening at Church? Can we just hang out without it being scheduled in the Church’s bulletin or FB event? But I digress.

Back to shame and such. I know that everyone won’t honor everyone and everyone isn’t the QB/Pastor who gets all the attention and gifts and support. There are a lot of us on the line who protect, serve, and support those who say they care but hard to see it in action. On the flip side even public honor of another can be done as an honor to one’s self. I recently wanted a clip of a church who ordered pizza and made the delivery person come on stage and give a $100 tip. I mean, hey, I’d take a $100 tip but it seems—though I can’t judge their heart—that when you have to do it on stage with a radio voice and give it $10 a time to emphasize how great it is just seams…inauthentic.

It’s not wonder that Arthur Burk has teaching about Life After Church because so many people are leaving the institutional church for real community. Where everyone has a voice and not just the QB who wins the MVP. What if all the corner churches and mega churches stopped having Sunday morning services where we hear one sermon rehashed from last year and heard what the whole body has to say. What if what Joe has to say will set Paul free but will never hear because the “Man Of God” is the only one anointed? What if rest were actually practiced in fellowship? What is noise did not equal worship? What if sunday’s sermon did not equal intimacy with God? What if we, as a body of believers, actually starting growing up and fending for ourselves? What if we left the milk behind and ventured towards the carving block for a good slice of prime rib? But I digress.

Back to shame and such again. I want to be a celebrated individual within non commoditized community. What if honor is based and not placed. What if we honored people based upon God’s innate nature within them and not a false honor placed on someone due to their gifts or what we can get from them? We each have intrinsic value which reflects the nature of God. I sick of this more of God less of me bullshit. That was specifically regarding John the Baptist’s ministry. It must be more of God and more of me because I am an heir of God and co-heir with Christ. We are laden with guilt in the form of false humility. We have a glory people! Jesus has given us the glory to God gave to him and until we see ourselves and other that way the shame that I struggle with will continue to be a struggle. We…I…continue to resurrect the dead old man and live the law that we can’t fulfill. But I digress.

So what do I want for myself and family? Above all else to be where God wants us. To find our place as living stones in the river of God on this earth. I feel called to prayer ministry and teaching and writing(all of which will probably never pay the bills). I also would absolutely love to create a retreat for those who are living the above. Where they can come where there are no schedule or calendars. No pressure or stress to server or entertain others. A place of community where solitude and engagement with others are equally celebrated and supported. For the leader or the layperson, the pastor or the usher. The person who sits in the back pew or red cushioned chair with the plastic caps on the end of the chair backs. Where the communion table is not a preserved “grape” juice and paper wafer but a table of conversations and real food. A place where there are no positions, offices, denominations, or titles. A place where a suit and tie doesn’t make you more spiritual and a shirt and cargo shorts doesn’t make you “less religious”. Pretense and pretentious free. Where numbers don’t matter and intimacy isn’t on a scale to be judged by others. But I digress.

It’s hard to be in a holding pattern. Not knowing where you are or where to go can be quite frustrating. I can only do what I know to do until I know to do differently. I’ll work my IT job for as long as I need to. It’s not my passion but I’m doing it. I wish I could be one of those who never have to work a day of their life’s meaning their vocation is their passion and they are good at it. I want to also have a nice sized family and be able to provide for my wife all she needs and wants. I above all else want us to be and to do it together as a team. But so far I feel a failure at most of it right now. I’m overweight, not making monetarily what I need to have a family, don’t have a suitable house for a family, live in a city where it’s hard to raise a family, and hard to find encouragement to get to where I need to be. Like most men it’s hard to need somebody else. But that’s what I need. I wish I could find someone who can be a mentor in my life. Someone has the time and mutual bond to do so. I just really need encouragement. But I digress.

Thanks to those who’ve read till here. This post has really been a mixture of emotions, thoughts, ramblings, and heartaches. Deep down I am hopeful and optimistic. At the same time I’m fearful how others will react to this post but here goes nothing…but I digress.

 

Copyright March by: Jordan Gresczyk

Let the Church say “Amen”

What’s in a word?

Amen.

Amen is literally a universal word:

The word “amen” is a most remarkable word. It was transliterated directly from the Hebrew into the Greek of the New Testament, then into Latin and into English and many other languages, so that it is practically a universal word. It has been called the best-known word in human speech. The word is directly related–in fact, almost identical–to the Hebrew word for “believe” (aman), or “faithful.” Thus, it came to mean “sure” or truly,” an expression of absolute trust and confidence. When one believes God, he indicates his faith by an “amen.” When God makes a promise, the believer’s response is “amen”–”so it will be!” In the New Testament, it is often translated “verily” or “truly.” When we pray according to His Word and His will, we know God will answer, so we close with an “amen,” and so also do we conclude a great hymn or anthem of praise and faith.

The word is even a title of Christ Himself. The last of His letters to the seven churches begins with a remarkable salutation by the glorified Lord: “These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God” (Revelation 3:14).

We can be preeminently certain that His Word is always faithful and true, because He is none other than the Creator of all things, and thus He is our eternal “Amen.” As our text reminds us, every promise of God in Christ is “yea and amen,” as strong an affirmation of truth as can be expressed in the Greek language.

It is, therefore, profoundly meaningful that the entire Bible closes with an “amen.” “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen” (Revelation 22:21), assuring everyone who reads these words that the whole Book is absolutely true and trustworthy. Amen! – HMM

Thayers Greek Lexicon says this about the word:

It was a custom, which passed over from the synagogues into the Christian assemblies, that when he who had read or discoursed had offered up a solemn prayer to God, the others in attendance responded Amen, and thus made the substance of what was uttered their own

The most common meaning to Amen is: so be it. This is defined as “Let it be so” or “I accept it as it is”. For example, If you can’t change the reservation, so be it; I’ll travel on Monday. This phrase, often given as a translation of the Hebrew (and Greek and Latin) amen, has been employed in the current sense since about 1600.

I think the word is overused. Way overused and I’ll explain why.

Let the Church stop overusing the word “Amen”

Have you ever felt like a word gets overused so much so it loses it’s meaning? Words have a way of changing meaning based upon the intention of the person speaking it. It’s not that the word has actually changed but that the word loses it’s intensity. Kind of like listening to the same song over and over again…it’s loses it’s original effect. My previous post is in the similar vein to this. We says things without knowing what we are saying.

How many times have you been in Church and hear people say “Amen” after every sentence? Or people are preaching about the horrible things happening in the world and then hear people say “Amen”? Do we know what the word means? Are we saying “so be it” when things are being preached that are not biblical or when wrongs are spoken of? Are we saying “Amen” when the devil is having a hay day with someone? Are we standing in agreement with negativity unawares? Amen is a word of agreement more so than just a reply to a statement given.

Agreements are a powerful thing. We make them and break them all the time. What are you saying Amen to today?

Amen is meant to establish God’s kingdom on Earth with His Truth.

 

 

Guest Blogger: Robert Shipley

Welcome to my first ever Guest Blogger. He is my best friend and a great writer. We’ve written one book together and he has written others one of which is in the publishing process. Below you’ll see a blurb about said book. Enjoy the post and, if you feel led, donate to his GoFundMe as I know it’s good soil.

 

In this world we struggle trying to keep up with many financial obligations. It seems like we work endless hours and overtime to barely make a dent into the bills that our due.
Is this all that life is? Are we born, live and die only to work? Or is life so much more?

It has always been thought that the husband and wife were the main providers for their families. Is this true, or could it be the couples are in error? You may ask, “Well, if not us, then who?”

In my book, Who is your Provider?? I touch on this topic and many more. In it, I speak of God being the source of everything we need. This is a challenge to not only many in the church, but in this world because man being the source has always been. However, a transition needs to be made to where man looks to God for everything he needs.
Ever since my faith walk started in 2008, I had been put in the place to where God has been my source. He more or less tied my hands to where I couldn’t do anything but rely on Him. Through this time, amazingly He provided for all of my needs. All the contents in the book is everything I had learned through this time of trusting on God.
I had finished writing it in 2010 and now it is the 7^th year. I had been waiting in faith for the Publisher God had told me about. Recently I sent my manuscript to a literary agent from Christian Faith Publishing. After the review board read it, I was informed that they loved it.
As of now, I’m walking in faith for the amount close to $5000 to get it through the publishing process. Once the amount is paid, six months down the road the book will be on the stands for people to read.
I have set up a Gofundme page so people can not only see the progress of the book, but if God leads them to give towards it. On the page, I have placed a promotional video about the book and an unedited excerpt from one of the chapters in it.
I hope you will like it and I look forward to your reading it once it comes out.
If you would like to see the Gofundme page, here is the link to it:

https://www.gofundme.com/whoisyourprovider

https://backtotherootsministries.wordpress.com/

What do you call Him?

I’ve been in Church since I was born. I’ve been in Charismatic circles mostly, with a short stint in a Methodist Church, and I always have observed how people pray (I know it’s not right but I’m being honest). It’s always interesting listening to how people pray. You have the repetitious prayer that start and end every sentence with “O Lord God”. As if they need to keep God’s attention while praying so they constantly address Him in case He looks away or something. You have the one whose face contorts to a “something smells bad” face. Then you have the gasper. The one who, seemingly, has breathing issues. The gasp after every sentence. You have the short-winded, “Thank you, Jesus” or the long-winded “During Lord excellence Jesus on the Throne, God Almighty, El Shaddia, Eloyhim…etc etc” On the other side you have the one whose tone becomes but a whisper and sounds on the verge of tears the whole time. One of the most common, which I like the least, is the prayer preacher. You know who I’m talking about. The one who takes advantage of the silence in order to praypreach where they tell God a sermon in their prayer, but you know that person is really speaking to those listening. I can’t help but the mention the King James prayer. They pray in thees and thous as if God only understands or speaks Elizabethan. At last but not least is the conversationalist. The person who is himself when praying. There is no lower or higher persona they go to in order to talk to God.

I’m attempting to be humorous while describing because you know these people and you may be one of them. And hey, there’s no shame in your game! That’s who you are and don’t be ashamed. These ways of praying are not wrong per se but I want to submit a challenge to you later on so please keep reading. However, I do find it important not so much how you call Him but what you call Him. Let me explain.

What do you call Him?

God has many names. Depending on who you talk to you it ranges from zero to 8 to 100. If you’ve read “A Name is to be Desired” you’ll know the impact names have and how they direct or influence the person. Name carried weight and the speak about the relationship you have with the person the name is attached to. Have you ever heard someone call their Dad by their Dad’s first name? Weird right? Well I think so. I’m sure it could very well be a cultural thing or respectful thing but, in general, it strikes me as odd. Usually its the step-dad that gets called by their first name. To me, it’s about relationship.

Let me describe a fictitious and very generalized person to you:

Joe was an Army brat. Always moving and never planted. No roots. His Dad, due to his military training and culture, wanted to be addressed as “Sir” and only “Sir”. No “Dad” or “Daddy” just “Sir”. Joe grew up with a Dad who was more authority figure than father. All through Joe’s life he respected his father but didn’t really know him (his dad was always away or working a lot). His dad with the boss. A strict boss. Now Joe gets saved. He goes to Church, sings songs, and pray for his meals. Yet he never connects fully with God. He addresses God has “Almighty God” or “Master”. But the conversation is always one-sided. Either “God” tells him what to do all the time or he speaks to God in vague or cold words. He didn’t know a father growing up, just a sir. Now only knows God in the same way.

You may be “Joe” or know a “Joe”. He’s not at fault. You’re not at fault. Who we are today and how we relate to God today are directly influenced by our childhood and the relationships we had when we were kids. A product of our environment if you will. Lets look at another profile.

Jenn was a great student. She walked early, spoke before all the other girls her age, and performed high in all aspects. Her parents saw that and took advantage (in a good way) of her developmental stages to have her learn as much as possible. Her parents had a list for her to accomplish. However when older that same list became a burden. She felt like a project. How many things could her parents accomplish through her for their benefit. She grew away from her parents and left the house when she was 18. She went to college and never visited home. She studied hard even though she knew it drained her and, though never talking to her parents, was secretly still trying to please them. Then God found her. Though He lovingly wanted to speak to her just for the sake of know her she only felt a burden to please Him. Addiction could very well be a good word to describe her relationship to Him. She really could never address God personally but only as “God”. The most generic, emotionless side of the word.

Again this is a very general profile of someone but could very well be you or someone you know. If it is you then take heart. It wasn’t meant to dig into any wound but to show you a better, more lifefull instead of lifeless way to engage with your Heavenly Father.

What do you call Him?

And there’s the word. Heavenly Father. Father. Dad. Abba. Daddy. Did you know you can call Him “Daddy”?

We have many relationships with God. He is God Almighty the Creator of Heaven and Earth. He is El Shaddia. He is also Abba. He is Master. The list goes on. So I have a challenge for you.

How we address God in prayer determines our posture before Him. If we only call Him “God Almighty” then our focus will always be on His bigness and not His closeness. If in prayer we only address Him as “O God” after every sentence then maybe we come to Him with a helpless plea instead of a confident expectancy of His goodness. When you pray, are you praying to a God out of reach or a God that lives inside you? Is God only a harsh taskmaster with a to-do list for you or is it a conversation with an intimate friend or older brother (that’s who Jesus is to and for you).

If you’ve had an over bearing father growing up and only address God as “God” then try calling Him “Father” instead. How we address and relate to the Trinity can speak volumes of our relationship with Him. If we had a poor or nonexistent relationship with our earthly father then God as Father is a hard thing. If we had no siblings or poor relationship with siblings then we may find it hard to relate to Jesus since He is our older brother. If we didn’t have a mom or our mom was harsh and not intimate then we may have issues relating to the Holy Spirit. What I just described is what some call the “Father Ladder” where we look at our past and present and how we relate to God and where to find possible blockages to relating with Him.

Challenge

So here is the challenge. Try to address God differently. If all you know is to call God “God” or “Jesus Lord God” as some, then start to address Him as Father, Dad, and/or Daddy. Address Him by the opposite character of the bad root you experience as a child or with religion. If Jesus is hard to relate to then address God as Jesus. If the Holy Spirit is hard to relate to then address Him as Holy Spirit. If you had the worst dad imaginable then call God “Father”. It may be extremely difficult at first but just try it.

In my own life I almost always say Father or Heavenly Father. It gives me proper perspective and brings a closeness to God that doesn’t come with genericness. Also I try my best not to continually use His name. When I pray to Him, His ears are always attentive and I don’t need to continually gain back his attention with calling out His name constantly. Prayer should not be religious. I mean look how Jesus prayed. In John 11:41-2 He says, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.”” Have. Have heard me. Hey even Jesus did some prayerpreaching! I told you it’s not necessarily wrong!

 

What to Do when you don’t know what to Do

This may sound strange coming from a man but…I love reality shows. Well not all reality shows but certain ones hold some value. Not those silly Survivor, Jersey Shore, and other weird ones. My two favorites are The Voice and So You Think You Can Dance. I tear up when I experience seeing someone who is somewhat hidden now blossoming into their gift. I absolutely love honor, dignity, and being noticed. This article could go very religious in that I could talk about vanity, God’s glory versus man’s, and the other arguments against, well whatever religious people hate about random things but I’m want to come from a different vantage point.

Like I said above, seeing someone be recognized for their gift and honor moves my spirit and soul to a deep place within me. However, if you’re like me, than you’ve tried many things to find “what you’re good at” and have  yet to hit the mark. I played Soccer as a kid (who hasn’t) and then tried baseball one summer then went on to play football for a losing team on a local community league. I then played JV football at high school (nobody gets cut there) then got cut in 11th grade for Varsity football because I was more of a soft-spoken, laid back type of gent. I didn’t care much about school nor about the future. My siblings were excellent hockey players who went on to play pro roller hockey but not me. I liked pot and video games. Then when I was 20 I (re)dedicated my life to Jesus. Got free from pot yet still entangled with self-worth issues.

You see I had trouble individuating when I was younger. I wasn’t really great at one thing. Sure I was semi good at soccer, in baseball I couldn’t hit the ball for the life of me, and in football I wasn’t as aggressive as I should have been. I actually tried out for hockey once but made the B team and then dropped out. I wasn’t good at any particular subject in school though I enjoyed Home EC and the Sciences in general. I absolutely hated reading and writing was a close second. I couldn’t sing, dance, or play an instrument (I tried learning guitar many years back as an adult but threw my “Idiots Guide to Playing Guitar” book away after it demanded I learn to read music) so that was a bust. I even wrote and recorded rap songs (which can still be found online) when I had a lot of free time on my hands. I wasn’t good at it, though I thought the lyrics were on point and held several meanings often. I did not have an education so I went into the family business of carpentry. I was fairly good at that. I do have a strong attention to detail, when I want to, so that helped in that field. Left that field went to other labor work of delivering mattresses and then working at a major toy company’s distribution center. After working 10 hour shifts on concrete floors and working 10 hour shifts during a 12 day stretch twice during Christmas season I had enough of that riff raff. I then took classes at a local community college to help study for three different computer certifications. That was over 4 years ago and I only have 2 out of 3 certifications…in a field where I don’t find fulfillment or gratification. Then I started studying and reading about inner healing & deliverance concepts and I’m hooked. It fascinates me to no end. That and psychology as well. Abnormal psychology to be exact. My new venture is writing. For a person who abhorred reading and writing to become an avid reader and writer is interesting to say the least. The verdict (mine, God’s, and those who read it) is still out on writing. I  also find immense fulfillment is doing prayer ministry in the limited time I do it. If would do it full-time if it were to be economically viable one day. I still have my doubts, which is something I’m pondering in my spirit and my soul, if this is what God has for me or not. Looking back I wish I went to college for Christian counseling but some things weren’t meant to be I suppose. Even at 33 years old I’m still individuating.  Still investigating to find my niche. Still trying to “Do” while finding out what I’m suppose to “Do.”

What I wrote above is probably not foreign to many of you. The only difference is that you may be 20, 40, or 50 and above and still not know. Mid-life crisis anyone? Most of us in waiting have to do what we  have to do to survive and pay bills and most hobbies are to kill time. We are swamped with responsibilities and somewhat forced into fields that don’t fulfill. To those who love what they do and get fulfillment and get paid we all envy you or at least I do. Now here’s the rub…what do you do when you don’t know what to do.

We must reconcile our past and present with God’s truth over us. And to borrow Graham Cooke’s quote, “We must bring the future into today.” The foundation for any “Doing” comes from “Being.” Character is the foundation where fulfillment can be built. When you live in and with fulfillment, the problem of problems diminishes. Problems become a stepping stone instead of a stumbling block. Fulfillment bends the will of the problem in your favor wherein problems become but a servant to a master. Fulfillment comes when God’s design, imprinted in your spirit, meets the works that were prepared for it. So here are a few places needing to be addressed.

• Time
• Land
• Agreements
• Surroundings

I’ll attempt to explain these as short and concise as possible. Remember there is no shame or condemnation just reconciliation and alignment.

Time

How many of you have been asked the question, “If you were living in a different time when would it be and why?” It’s a great ice breaker in small groups. But how many actually wish they lived in a different time? When we reject the point in time we are in now we reject God’s very own placement of us. We can see God’s time set for all of us in Acts 17:26 which says, “And He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their lands and territories.” You see here that God determines the time in which we will live. If we have rejected our time then we must repent and ask God to forgive us. Some have trauma related to time (good teaching here) and some have even cursed their conception and birth like Job (Job 3:3). Still others have actually had their time switch and manipulated through occult activity and SRA. If that is the case God can and will reorient us back to His original timeline for us. When we come to a place where we accept when we are then we can look at the where we are.

Land

Land is an interesting one. There is not much teaching on land in the body of Christ. But if you were to do a word search the word “land” is used in the KJV you’ll find it used 1,717 times in 1,489 verses. Most, I’m sure, are simply talking about land in general but if you look deeper and read all that within the Scripture you’ll see that land plays a big role. As we see in the Acts verse above God appoints land and territories. God appointed land to Adam & Eve, Moses, and Abraham. The only way these people could live out their destiny is to be on the right land. There are deeper dynamics to land (good teaching here) but I’ll queue you in on one. 2 Chron. 7:14 says, “and My people, who are called by My Name, humble themselves, and pray and seek (crave, require as a necessity) My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear them from heaven, and forgive their sin and heal their land.” We’ve all heard this verse but how many have glossed over the ending? I know I have for years but it shows that God wants to heal land. And, like a lot of things, the New Age has stolen and perverted due to the Church leaving a vacuum of not address the whole counsel of God.

When it comes to us and land there are generally two current realities. One is that we are on the land God wants us on or we are not on the land God wants us on. If the former is true and you agree with the Lord than awesome. All is well on the land aspect. If the former, then there are a few reasons. One is that we reject where God wants us just like the time aspect above. Two is that we are not on the land but are moving towards it like Moses and Abraham. Three is that we are dynamic in our land relationship. We go in and out with bondage or we go in and out with freedom. If in bondage, than we are being pulled away by the enemy, ourselves, or trauma but are fighting to stay in. If in freedom, than we accept our land but also know that God has things for us in temporary land placement. To reconcile the where we must again repent for rejecting the land where we are and to ask the Lord if we are on the right land now and if not where to go. God may not say exactly but He may move you to a different city or state like He did to me. We should also ask God about the current land to cleanse it and mine it for God’s treasures (gardeners will understand).

Agreements

We all make agreements as we go through life. Some we vocalize while other we internalize. Both can be labeled “Inner Vows“. Another good article on this is “What is the Soundtrack to Your Story“. When we make agreements on our current life situations, we enforce and solidify the mentality and emotional reactions which then cloud and distort future life situations. That means the past life situations in which you made unhealthy agreements with yourself, others, or the enemy are now clouding and distorting your current reality. We make or have made bitter root judgments which then create a bitter root expectancy.  These judgement we have made then hold us and keep us from advancing. It may very well be one major aspects of not know what to do. We again must repent for our inner vows, bitter root judgments & expectancies and ask God to release us from our words and vows so we can move forwards. All of these steps are things you can do before you know what to do.

Surrounding

We are, for the most part, products of our surroundings. We are an amalgamation of our past. We had good parents, bad parents, or no parents. We had good, bad, or no siblings. Our home was either structured, chaos, or somewhere in between. The list goes on and on. Our environment is a huge factor on who we are and whose we are. As you read above in the “Agreements” section you may notice that some of those agreements we’ve made come from the surroundings we were in. Now the past is the past and can be healed, redeemed, and we can learn from the pain we experienced. What I want to talk about is current surroundings. We need freedom. Freedom to do. Freedom to be. Freedom to try. Freedom to fail and freedom to succeed. If you are not in a place, especially Church, where you can’t grow, try new things, expand than you may need to ask the Father if there is a better place for you. If you were never able to individuate as a child or young adult or even a middle-aged adult then it’ll be difficult to live a life of fulfillment. We must surround ourselves with encourages, life-givers, and positive people. It may be hard where you are now but God can provide at least one person but if not, His Presence can surround you and show you Himself and yourself.

Conclusion

Above I described at least four things to do before you know what to do. The list could go on and on but I wanted to give you a few things that maybe you haven’t looked at before. We need to accept the time we are in and the current land that we are on. Then break previous debilitating agreements and adjust our surrounding as much as possible. You’re probably thinking that you don’t have gifts but I can assure you, God has places design and birthright into your spirit and soul. It’s the process of finding what it is that proves to be most difficult. There is probably no platform, TV show, or other experience where you will get honored or esteemed. But if there was a show highlighting people’s ability to speak peace over troubled souls then you’d been voted in. If there was a show looking for the best mom then you’d be at the top. If there was a contest for “Best Dad” then you would out shine them all. If there was a show where a person who loves to serve without any recognition then you would be showcased. If there was a show where raving about the best person who goes over and beyond while behind the scenes then you would be the star.

I struggle everyday to know “What I’m Good At” and still question the things that I think maybe I have a shot at it. I’m still individuating. Maybe I’m a good writer or maybe I suck. Maybe I’ll be a prayer minister (current dream) or maybe I’ll do more harm than good. I still feel the “problem of problems” and am seeking fulfillment where obstacles bend to my design instead of me bending to them. I’m still attempting to walk out of spirit looking for the works that God designed for it. If I look for outward fruit I may be disappointed but I must know that every tree bears fruit at different seasons. When or where is my season? I don’t know. When and where is your season? I don’t know. But what I do know is that we can prepare beforehand and rid ourselves of baggage and develop character and the fruit of the Spirit which provides a foundation for the gift. Graham Cooke said it best, “People destroy with their character what they’ve built with their gift”.

Spirit I call you to attention and I give you freedom to try and to fail.

I give you freedom to try and to succeed.

I give you freedom to receive your sonship and legitimacy from God your Father.

I give you freedom to be a bride who can rest in the Bridegroom.

I speak peace in the process.

I speak healing from the past and restoration in the present.

I bless you with walking with God instead of walking for God.

I bless with you being before doing.

I bless you with being you and no one else.

I bless you with looking in the mirror and liking what you see.

I bless you with looking in the mirror and loving what you see.

I bless you in the name of Jesus, who loves you with an everlasting love.

Thank You!!!

I just posted this on my Facebook page:

It’s amazing how many people can be reached via Social Media. My first blog post was posted January 27th, 2014. Since then I’ve reached 167 countries! I have 1,539 followers and have had 47,024 views and counting! With 2,480 Likes and 799 comments I’m amazed from those who support me in this. I’ve grown and am growing everyday and I seek and dig in the Scripture. But all those numbers don’t matter in the end. If the Lord wants someone like me or you to write and only He sees it and is pleased than that is all the matters! Thanks again!

I want to thank all my followers and readers. Thank you for reading, liking, sharing, commenting, and praying. And I want to thank my Father in Heaven for creating me as a builder and no longer a consumer. As a Teacher redemptive gift, it has been a joy to dig deep and seek questions to answers that some have and some have never thought to ask.

If you want to sow into this blog and ministry you can do so below. Thank you all!

Acting Like Mere Men

And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; 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 acting like mere men? For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not like mere men? – Apostle Paul speaking to the Corinthians

This passage for the past several months has intrigued me. Not the jealousy bit or the strife, not even the “I am of…” statements. But the “acting like mere men”. This has been pinging around my noggin and spirit. Are we not to act like men? Or just like mere men?

Mere defined is: that is solely or no more or better than what is specified. The smallest or slightest.

Spiritual in Greek is pneumatikos which means, “relating to the human spirit, as part of the man who is akin to God and serves as his instrument or organ.”

The above Scripture is 1 Corinthian 3:1-4 and speaks of infancy versus spiritual, milk versus meat. Believe you me, I love getting back to basics. For it’s the basics that provide foundation. If you know anything about building or bedding you know you need a good foundation. Without a proper foundation a house can crumble and a bed can sag…neither are desirable. But lets look at the Scriptures below:

“For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil…Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. – Hebrews 5:12-14, 6:1-2  

Growth is key in the Kingdom. Salvation is the first step…the most important step as it is clearly the foundation of a person life but we must grow. However growth is a gray area. Depending on who you talk to and their background growth means character development, theological understanding, or the amount of miracles that are happening in and around them. I feel like it’s a combination of the three. Balance is key. In order to move forward you need balance. We must submit to God’s grace in order to grow in the fruit of the Spirit. We must learn and grow in our understanding of God and ourselves. We must also grow in faith and understanding of the power of God.

We are not merely men and women but brand new creations in Christ. We must live with this truth. We are spiritual people having physical experiences and not the other way around. The problem is we live as physical beings attempting to obtain spiritual experiences. We have lost touch of Eden and are absorbed with the fallenness that has entrapped us. It is no wonder that Scripture uses the term ransom in regards to our freedom. We live veiled and attempt to re-sow the fabric of the Temple. The matrix has become our reality. Christ did more than die for sins, He restored our position. He restored our spirituality from the sin of looking to the ground and relationship for identity and security. He came to show us Himself.

Ask any scientist about this world. Physicists, Biologists, Astronomy, etc. There is so much to this world that we are finding out and still searching for. Space, biology, oceanography, physics, geology are all fields looks for answers and reasons. I think, no I know, we need more scientists in the Spirit. The Earth is filled with God’s taste and to say that this world is extremely detailed while the spiritual world isn’t is ignorant. People need to launch off of the foundation of the basics and searching for truth and Truth. To say there is no more to God than what Scripture says is a fallacy. Whoa Jordan back up! Are you talking about extra-biblical stuff? Yes and No. Yes because God is bigger than a book and the KJV is not the 4th person of the Trinity. No because God has given us the Scripture as a foundation and blueprint to work from. We must break free from our small boxes of denominations and small views of God and ourselves and enter into a bigger box of God allowing us to see more. Need Scripture proof? Here you go:

So now through the church the multifaceted wisdom of God [in all its countless aspects] might now be made known [revealing the mystery] to the [angelic] rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. – Ephesians 3:10

Multifaceted in Greek is polypoikilos which means much variegated, marked with a great variety of colors. So here we see that through the church God’s multi-colorful, multi-faceted wisdom would be made known to the heavenly places!! We are commissioned to seek God’s wisdom, that hasn’t yet been seen or known, to the physical and spiritual world. This wisdom isn’t milk. It’s meat and we need people who are not mere men and women who can chew on this wisdom. Ask, seek, and knock for those who ask, receive and those who seek, find and those who knock, the door will be opened. We must submit to the training of the Lord so we can better discern between good and evil. Real and false. True and counterfeit.

Can we live a truly physical life and spiritual life together? Why yes you can. As far as we know Jesus is the only person in Heaven with a physical body (one can argue if Elijah, Enoch, or even Moses are included). Jesus is living a truly physical and spiritual life at the same time. Our body is the gateway for the spiritual to operate in the physical (more on that with an upcoming post). We are not mere men. We are more so. We must live above the natural man because, to the core, we are more than that. We are individuals in the Kingdom but we are more so a part of a body and this body needs to work together. This world is dying, hurting, and in pain and we need wisdom from God. We must no longer use prepackaged answers for non packaged problems. People’s pain is specific so our answers should be as well. And we can only handle the answers if stop acting as mere men and engage our spirit with God’s Spirit to co-labor with Him to prepare for His coming.

In closing I hope you understand what I’m getting at. There is so much more to this walk then doing church. There is true adventure when we engage with the Lord in our everyday life. If you have a problem and haven’t found the answers in the 5th book you’ve read on the subject or the 10 time in the prayer line then engage with the Lord and own the answer. We must move past our toddler staged Christianity and enter adolescence and then onto adulthood. There is wisdom to the person who asks and is able to get past the milk and onto the solids.

“To whom would He teach knowledge,
And to whom would He interpret the message?
Those just weaned from milk?
Those just taken from the breast?

– Isaiah 28:9

I have a Facebook page!!

Hey everybody! I now have a Facebook page. Please “Like” and share it in Facebook world. More blogs coming soon!

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Why Bless Someone’s Spirit?

Have you ever felt like the third wheel? Or maybe you’re the person who just kind of tags along in other people’s lives. You’re just “there” but never feeling a part of what is happening. You’re there but not present. Not included. Not…legitimate. And in that illegitimacy you feel crushed, wounded, rejected. It isn’t that someone spoke bad to or about you, it’s just that no one has spoken to you.

What I love about the Trinity is that God, within Himself, has relationship. Other-centeredness. The Father honors the Son, the Son honors the Father, the Father honors the Spirit, the Spirit points to Jesus, etc. As our relationship with God grows deeper and wider we begin to notice the subtle differences in His voice. Sometime it’s the Father speaking to us. Other times Jesus comes and embraces us with His words. Still other times it’s the Holy Spirit nudging us. All equally important yes distinctively different. So it is with us.

No we are not the Trinity but we are three part beings made in the image and likeness of God and a trinity as well. The Scripture that points to this is 1 Thess 5:23 which says,  ^“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Notice it doesn’t say “body, soul, and spirit” it says “spirit, soul, and body”.

So why do we bless our spirit? Well it’s the same reason we bless our body and soul. We pray for healing for the body by speak blessings over it. We bless our soul with good thoughts, a will towards God, a healthy mind, etc. Yet I’ve never heard someone bless someone’s spirit. Well that’s not totally true. I’ve heard many people bless the spirit indirectly. We talk about the spirit but never to the spirit. We are almost always speaking to a person’s soul but never address it as such because we don’t address a person and say their name all the time.

Imagine the third wheel experiences you’ve had. Take it further and imagine the other two talk about you but never to you. Now I know it sounds weird…especially since it’s a brand new topic that you’ve probably never heard of before. The person who first brought this concept to my life is Arthur Burk and this teaching. Funny thing is he first thought it was crazy as well. And it wasn’t even his idea to begin with.

It started as he walked with a lady through her suffering with DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder)…suffered and no longer suffering BTW. After over two years of trying different inner healing and deliverance tools and concepts nothing worked until she came up with an idea. She asked Arthur, “Try speaking in the direction of my spirit.” He, thinking it was weird, decided to go along with this strange idea. He spoke to her spirit exactly like it is a part of her. Her reaction, my paraphrase: “I saw I was in a dark and dreary basement like in a dungeon. As you spoke to my spirit I noticed a dirty and damp rag in the furthest corner and underneath something quivering and moving…that was my spirit crushed and wounded.” After several weeks of speaking to her spirit DID was a thing of the past. She fully integrated which, done through the soul, can take 10 years of so. The thing is she was saved and loved Jesus…but her spirit was still broken and until someone came along and spoke to her spirit instead of about her spirit, until someone included her spirit in the conversation then healing came. 1 Cor. 2:11 says, “ For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.” And Prov. 18:14 says, “The spirit of a man can endure his sickness, but as for a broken spirit who can bear it?” 

This concept of speaking to a person’s spirit has been used in pregnancy as well…with amazing results. (Read here for more info) You see a spirit is not subject to the organics of a body but the body is dependent upon a spirit being present. That is why when a spirit leaves a body the body will then die. So as the baby is developing in the womb their spirit is alive and well and can be spoken to as the organics are developing and the soul is waiting to be expressed after birth since the soul is dependent upon the organics for expression. So what are the results of blessing a child in the womb? Pre-birth the baby responds to the voice of the person blessing the spirit. There have been babies who are breached and a person who has been blessing their spirit already can tell the baby that they are breached and the baby will move him or her self into the correct position. There are babies, whose spirit has been directly blessed by their father, who immediately after birth will hear their father’s voice and turn their head and smile to their daddy… There have been babies whose spirit were directly blessed with Scriptures of joy. Their dad or mom would find all the Scriptures that talk about joy and bless their baby in the womb. Once born their house is filled with nothing but joy and anyone who comes to the house gets smacked with joy. Our spirit are the center and essence of who we are and we exude that essence.

Our spirit is a seed and it carries a part of God’s DNA for us. And as a seed it must be nourished and cared for and unpacked. Left unattended it may grow but plateau at some point. But why speak to our spirit directly? I repeat it’s because it’s been left out of the conversation for so long. We address the spirit as, “John/Jane I call your spirit forward and to attention in the name of Jesus Christ. Listen to Word of God 1 John 4:17…” purely because it’s been left out. We clearly know our body’s voice. Our body will tell us when it’s hungry, hurting, or thirty. Our soul, the most active of all, will let you know it’s hurting, sad, happy, etc. So will our spirit, if we let it. Speaking to someone’s spirit is intentional. It brings legitimacy which is the most important thing our spirits need. Once you have ministered to a person’s spirit for awhile you don’t even need to address the spirit because the spirit will already be front and center to receive blessing.

Here’s a list of the other posts/videos I’ve posted about blessing our spirit:

Blessing Your Spirit

Blessing Your Spirit Part 2

Blessing Your Spirit Part 3

Blessing Your Spirit – The Fragrance of God

I’ve Started a YouTube Channel!

New YouTube Video Uploaded!

New YouTube post!!

Blessing Your Spirit – Your spirit and Land

Blessing Your Spirit – Mephibosheth

The Power to Bless

How many of you of prayed “the blessing” over your meal? I know I have. We bless the food we eat. We tell people “be blessed” but what are we really doing? Another term used more often in liturgical settings is “Benediction”. Do we know the power of blessing? Do we know what it really means “to bless”? Let’s delve deeper shall we?

Hebrew for Bless is barak which means to cause to prosper.

Greek for Bless is eulogeō which means to consecrate a thing with solemn prayers.

What do we bless? We bless our food. We bless our relationships and work. We bless the church service and bible studies. We bless many things but does it every feel cliché when we say it? Churchy even? Now I understand Church culture and the Christianese language well; I’ve been around it most of my life. But only in the past couple years have I really grabbed ahold of (loose term because God and His ways are higher) what it means to bless.

So what causes our blessings to have power behind it? Intentionality. When God blesses He is very intentional. Genesis 1:22 says, “And God blessed them, saying, ‘Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.'” God not only blessed but was specific in His blessing. His blessing provided instruction, identity, and purpose. God said. He spoke. The same mouth He used to create the animals was the same mouth He used to provide their identity. Remarkable as it is, this is even seen in human’s blessings.

We all know the story of Jacob and Esau so I won’t break it all down here. Esau was, according to tradition, the rightful heir or beneficiary to Isaac and his land and fortune. Rebekah overheard it and told Jacob to lie to Isaac. Isaac blessed Jacob with the blessing that Esau was meant to have. Here’s the kicker…Isaac couldn’t take it back nor transfer it to another. Once it was all said and done there was no going back. Such power in the blessing. So much so it established Jacob and Esau’s future from there forward. The power to bless. The power of the blessing.

So what? This was something written a long time ago. It couldn’t have any bearing on today could it? Why yes it does. Today, if you listen to the news, you’ll see the continuous conflict of two blessings that were spoken way back when. Isaac, a fallen human, blessed and changed the future immensely. So does that mean we, blood bought heirs of God, can do likewise? Yes and I would say more so. But how? Glad you asked.

Being as we are created in the image of God and are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, designed to co-labor with the Lord, we have the opportunity and unction to establish His Kingdom and dominion on the earth. What can we bless? Land, time, buildings, objects, etc. Rabbit trail commenced: have you ever heard of theology of the land? Probably not. Something I have never, ever heard anyone reference before though I just recently noticed myself, is the very common scripture 2 Chron. 7:14 which states the God will heal our land…rabbit trail ended. God blessed the 7th day (time) and made it holy. Eph 5:16 talks about us redeeming the time. (the concept of redeeming time is for another post). God blessed mountains and objects and certain foods.

God has given us the power to bless. We must be intentional, use our mouths to speak His words, and speak design, purpose, and instruction. Since we will be held accountable for the words we speak let it be blessing and not cursing. Let us bless with focus and legitimize people’s design and purpose.

In my next post I will talk about why we bless our spirits. I’ve posted a few YouTube videos and several blogs where I’ve blessed people’s spirits so I will talk about why I do so.

I bless you today! I bless your design and purpose. I bless you with God’s love, joy, peace, goodness, kindness, patience, mercy, power, and majesty. I speak forth healing to your whole self, spirit, soul, and body. I call you bless and highly favored. I speak to the light that is your spirit and tell it to grow, be nourished, and reflect the image of God. I call forth the treasure and inheritance that God has planted in you. I speak to the spark of creativity in you and call it forth and I bless it with God’s power. I bless your purpose and God’s plans. That they would collide in a beautiful array. I bless your whole spirit, soul, and body with God’s transfiguration power that as you behold Him you are changed from glory to glory. I bless you in Jesus’ name.

Let This Mind Be in You…

Philippians 2:5-8 (NKJV) Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, ⁷ but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

Just a short disclaimer: This post is not about Theology, though it will contain Theology, nor is it about some Humanistic ideology, though it may appear to be so. This post is about asking questions. Asking question can sure cause trouble can’t it? It’s what Jesus did to the Pharisees. The disciples did it. The beauty of a question lies in the fact that we don’t know something but want to know. A person who doesn’t ask questions doesn’t really care. The accept what someone has spoken without ever the unction to verify. In Theology there are strong Truths long-established. But in Theology there are other truths that none have even cared to question. That being said, let’s get on with it.

Have you ever looked at a verse? I mean really looked at it. Word by word, sentence by sentence. I have read and re-read many verses since I’ve started really reading and studying the Scriptures and it’s fascinating what you’ll find.

I’ve read, heard, seen this verse many of times but only recently (well not too recent since it’s been 6 months since I posted and this has been in Draft status since then) have I actually looked at the verse. Most, if not all of the time, people rattle off the verse and talk about Jesus in it. Jesus was humble and became a human and left Glory for the world. Most gloss over the beginning. “Let this mind be in you…” The verse starts off pointing to you and I. “Let this mind…” Here I’m wondering and asking the question, “Is this really the mind I’m suppose to have?” Why of course we are called to be humble and serving. But what about having no reputation? Do/did we have a reputation to begin with?

We have heard so much about Original Sin but have we ever heard of Original Glory? Did you know that the Adam, in the list of Jesus’ generational line in Luke 3:38, is called the son of God? The First Adam was the son of God and the Last Adam was also the Son of God. Jesus is called our Elder Brother. Hebrews 2:11 says, “For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren…” The beauty of the Incarnation is not only God becoming flesh but, in Jesus, Divinity and humanity is forever linked and integrated.

What exactly is this new creation, this new nature? We may never know exactly how or what happened/happens this side of eternity but I love to think about it and ask questions. If we are supposed to have the mind of Christ and Christ left behind some things in order to fulfill some other things then what have we left behind? I know full well about Original Sin and the depravity of man. Ask any SRA survivors or people with DID and they’ll tell you. Mankind is jacked big time…but that’s not the whole story. Have you ever asked yourself or God, “Am I worthy?” How could I, a sometimes despicable human being, be saved? To answer that there is this beautiful phrase in Scripture in Acts 3:21 that says, “…the restoration of all things…” Something/someone cannot be restored if there was never an original state.

What if in this verse the Holy Spirit is saying, “Let this mind be in you. I’m giving you the beginning, the starting place. A place where you were/are but have long been detached from. I’m letting you know who you are as a being apart from your doing.” I love how the Holy Spirit seems to be so subtle in Scripture sometimes. Oftentimes His subtlety is only due to our lack of attentiveness.

So again the question is, “What is the Mind that I have and am supposed to walk out? Where is this Mind located?” I believe this Mind is resident in our spirit. Our spirit is light and God has filled it with data, with the Word (logos, rhema, graphe) implanted. If we live primarily from our spirits instead of our souls we’ll find it. As we develop, nurture, strengthen, and give our spirit back the voice God gave it to have, then the Mind that we have and are suppose “let this be in you” we begin to manifest in our lives.

Scripture Ref: Job 32:8, 1 Cor.2:11;14, 2 Cor.4:16, Prov. 20:27, Prov. 18:14, 1 Thess. 5:23, 2 Tim. 4:22, Heb. 4:12, etc.

Learning Freedom

Sometime back I talked about Learned Helplessness along with Signs & Freedom involving Learned Helplessness. I hope that those posts have put to words and defined things you may have struggled or are struggling with. I mostly hope they have helped you break free or give you tools to help your specific issue(s). But how about Learning Freedom afterwards? Let’s delve in and hash out some ideas.

It was for this freedom that Christ set us free [completely liberating us]; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery [which you once removed].Galatians 5:1 (AMP)

The context of the above Scripture is in reference to the Law given in the Old Testament and our relation or lack thereof to it. I could go into all the ramifications of this but this particular post is about much more real life than theological pandering. So Christ has set us free, is setting us free, and will set us free. But how do we learn freedom?

There are generally two types of non-freedom we are in or can be in.

Captive: one who is taken or held apart from their will, confined, held under control of another but having the appearance of independence

Prisoner: one who breaks the law and is subject to correction or imprisonment due to wrong actions or choices

Captives can be freed via having a greater authority or power than the person keeping them captive.

Prisoners can be freed via a legal process.

Isaiah 61:1 says,

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
Because the Lord has anointed me
To bring good news to the afflicted;
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to captives
And freedom to prisoners

Here we see liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners. There is hope for both. There is hope for me and you.

If you want to Learn Freedom or are Learning Freedom you have to choose freedom or at least make advances towards it. If you are like me you can attest to the fact that once you got saved you were delivered from a bunch of stuff…but some things remained. In my posts Generational Deliverance and Soul Ties(which I think I need to update) I posted some tools for getting free from some of that remaining junk. Anywhoozel how to go about Learning Freedom

Have you ever been scared of freedom? Have you fought actively against freedom? It’s possible you may have Stockholm Syndrome of some sort. Or, like me, you’ve been used to bondage. There is no shame in it. It happens. But we must get free.

There is an interesting dynamic to inmates who have been in prison for their whole adult life. They cannot assimilate with society because prison is all the know. They have been institutionalized. One of the saddest scenes in The Shawshank Redemption is the death of Brooks Hatlen. A man who was in prison all his life was finally freed only to not know how to live. We need to know how to live and not just survive.

As Arthur Burk says we can only be delivered to zero but after that we need to grow. Most of us have been born in the negative. Whether it’s alcoholism, drug addiction, poverty, abuse, or you name it, we need to get free and delivered. We need to get up to zero. But to get above zero we need to grow…we need to learn freedom. To learn freedom it would take a series of books to go through all the nuances and specifics of each story and each specific detail. There is a plethora of material I could point to you (please ask if you are curious) regarding many different way to freedom. I’m not the kind of person who is bound to one stream. All (almost all) steams have their specific tool and will help specific people with specific things. However, one stream can never be a catch-all.

Freedom often comes in increments. Sometimes all at once. Why doesn’t all freedom come all at once? Well, you’ll have to take that up with the Father. Most of our issues didn’t come all at once so I guess our freedom generally won’t come all at once (like I said earlier, sometime we get delivered from a lot of things but then there the few things that tend to hold on).

There are some ministries (programs) that measure freedom by minutes, days, months, and years. Some measure freedom by the intensity of the manifestation involved during the process. Some is based on behavioral changes (modification) and still others is based on the finished work of Jesus are there is never and will never be the need for freedom because we already are there. Many stream preaching their own way and usually saying it’s the only way. Not me.

Freedom will take many shapes, modes, colors, paradigms, streams, avenues, streets, paths etc. If measuring your freedom helps you to learn then, by all means go with it, as long as it doesn’t become a religious thing. If it takes a manifestation then let it be genuine and altering and not just a show. If it takes behavior changes (modification) then let it be breathed on by the Spirit to regain the habits and forge new neural pathways. If it’s simply by the finished work of the Cross (which all true freedom ultimately comes back) then let that freedom come and walk it it but, I say this very carefully and humbly, never hide behind it. What I mean by that is that if you have a real issue and nothing changes then there might be something God may have you do. Don’t stuff it or think it will go away, it might but it might not. God will oftentimes have you co-labor with Him in your freedom walk. You never know when you get out of something and strive for freedom that God will give you a new tool and that tool can be added to your toolbox to help others who were in your same steps. I heard someone say once that when all you have in your toolbox is a hammer then everything looks like a nail. God wants to give us His multi-faceted, poly variegated, multi-colored wisdom and this wisdom comes with being fiercely intentional in learning freedom.

Learning freedom comes with using passionate purposive action and belief. It comes with getting out of your current boxes of beliefs and values and making room for God’s wisdom. Learning freedom comes with make changes and steps that will bring change. Learning freedom comes when you step out into the discomfort of new experiences without the common crutches you’ve learned to rely on. Learning freedom comes from gaining the ability to discern the roots to chop and the roots to nurture. Learning freedom may take a gigantic leap or just a baby step. Learning freedom comes when you know your Father is with you and in you, urging you forward and being there when you fall. Learning freedom comes when realizing you can be truly free. Learning freedom comes when you shed off the label of “wretch” and attach the label of “son.”

How have you learned freedom? Please comment! There is so many other aspects to learning freedom but for word count’s sake I’ll end it here.

When God Kisses Wounds

It was like every other day since I was infected. Always crying “Unclean! Unclean!” took a toll…on the soul as well as the throat. I don’t know how I contracted it but I did and I pay for it daily. The only comfort comes from those similar. Society has shunned us as a whole and the leaders of the day have a scowl that rivals any rabid animal. “Get away from here,” they foam. “Don’t infect us you unclean vile thing,” they spew. Don’t they know we are still people? Don’t they know we souls still feel regardless if our body doesn’t? Don’t they know we were created in the same image of the God they supposedly worship?

Then one day a man, an altogether different Man, walked by. He was different is the best possibly way. As I cried “Unclean!  Unclean!” He seemed unfazed. Ignorant maybe. Who knows? It doesn’t matter because at this point I’m desperate, yearning for relief. The burden of being shunned is excruciating. Damaging. But, He doesn’t seem to care. As I see Him approach, I see Him seeing me. Not just seeing me but seeing me in all that I am spirit, soul, and body. I started to feel different before He was even in talking distance. Even as I yelled, I saw Him shush me. Not because I shouldn’t yell but because I didn’t need to. He’s heard me since before the Beginning. Then all of sudden we were so close a whisper sufficed. This whisper touched me in the deepest dungeon of my imprisoned spirit all the while my soul, being trapped as it was, started changing. My humanity is returned. My dignity restored. I felt…honored. Yet my body still laid deformed. Until He reached and touched me. Human touch is amazing. Engaging. Vulnerable. In my case, His touch was invading yet compassionate. It broke all notions of what…who I thought I was. Yet this touch was even more. My body did heal as well but it was so much more than that. It was like God Himself touched my whole being. The Trinity touched the trinity. He made things right. And He’ll do it for you. If you feel the need to cry, “Unclean! Unclean!” around people, especially religious ones, know that He came and His Blood speaks over you, “Clean! Clean!”

When God Kisses Wounds.

Sticks and stones may break your bones but words can destroy the soul. The above story is, what I believe,  what the leper must have or could have felt like and his reactions in the moment. Back in Jesus’ time a leper was an unclean person who had to cry, “Unclean! Unclean!” when others passed by so that they wouldn’t be defiled or harmed by them. Imagine the lifestyle they lived. Imagine the society they lived under where you are a nobody or even worse. A person never touches a leper…but Jesus did. But why? Jesus could have spoken the word but He didn’t. He reached and He touched. He broke the social barrier and brought dignity, honor, and cleansing which in turn also brought healing.

Have you ever wondered why a child will get a scratch, scrape, or cut and wants it kissed? And once kissed, felt better afterwards? I thought it was just a cute thing. I mean, my wife and I do it to each other to be cute and intimate with each other. But there must be something with it.

It is not for the healthy but the sick that Jesus came for. Many times in my life Jesus came and touched me and kissed me in my weakness, in my sin. He will never break a bruised reed. Our Father wants to restore dignity, honor, love, and acceptance into each and every one of us. He wants to restore humanity to its rightful place, which He did in Christ, to us all. He’ll listen to your shouting. He’ll listen to your talking. He’ll listen to your whispering. He’ll reach and He’ll touch. He is willing. Your time is coming.

When I was in a sin, rinse, repeat cycle several years back, I asked the Father, “You must get tired of me?” Immediately His reply was, “I neither slumber nor sleep!” You see, our Father doesn’t rest till we are fully restored. Jesus even said it. “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” Father, Son, and Holy Spirit want and will restore you and kiss you in your weakest, darkest moments. Where you feel trapped by sin, emotional distress, physical handicaps, broken down and disturbed God is walked along the road to go from yelling, to talking, to whispering, to reaching, and then to touching. He is restoring your humanity, dignity, honor, and trinity.

Be blessed! Be restored! You are a human! God loves you!

 

Blessing Your Spirit – Mephibosheth

It’s been awhile since I’ve written or made a video but I finally made another spirit blessing. It is based off the life of Mephibosheth in 2 Samuel 9. I wrote a blog about it here.

I would encourage you to sit and listen to this blessing. I had the initial prompt to speak about Mephibosheth but most of the video is off the cuff as they say. I hope it ministers to you and you come out your shell and experience the kindness of the Father.

 

 

Charismatic Dualism

Charismatic Dualism? Lets talk about that.

Dualism – the division of something conceptually into two opposed or contrasted aspects, or the state of being so divided

Gnostic Dualism is the heretical teaching that says all physical matter is evil thus shunning it and only adhering to spiritual world.

Charismatic Dualism can be described as the belief that the soul-life is bad and the spirit/Spirit life is good.

This isn’t a wide-spread issue that I personally know of however from time to time I do hear the phrase “They were in the spirit and then dropped back into the soul” meaning what they were doing was good but now that it’s the soul it’s not good anymore. Spirit = good and soul = bad. This is not so in my opinion and I believe Scripture supports it.

Another common sayings could be, “Oh he is just operating from the soul” or “That person is so soulish.” What I think is happening is that people mistake soul with flesh or carnality. They are not the same thing. “More of Him and less of me” is also a common one. Personally I don’t like that term either. Number one reason for not liking it is because people base that off of John the Baptist says in John 3:30, “I must decrease and He must increase”, when the context was John the Baptist forerunning Jesus’ coming and Jesus’ ministry. Some of us take it as we don’t matter and we need to crucify the soul. Both are wrong.

3 John 1:2 says,

Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.

Soul in the Greek is psychē and simply means the seat of the feelings, desires, affections, aversions, etc. So here Paul is saying he wants us in good health and prosperous just as our soul prospers. So our souls must prosper and if so, how can they prosper if we equate the soul with flesh, evil, etc? God gave us a soul and it is the life of God. God made it and gave it so His original intent was and still is for good. The soul operates with the organic body. Mind with brain, emotions with chemicals (generally speaking), and will with brain (conscious or subconscious). The soul can only operate as good as the organic operates. That is why when there is a chemical imbalance in the body, emotions, will, and mind do not operate the best. With the soul we do believe, have faith, reason with the Lord and others, have strongholds (whether good or bad), and affect the body. Our souls must be healed, cleansed, restored, set apart, and grown. Our souls carry a strong redemptive gift (see http://www.sandylandry.com) and with that redemptive gift is a birthright, authority, and redemptive quality God has given us to affect the world around us. The soul is good because God originally created it good and once saved it becomes good. But the most important factor in our soul’s growth, stability, wholeness, and essence is when the soul is led by our spirit (of course the Holy Spirit as well).

1 Thessalonians 5:23 declares,

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Do you see how it’s listed? Not body, soul, and spirit but spirit, soul, and then body. I have a hypothesis about why the body is listed last and not first but that’s for another blog.

God has designed the spirit, as the light of God and made in the very essence of God, to lead the soul and body. This is why I believe Moses, Jesus, and others could have not eaten or drank water for 40 days yet survive. Their spirits were leading and in charge of their soul and body.

Spirit in Greek is pneuma and simply means the part of us never referred to as a depersonalised force but the efficient source of any power, affection, emotion, desire, etc. Oftentimes the spirit and soul get combined together as one so we longer are a trinity like God (thought we are created in His image) but a dual being of sorts. However, Hebrews 4:12 dispels this argument and says that there is a division that happens and must happen. But this division is not for dividing to separate and remove but to distinguish mode and function.

For so long we have operated out of our souls in most of our spiritual activities. Our souls have been trying to do the work of our spirit and vice versa…and it’s not our soul’s fault not our the fault of our spirit per se. It is the fault of inadequate teaching of our spirit’s role, design, and function. Our spirits have an incredible database of things spiritual, soulful, and bodyful (is that a word?). Our spirit is light and light can and does carry data. “Really?” you ask. Yes, really. Think fiber optics. Data is put into light, then transferred to then be used. Same as our spirit. “In Him was Life and that Life was the Light of Men,” says John 1:4.

Only when our life, mode of being, and priorities are lined up spirit, soul, and body will we see ourselves prosper in ways never dreamed of. Our souls have a function and our spirits have a function. Each has different functions and some functions being very similar. Each has its own emotions. Our spirit loves differently than our soul does. Did you know our spirit has a voice just like our soul? Our body also having a voice. Three Scriptures that have jumped out at me ever since learning about the human spirit are 1 Corinthians 2:11, Proverbs 18:14, and Proverbs 20:27 and they really give a broader picture of the place of our spirit.

The spirit and great and the soul is great. It’s all about alignment. Next time you hear someone speak bad about the soul just know that our souls need work but they aren’t bad…they just need direction and leadership from our spirit. Our souls give us context to the natural world whereas our spirits give us context to their spiritual world both of which are and should be under the Will and Want of Father God. And when we beat up our soul for not doing the spirit’s job then we are missing the mark.

Charistmatic Dualism should have no place in the Church. Another aspect of Dualism is that our spirit and soul are one and the same, but that is a whole other subject.

 

Blessing Your Spirit – Your spirit and Land

I hope this ministers to you and opens up your spirit, soul, and body to connections to land that is holy and removal from defiled land. You may have never thought of these things but if you were to do a study on land in the Scripture you would find a plethora of passages.

I am currently borrowing a camcorder but would love to buy my own when I have to give up the one I’m borrowing. If you would like to sow into that you can click the Donate button below the video to give if you want. I do this all for the benefit of the listeners and readers and only want us all to walk in the freedom that Jesus paid for!

Thanks and be blessed!

YouTube – Blessing Your Spirit – Soul and Spirit

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I have another YouTube video uploaded. Check it out!

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New YouTube post!!

New YouTube Video Uploaded!

I have post another YouTube video! This video goes along with this post: https://1john417.wordpress.com/2015/05/28/im-going-to-be-a-father/

I’ve Started a YouTube Channel!

This was kind of birthed through doing ministry with an individual. We weren’t able to connect via phone one week so I decided to create a YouTube video…and then it dawned on me, I should create a YouTube channel. So I did!

It will mostly be simple prayers to bless your spirit. I will also include soul and body blessings as well as other prayers and possible rambles.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOQ1-RJJckEiKTmBVYNIg-g is the link to my channel. If you have a YouTube account you can subscribe and get notifications when I post a new video. Starting out the quality of the video won’t be the best but the quality of the content in the video will be great.

I’ve posted prayers in my blogs but sometimes it helps to have someone pray them out loud over you so that’s why I wanted to start the channel.

God Bless!

Protocol? Formula? Is there a difference

Too be honest, this blog came from a thought about what, if any, difference is there between the two and how does it practically work in our spiritual walk. Below is the best I can come up with (honestly I feel like I do pull things out of nowhere) and it is my pondering on the matter.

Protocol – the official procedure or system of rules governing affairs of state or diplomatic occasions. In computer science, a set of rules or procedures for transmitting data…there must be a preexisting agreement as to how the information will be structured and how each side will send and receive it

Formula – a plan or method for doing, making, or achieving something

If we look at the life of Jesus we can see, based on what was written, that He never healed the same way twice. Though all the things He did couldn’t be contained in all the libraries in the world so it is possible that He healed the same way twice or more. I don’t believe He walked and did something and was like, “I’ve done this before so it must work again.” That would be formula.

Formula

In my experience, I’ve found that many Christians who pray for healing pray out of formula like A² + B² = C² instead of protocol – what is needed at the moment and what the Father telling you to do. I am a minister in the local Healing Rooms and as soon as someone has in issue with their back or something people immediately want to do the thing where a person sits and they see if the legs are the same length and, if not, pray for one of them to get extended. Why? Because they’ve seen it done and suppose that is what needs to be done when there could be something totally different. Or because it’s cool… The thing about formula is that for it to work in our eyes we need to see the solution according to what we said or did and without that, we think we failed or God failed. 1+1 ≠ 2 all the time. The way God works doesn’t always add up in our brain so it can set us up for disappointment. We live in an expectation that if we do this, this, and that, then that, that, and this will happen. Since it worked in the past it must work now being as there is nothing new under the sun. Formula binds the outcome based on the facets and variables within itself (if that makes sense). So if you can just one point wrong in that formula there is no possible way of a positive and accurate outcome or solution. Formula has an expectation involved with it. Formula is strict and offers no grace for a wrong move or calculation.

Protocol

I believe protocol to be different from formula, although you could look at both terms and ascertain that they are one in the same. Protocol is the vehicle in which information can pass to something else. I believe Jesus walked in protocol. Protocol lives in the expectancy which Seeing what our Father was doing and then doing it. What I believe to be the protocol when it comes to healing is, in no particular order:

The Blood of Jesus

The Cross of Jesus

The Resurrection of Jesus

The Ascension of Jesus

The Name of Jesus

The Authority of Jesus

The Sayings of Jesus

The Lordship of Jesus

The Direction of Jesus

Being as I work in the IT profession I see protocols as, not hard and  fast rules, but ways in which data is transferred. One protocol will not help or doing anything if the situation doesn’t call for it. What is also interesting is that certain protocols allow for errors and some have error-correcting built-in. When I say errors I don’t mean a spirit of error or sin or anything like that when it comes to spiritual things. Formulas don’t allow for mistakes. Protocol does. But protocol works best with no errors. Now how to put this practically?

Say someone comes up to you and says, “I have this problem and I can’t seem to get free.” Formula will say, “Read the Bible, pray, and go to Church” None of these are wrong, mind you, but each of these can’t possibly be the answers to end all issues. If that were so the Church would be full of 100% healed, set free believers living in God’s glory and their own glory…but that’s not the case. Formula will say, “Well, you’ve answered all the questions correctly so there really shouldn’t be anything wrong with you.” Again I hope I am making sense here. Protocol looks at it from a different perspective. Where has the Blood, Cross, Resurrection, Ascension, Authority, Lordship and/or Name of Jesus not had its perfect work in this situation. All of these are resolved an issue without the full knowledge of details, though details can help. I believe that when encountering such things the first thing we should do is ask, “Father, what is going on and where are You in this? What should and shouldn’t I do? What are You working on in this person?” I think we use formulas because we want to be right and effective, which again isn’t wrong, but there is no formula in relationship. Formulas are unchanging(that which was, will be). Protocols change, bend, and move within a relationship with other protocols(behold I do a new thing). I feel like I am not making sense, which is OK, so I’ll end with this.

We must walk with ourselves and with others out of our relationship with our Heavenly Father and not strict guidelines which we need to follow. The OT consisted of laws and rules to govern people’s relationship with God. And that was labeled the “Ministry of Condemnation.” The NT offers it all in two commandments: love God and love others as you love yourself, which leaves some wide open areas of growth, expansion, and learning. There is a formula we can trust in for our answers, or we can walk with God in the protocols listed above and come to Him as the Answer. Protocol allows for different answers in the same situations. What is God saying about it instead of what He did say about it? There were times where people asked Jesus if He would or was going to do something. In these instances He said “no” and then did it. Why? He followed the protocol of not doing anything except He saw the Father doing it.

If the same ole same ole answers to your questions aren’t helping then maybe look at the protocols listed above and see where they need to be applied to your life, land, generational line, body, etc.

Blessings family!

 

 

PS: I’ll be adding a nice addition to some of the blogs. I may need to add somethings to older blogs to enhance the prayer portions. Stay tuned!

 

 

Condemnation, Judgment, and…Discipline: What are they and are they still around?

Most confuse the first two and hardly talk about the last one. Lets explore their real meaning and possible applications in New Testament thinking. Lets dive in and see how many don’t like what I have to say. If you don’t please comment and explain your take on the different sides, definitions, and applications.

First three(ish) Greek definitions

• Condemnation – katakrima in Greek – an adverse sentence (the verdict):—condemnation
• Judgment – krisis in Greek – decision (subjectively or objectively, for or against); by extension, a tribunal; by implication, justice (especially, divine law):—accusation, condemnation, damnation, judgment
• Judge – krinō in Greek – properly, to distinguish, i.e. decide (mentally or judicially); by implication, to try, condemn, punish:—avenge, conclude, condemn, damn, decree, determine, esteem, judge, go to (sue at the) law, ordain, call in question, sentence to, think
• Discipline – paideuō in Greek – to train up a child, i.e. educate, or (by implication), discipline (by punishment):—chasten(-ise), instruct, learn, teach

Now our English definitions according to Oxford Dictionary

• Condemnation – The expression of very strong disapproval; censure
• Judgment – The ability to make considered decisions or come to sensible conclusions
• Judge – Form an opinion or conclusion about
• Discipline – Train (someone) to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to correct disobedience

Does God still condemn? Does God still judge or give judgment? Does God still discipline?

Many “Grace Preachers” (a term used to describe their teaching and is in no way derogatory) teach God in no way condemns nor judges or gives judgments. I haven’t heard much if they believe God still corrects or disciplines (could be due to so much emphasis on God not judging). Many “Judgment Preachers” (a term used to describe their teaching and is in no way derogatory) teach God is still in the judging/judgment business and He does it often and without restraint. This view is usually about how God is angry at sin and sinners and is punishing them for it yet you don’t hear much about restoration or redemption in it. “Death to California and NYC” tends to be their mantra.

Funny thing is the hyper-grace people tend not to offer the same grace to those who don’t align with their thinking. And the judgment people don’t offer grace to much of anything. I think the “Judgment Preachers” need a lot more grace and the “Grace Preachers” need a lot more discernment, which true judgment is. All the while neither side knows there is a balance between the two. Look at the Apostle John. Only the Apostle of Love could receive Revelation and all it’s hard sayings.

Both sides hold very strong beliefs regarding their viewpoints. Both usually tell the other side to question what they’ve been taught. Both are tend to be hardliners. Both, in my opinion, burn bridges and castigate each other. Do they not realize they’ll be spending eternity together? God will one day set us all straight in our beliefs…but until then the schism remains and the devouring lingers. For what it’s worth, which may not be much, here is my belief, not to tear one down nor build another up. I will digress from my ratiocination above and move along.

Do I think God condemns people? In a word no. People think God does but He really doesn’t. People are not meant to condemn other people either. It’s interesting to note that Hell was never intended nor created for human beings but the devil and his angels. But Hell does exist and some invariably will choose to reject Christ and His offer and end up there, despite some Christian Universalist’s claims. It is interesting to note that in Matthew 12:41 that the men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it along with the Queen of the south. However there is another Scripture in Luke 6:37 that says not to condemn or you will be condemned. Clearly in John 3:17 it says God did not send Jesus to condemn us. Our hearts can condemn us according to 1 John 3:20. But God is greater than our hearts and supersedes it.

Now what about judgment or judging? The most common Scripture used to say we are not to judge is Matthew 7:1 which says judge not lest you me judged. Like I said most common used Scripture. However many miss another Scripture in John 7:24 which says,

Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.

There is a righteous judgment that is necessary and allowed, you may even take it as a command but that’s on you. Lets be honest with ourselves for a moment… We all judge. Everyday. Mostly based upon outside appearances. Sometimes internal. As the saying goes “Never judge a book by its cover”, so goes in life. 1 Samuel 16:7 says,

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.

I ran across another blog written by an outright pagan. Now I wasn’t there and I don’t know either of the parties involved so I can’t judge their hearts but their actions may point to something here. I am not condemning them at all but pointing out something that is sorely needed, especially in Charismatic circles where some strange people seem to surface (I say in jest). She and another visited a Healing Rooms in a very prominent Charismatic church in Cali. There aim was simple and quite neutral and genuine. They wanted whatever this particular Healing Rooms had to offer.  So they went and encountered absolutely loving, gentle, and encouraging people. They received very encouraging words a

Another passage about judging is 1 Corinthians 6:1-11. To keep the word count down I won’t supply the whole passage but the gist of it is this: we are called to judge with righteous truth and discernment. We will judge angels and the world yet it is not politically correct to judge people’s actions according to some. You can see this in the current events. For fear of profiling and judging a terrorist attack in San Bernardino could have very well been prevented. The situation in question was purely an outside appearance issue. But because of the sensitive nature of people these days a person did not come forward with a concern. Spiritually speaking, discernment should one or the only criteria for judging. There is right and wrong plainly explained in Scripture and should be taught, preached, and learned. There is also much gray areas as well. There are also some areas that aren’t touched at all. Some other Scriptures that point to fact that we need to point out issues in our lives and other people’s live, if they have given us authority to do so, I repeat, if they have given us authority to do so are: 2 Tim. 4:2, Eph 4:15, Eph 4:25-26, 2 Cor 7:8, 1 Cor. 2:10-16, and 1 Cor. 14:24-25. Many people judge others and have no clue who the person is or where they came from or their story. In these cases judgment should only be used via discernment and not outright rebuke. Discernment is but judgment devoid of outward appearances. Rashness, bigoted, hateful speech is never, ever a legitimate expression of righteous judgment or discernment. Ever. Because of the “Judgment Preachers” people are hating Christians even more these days. And this may very well be the reason for the appearance of “Grace Preachers.” However both have been around since the start of Christianity. The biggest problems with the “Judgment Preachers” are the sub group I call, “Date Setters”. Whether it’s Jonathan Cahn, John Hagee, or the eBible Fellowship people, they have an issue with sin…and obviously don’t know how to handle it. Truth with love, speech seasoned with salt to give grace, grace that empowers change and not that destroys countries. On the discipline…

I’ll start with Heb. 12:5-17

…and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor faint when you are reproved by Him; for those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives.”

It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed. Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled; that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal. For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.

And Revelation 3:19 which says,

Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent.

Discipline, correction, and rebuke. All three are come from judgment/discernment and are labeled as condemnation by those who don’t fully understand the terms. Hopefully the I answered that and if not then I would encourage you to study it more than I have. This blog is already getting too long…lol

God does indeed discipline and correct us and if Hebrews is right then that proves we are legitimate. And if He doesn’t there is illegitimacy. “Rebuke a wise man and he will love you for it,” says Prov. 9:8. “Rebuke a fool and he will hate you,” goes the rest of it. Look I don’t like people telling me I’m wrong. Usually people don’t. But to remove that from our lives is to remove growth in areas we don’t think we need growth. Have you ever sought the Lord for a Word concerning something but He gave you a Word about something totally different? It goes the same way. We need to have people in our lives who can challenge, correct, exhort, and come alongside us.

One scripture that is oft quoted is 2 Tim. 1:7 which says,

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

We love not being given a spirit of fear. He crave love. We yearn for His power. But a sound mind? What does that even mean? Glad I asked! Sound mind in Greek is sōphronismos which means discipline. Ever since I looked up the meaning I’ve wondered why the translators chose such a different phrase that discipline. How many crave discipline? I do as an adult. But hated it as a child. Maybe that’s the difference? Maturity versus childhood.

Redemptive shame, just like redemptive pain, is a gift from God. However, destructive shame and destructive pain from the enemy is a curse and not a blessing. Knowing the difference is key. Yes there is redemptive shame and sorrow (see Acts 5:41, 1 Cor. 1:27, 1 Cor. 6:5, 2 Thes. 3:14) Redemptive shame and destructive shame are only confused by the voice of the enemy. God brings hope. Enemy despair.

James 2:13 says,

For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.

Judgment and mercy. Mercy and judgment. A paradox.

In my experience, mercy, not getting what I do deserve, has often been, getting a little bit of what I do deserve. Shame, fear, hell, judgment, pain is what drove me to Jesus. I felt like a horrible human being who didn’t deserve to live. And God used that feeling to get me to dive to His feet. I was stumbling on a path the led to nowhere but hell and destruction and was enjoying it…until He put His hand on my life and said, “You’re wrong and you and I both know it.” He disciplined and corrected me in the midst of it all and 12 years later I’ve changed and I’m changing…and it wasn’t a pretty process. It was a redemptive process but not a pretty one. Sometimes God gives you what you want to show you what you need as someone has said.

For me I must be open to His many ways of dealings with me. I cannot turn a blind eye or a deaf ear if He wants to show me how I’m wrong. I should crave it! King David said his judgments (which He uses to correct and discipline) are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired than fine gold or a winning Powerball ticket. Sweeter than honey or stevia, whichever you prefer. For by them your servant and son are warned. In keeping them is great reward.

Condemnation is a no-no for humans. Judgments are a yes-no but only when love, mercy, and true righteousness is established in their heart. Discipline is a yes-yes for without it we are illegitimate. And fear not because God doesn’t correct but for our own benefit and not destruction.

So I did my best, which is far from perfect, but I thought I’d open a dialogue that many have shut down. I aim to regain bridges that have been burned. A good scribe brings from his storeroom treasure both old and new.

There are two sides to every coin and only when a coin has two different sides is it ever of any worth.

 

 

2015 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 17,000 times in 2015. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 6 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

If interested click above. To all that have read, commented, likes, shared, re-blogged, I thank from the bottom of my heart. May 2016 continue forward with revelation, insight, inner healing, deliverance, repentance, maturity, and sonship all by God’s grace, mercy, power, and discipline.

Things have been a tad foggy…I could use a little help

I’m not one to ask for help. Could be my maleness or my Polishness; unsure at this point. It could very well be my soul vying for dominion because God knows the soul has had the throne uncontested for some time. I feel in my spirit a satisfaction that comes from knowing the affection of my Heavenly Father regardless of activity. My soul has the need for affirmation and perfection, both of which will never come outside of Him. Right now the soul is pinning down the spirit and the count is two with one second left to spare. It may be a last-ditch effort to show the spirit who is boss…at that is where you may come in.

I have 9 blogs in draft, one being a short story, and a two books held in my spirit: a novel and non-fiction. At the moment time is the commodity in need, even though Ravel and Rachmaninoff stole some of it when it was available. So far 100% of my blogs have been written in the midst of turmoil; the turmoil of my job. I work an IT help desk job so I am on and off the phone all day and attempt to write in the between. When I go home I tend to thwart all needs for a computer. All writers know “writer’s block” and loathe it at times. I struggle with that as well.

I am not a popular blogger and don’t have hundreds of likes, shares, or views but that doesn’t matter. This blog is more for me than you but I do it for you more than me (if that makes any sense at all). I am asking for prayer. That I would access the time I have and that it would be redeemed. Also that this last-ditch effort of the soul would be thwarted by an even stronger reversal from my spirit (after all the spirit loves the soul much than the soul loves the spirit (at least according the soul’s current view-point)). That any all fog would lift.

I’m also “planning” on moving to another state and city both of which are Teacher redemptive gift which I also am a Teacher redemptive gift (see http://www.sandylandry.com/) There is an immense blessing that would come with this and an immense ability to respond and redeem the negatives that can also creep in. I could use prayer for a job for my wife and I that could make for a much smoother transition being as I am not moving for work but for God’s leading. He’s provided before and I know He will provide again.

I’m learning and filling myself up with much teaching and tools that I need and that I can minister to others with. As a Teacher I am prone to want to get every teaching, listen to every sermon, or read every book I can on a subject. This can be good but at the same time could take up that commodity called time. I had some responses from my blog: I’d Love To Help In Any Way I Can and so far fruit has come out of it. Prayer points for that would be increased wisdom, discernment, and insight.

In the midst of great things happening things can still get foggy. Please pray that either the fog will lift our for my spirit to focus on the Light in the midst of it. I also am Asthmatic, which sucks, and dealing with panic/stress related feelings in my body both of which I’m looking for insight into healing and deliverance from. I’m also overweight so I need some healthy discipline and self-control in that area. Both Asthma and panic/stress issue hold me back from exercise. The other day I was listening to two individuals who love Jesus but are riddled with health issues and it breaks my heart that surviving is so hard using artificial and fabricated medicines. “White knuckling” life in the midst of a promised abundant life. I wanted to weep and I’m welling up slightly recalling the conversation.

Above all I want a more intimate walk with my Daddy, Dad, Father, and King. To walk in full Sonship. To hear, feel, see, and experience Him more fully. That my spirit would rise to dominion and my soul would finally rest in submission to my spirit and that the full transfiguration process would continue to progress as I look with an unveiled face.

Thank you and God bless!

PS: thank you to those who have sown into my blog with finances, prayer, likes, comments, encouragement, and admonishment. I know change is happening in you and I and I’m blessed to be a part of it. It is this that spurs me onward.

When Your Feelings Aren’t Your Feelings

Two stories.

First one happened around 7 or so years ago. I was in Church. Then suddenly depressed. Out of nowhere. Sudden.

Second one happened this month. I was at work battling a sinus infection. But something else crept up on me. I’m Asthmatic so it’s not at all uncommon to wheeze from time to time but this was simple lack of breath. No wheeze. No cough. Inhaler didn’t work.

Both happenings were sudden. After the second happening died down to a close I learned that my wife, on the way to work, experienced a very stressful and frightening experience with an undercover police officer. She heard reports that the town North of us had a man impersonating a cop pulling people over. She thought this could be this person due to the circumstances so she called 911 to verify and while on the line she did pull over and the man, dressed in baggy pants and black jacket was yelling at her to slow down through her closed car window. 911 eventually did confirm he was a legit deputy. Needless to say it was very stressful for my wife and she cried because of it…all the while I had this shortness of breath episode out of nowhere.

During the first happening I told someone about it in the middle of experiencing it. Neither did I know anyone experiencing depression or feeling of hopelessness nor did I find out if anyone was. However the person who I told had a response that helped immensely and brought perspective:

Maybe those feelings or emotions aren’t yours…

Not mine! But I’m “feeling” them. Physically and soulishly and probably spiritually as well. It wasn’t just thoughts that I was having but a much deeper feeling. How could I be feeling something that isn’t mine or reacting emotionally by an outside influence not attached to me? Then this Scripture jumped out at me. Hebrews 5:14 says,

 But the solid food is for the mature— the ones because of habit having their faculties trained for discernment of both good and evil.

• Food is Greek is trophē which means nourishment.
• Mature in Greek is teleios which means wanting nothing necessary to completeness, that which is perfect.
• Habit in Greek is a power acquired by custom, practice, use.
• Faculties trained in Greek is aisthētērion and gymnazō which together mean an organ of perception exercised naked (in a palaestra or school of athletics) (Yes naked) (Humility I believe).
• Discern in Greek is diakrisis which means a distinguishing, discerning, judging or judicial estimation or disputation.
• Good in Greek is kalos which means beautiful, handsome, excellent, eminent, choice, surpassing, precious, useful, suitable, commendable, admirable.
• Bad in Greek is kakos which means of a bad nature, not such as it ought to be or troublesome, injurious, pernicious, destructive, baneful.

Whew… That has partially satisfied by Teacher Redemptive Gift lol. (see http://www.sandylandry.com/ for more on Redemptive Gifts)

Faculties trained to discern. Other translations say “senses trained” or “exercised.” I have a “sense” and it can be “trained.”

Have you ever felt something out of nowhere? A feeling foreign to your current mode of being? A sudden and possibly overwhelming shift in thinking or emotional state? Maybe a house produces it? Maybe a particular piece of land? Maybe a person?

Most emotions and feelings we experience, fight against, and/or fight for come from a build up. We are either building ourselves up on or experiencing joy, love, and peace etc or fighting against depression, fear, anger, etc. Usually our feelings or emotions are responses to external or internal stimuli. These feelings have been stockpiled so to speak over the days, months, years, and decades. Our usual responses. But what I’m talking about is the outside the norm type experiences.

Now there are several other factors that can elicit abnormal feelings and emotions. Sudden loss of a family member or friend, loss of job, divorce, side effects from new medication or nutritional supplements, even certain foods. Never shrug off feelings or emotions. They almost always point to something or someone. Cause and effect if you will. The key is finding out why. Why am I suddenly feeling differently? Was I feeling this before? What is gradual? Did it come headlong? What is the Spirit of God saying? What is your spirit saying (see 1 Cor. 2:11 and Prov. 20:27)?

So how do our senses discern the difference? And why?

First, the “Why” can be answered this way. Simply because. We are called to be sons of God and the Bride of Christ. Now we are first and foremost spirit and spiritual people. There is much, much more going on around us then we can see in the natural. It helps to know what is happening around us with our senses. One of the Gifts of the Spirit is discerning of spirits (plural).

“How” is another interesting notion. We have 5 main physical senses that our body uses: sound, sight, touch, smell, and taste. All of these are used in Scripture to describe our relationship to the Lord and His relationship to us (see Psa. 85:8, Psa. 34:8, Gen. 32:22-32, and 2 Cor. 2:15). We also use these senses to relate to the world.

Our soul has mind, will, and emotions in which we relate to God, He relates to us, and we relate to the world(see 1 Cor. 2:16, Jer 29:11, Jer. 31:3). Our soul is the life of God.

And our spirit has creativity, intuition, conscience, fellowship, light bearing, and more in  which we relate to God, He relates to us…and we relate to the spiritual world (see Mark 2:8, 1 Cor. 2:11, John 4:24, Eph. 6:18, Rom. 8:16, Rom. 9:1).

We can utilize every aspect of who we are spirit, soul, and body to discern good and evil. We discern good all the time. There might be that someone who is just infectious with Joy. People can’t help but be filled with Joy when around them. Others might feel dirty, creeped out, and scared around another person or place…even when a person hasn’t opened their mouth, looked in their direction or the place has no affiliation with a person. Cemeteries tend to be a creepy place for some. Seminaries likewise.

Cold tends to be a feeling many feel from demonic or Alien Human Spirit presence in a house or person. Their hair stands on end (which can also happens with their jam comes on the radio so it can be good or bad). The feeling itself can be pretty neutral oftentimes. Discernment is key. I think the feelings are easy to come by but it’s the discernment that is attained via training our senses or the organ of perception as stated in the Greek. And how do we attain better discernment? Training and being led by the Spirit and our spirit. Our spirits know a whole lot more than our souls and bodies do. Our spirit is the light of God. It can illuminate what the soul and body cannot comprehend. 1 Cor. 2:14 says,

But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised

When we remain in the soul/body context of the natural world the feelings of good and evil can be very vague and we can attach these feelings to ourselves unless we are able to spiritually appraise them and come to the conclusion that maybe theses feelings aren’t feelings or if they are then maybe they aren’t mine.

But why discern things that aren’t yours? God is pretty big on community and co-laboring. Togetherness. So when one person can’t do something then we can pick up the slack. Are you feeling a sudden feeling of suicide? Pray against it towards you and ask God, “Who is this for?” and if He gives a name then pray, rebuke, and release His perfect love.

Situational awareness as well. Now I am not a person who looks for every demon under every rock…however maybe under every other rock there may be some critters. We are not to be ignorant of who we are in Christ and who the enemy is around us. By situational awareness we can know the atmosphere we are in and what to look out for. You feel creeped out in that person’s house? Release and bless the house with God’s presence.

Discernment in inner healing and deliverance is a HUGE key to can unlock many doors which can prevent running around and trying to figure things out on our own.

For the sake of not belaboring this blog post, which I can tend to do, I will leave you with this. God is a feeler and we are feelers. Maybe you don’t feel as much and that’s is 100% OK. I’m sure there are some who would love to switch places with you many times lol. But for those who do feel and have been confused I hope this has helped. If you have more question please ask. For those who don’t feel but want to then ask God for His Bread and His Presence. First and foremost we want to discern Him and His Presence and His good above all.

Here is a new teaching by Arthur Burk about Developing Discernment, which I intend to consume soon. http://www.theslg.com/downloads/490-developing-discernment-download.html

Thanks for reading and please like and leave a comment on when you have discerned something good or evil. How did you know it was good or evil? What was the feeling you had?

 

 

 

I’d Love To Help In Any Way I Can

I feel my calling, design, and purpose is to help people. I am Elijah House certified and Sozo trained. I would love to be able to help in any way I can. Do you have questions? Concerns? Issues you can’t seem to overcome? Health issues where medicine doesn’t work or barely works? Maybe you are unsure what is fueling the anger you feel or the lostness you experience.

I am willing to listen first and offer help second. If I don’t know the answer I’ll look for the answer. If I can’t find an answer I’ll do my best to point you in the right direction. So please contact me at onejohn417@yahoo.com for any type of question, concern, or insight you may be seeking regarding any issue you may be facing.

I’m not easily shocked and everything shared with me is 100% confidential. If I may say with all humility I’m known by my friends and family as a person who always has a listening ear and where secrets are safe. There are many people hurting and don’t know who or where to go for help so I want to be a place/person where someone can go to. This is a 100% free service. So please contact me at onejohn417@yahoo.com.

Happy a Blessed day and Happy Thanksgiving

 

 

 

Learned Helplessness: Signs and Freedom

Disclaimer: I’m neither a psychologist nor trained in mental health whatsoever. However, I do read a lot of books, articles, studies, teachings, ideas, etc about mental health and the people who suffer from mental health issues. My heart goes out to them. If it were one people group who I would love to see most set free, healed, and delivered it would be those who suffer with mental illness. History has shown that patients with mental illness have had atrocious things done to them and I am horrified about it. Thankfully science, psychologists, and revelation has increased and brought much growth, understanding, and tools to bring freedom, healing, and deliverance to those precious people suffering under the weight mental illness.

 

This blog is a continuation of sorts from my last blog, Learned Helplessness. I was spurred on to creating a continuation with more examples, causes, and tools for healing. I hope this helps bring comfort, healing, deliverance, and ultimately a fuller experience of our Heavenly Father and your worth to him and others. God wants us whole spirit, soul, and body.

Watch this:

Potential Causes of Learned Helplessness

• SRA/RA (Satanic Ritual Abuse/Ritual Abuse-Christian or non-Christian) – This usually occurs as a child and consists of persistent religious, physical, emotional, and sexual abuse
• PTSD – Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Futility – doing things over and over and never resulting in anything and things designed to keep someone busy yet stuck in one place
• Extreme Stress – Death of love one(s), losing a job and unable to find another, debilitating illness, etc etc
• Prolonged Stress – Constant abuse, horrible home life, horrible work life, doing something you’re not designed for, etc etc
• Self-Pity – I am not ____. I will never be able to _____. (fill in the blanks)
• Rejection – Perceived (speculation) and Actual (opposite sex ended relationship, opposite said “no” to going out with you etc)
• Lack of Control – always being pushed around, have decisions made for you, and never being able to think or act for yourself either due to oppression or lack of resources
• Non-Constructive Criticism – Critical words that bring to aspect of building up or encouragement despite areas of weakness
• Trauma – Physical, Emotional, Sexual, Car Accidents, Loss of loved one(s), etc
• Failing Marriage – a marriage where no matter what you do to save it, pour life into it, or revitalize it the spouse refuses to change
• Addiction – addictions either wanted or unwanted, wanting to be free yet never able to
• Literal Imprisonment – includes those guilty and not guilty yet imprisoned and also those released from extended incarceration
• Government Assistance – this one is controversial however please hear me out. This is not a political or economic issue but a mindset issue. When an able-bodied person is dependent upon government assistance like food stamps, Section 8, Welfare, and the like it binds people. Some are helpless now that they are in the system and are unable to succeed even slightly because then their benefits will go away. In some areas government assistance is a generational thing where Grandparents, parents, children, and children’s children are all in the same place. To offer the other side there are many who are on government assistance who absolutely need it, and are due it. The issue is a poverty mindset and not just impoverished circumstances
• Serving Two Masters – this is shown oftentimes in unions. A worker will have a union boss and the job boss and they have to please both at the same time and it become a helpless situation when one boss gives you contradictory orders compared to the other boss. It can come to a point where you could be out of a job regardless what you do. Also unions can force you not to work and if you choose to work anyway they will force you out and cause you to not be able to find work in the field again
• Patriarchy – where women are held to a lower class, unable to excel in anything substantial, have no say in anything, demoralized, and a less-than citizen
• Matriarchy – where men are held to a lower class, unable to excel in anything substantial, have no say in anything, demoralized, and a less-than citizen
• No Parental Structure – This is a very complex issue with many variables. However, studies show that without a strong Father and Mother (and marriage) in the home, children succumb to what is modeled to them. Fatherless homes and Motherless homes each have unique issues that can carry on to the children.
• Losing Your Voice – never being asked for your opinion, advice, and not acknowledging what you say
• (place your own situation where you have learned helplessness and are unable to break free)

Potential Results of Learned Helplessness

• PTSD
• DID aka Multiple Personality Disorder
• Clinical Depression
• Suicidal Thoughts/Intentions
• Degenerative Diseases
• Heart Disease
• Obesity
• Heart Attack
• Low Self-Esteem
• Chronic Failure
• Fear of Success
• Feelings of Lack of Control
• Sadness
• Premature Aging
• Poverty
• Domestic Violence
• Addictions
• Poor Parenting
• Marriage Issues
• Academic Achievement
• Self-Pity
• Generational Fatherless (and sometimes Motherless) Homes
• Panic Attacks
• Mental Disorders
• General Anxiety Disorders
• Feelings of Being Out of Control
• Never Able to Offer Your Opinion
• Loss of Voice

Both lists could go on and on. You may have noticed that certain Causes and Results are interchangeable. I suppose it would all depend on the logistics of your life. Notice I used the word “potential.” I think that could be a crucial mindset to have in the midst of Learned Helplessness. Oftentimes, with the proper perspective, the things we go through can cause us to grow, seek God’s face more intentionally, and leave us less scathed. Not unscathed but less scathed.

If you have experienced these causes and results know that you are not alone. Millions if not Billions experience the same things. I personally have had about 20 or so of the above happen and let happen to me. It is not a fun road to travel on or be dragged on. You may have had many instances, whether outside of your control or self-induced, where you’ve experienced and learned helplessness…but there is hope. There is freedom. There is healing, There is deliverance. Not many quick fixes or physical deliverance but paradigm shifting and mindset renewing that can utterly revolutionize the pain you’re going through. Now that we’ve talked about and listed the junk let us gaze upon the beauty that Jesus paid for. As the Scripture says in Galatians 5:1,

In [this] freedom Christ has made us free [and completely liberated us]; stand fast then, and do not be hampered and held ensnared and submit again to a yoke of slavery [which you have once put off].

Healing and Wholeness

All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it’s not only around us; it’s within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We’re also feeling the birth pangs. These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance. That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don’t see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy. – Romans 8:2-25 (MSG)

Such an apt description isn’t it? We know we are not what we should be yet in the midst we can press forward, unhindered with a mind fixed on Him.

Healing provides wholeness. Wholeness provides healing. God wants more than our healing. He wants wholeness and He will get what He wants! There is a slight paradox in the Scripture when we speak of healing, wholeness, difficulties, trials, fire, issues, redemption, salvation, adoption, grace, truth, correction, and love. There are two main types of pain in the world. Redemptive pain and destructive pain.

• Redemptive Pain – is fueled by God and the mindset that He corrects whom He loves and He trains whom He trusts–which is you! Healing and wholeness for the whole person spirit, soul, and body
• Destructive Pain – is fueled by satan to defeat, destroy, kill, maim, and obliterate God’s image on earth with the mindset designed to destroy a human’s spirit, soul, and body

I would highly suggest seeking the Lord either by yourself or preferably with another trusted believer to find out, based on the specifics of what you are dealing with, to see if the pain involved in redemptive or destructive. Destructive pain is much easier to figure out. Is what is happening producing the fruit of the Spirit and God’s glory or is it destructive in nature and diminishing God’s glory? Is there a redemptive quality where you would become a more whole person because of it. Redemptive pain is a little more tricky to ascertain.

In my previous post, Learned Helplessness, which you should really read because it gives much more explanation on the subject, I highlighted only one key aspect of healing and that was willingness. God’s willingness to heal which can break through learned Helplessness and for a person being willing to step into a person’s life to help bring healing and wholeness.

Potential Tools for Healing

• Willingness – know that God is and will always be willing to heal, and to pray for a person to be willing to walk with you in the midst of Causes and Results. Also if you are a person who knows someone else with Learned Helplessness being willing to step into their pain and walk with them gingerly and Holy Spirit and human spirit led
• Breaking Generational Sin/Curses/Covenants/Agreements – learned helplessness could very well be generational junk passed down and attached to you giving you a predisposition to walk in it. see Generational Deliverance
• Releasing and Walking Through Generational Grief – also a passed down issue that, with the Lord, you can walk out of grief healthily
• Releasing and Walking Through Unresolved Grief – grief that has been pushed aside, stuffed, denied, or buried
• Breaking Word Curses – “You’ll never amount to anything”, “You’re just like your father”, “You’re just like your mother”, “Why do you even try anymore” are all word curses spoken over us and we speak them over us ourselves
• Renouncing Inner Vows – see I’ll Never Do That Again
• Breaking Soul/Spirit Ties – see Soul Ties – Legitimate or Illegitimate
• Renewing the Mind – see Paradigm Shift
• Worship – this opens up our spirit and soul to receive from the Lord in intimate ways
• Choose Something to Do That You Have Control Over – whatever that looks like to you. “No” can be a very anointed word. I used to always say “Yes” and resented it. I started saying “No” and felt much more in control and my own person because of it
• Live to God and For God –  see An Audience of One
• Pick Up a Hobby – I love reading and writing. You may love the same or collecting things. Maybe knitting, Legos, building model planes, word puzzles, or jigsaw puzzles are more suitable to you. What would make you feel alive? Do that! Part of the 2nd commandment Jesus gave was to love our neighbor as ourselves. We need to love ourselves
• Individuate – meaning to form into a distinct entity or become your own person. Individuation is a key childhood function and provides the backdrop of adulthood. Those who are unable to individuate as children still need to as adults. This usually occurs via “mid-life crisis.” If you’re married have time with your friends (guys night or ladies night). Do something apart from your spouse, siblings, or parents.
• Nurture and Develop Your Spirit – this one is key. Blessing Your Spirit, Blessing Your Spirit Part 2, and Blessing Your Spirit Part 3 are great prayers to pray and have prayed towards you. My resources for this is Nurturing Your Spirit, Developing Your Spirit, and Blessing Your Spirit: Beloved Son (free) or Blessing Your Spirit: Precious Daughter (free)
• For Those With PTSD and other Trauma Issues – see PTSD Healing
• For Those with DID – see the above Nurture and Develop Your Spirit and also Tools for Freedom Parts I, II, III
• Fight Futility – see Fighting Futility by Arthur Burk
• Begin Building an Altar of His Goodness – what this means is replaying His goodness in your soul and spirit. What has He done for you in the past. Visit that and revisit that. Build a mindset of His goodness, faithfulness, and love. Neurological Scientist have found that the more times you recall a memory the more ingrained it become in your mind and the stronger the path to that memory. Philippians 4:8 is a great Scripture on what to think about
• Submit to God then resist the devil – First submit to God. Confess you are a struggling and need help. His ears are always attentive to His beloved children. Resist the devil. Bind, renounce, rebuke. Spiritual warfare is good but if you can’t do it by yourself get someone else who can do with led by the Spirit
• Receive – begin receiving from people. Where you have walked out in a little bit of false humility (“I don’t deserve it” “It’s all of Him and none of me” are common replies when someone wants to bless you), instead receive. If someone wants to pay for your meal, pray for you, clean your house, or whatever. I often joke that I am in the ministry of receiving because how can someone be blessed to give unless there is a receive  🙂
• Laugh – I mean deep down belly laugh. Laugh with yourself. Laugh at yourself. Laugh with others. Take it easy. Stop being so serious.
• God is For You – believe God is for you and not against you. see Mephibosheth
• Simple Prayer – Father, father me. Amen see Why a Father?
• Get Help – meet with a friend, talk to a trusted prayer minister or counselor. Get those Blessing Your Spirit resources for free
• Do What Makes Your Spirit Come Alive – some love being around water, some silence, still other loves crowds. Maybe its walking your dog or swinging in the local park. Maybe it’s taking your camera outside and going on a picture-taking walk (my wife and I do this). Where do you feel alive?

A couple of prayers from my previous post:

For your soul:

Father, yes, you are a father despite my experiences that try to tell me otherwise. I have learned helplessness. I’m not speaking death but being real. I’ve been harnessed and electrocuted. I’ve been hurt. The pain is real and I flinch at the smallest things sometimes. I see faith, I see hope, I see joy but they seem so out of reach. But I choose to say, “You are God.” You are a good Father despite it all. Give me willingness. Holy Spirit breath and birth in me willingness. Send me those who are willing who can walk with me, side by side. Father show me your willingness. Jesus reveal Yourself to me. Show me where you have been throughout my life. Show me that you’ve been with me in this box all along. Apply Your salve. Apply your oil. Heal my soul. Heal my body. Give me back a voice. Give me back my ability of choice. Make my will free again. Father, I ask You to lift off all crushing and shame that’s on my spirit. Lift off rejection from my soul. Release all demonically inspires lies and harassment. Remove the talons of the enemy from my mind. Father, give my soul perspective that in the midst of stress I can choose peace. In the midst of heartache and despair I can walk to the other side of the box and have joy. In the midst of this dark night of the soul I want a bright day of the spirit. Thank you Father for being my Father.

For the spirit:

Soul I recognize the frustration, pain, hurt, and trepidation that you have been experiencing. But, if I may, ask you to step aside for a brief moment. This is not rejection. I am just applying something to the spirit that will assist you along the path of healing. Spirit of _____ I call you to attention in the name of Jesus Christ. Spirit, I understand if you may be distant and afraid to come fully forward and I understand that and I acknowledge your right to feelings of safety. Please stay present throughout this blessing. Spirit if you are fully forward than great. Receive the word of God for you today in Philippians 2:13 , “For it is [not your strength, but it is] God who is effectively at work in you, both to will and to work [that is, strengthening, energizing, and creating in you the longing and the ability to fulfill your purpose] for His good pleasure. Spirit God has and is giving you willingness to jump to the other side of the box. Where the soul has learned helplessness, spirit you have learned willingness. You are designed to lead, guide, and bring into alignment the soul with the Kingdom and to take all of life’s woes with a more than conqueror mindset. You have the ability to help the soul get free. And spirit only you and the Holy Spirit knows the things of man. The soul does not. I bless you spirit with going to mind and setting things right. Where stress has taken over and damaged the brain, you spirit have the ability to repair. You, spirit, are the sustaining force that God created the whole of man to have. You, along with the Holy Spirit sustain man. Spirit go to the face of the Father and receive instruction, insight, revelation, power, and authority to set things right. Joy, Peace, Love, Faith, Hope are all your forte. It’s who you are. You are created and creative light made from the same substance as God. You are created in His image according to His likeness. You have what it takes. I bless you spirit in the name of Jesus Christ.

I hope and pray that this has helped and will help. Please like, comment, share, re-blog if this has helped or you know someone who may need to read this.  Each one of our lives is unique and is never pre-packaged. What works for one person won’t work for the other. Because our Learned Helplessness is unique so will our healing be unique.

 

Learned Helplessness

Disclaimer: I’m neither a psychologist nor trained in mental health whatsoever. However, I do read a lot of books, articles, studies, teachings, ideas, etc about mental health and the people who suffer from mental health issues. My heart goes out to them. If it were one people group who I would love to see most set free, healed, and delivered it would be those who suffer with mental illness. History has shown that patients with mental illness have had atrocious things done to them and I am horrified about it. Thankfully science, psychologists, and revelation has increased and brought much growth, understanding, and tools to bring freedom, healing, and deliverance to those precious people suffering under the weight mental illness.

The past several weeks I’ve been reading “Brain Rules” by John Medina. Needless to say the book fascinates me. I just finished the chapter on Stress and you can read the overview of the chapter here: http://www.brainrules.net/stress.

In the chapter on Stress, one point in particular jumped out at me and it was talking about Learned Helplessness. If you Google it you’ll come up with several different links that are much more detailed and scientific that anything you’ll read below. But I’ll do my best.

Learned Helplessness is when a human or animal is subjected to aversive stimuli which is inescapable. The result is that a person or animal stops trying fight against it and just takes it basically. Things will never change so why even try anymore type of mindset. Even when opportunities exist to get out of the stimuli their learned helplessness will forestall any movement to get away from it.

This concept is geared more towards animal psychology however, it can apply to many situations regarding human beings. The notion is that the lack of control a person experiences breeds a helpless attitude, which in turn will cause a person to overlook openings for change and/or growth.

Steven F. Maier and Martin Seligman were the two psychologist who stumbled upon this discovery. They detected this via an experiment on dogs. They found helpless behavior in canines who were trained to expect an electric shock after hearing a noise. After this conditioning, they placed the dogs in another box where there is one side that would provide an electric shock and another side which provided no shock and the only separator was a very low wall which the dogs could easily walk over to get to the other side. The dog who was conditioned to feel the shock never even attempted to leave the electrocuted side. In another test one of the dogs was harnessed and shocked so the dog was unable to vacate the electrocutable side. (To read the rest of the explanations and different test that were fun visit: http://psychology.about.com/od/lindex/f/earned-helplessness.htm)

Now regarding people. It happens all the time. A person undergoing stress for a prolonged time that is inescapable can Learn Helplessness. It can be a root issue that can lead to depression. Personally, I’ve experienced Learned Helplessness, but not to extremes as some have I’m sure, but I’ve felt it’s twinge in my life. However, my reactions usually show up in other ways like being angry at bad drivers or people who mess up by food order.

Here’s a quick backstory. Growing up I, for the most part, was raised in the ideology that a kid is meant to be seen and not heard(some of you may have grown up with “It’s better not to be seen or heard”). It was not always the case but most of the time it was true. I was the quiet one, who didn’t excel in sports, so I was pretty much dragged along to my brother’s traveling sports team. I was raised not to ask questions therefore, my opinion didn’t matter. This was and is still an issue in my adulthood. Without a voice as a child, I “knew” my voice didn’t matter as an adult. I learned that it was pointless to speak my mind because it was never heeded nor sought out. Now as an adult my wife almost always wants my opinion, she even loves my opinion. This was new to me. I lived so long on the electrocuted, your voice doesn’t matter so why even say anything, side of the box. Growing up hearing my father reply to me asking a question, “Just say, ‘Yes, dad.'” was my harness holding me back. I just went along with things.

Another slight pang of Learned Helplessness I’ve experienced is lack of control in my life. For the Alphas out there it is probably the exact opposite you’ve experience. In the lion’s share of my adult life I was again dragged along with others. I didn’t go to college and didn’t have a career. My parents divorced and my dad moved out so I was lived in our house with my mom and brother. It was a trying time to say the least. Both of them were party animals drinking and partying very late in the evenings when I liked to sleep. I felt totally disregarded. They didn’t give a lick of what I had to say. Then when I called them out on it, I wasn’t a righteous person either, they called me judgmental. So my uncle in MN had ALS so my mom wanted to move out there…so I followed with no real choice. I lived in MN for three years, my cousin passed away, my mom dispersed all her money from selling the house, then she decided to move back to MD…I followed. I felt helpless to make my life’s choices because I didn’t feel I had a choice. Electrocuted again.

Now back in MD I lived with my dad, because I didn’t have a choice. Then moved back in with my mom and brother and the partying commenced but this time at other houses thankfully but unthankfully. Unthankfully because I received a phone call at 2:00 AM saying there was a car accident and my mother was pinned in the car. Harnessed and electrocution. I told my mother that evening to come home. She didn’t listen. Thankfully she is in Our Father’s arms. It took me years to be able to keep my phone on during the night after that. Being as I lived with her and she was no longer alive…I was forced to move once again.

Lack of control is still a pain I feel from time to time. This isn’t the need to control everything but simply having a choice and making a choice. I’m going on 32 and am almost three years into a career that I thought I’d like but ended up not being exactly what I thought. Now it’s not that I don’t like what I do but it is a very high stressful job. My biggest problem is that I care. I want to help people. Fixing computers isn’t really helping people but it does partially pay the bills. Being married presses me onward though because I need to support my wife and any future children. The job is stressful and that is the crux of Learned Helplessness. I care and want things to work but I am given poor tools. It’s like giving me a screwdriver when I need a screw gun. Five months into the job I started getting panic attacks at very random times. Not to mention leaving a church and having a brother and father who didn’t want me to get married, didn’t hear what I had to say, and even tried to split my wife and I up. Mixed in was lies, gossip, triangulation, and never being able to provide the other side of the story.

Now my story isn’t that bad and nowhere near other people’s stories. We can all find places in our life where we’ve Learned Helplessness. The issue here is the “learned” part. It’s very hard to unlearn sometimes. The number one thing to help Unlearn Helplessness would be an incredible conspiracy of grace to come upon you. A conspiracy so profound that it would totally shift your paradigm. Thankfully some do experience it. I envy them. However others do not. For those who don’t, there is one word that will explain the medium for healing and that is process. I do not like process. It’s messy, it disturbs my current reality, and can be quite painful. It takes trust and when it’s hard to trust it’s hard to submit to process. As Wm. Paul Young says in The Shack,

“I suppose that since most of our hurts come through relationships so will our healing, and I know that grace rarely makes sense for those looking in from the outside.”

You can’t schedule friendship and friendship is where healing comes from the most. Friendship with God and friendship with His children, our brothers and sisters. Even then it’s incredibly difficult to find friends who are willing to be available. That’s why people have to spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on counseling or therapy when just having real, available, grace empowered friends would provide the soil for healing. So where do we go from here? Great question!

Pray for willingness. It’s the obstacle that births Learned Helplessness to begin with. We don’t posses the ability to be willing to walk over that small wall to that other side of the box where there are no pangs, twinges, or electrodes. We can’t be willing because we are hurt. Is it no wonder that in Matthew 8:2 the leper asked Jesus,

“Are you willing to make me clean?”

Sometimes we need someone else’s willingness to breath upon the ember of our fading willingness. And what did Jesus do in response? He said,

“I Am willing. Be cleansed!”

Then He reached out and touched him. He reached out. He touched.

Maybe you don’t have any Learned Helplessness…but you know someone who does. Maybe, based upon the Spirit’s movement, it’s time for you to reach out and bring a whole bunch of willingnessness with you. Sometime all someone needs is a touch. A gesture. Intentionality is key. Generally speaking, people know when someone does something intentional. There is usually a cost or sacrifice entailed with it.

Now for those in my boat and so many others what do we do? Is there hope? Are we harnessed somehow? Have we lost the willingness we so desperately need? Like I said above we need to pray. Pray for willingness. God has promised to give us willingness. Philippians 2:13 declares,

For it is [not your strength, but it is] God who is effectively at work in you, both to will and to work [that is, strengthening, energizing, and creating in you the longing and the ability to fulfill your purpose] for His good pleasure.

Dearly Beloved God is willing! God is able! Grace is within you whether you know or have experience it or not. Grace and Joy are your inheritance.

Our hurts don’t come prepackaged, so neither will our healing. Our wounds are specific so our healing should be just as specific.

Lets pray.

For your soul:

Father, yes, you are a father despite my experiences that try to tell me otherwise. I have learned helplessness. I’m not speaking death but being real. I’ve been harnessed and electrocuted. I’ve been hurt. The pain is real and I flinch at the smallest things sometimes. I see faith, I see hope, I see joy but they seem so out of reach. But I choose to say, “You are Good.” You are a good Father despite it all. Give me willingness. Holy Spirit breath and birth in me willingness. Send me those who are willing who can walk with me, side by side. Father show me your willingness. Jesus reveal Yourself to me. Show me where you have been throughout my life. Show me that you’ve been with me in this box all along. Apply Your salve. Apply your oil. Heal my soul. Heal my body. Give me back a voice. Give me back my ability of choice. Make my will free again. Father, I ask You to lift off all crushing and shame that’s on my spirit. Lift off rejection from my soul. Release all demonically inspires lies and harassment. Remove the talons of the enemy from my mind. Father, give my soul perspective that in the midst of stress I can choose peace. In the midst of heartache and despair I can walk to the other side of the box and have joy. In the midst of this dark night of the soul I want a bright day of the spirit. Thank you Father for being my Father.

For the spirit:

Soul I recognize the frustration, pain, hurt, and trepidation that you have been experiencing. But, if I may, ask you to step aside for a brief moment. This is not rejection. I am just applying something to the spirit that will assist you along the path of healing. Spirit of _____ I call you to attention in the name of Jesus Christ. Spirit, I understand if you may be distant and afraid to come fully forward and I understand that and I acknowledge your right to feelings of safety. Please stay present throughout this blessing. Spirit if you are fully forward than great. Receive the word of God for you today in Philippians 2:13 , “For it is [not your strength, but it is] God who is effectively at work in you, both to will and to work [that is, strengthening, energizing, and creating in you the longing and the ability to fulfill your purpose] for His good pleasure. Spirit God has and is giving you willingness to jump to the other side of the box. Where the soul has learned helplessness, spirit you have learned willingness. You are designed to lead, guide, and bring into alignment the soul with the Kingdom and to take all of life’s woes with a more than conqueror mindset. You have the ability to help the soul get free. And spirit only you and the Holy Spirit knows the things of man. The soul does not. I bless you spirit with going to mind and setting things right. Where stress has taken over and damaged the brain, you spirit have the ability to repair. You, spirit, are the sustaining force that God created the whole of man to have. You, along with the Holy Spirit sustain man. Spirit go to the face of the Father and receive instruction, insight, revelation, power, and authority to set things right. Joy, Peace, Love, Faith, Hope are all your forte. It’s who you are. You are created and creative light made from the same substance as God. You are created in His image according to His likeness. You have what it takes. I bless you spirit in the name of Jesus Christ.

I hope this helps. I love people and I want to see them whole, healthy, set free, and walking in the fullness that Jesus died for and God created us for. Be blessed today and for the rest of your life. Let us no longer learn helplessness but to learn willingness to move over and manage, with out spirits and the Holy Spirit, the stress that the worlds brings.

If you’ve read through and I got something wrong please comment below cordially. If you have any insight or tools that may help comment as well.

101 things I…

…love, like, have learned, want to learn, haven’t learned, and a few random things and quotes for your possible enjoyment in no particular order.

1. I like predatory birds hence my feature image
2. I have had a couple prophetic dreams of said predatory birds
3. I would love to try by hand at falconry (It’s a lost art form)
4. I like food. It is interesting to note that food was used before music in Old Testament worship. Also communion in the New Testament was a table full of food and not a dissolvable wafer with Welch’s cup worth a half a sip. Also wine was used hence some being drunk.
5. I would love to study Quantum Physics
6. I wish I could see in the spiritual realm better. Like Quantum Physics there is much more to the spiritual realm that doesn’t mean the natural eye. If the natural world was created out of Christ and is His taste then I must conclude that the spiritual realm is much, much more intricate, expansive, deeper, and higher than the seen.
7. I have learned the reality of the human spirit and am learning the proper structure of spirit, soul, body relationship and how the spirit is to have dominion.
8. When talking about God or praying almost always using the word “Father.” To me it seems much more relational and put things into perspective.
9. God loves me and likes me. I’m His friend and brother. If Jesus even calls Judas “Friend” than He must be pretty intentional when He calls anyone something. (See Matthew 26:50)
10. I’m a son and not a slave
11. God turned a person who hated reading and writing into a man who loves reading and writing. Or should I say He breathed upon a fire within me which I didn’t know existed?
12. I want to write a book. Two or more to be precise. One novel and one non-fiction.
13. Also want to try my hand at writing a short story on this blog. I’ve done one poem (See Awake)
14. Sometime God’s mercy is getting a little bit of what you deserve (See Galatians 6:7)
15. I believe I am Teacher Redemptive Gift (See this link and this link I can’t vouch for anything else on these sites)
16. I struggle with dream interpretation however I can be very prophetic at times
17. I firmly believe Jesus is coming back for a beautiful, overcoming bride and not a struggling fearful church
18. If I go to the Scriptures to find out who everyone else instead of myself my agenda is skewed
19. I love the idea of living and loving without an agenda but my analytic reasoning messes with me regarding the statement. In other words if I am living and loving without an agenda is my agenda living and loving without one? I know, confusing isn’t it? I mean my assessment of the statement.
20. The “New Age” has done its best at perverting divine truths, principles, and ideas and have stolen them for their own gain…because the Church has abandoned things unseen.
21. God won’t set you up for failure…unless that is what you need.
22. We live for an Audience of One where the praises at our right hand and criticism at our left meaning nothing
23. However if I shun the voice of my family I may set myself up for that failure in #21
24. A wise man loves the taste of his own medicine
25. You know you are a Pharisee if your life’s motto is “Do as I say, not as I do” – A Graham Cookeism fashioned from my own mind
26. The Kingdom of Heaven is like a polished stone
27. God has not only given me grace but has lavished it upon me and you. (See Lavished!)
28. I oftentimes utilize Google for word definitions and right click and choose correct spelling when I see those annoying red squiggly lines under my misspelled words
29. Problems are a prerequisite for a revelation from God
30. Shame is a dirty mirror. Never let it determine the image you see
31. I am not wretch but a saint
32. Romans 7 is not the life of a Christian battling sin but a believer who doesn’t know they are dead to the law
33. I love useless knowledge. It sometimes actually helps but most of the time is works in jokes
34. I wished I lived in NYC…but at the same time I wish I lived in a log cabin in the woods
35. When it comes to intercession I lean towards undercover sniper style and not front line in your face style
36. I am curious as to the spiritual implications of the “Baby Witching Hour”
37. The biggest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he doesn’t exist – The Usual Suspects
38. I had a dream with an old pastor of mine where he said I am an exquisitor. Looked it up and fits me to a T.
39. I curious as to why after God changed Jacob’s name to Israel, He still referred to him as Jacob at times
40. If I knew I couldn’t fail I would pray and minister to all in the Mental Health Wards that they would get total freedom
41. I would also, if I knew I wouldn’t fail, love to be able to prophetically find all missing and abducted people to help the authorities find them
42. I sometimes think the same way that Walter Mitty does
43. God allows in His wisdom what He could easily prevent by His power – Graham Cooke
44. I feel called to teach in front of churches but am terrified of public speaking
45. I used to write Rap songs 5 years ago (they can still be found online) and still want to write more at times
46. 1 John 4:17 is my life verse. Still learning and pondering the implications of it
47. I love language. I would love to learn more of Spanish. Also Polish, Hebrew, Greek, and Mandarin
48. I love some reality TV shows. The ones where people finally get recognized for talents and gifts that they have spent years and years to get by training and building themselves. It may seem superficial at first but we have a desire to be recognized and make a difference. This is why I love Prophecy!
49. I would love to be in full-time inner healing & deliverance ministry…not the “demon under every rock” kinda deliverance
50. Some times I play both sides of the field and by taking both sides of an argument and try to find middle ground.
51. There is a difference between wrestling with God and fighting against God
52. I am coming to the belief that we can and will be transfigured just like Jesus was…before any rapture(if that even happens) or when Jesus comes back physically
53. There is more to us than meets the eye – Transformers
54. I want to travel the world. I love cultures and I believe God created many different cultures
55. I’m not a fan of the term “counter-culture”
56. I believe that when Jesus said He only does what He sees the Father doing that He meant it…including going to the cross
57. I believe soul ties are real…and have recently learned about spirit ties
58. I love Pit Bulls and I don’t believe in breed discrimination
59. I also believe in generational deliverance and blessing
60. Paradigms power perception and perceptions power emotions. Most emotions are responses to perception – what you think is true about a given situation. If your perception is false, then your emotional response to it will be false too. So check your perceptions, and beyond that check the truthfulness of your paradigms – what you believe. Just because you believe something firmly doesn’t make it true. Be willing to reexamine what you believe. – Wm. Paul Young
61. I wonder if this is true
62. I’m not a big Old Testament reader however my usual bible reading, when I do regularly read, includes Psalms and Proverbs and New Testament epistles
63. I’m finding it hard to come up with 101 things…
64. Forgive me for making my denomination the denominator and not the numerator – from Please Forgive Me
65. Triangulation is a relationship killer (See He Said She Said)
66. I don’t like the term “God wants to use you”
67. God’s desire and your necessity are co-laboring in your problem to manifest His promise
68. Never assume tone in text, social media messages/comments, or emails. Only an emoji can determine somewhat of the tone
69. I believe God came as a Father because a Father is what was/is needed most (See Why A Father?)
70. God is making Josephs, fathers to Pharaohs and making Moseses like God to Pharaohs
71. My needs need to transfigured into glorious stepping stones. My wants need to be there without the gravitational pull of disappointment. For I do have an appointment but until Presence cuts the veil I remain living with God in the present with His Presence with an expectancy of future Promise. – When Needs Overcome Wants
72. I am learning what Church is all about and what is it’s meaning
73. I find it hard to recognize people no longer after the flesh…especially when driving
74. I’m tired of the Schisms in the Isms
75. God’s wisdom is truly multi-colored and multi-faceted
76. The incarnation is the single most beautiful and inviting thing to have ever happened in all of history. That the God who we kept distant, broke through our preconceived notions and obliterated our false views of Himself. We denied Him access to ourselves yet came inviting us to Himself.
77. Fruit is the foundation for the gifts to have their full and safest expression
78. I’m frustrated that I don’t know what my recurring dreams mean
79. The stories of Mephibosheth and Joshua the High Priest bring me to tears
80. I am trained and certified in Sozo, Healing Rooms, and Elijah House ministry. I also glean a lot of teaching from Arthur Burk and Paul Cox
81. Past anointing and mantles are simply taking the baton and fulfilling and perfecting what God is already doing or wanted to do
82. Habitation requires a habitat. Creating a place by making it ready to receive what it was designed for. This is what the Church is about. There is an interesting word in the Greek and it is, hetoimazō, which means to make the necessary preparations, get everything ready and drawn from the oriental custom of sending on, before kings on their journeys, persons to level the roads and make them passable. This word is used for John the Baptist preparing a way in the wilderness (see Mark 1:3) and the Bride of Christ making herself ready (see Rev. 19:7). We also see it in how Jesus prepares a place for us so that we can dwell where He is (see John 14:3).
83. I’ve learned to read the Scripture to find out who God is and who I am…not who the enemy is or the who the Anti-Christ is
84. I love living in mystery…except when I don’t
85. I want unity in the worldwide Church. One accord in Acts means to rush along in unison and resembles a musical piece. Several notes combine to form one song.
86. I always wonder why my name, Jordan, meant. Then God told me. Possessor
87. I believe in Presence before and over Promise no matter how hard life can be
88. Inner vows can be a hard pill to swallow
89. Speaking life is much better than speaking death…even to speaking death to bad things. Life is much better
90. I firmly believe God shares, is sharing, and will share His glory
91. Four years ago I didn’t want to live another day because of shame and was almost suicidal…then God broke through with a prophetic word of encouragement
92. God also broke a huge period of rejection in my life. I used to never have a strong group of friend in school so I didn’t have a lunch table to sit at. A year or so ago I had a vision of this same cafeteria room and Jesus waved me over and gave me a head seat at His table. Now whenever I don’t have a table or no one sits at the table I’m at I just remember Jesus gives me a good seat all the time
93. God gave me an incredible wife that has seen me through darkness, sin, and despair. I’m a better man because of her
94. I’m an athletic man in a fat man’s body…#4 get in my way too many times
95. I feel much younger than 31 years old
96. I may move to Philadelphia next year in which #4 may get in my way too since Cheesesteaks are my favorite
97. I’m bad with keeping up with old relationships or any relationship that isn’t right in front of me
98. My favorite music is rap
99. I’ve been sober for 11 years
100. My dream car is a Subaru WRX STI
101. I’m a huge work in progress and I have barely scratched the surface of the revelation of God to man and man to God

100th blog!!!

It’s definitely been a journey. So what spurred me onto doing a blog? Glad you inquired so inquisitively (yes I spelled that correctly the first time).

Basically I was blowing up my Facebook friend’s timelines, news feeds, or walls depending on whatever it was called at that time. My aunt from Minnesota, where I was born but moved away when I was 3 then moved back when I was 19, where God got ahold of me, and then left again at 21, (ok breath now) said, “Why don’t you start a blog?” I believe someone else recommended that to me also but I don’t quite remember. So I himmed and hawwed (or is it “hemmed and hawed”) about starting one for a while. The thing is previously I wasn’t really serious about growing and seeking His face that much. I went to a great church with great speakers (big name Charismatic speakers) and great prophetic worship that sometimes last hours without needing scripted music lyrics. I was comfortable being fed by someone else’s hand, so to speak. Now this is not to say you can’t be fed by someone else’s hand but with maturity comes self-sufficiency but not self-sufficiency where you isolate and become above rebuke or think more highly than yourself. The self-sufficiency that I’m talking about is where you no longer look to someone else for your growth but you press onto maturity in Him. (See Isaiah 28:9 and Isaiah 28:9)

My problem was I didn’t think I had anything to share. In the real-life world of shapes, sounds, and time I am a man of few words. Very introverted. Introverted to the point when I hear “Stand up and greet someone” in church I either stay seated or go on my phone…but not all the time. Part of that had to do with being raised to not ask questions, not to inquire with “Why?” but just reply, “Yes, dad.” Now over a period of 4+ years I have been regaining my voice back and realizing I do have things to share, maybe wrong or maybe right I don’t know. Even now very few of the people I know is this real world share, comment, or inquire much about my blogs, which I’m ok with. My wife does support me in it 100% and supports my desire to want to write a non-fiction and fiction book sometime in the future. I am however really encouraged to those on WordPress, Facebook, and even Twitter by people sharing, liking, and commenting. It encourages me to continue on with a 101st blog and not quit. If you knew me before I was 20 and before I started this blog in January 2014 you would be surprised I am where I am.

Before I started walking with the Holy Spirit I hated reading, so much that I did maybe 1 or 2 summer reading assignments in High School or 8th grade (I was homeschooled from 1st-7th and skipped 5th (because I didn’t like it…just kidding. I skipped it…I was smart…back then)). I hated reading. I loved being outside or playing video games however. But after I started following the Lord I started to pick up every Christian book I could. Read the Bible all the way through, I was a sponge at that point. But I still hated writing. Then someone mentioned starting a blog so I launched out and signed up. It’s been an amazing thing in my life.

I did leave that one church and started going to another local church which has few speakers but still good worship and good teaching. This kind of incentivized me on to going after the Lord for myself by seeking what has been implanted instead of waiting in a prayer line for an impartation all the time. I realized that I have something to offer to others and being as I’m not a pastor nor an itinerant minister or singer/songwriter I had to vehicle until I started this blog. It was like the floodgates opened to me and a rush of new thoughts, ideas, personal applications, revelation, etc came to me. And they only left when I wrote them down but then more came. It continues to this days. That’s why it is 100 and counting.

So I have a question to those who have read to the end. What has been your take away from this blog? Has it helped or not? Is it applicable in your life? Do you have questions, concerns, or would want my thoughts concerning things either general or specific? Above all I do my best not to take sides or be involved in the schisms of isms. I like balance and riding the fences on some things. However I am firm on the essentials. My aim to know Him and to offer different views with different applications. Our life and issues do not come pre-packaged so neither will our growth or healing. I always want an open toolbox with the filter of 100% Scripture and 100% Spirit.

Thanks to all those who have liked, following, reblogged, comments, and shared. I am excited for the next 100 posts.

 

Impartation vs Implantation

Impartation vs Implantation

So what’s the difference? Glad you asked!

Impart by definition is to make known; tell; relate; disclose

Implant by definition is to put or fix firmly; to plant securely

Impart in the Greek is metadidōmi which means to give. (See Romans 1:11)

Implant in the Greek is emphytos which means engrafted; inborn, implanted by nature, implanted by others instruction. It is a derivative of phyō which means to be born, to spring up, to grow. (See James 1:21)

These words may be seem very identical but I will be semantic because I believe there is a distinction and I would love to discuss it with you all.

First things first. I am what some would call a Charismatic Christian, however I’m not the biggest fan of labels and it is more a movement then a denomination, so this is the mindset/paradigm that I most come from. Through my 11 years of being in the Charismatic movement (or whatever you want to call it) there has been a large focus on impartation. Basically it is when some speaker with some type of anointing or message comes and lays hands on you and impart something to you. The process is usually an external to an internal thing. Whereas implantation is a process starting internal to then the external. Most things imparted were first implanted.

According to Roman 1:11, impartation is a gift given. A similar passage is 1 Timothy 4:14 which says,  

Do not neglect the gift which is in you, [that special inward endowment] which was directly imparted to you [by the Holy Spirit] by prophetic utterance when the elders laid their hands upon you [at your ordination].

Timmy received something outside of himself via impartation. It was something not present in him but then was given or imparted to him. Impartation is huge in Charismania (term not used to offend). Graham Cooke talked about someone who went up for prayer and asked him, “I want everything you have.” Graham’s response: “To get what I have you need to go through what I went through.” It is like the microwave mentality. I want a quick fix without having to do anything for it. People will travel miles upon miles to see a speaker to “get what they have.” Now there is a time and place for stepping out in faith (whatever that means) and sacrificing time or money to see a good speaker and be under that anointing, which must be led by the Holy Spirit and not a soul frustration. However, if I am unable to make a journey to see someone of caliber then what do I do? Unpack what is already implanted.

Our soul is the life of God while our spirit is the light of God (See 1 Corinthians 15:45). We were born of the first Adam and born again of the Second Adam. We are children of light (See 1 Thessalonians 5:5). Light can be implanted with data. In the computer world we call it Fiber Optics. What I believe is that our spirit holds everything we need and all things that pertain to life and godliness (See 2 Peter 1:3). Second Pete says God has already given us, via implantation, all things that pertain to life and godliness. I’ve written about co-laboring before (See What On Earth Do We “Do”) and I want to highlight it again here. There is a working together with the Lord, call it growing up, where we work with the Holy Spirit to unpack what God has stored in our spirit. The protocol for doing this is using words. His Word became flesh therefore our word can become flesh. Things internal change things external. Philippians 2:12-13 says,

Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling for it is God who works in you both to do and to want.

Impartation works from out to in while implantation works in to out. Wouldn’t you want that which God has stored in you to be able to be imparted to others? Fruit is meant for picking. The Holy Spirit is not passive nor is our human spirit passive. Our spirit is light and carries data. And this data needs to have its perfect work so it can be unpacked and released. Did you know your spirit has the ability to sustain you in sickness? (See Proverbs 18:14) How does it know how to do this? Implantation. Did you know only your spirit really knows the things of you and this apart from your soul? (See 1 Corinthians 2:11) How so? Implantation.

You know the saying, “You need it to go from your head to your heart?” I’m leaning toward a different saying these days. And what is that saying? Glad you inquired and it is this! “You need it to go from your spirit to your soul…” However I want to make an addition. “…and your body.” Our spirit knows what the soul knows nothing of. How can we interpret the soul with the soul? Can we fix brokenness with something broken? I can’t grow in a vacuum….because I can’t fit in an Electrolux. Just kidding…comment below if you like my jokes or if you don’t but regardless jovialness is forte however don’t ask my wife if that’s true. Ok?

How does our soul grow? Gaining head knowledge. Our does our spirit grow? Letting it know who it is. I use “it” for lack of a better term because our spirit is not an “it” it(see I did it again) is our truest self. Our spirit is separate and totally different from our soul. Our soul grows via external stimulus but our spirit grows via internal stimulus. What we need is someone who can speak in the direction of our spirit and let our spirit know that we recognize the function and legitimacy of it. Sometime our spirit is like the 11th man in street ball. But the game is 5 on 5 and the team are already picked so our spirit man sits on the sideline defeated, rejected, and know how much it could dunk on the enemy and swish some three-pointers. It’s that we are so used to either behavior modification (soul) or denial (body) but never nature modification (spirit) (See 2 Corinthians 3:18 but in the Amplified Version because it’s the only one I know of which translated change into transfigure instead of transform) There’s a diagram I’ve been meaning to figure out how to make in order to illustrate the point better for those visual learners like myself but I haven’t gotten there yet.

So I hope I haven’t confused you in regards to the difference between implanting and imparting. Our spirit is a seed which contains the implanted word/data that God gave us when He created it. And like any good seed it contains all it needs in its DNA. And like any good seed it need a good seed bed. Soil! Soul! Our spirit needs our soul to express itself in the physical just like the soul needs the body to express itself in the physical. So in order for our full selves to be expressed all three parts of us need to be healed, cleansed, transfigured, and released.

This is not a thorough examination of this subject and horribly incomplete and possibly partially wrong. And that’s ok. It’s something very new but very beneficial. And like any of God’s beautiful children we first must crawl and stumble before we walk in total uprightness. So lets bless our/your/the person next you’s spirit

Soul of ____ steps aside for a moment. You, soul, are 1/3 of a beautiful puzzle. At this moment please step aside so we can speak to the other third. Spirit of _____ I call you to attention in the name of Jesus Christ your Maker, Developer, Troubleshooter. I bless you spirit and acknowledge your presence, role, desire, and the many thing implanted in you since before the creation of the world. You came from Jesus and were birthed from His thoughts and His thought outnumber the grains of sand on earth. He knows you better than you know yourself and has loaded data and His specific DNA for you. I speak to that data inside you, spirit, and I call it forth in Jesus’ name. I speak to those things imparted from God and I bless them and all things imparted that were not birthed from God’s heart we remove and ask You Father God to cleanse and demolish them.

Spirit, your Heavenly Father broke the mold when He designed and implanted His specific logos in you. You are unique and you have the biggest role to play in _____’s life. I am calling in for a permanent substitute in this 5 on 5 games. I call you out from the sidelines. You were not designed to be a bench-warmer but you are designed to score, assist, block, defend, heal, sustain, speak, not hold back, to be proactive in this life. I bless you and speak to the soil surround you and say rocks be removed, thorns but uprooted, crows be shooed away. Spirit you are meant to operate from inside to outside. You, spirit, are involved with the transfiguration process by partnering with the Holy Spirit via metamorphosis into someone absolutely breathtaking. Be release, spirit of _____, into all that you are. I bless each portion of you spirit. Prophet, Servant, Teacher, Exporter, Giver, Ruler, and Mercy I bless you all and call you healed, refreshed, up front and not hidden. I bless you spirit in the name of Jesus Christ.

So let us not be dependent upon impartations but press on to what God has already implanted in us. Inside to outside. Spirit to soul.

Believing God and Believing in God

This is just a something I posted on my Facebook and thought I’d blog it. Take it or leave it 🙂

I am a person who believes in God and believes God (yes there’s a difference) but I am also a person who likes to validate truth. I sometimes find myself in the middle of the Charismatic fringe and the evangelical fringe. Some believe no matter what without checking or validating. Other will only believe with hard facts and even then won’t believe. I use won’t instead of don’t for a reason. I choose to stand in the middle ground (one fringe cringes at the word balance and the other loves it as long as it’s tipping in their favor). Two scriptures I use: Romans 14:4 and Acts 5:38-39. With these you can be safe(another word the fringe cringe at). You can take things at face value or not. It’s extremely freeing to be able to choose. Knowing that God gives bread makes me unafraid of getting a stone. But I know stones exist and they aren’t meant to be thrown. Eat the meat and spit out the bones as they say.

Get back up!

Yes you fell…we all have and most will again. But it’s not your end. A righteous person may fall 7 times but will rise again. Yes even in the midst of your fall you are still righteous. As the Apostle Paul said, “Such were some of you…but you were washed.” You may have fallen today or an hour ago but with each rising comes a washing. Yes you messed up. Admit it. Come to grips with your actions. Then move forward. If you ever think that God gets tired of you just remember Psalm 121:4, “He who keeps you will neither slumber nor sleep.” He isn’t tired of you and He will never get tired of you coming to Him. I release the truth upon you that you have the ability to go boldly before the Throne of Grace to receive the mercy that you need. Go! Boldly! Never cease going! He is available! He is watching and waiting with His eyes on the horizon! Don’t you see Him! Run! Run faster! Because He will overtake you with His grace. I see Him removing the stained clothes you wear. I see Him washing your feet. I see Him, in you, beckoning for bear hug. I see new clothes! Clean clothes! I see Him calling you to His table of abundance. “Kill the fatted calf! Bring the best wine! My child is here and My love is forever upon them!” You know what? I see Him offering His seat at the table for you. Take it! Is is Him that calls you precious. It is Him that says, “You are worthy of my love.” I understand this is contrary to all religions and religious activity. But it’s true. You are no longer defined by your past or even your present. You are defined by the Great Definer. It is His Word that stands across the ages and sands of time. What He says counts! Not the enemy, not your soul, and not the accusers. Go and so no more! This is declaration and not a warning. Know who you are, know who He is, and know you and Him combined. Get back up! Stop trying to get a grip on Him…rest in His grip on you. You may feel lost but He is never lost and has found you. He is leading you back to still and restful waters. Soak it up! Rest! Let His love take you to where you never thought was possible! Let His perfect love cast away all fear. Let. Let the love do it….and not yourself. Let. Allow His Love to do it apart from you ability to grasp it’s all consumingness. Yes you fell and have fallen. It’s time to get back up. Will you allow His grace, mercy, and love overtake you today? It’s available right now…and will be available for all eternity.

 

Balance – The Other Side Of Freedom

Balance. That’s not a popular word amongst some Charismatics. A real popular word amongst non-Charismatics and when I say Charismatics I mean those who don’t believe in cessationism. Charismatics, generally speaking, take the word “balance” as limiting and binding. There was an article written a couple of years ago by Anthony Bradley entitled, “The ‘new legalism’: How the push to be ‘radical’ and ‘missional’ discourages ordinary people in ordinary places from doing ordinary things to the glory of God.” You can Google the article if you want. This blog isn’t geared necessarily towards anything he did or didn’t say but the article brought up some things I’ve been thinking about and haven’t thought about for a couple of years.

I’m speaking from a guy who was raised in the Charismatic(if you like labels) church. Though I was raised in the Charismatic church, I did my own thing for several years and when I was 20 years old made my own decision to follow the Lord. I then went back to the Charismatic church. I also had a couple spurts in a Methodist and AG church, which had wonderful believers in them. Some of the things I’ve experienced were completely amazing and life changing yet at the same time I went through a lot of shame, rejection, and not being able to quite measure up to others around me. And this had nothing to do with sin but with Charismatic performance.

Due to the lack of freedom in many evangelical churches where you can neither dance nor raise your hands during worship, much less show any type of emotional responses or even read the Scripture for yourself, believers have been so hungry for more. Like the ability to express one’s own love for the Lord in ways that they feel comfortable like flag waving, dancing, lifting hands, prophetic art, clapping, shofar blowing etc. But now these actions have become performing, not to say the people themselves are performing to please God because that’s between them and the Lord. With these new sets of standards it opens the possibility that if you don’t do these things then you are labeled nominal or cold or lukewarm or quenching the Spirit. For example, when everyone stands up in church to sing the songs on the projector and you remained seated you may get a look or a “gentle” nudging from another to stand up and get excited about Jesus and you succumb to the pressure to perform all the while it could be the opposite of how your spirit connects with God.

Personally I connect better while sitting and being still. I love reading while laying down as opposed to sitting. Our spirits are Hand-crafted and designed on purpose and for purpose. We are living stones being fitted together. We have to let one stone be different from all others otherwise there might be a chink in the armor of the whole. We have so desired freedom that it’s become a bigger box than we were in before…but it’s still a box if you let it define what’s new and acceptable.

We’ve erred on the side where freedom becomes an activity instead of a rest from activity. Freedom means to dance…it also means not to dance. Freedom means to shout…it also means not to shout. Freedom means laying prostrate in front of the altar…it also means not laying prostrate in front of the altar. Freedom means me being me…it also means giving the Spirit permission to push me a little. Freedom means I can get slain in the spirit…it also means I don’t need to get slain in the spirit. Freedom means I can stand up and raise my hands…it also means I don’t have to. Freedom means I shake & bake by manifesting…it also means I don’t have to. Freedom means I can speak in tongues…it also means I don’t have to. Freedom means I can get drunk in the spirit…it also means I don’t have to. Freedom means I can live in Truth without conforming to someone else’s standards. Freedom means I can walk in my design without fitting into someone else’s design.

If a person knows what they know and knows what they don’t know and is secure in that and can allow someone else to know what they don’t know and can lean into that then maturity and balance can come. In order for balance to occur there must be two sides having equal force all hinging on a higher Truth that keeps both afloat. Jesus had a great nugget that I don’t think I’ve ever heard mentioned in a sermon and it’s in Matthew 13:52 and says,

He said to them, Therefore every teacher and interpreter of the Sacred Writings who has been instructed about and trained for the kingdom of heaven and has become a disciple is like a householder who brings forth out of his storehouse treasure that is new and [treasure that is] old [the fresh as well as the familiar].

There is nothing wrong with liturgy and there is nothing wrong with spontaneity. There is nothing wrong with hymns and there is nothing wrong with prophetic singing. It was for freedom that Christ set us free.

Several years back where I sat like a bump on a log in midst of others feeling overflowing joy and laughter and His Presence. They would shake & bake and feel great all the while I felt the sensitivity of a gnat. I felt somewhat devastated inside. If this is what freedom was then I wanted in and no matter what I did by mimicking, or getting prayer, or even doing a little fake it till you make it, I just didn’t get it. It was sin because I knew others had sin. What was it? It was even worse when it came for a prayer line when those who were shaking & baking would get more and more prayer and I would stand there in “receiving mode” and get a quick 5 second prayer. A common remark I’d hear about those “experiencing more” than me would be, “The Spirit’s all over him,” and then they would point their finger and the person would flail even more. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not one of those “strange fire” people. I have physically experienced God on several occasions and I fully believe God touches His children in amazing ways. I’ve been healed twice of sinus infections. It’s the box. It’s the “Freedom” box that I don’t care for.

We cannot set aside one set of rules in exchange for another set  rules. We need freedom to and freedom not to. The Holy Spirit is wind and blows one way and you don’t see it and it blows another. You don’t know where it’s coming or where it’s going. So are those born of the Spirit. We are ingrafted into this wind and we must leave behind our belongings and step into sonship where you can do what He wants for you and not what others want for you. God’s wants for another may not be the same as His wants for you. His wants for me won’t be the same and His wants for you.

Oneness comes with diversity. In our soul this doesn’t make sense. By our spirit knows. Adam left sonship behind for his own belongings. And until we leave our belongings at the foot of Him we won’t have oneness but a certain longing for unity out of our grasp. I must leave my belongings, the things I use to belong, at His feet and enter into sonship with the One True King.

On a side note. One thing that has set me free from being fascinated by externals is Psalm 103:7 which says,

He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the sons of Israel.

For me personally, knowing His ways is tops. His acts are cool but I never want them to be a distraction. If my wife lauded my gifts and not my heart then I would feel…well used. I don’t get the ecstatic reactions to gems, glory clouds, or angel feathers. Whether they are real or not. It’s not my focus. Because for me, if it was my focus, I would not feel legitimate unless I was able to receive the same exact things. Unless I got a gem stone, unless I got an angel feather(though I joke I do get them when my goose down pillows expel them), unless a glory cloud fills my room I won’t feel up to par. All these things are great, fantastic, and utterly amazing acts of God. But for me, which won’t be for you too, I love His ways. I want to know Him.

Please mind my rant in the midst of the case I’m presenting. I wanted to provide the other side of freedom. The balance. The true freedom where my design can flourish in the midst of a person’s completely different design. Where both designs can be honored, legitimized, and celebrated. So here’s a blessing.

Spirit of _____ I bless you and call you forward and to attention. I bless you spirit with God’s completely different, one-of-a-kind, mold-breaking design. I bless you with the freedom to and the freedom to not to. Be free to be led by the Spirit into freedom. Not chaos but freedom where you can be you and another can be another.  Spirit of ____ listen to God’s word for you in Psalms 103:7 which says, “He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the sons of Israel.” Throughout the time Israel was in the wilderness there was a special thing Moses and God had going…something different that Israel’s status quo and box. I bless you spirit with knowing God’s ways without needing His acts as a legitimacy crutch. Be blessed and astounded and amazed by His acts but when they aren’t present know your Father has never left you. Absence of His acts never proves the absence of His Presence though His Presence may be known by His acts. Spirit I bless with you the balance of 100% Scripture and 100% Holy Spirit. I bless you with the freedom to have the soul or body touched by God and I bless you with not needing the soul and body touched. Spirit, all you need to do is go to the face of the Father in all situations, circumstances, problems, provisions, and applications and receive all you need from God. Receive all your directions from the Father’s face. May the Father’s face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May you shine, spirit. May you exude all the reflections, colors, rhythms, wavelengths, sounds, freedom to and freedom not tos that God has placed within you. May you walk in oneness with diversity. May all portions of you be blessed, healed, celebrated and rejoiced. You weren’t wrong in your design, in your feelings, or in your ways of connecting with God. God made you to connect with Him in certain ways and at certain times. There is no box over you spirit! You are free to go to the face of the Father so He may unpack all of your special and unique design features. He will unlock, in His timing, every He has place in you from the foundations. Be blessed spirit to ride the wind, be united to the wind, and to be excited for the wind.

I hope you get the gist of what my spirit was feeling and I hope your spirit caught it. The soul can get pretty wrapped up with a lot of things. One day our spirits will rule and reign in the rightful place it was designed for.

Egyptian Heresy Neurotoxin

Great insights and could be very helpful.

It’s not your fault

This clip is from Good Will Hunting. Just a word of caution. This clip shows a real issue and real emotions. If you’ve been abused this may bring up emotions or flashbacks. My aim is for healing, redemption, and to let you know that it’s not your fault. Please pardon the language:

 

It isn’t! You didn’t do it. You didn’t bring it on yourself. You had nothing to do with it. You weren’t being punished for who you are because who you are is a beautiful person God personally designed, thought about, and put together. You were not a mistake. What happened was caused by someone else and their sin, frailty, and wounding. They did it, not you. You are free from being responsibly for someone else’s actions. God can, and will, and is freeing you from the past. Remember that it is not your fault. You are free to be everything God created you to be. Do me and God a favor today. Take time off. Be you and be comfortable with you. Be who you are. It’s not about performance but about freedom. Truth was meant to set you free not keep you in bondage. I may not fully understand each one of your hurts, wounding, betrayals, abuse, or defilement but God understands. Jesus said, “Come to Me all of you who are burdened and heavy-laden and I will give you rest.” Receive His rest today. Let it go from mind to heart and from spirit to soul. Let His love wash over you like a hot shower. Cascading over everything you thought you weren’t. Let the ocean of His love and the waves of His grace come and speak to you. Let Him speak to you the thoughts He has that outnumber the sands of the sea. Open up your heart once again to Him who will never, NEVER hurt, wound, or betray you. He longs to hear your voice. He longs to hold your hand. He longs to be with you right in the middle of everything.

I apologize for any emotions or past experiences it may have brought back. Please don’t stuff or neglect emotions because they point to something and it can bring a chance for healing to come. Many of you need to watch it and receive the words and affirmation you’ve so longed to hear and believe. Some may not need to hear this but you may know someone who does. Pass it along. Share it, post it, like it, re-blog it not for me but for someone else.

We Have These Treasures In Earthen Vessels – My Time In Nicaragua

I want to share some highlights from my trip to Nicaragua.

First off I want to say thanks all those that gave of their prayers. I needed them and felt them. Secondly I want to thank God and those that gave of their money. All the funding I needed came in which was truly a blessing. Without a couple key supporters I wouldn’t have been able to make it.

One of the only real “fears” I had about going was the 4 different plane trips and dealing with possible anxiety/panic attacks. Thankfully that was not an issue…being tall and on a plane was another thing. Nicaragua is considered one of, if not the safest country in Central America so that wasn’t a concern. Not once down there did I have a panic attack which I was thankful for too. It must have been time off of work that all the stress left.

Our team of 5 had a wonderful translator who was the son of the Pastor of the church down there. One of the woman of the team was also very astute with Spanish. We were able to stay at a hotel on a coffee plantation (D’Santos Hotel Boutique). Our daily activities were to meet with the children of the project during their lunch time, play group games, and hand out simple but well received gifts. After they left to go to their home we waited  some time and then left to meet them and their immediate family inside their 

homes to present gifts provided by their sponsors from the U.S. After that we asked each family if they wanted prayer. Most prayers consists of health issues like arthritis, heart problems, a job or better job, and nicer house. The trip wasn’t geared necessarily toward evangelism but one woman became a new creation and one woman was still a pre-Christian. All in all those beautiful people enjoyed our visits and prayers and that someone actually cares enough for them and don’t think that they are just another notch on their evangelist belt. Personally I just wanted to hang out with them in their houses just to get to know who they are as people, their stories, passions, and what they feel God has for them.

The outright hospitality of them was very heartwarming. Most of them offered a seat and most only have the usual plastic yard chair as their main seating and me, being a man of girth, had to decline sitting on them. I need a hefty chair. What was so sweet is one of the grandmothers knew I couldn’t fit on their chair so she cleared off this end table, that was full of stuff, just so I could sit down in their house. It blessed me richly. Another house, where the father worked from home cooking, they had a fan, which was rare in the houses, and they turned it on for our team while we were there. Almost immediately upon entering the father handed us all a grape juice box and an artificial Chicharrón which we all declined but he was insistent so I took it and drank the juice box and ate the snack, both of which were tasty.

The only Scripture that was clear in my spirit during the trip was 2 Corinthians 4:7 which says,

But we have these treasures in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.

Treasures. In the Greek treasure is thēsauros which means: the place in which good and precious things are collected and laid up, a treasury. And that is exactly who they are. You see we are all created in the image and glory of God. No matter what tribe and language and people and nation a person is from (see Revelation 5:9). When we speak to the light, when we speak to the promise, when we live without an agenda the power of God has so much more room to move.

Like most people who go to impoverished countries and go back to the U.S. there was a measure of shock and awe. The kids were flabbergasted to get a bouncy ball one day, a SFX deflating balloon another day, and water balloon game another. But I also realize that our frame of reference is what we have seen and lived and not another person. So for them life is different and for us life is different. And neither should be overly projected onto the other. But the contrast is stark. No iPads, smart phones, or constant mental stimulation. While those in the U.S., generally speaking, are not content but always wanting more, those in Nicaragua that I met are also wanting more though content and smiling genuinely. In the midst of the monetary poverty, the riches of intelligence and entrepreneurship were present. In the midst of the these “shacks” there are stores which I patronized while there. Poverty is a state of mind not a state of financial superiority.

 

 

 

 

What I saw in Nicaragua is heart. Strength. Endurance. Faith. Faithfulness. Honor. Preference. Love. Joy. Smiles. Lots of smiles. Pain. Heartache.

I saw people. Like you and me. People who go through the same internal struggles that we all go through. While looking at developing countries most people probably look upon the kids, family, housing, and poverty with pity. Or just feel sorry for them or not even give a lick. But then I see Jesus walking. Compassion comes to mind. It’s different from pity…very different. Compassion in Greek is splagchnizomai which means to be moved as to one’s bowels…gut wrenching comes to mind. In Hebrew it’s racham which means to love, love deeply, have mercy, be compassionate, have tender affection, have compassion.

I loved the people down there. I take that back…I love the people down there. Inviting, hospitable, generous, loving, caring people. Like I said earlier I just wanted to hang out with them. Chill with them and get to know them and their stories. Bring inner healing & deliverance to them. Bring Jesus more and more.

Will I go back? If God specifically wants me to of course. If God asks, “Do you want to go again because it’s all good with Me,” then yes. If He doesn’t then no. I’ve shared the dream about a prophet guy naming three countries, Nicaragua being the only one I remember, so I will see what the other two are and go there if God shows me and provides the way. Personally I love traveling anywhere. I would travel to every country if possible but only God could perform such a thing because I don’t have money for that. I must confess that I’ve been envious for people my age, younger and older than me as well, and how they have traveled to so many different places and seen so many different things. Some go for pleasure and others go to preach, teach, and evangelize. I would love to be involved with that more so we will see. I’ve seen myself preaching and teaching but so many things seem in the way. I don’t know how others do it or get to do it. But that is for another blog maybe.

Thanks again for the prayers and support.

Jordan

How to turn fighting into wrestling

Wrestled in Hebrew is ‘abaq which means to wrestle, grapple (get dusty), bedust.

Fighting in Greek is theomachos and the root word is machomai which means, to fight of armed combatants; or those who engage in a hand to hand struggle; of those who engage in a war of words, to quarrel, wrangle, dispute; and of those who contend at law for property and privileges.

The two Scripture that I’m pulling out for definitions are Acts 5:39 and Genesis 32:24-25.

I was watching the movie Exodus: Gods and Kings and there was a scene where Hegep tells Moses, “Let me tell you something about Hebrews. They are a conniving, combative people. Do you know what “Israelite” means in their own language? “He who fights with God.” Moses’ reply, “”He who wrestles with God.” There is a difference.”

This scene stuck with me for two reasons. Firstly because it just resonated with me I knew there was a difference. Secondly because I kept falling asleep during the movie…

Many of us fight with God or against God to be more apt.  We fight against His how He does many things. I’m sure many would like to be on the Ways & Means committee: we want to dictate His ways and means. Fighting against God is what Saul was accused of on the road to Damascus. “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” And in Acts 5:38-39 it says,

So in the present case, I say to you, stay away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or action is of men, it will be overthrown; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them; or else you may even be found fighting against God.

Gamaliel‘s spirit must have been impressed and brought to the forefront by what the Apostles were preaching. I think he stepped from fight to wrestling. More on that shortly. There have been several times in my life where I’ve fought God. Mano A Godo. I only fight when I forget He filters. Though I wholeheartedly believe there is an enemy that is here to steal, and to kill, and to destroy I also believe God allows by His wisdom what He could prevent by His power (Graham Cookeism). Things come Father filtered into our life ie. Job. Some may not agree with that and, without balance, can lead to fatalism but with balance we can take what comes at us as “training for reigning.”

When we live out of our soul, when it’s not behind our spirit, we just don’t get things a lot of the time, I don’t get things most of the time. We will continue to fight God in the midst of our trials or create more trials. We become like Israel in the wilderness only looking for His acts, while, like Moses, intimacy is there in the midst where we can know His ways (see Psalm 103:7). We focus on external sights and not internal vision.

Probably the number one question that leads to fighting God is, “Why?” But at the same time this can be where our wrestling match can begin. It all depends on our posture or position. Will we fight God in our soul or wrestle with Him in our spirit?

So what does wrastling with God look like? Yes I said wrastling! Where fighting can consist in long range warfare, wrestling can only happen within a person’s bubble. It’s a lot easier to bob & weave, run, deflect etc. while fighting but in wrestling you are all up in someone else’s space. Wrestling with God kicks up dust…you know the stuff we are made of. It takes the argument out of the soul arena and into the ring of the spirit/Spirit. It’s a place where we struggle to come to grips with things. Get it…coming to grips with things as in grappling during wrastling? Sorry for the lame humor :). But in all joyful seriousness, wrestling with God ends up in submission. Like in UFC fighting a lot of the fighting turns into wrestling and one wins by submissions or tapping out. Like the image above says, “Wrestling with God is a sign of intimacy. You can’t wrestle with someone you’re far away from.”

Now how to transition from fighting to wrestling… It may seem like a hard thing but I’m going to provide one simple act and prayer. It may be too simple for some due to other issues at play but that’s another subject. For several posts now I’ve transitioned a lot from soul work to now spirit work by addressing and speaking to your spirit or someone else’s spirit. Legitimizing, honoring, identifying, teaching our spirits their design, God’s intent, their ability and rightful place within a human being. On how God’s set up a human to be spirit, soul, body and not body, soul, and then spirit.

In order to transition, in my opinion, we must overtly hands over the argument or the “Why?” in our life from soul to spirit. A lot of the times it is hard because or spirits are so bedraggled that it can’t be transitioned. But as we build our spirit and edify our inner man the transition can be faster, smoother, and less painful. I will provide a simple but helpful prayer at the end on how to go about it but I’ll explain it here. We can take the “Why?” and acknowledge the soul’s fight and bring it to our spirit. More than likely our spirit already knows the fighting (see Proverbs 21:9) happening. We can simply hand it over to our spirit so that our spirit, which is directly in touch with God, can wrestling with God for whatever outcome the Father wants. Then we can give the soul a break. A rest. A refreshing.

Here is the prayer. When you see a _____ just input your name or the name of the person you are ministering to and blessing.

Spirit of _____ I call your spirit to attention in the name of the God of all peace. Listening with your spirit to God’s word for you in Acts 5:38-39 which says, “So in the present case, I say to you, stay away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or action is of men, it will be overthrown; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them; or else you may even be found fighting against God.” Spirit the soul of ____ is in a fight right now. It is trying to figure out the “Why?” It is fighting with God about _____ (input a current situation where you are finding it hard to trust God about). Spirit, go to the soul and ask for the “Why?” and Soul I bless you with the ability to hand it over to the spirit. Soul I bless you now with rest, faith, love, patience, and the ability for you to not know right now. Let the spirit wrestle with the “Why?” so you can go on forward. Now spirit I bless you with having a direct line and open access to the face of your Father so that you can wrestle with Him in the “Why?” Spirit of _____ this is a perfect opportunity for you to have an intimate face to face, mouth to mouth conversations with your loving Papa. Allow the dust to be kicked up. Allow the grappling and maneuvering to be a dance instead of a struggle. Calmly and purposefully tap out and submit to the Father’s answer or lack thereof. Get all up in His bubble and allow Him to get all up in your bubble. Let there be one glorious, intimate, close-knit bubble. And spirit if you do get an answer or resolution…let the soul in on it if the Father wants you to. Only say what you hear the Father saying and do only what you see the Father doing. I bless you spirit to mirror the Father and reflect His image into the soul and body. I bless you spirit is the name of the God who answers prayers and who is not slack concerning His promises.

I hope and pray this helps and if not then there are several other tools available. If this did bless you please comment, reblog, share on Facebook or Twitter, or like.

Going to Nicaragua soon!

View my original post here: https://1john417.wordpress.com/2015/03/19/going-to-nicaragua/

So I am going to Nicaragua in 5 days and will be there till June 22nd. I would really like all your prayers and intercession. I’ve been hit with a sinus cold and anxiety about flying, which I’ve never had an issue with until I started have anxiety/panic attacks two years ago. I’m on anti-biotics and my Doctor gave me something for the flying anxiety.

I would really appreciate prayers for the trip and for God to give me “marching orders” so to speak. I am going without any real expectations but with expectancy that God will move and I will move right along with Him…you know the whole CO-laboring thing. My inkling is about something with land. Either cleansing it, sowing into it, or receiving from it. No details. Sooooo if you feel led to pray or if you have a prophetic word of encouragements or knowledge or wisdom, I am in the receiving mode.

Blessings fellow bloggers, readers, and family.

1 John 4:17b declares,

…as He is, so also are we in this world.

 

PS: the main religion in Nicaragua is Santeria which is a demonic, perversion of Roman Catholicism mixed with paganism, witchcraft, and idol worship. That will be the atmosphere that I will be infiltrating with Light when I am there so….prayer points to consider 🙂

 

I’m going to be a father!!!

No, my wife and I are not having a baby yet(Update: My Wife and I are not expecting). Lets analyze the saying a bit.

First a quick foundation. Life begins at conception in regards to the soul and body. Our spirit, according to some theories or teachings, are pre-existent, according to Jeremiah 1:5. That belief doesn’t really matter in regards to what I’m going to share but I thought I’d put it there for the sake of getting you to think more about our spirit instead of focused on the soul and body.

Scientists have determined that children in the womb cannot think until the myelination of the nerve sheath occurs. Some say it happens a month before birth or a month or two after birth. Either way Scientists agree that children in the womb can’t think via the organic or brain tissue. But. There was a doctor who would have pregnant women come to his office and use a sonogram to view the baby’s activity. He would speak quieter and calmer in order to bring a calm to the room and the baby until the baby became motionless. He would then tell the mother, “I’m sorry to say but you child is dead.” (This is horrible and should have never been done much less practiced) 100% of the time the babies would begin moving about with vigor letting the mother know, “I’m not dead but alive!” Though I object to this type of practice it does point to something interesting. How can a baby in the womb react to what the doctor said? Why would the baby react that way? If a baby’s brain scientifically doesn’t work why would they react, respond, feel, and hear? Because their spirit is alive and well and the spirit is not subject to the organic in order to be active and work.

In the Western world the popular phrase used once a husband and wife are pregnant is, “We going to have a baby!” or “I’m going to be a father!” As believers we know life begins at conception and abortion is murder because a baby is a human being beginning at conception not birth. So if a baby is a human being at conception and a baby’s spirit is fully active, grown, and responsive then what are we telling our babies in the womb when we say, “I’m going to be…?” Are we not sowing illegitimacy to them unawares? If we truly believe life begins at conception should we not say, “We have a baby!” or “I am a father?”

Without recognition of the baby’s spirit illegitimacy and even rejection has a way of creeping in. This is not to say that parents are rejecting their baby but by ignoring their current spirit’s presence is leads to rejection. Case in point, I’ve share this before but in High School whenever there was a new lunch period I never had anything to sit with. No one called out rejecting names but no one offered me a seat either…just being ignored brought illegitimacy.

There have been many who, while receiving inner healing and deliverance, have been able to recall memories of when they were in the womb. This seems far-fetched but since we are spirit, soul, and body and not the other way around then our spirit will carry what it was labeled as or if it was illegitimized. The biggest way rejection and illegitimacy takes hold in a person’s spirit and life is by others ignorance of their identity or existence. When we ignorantly declare that children in the womb aren’t children till birth then for 9 months they have no identity or true existence except for a future event. We are light. We are made of light. We are made from God’s Light. Light carries data. Think of fiber optics where light is filled with data and then sent somewhere for it to manifest. Our spirits are light and carry that which is put into them. Originally God, as Light, births other lights. Think of a candle where one candle lights another candle in which the Original candle’s flame is never diminished by lighting another candle. So our spirit carry the data in which God placed plans, purposes, revelation, everything that pertains to life and godliness. Then we are in the womb where believers know we are humans yet never speak as we are.

What if we reversed our course and started saying “We have a baby!” What would that do to the babies spirit? What kinds of seeds can we sow into that baby in the womb? Good seeds and bad seeds. Seeds nonetheless.

Most, if not all us, probably heard that saying in the womb. Most of our spirits still haven’t been legitimized. We talk about our spirits but we never speak to our spirits like we do our soul and body. But it’s not too late to gain back the ground that may have been lost. If you or you know someone who is pregnant or is looking to be pregnant then I would suggest Ministering to Babies in the Womb by Arthur Burk. God has given the spirit a 9 month head start on the soul. Why not take advantage and fill the beautiful spirit of a baby with legitimacy, identity, worth, value, the fruits of the Spirit, prophetically speak according to their bent, hope, even cleansing of generational stuff that may have not been dealt with in your own life, and the list could go on and on. Seek the Lord for wisdom and then sow those seeds into the spirit along with the data from the Father so that it may manifest is due time.

Now here is a prayer for those whose spirits weren’t legitimized in the womb. Fill in the blank with your name or another person’s name you’re praying for.

Spirit of _____ I bless you. Come to the forefront. Soul I ask that you step aside for a moment. Soul you are not bad and you are not being rejected. But right now it’s the spirit’s time for refreshing and acknowledgment. So spirit for so long you were never acknowledged nor anticipated. Spirit I want to address the silence and false views you received in the womb. You were never recognized. You were never legitimized. For 9 months or so you heard, “We’re going to have a baby” when you were already present. The soul and body may have been growing and subject to the restrictions to the womb and a growth period but you spirit were fully functional and fully the spirit of _______. You were ignored.

Spirit, receive the word of God for you which says in Jeremiah 1:5, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you…” Before God formed your soul and body you were present and God knew you and appointed you according to the bent He designed for you. Your earthly parents didn’t. Spirit, if you are able and want to, forgive your earthly parents for their lack of knowing you were there, present, and able to receive good and bad seeds. (Say out loud that you forgive your parents for not sowing into you when they should have or could have. Release them and ask God to cleanse your spirit from all defilement and illegitimacy)

Spirit of ____ I bless you. I acknowledge your presence and I bless you with sonship and legitimacy. I bless you with love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. I bless you and speak to the data placed in you by the Father God and I agree with it. Spirit, turn to the face of God and receive all and everything you need and want from Him. He is your Maker and He loves you with an everlasting love. Spirit, you are worthy of worth and I bless with the worth of the Father. For so long you were at the end of the list if you were even on the list at all. Listen again to God’s Word for you in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 it says, “And may the God of peace Himself sanctify you through and through [separate you from profane things, make you pure and wholly consecrated to God]; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved sound and complete [and found] blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ…” I bless you, spirit, for being at the front of the list. You were meant to lead and one day God the Father will assign that position to you in this life. Keep after God’s face and receive instruction, directions, blessings, and worth.

Spirit of _____ I bless you in the name of Jesus of Nazareth. Be blessed as you stand before the face of God and receive more and more from Him as your Father and Creator.

This will be the first of a series of blogs about Wounds in the Womb. I hope this ministers to you. Some of it may seem far-fetched but I assure you it’s true. Go to God with it and see what He says.

Does God share His glory?

There is a common teaching in Church today that says God doesn’t and won’t share His glory with anyone. I understand what they are saying and where they are coming from but it’s not the whole picture. Here are some scriptures I’d like to share that gives a broader picture.

John 17:22

The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one

Matthew 5:16

Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven

Isaiah 60:1-3

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising

Revelation 21:26

And they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it

1 Corinthians 11:7

For a man ought not to have his head covered, since he is the image and glory of God

2 Corinthians 3:18

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transfigured into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit

I will elaborate on a future blog. You were created more then just to die and go to heaven. You were created to live.

1 John 4:17 declares

As He is, so are we in this world

Is = present tense

That is all 🙂

 

 

The Sound of One Breathing

The sound of One breathing

I heard this is where the term ruwach came from. I like it. It’s awesome. It speaks of Life. It speaks of One present. It speak of movement and action.

John 3:8 says,

The Spirit breathes where He will, and you hear His voice, but you do not know from where He comes and where He goes; thus is everyone who is born from The Spirit.

I was engaging with that meaning “the sound of One Breathing” while at church several weeks ago. To tap into the reality that the God of wonderful power and awe reside in this temple. The resurrection power of God lives in me. The one that came with fire and clouds. The one that breathes things into existence. What if I truly walked in the realm of One Breathing? What if my breath synchronized with His Breath? What if I was in tune with His rhythm? To be in one accord? What would that feel like? What would that look like? What could be done? Amazing things I tell you….amazing things!

 

A Blockage to Hearing God

How does this image hit your soul? How does it hit your spirit? I know how it hits me. “Wait till your father gets home!”

There are many articles, blogs, books, videos, and messages with a myriad of lists with possible blockages to hearing God. I will speak on behalf of experience and expound somewhat on one thing in my life that blocked it or more correctly held me back from wanting to listen.

First the back story.

Like I’m sure many of us who haven’t walked with God all our life things were messy. We sinned and for a time loved it. I did. But then God came in His goodness…and the enemy with his badness. For me there was a daily struggle between condemnation, conviction, and correcting or whatever terms you like to use. I held a lot of shame in my spirit not the soul. Shame resides in the spirit of a person. Also being an introspective introvert didn’t make it any easier. I was constantly aware of my failures, character defects, etc. In my mind I had this constant sountrack playing that I kept offending and hurting and was a disappointment to my heavenly Father. Here was the agreement and inner vow: I have failed God so many times by sinning I dare not seek Him or else He will tell me to do something that I know I won’t do thus sinning and not being obedient again. How dare I seek His face and ask Him to speak when I know I won’t do it. See what shame does? See what demonically inspired introspection fueled by religion does? It cripples you. It crippled me. One of my only prayer for years was either “Bless this food to my body” or “God please forgive me and cleanse me.” What was weird is that I could hear for others just great. I could prophesy and have words of knowledge and they would be spot on in most cases. For me it was easy to do that when I wasn’t responsible for the outcome. A person could deliver mail all day without a worry until they receive their own mail. When I saw my mail all I saw was bills and junk mail. So what blocked me was I didn’t want to disobey God once again. Best way not to disobey is not hear Him speak because I always thought He would be directive. I never knew He just wanted to chill. Hang out. Enjoy ME for ME. I didn’t know God could and would enjoy the current version. I’m thinking of the digital age we live in where it’s all about the latest greatest version. New comes along and the old gets discarded. Thrown away. Worthless.

And then I found out a secret…God will not set you up for failure. That a test is not designed for your failure or to show you what you are not. But a test is a joyful exploration of my Father’s goodness wrapped up in my seeming frailty and taking life on together. God may set your unrenewed self up to fail or rather realize apart from Him you can do nothing. Know this: God wants you to come to Him warts, spots, and all because He’s already washed them away. Seeking His face is about knowing Him intimately not to get a to-do list. Jesus’ first and second commandment are to love Him and others as ourselves. Love doesn’t produce a project to be completed or a problem to be solved. Love produces an environment where the good, bad, and ugly can reside side by side until the Holy Spirit and man’s spirit come into agreement and start to bring redemptive death to those things in order for resurrection power to come forth.

The religious spirit will do all it can from keeping you from God just like the Pharisees did. In the Old Covenant condemnation was the ministry (see 2 Cor. 3:9) New Testament’s ministry is righteousness. Old Covenant death came by getting close. New Testament life comes by getting close.

If you’ve ever felt like how I felt then today is a new day. God won’t set you up for failure. Even if He does ask you to do something and you don’t do it then there is great grace abounding to you. That is what relationships are about. Walking together through the thick and thin. Blood is thicker than your inabilities.

 

What is the soundtrack of your story?

Every great movie has a score. Every great life should have one as well.

I’m sure all of us have seen the slide shows, the trailers, the promo videos, and the like. All incorporating music to set the tone. Sometime you can see different scenes without music and they are pretty much…well, bland. No mood nor emotion. Then they can add all different types of sounds and tones and pitches to describe what is either being seen or what they want you to see. (I’m not musical in any way, shape, or form so pardon my ignorance on the technicality of the terms used or not used) Using this art form they can make something epic or make something calmer. Question is…what is the soundtrack to your story? What music, score, or sounds would describe your life currently?

We are all made of light, we are all made of sound. Hebrews 1:3a says

He is the sole expression of the glory of God [the Light-being, the out-raying or radiance of the divine], and He is the perfect imprint and very image of [God’s] nature, upholding and maintaining and guiding and propelling the universe by His mighty word of power.

All things are held together by His word or sound or score. Research has shown that even our DNA can be put into sound and music. So in the depths of who we are…the very fabric of our being is sound and light. Our spirit are creative light from the very substance of our Father. When One Candle lights another candle the Original Light is never diminished but produces another of the same kind. You ever wonder where the term, “they were in tune with each other” comes from?

What is your internal soundtrack? What is your external soundtrack? Internal soundtrack is the message we speak about ourselves to ourselves. It forms our emotions and reactions. It either gives or takes away from our spirit’s work in our life. The external soundtrack is what others say and what we allow to influence and affect us. It is the words we allow to land and take residence. Our soundtracks or scores are the resounding tune that portrays the emotion of our current state. Like I said above, in the same way we can be in the same situation and the score can determine how to feel, react, or respond in the given circumstance.

What I was originally getting at (lol) is what actual music or score would you use to describe your story? Lord of the Rings theme? Braveheart? The Notebook? Cinderella? The Last of the Mohicans? Sleeping Beauty?

Personally I love bagpipes. They are epic!

Follow Me. – Jesus

Matthew 4:19 says

Come, follow Me…

Do you ever feel stagnant in life? How about in your walk with the Lord? I do….right now.

It’s funny how we lose what we have gain sometimes. You look to the horizon and see the light…then we realize we are facing west and the light is going away. And we wait for another dark night of the soul as they say. Why? Why do we lose what we gain? Sometime I think it is because we stop following. We set up shop and stay put. It’s interesting that Jesus said, “Follow Me.” How many actually follow? There is a dynamic aspect to our walk with God. There’s another term we use often yet never think about. Our walk with God.

There’s another interesting thing Jesus said is in John 5:17

My Father is working until this hour, and I am also working.

We need to be active in our life with God. Proactive. Interactive. Not passive or inert. It kinda goes back to the whole Inheritance or Entitlement thing. Are we active participators in with Jesus or are we just along for the ride. If I’ve lost sight of the horizon maybe I should keep following the sun(son). Maybe I’ve seen the signposts and forgot about them and am looking for other ones. Maybe if I don’t hear “Left” or “Right” then I should keep going straight. On a side note, personal prophecy is God’s desire for you but it will only be fulfilled if our desire connects with it. Co-laboring with and in His promises.

So all of this ^^^^ above is what I was originally writing then I was like, “What am I even writing about?” I mean, I know what I was getting at but was I even picking up what I was putting down? Am I going to pose or be real? Am I going to do what I think others need to do? To be honest I’ve been really….discouraged. Kind of lost sight of the bigger picture as well as the smaller picture I would like to see myself in. It’s weird because several weeks back I was full of anticipation and joy. I saw a horizon I could reach.

I was really looking forward to this Waterboyz Wild at Heart Boot Camp this past weekend but during the weekend I just felt….indifferent. Not to say God didn’t speak to me, because He did. Also I don’t want to diminished how blessed I was to see many other men’s lives were changed. There were many great things that happened like 15 men being baptized in the Chesapeake Bay. Four father and son’s hearts were radically turned towards each other. These were amazing things and I shed many tears of joy for these awesome God moments.

What did He speak? I felt He told me, “Well done, son.” I wept. I also realized how many times I’ve spoken negatively over myself in regards to me being overweight or stupid or being an idiot. I took that “Yellow Passport” and wrote all the names I’ve spoken over myself and others have spoken over me. I threw that thing away. I was no longer my identity or destiny. It’s been a week and I still feel….well shitty. Forgive my language but it’s how I feel. Nothing has really changed externally. All my circumstance are the same as they were previous weeks ago. Maybe I picked up on some critters? Maybe I’ve been sensing someone else’s stuff? It does happen.

I guess dreaming long is key where I am at now. People say you need to press through. What does that even mean practically? “Press in” they say. What am I pressing and how do I press? And what may be on the other side? I’m not trying to be negative or have a pity party but process out loud so to speak.

You know it can be very easy to reach out for the imitation. There’s a quote by Bruce Marshall (not Chesterton) which is

…the young man who rings the bell at the brothel is unconsciously looking for God.

Now this is incredibly true in all aspects. I’m currently ringing that bell at food. I also ring it at adventurous activity. Of course the brothel is never, ever a good idea and that bell should never be rung. But is food bad? Or marital sex? Or adventure? Or anything clearly within God’s character? It’s all about focus. What am I focusing on? What is my intention? Where is my validation coming from? What or who am I giving power to be the report card on my life?

I often look how behind I am in life. I’m 31 and have a crappy car…super thankful for that car though. I’m in a career field that I’m good at but not passionate about. I want to be in ministry and being able to support a family with that but that seems extremely far-reaching. I feel lost and confused…if that is where I am validated. If my currency and current(cy) is determined by my following something temporal then I’m set up for disaster or heartache. I need to learn to enjoy where I am. Moment by every precious moment. I can enjoy my beautiful God-breathed marriage. I can enjoy actually having a job and being able to pay bills. I can enjoy my times when I can do adventures. I can look and see God’s total provision for my Nicaragua trip. I can choose to acknowledge but refuse invalidation from dealing with anxiety/panic stuff. I can live with having Asthma and allergies and bad teeth. I can see external facts but live in internal truths. I can agree with the process of an outworking salvation, a grasping for a future growth into a present reality, and I can live, with God, moment by moment because I am a much-loved child of God.

I have what it takes. I am noticed. My heart matters. My Father adores me.

You have what it takes. You are noticed. Your heart matters. Your Father adores you.

P.S. I’m not going to lie and say I didn’t don’t feel dumb for this blog. It’s title has nothing really to do with the ending. I figured I will keep the title and the featured image.

The disciples belonged before they believed. – Bill Johnson

 

Wisdom, Knowledge, and Prophecy – The Same Or Different?

But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit…to another prophecy. 1 Cor. 12:7,10

Here we see three different gifts or charisma of the Holy Spirit. Root word is charizomai which means give or forgive as well as to do something pleasant or agreeable (to one), to do a favor to, gratify. The other word is charis which is the word grace which means that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness: grace of speech.

From what I’ve seen in the body of Christ is confusion or misinterpretation of these three gifts: Knowledge, Wisdom, and Prophecy. I would add interpretation of tongues but I’ve rarely heard corporate tongues and interpretation of tongues in Church. It may be a more Pentecostal thing but not so much so in Charismatic churches. Also discerning of spirits could be thrown in the mix too but I’ll focus on the three. On a side note, I would love to bring attention to the fact that the Apostle Paul saw that the gifts were being abused or misinterpreted and wrote this passage in the epistle to teach the Church…the Church and not the apostles. So in other words, the gifts weren’t given to prove the Apostles office or the confirm the canon or whatever opinion some believe. The gifts were given for the common good of the Church as a whole. Especially considering 1 Corinthians 14:5 which indicate Paul wanted the Church as a whole to speak in tongues and prophesy even more. And yes there are different tongues, not really different but tongues as a whole has different applications but that may be for another blog.

In my opinion based on what I’ve learned and been taught, is that the gift of knowledge tends to be more diagnostic or it gives a diagnosis which means the identification of the nature of an illness or other problem by examination of the symptoms. Word of knowledge coincides with the fruit of joy. Knowledge in Greek is gnōsis which means  knowledge signifies in general intelligence, understanding. So God gives a word of knowledge, then what do we do? Immediately deliver it? Yes and no. While I firmly believe in the saying, “deliver the mail don’t interpret it,” there are times when we should sit back with this diagnostic word of knowledge and ask God to show us what to do with it. Let Him direct you with the word without you trying to understand the word. He may say to release it. For instance, I don’t remember who it was, a speaker got a word of knowledge and it was simply “macaroni & cheese.” ??? Really? So this person just spoke it out in faith without reading it and “macaroni & cheese” meant the world to an individual in the seats. This woman was praying for someone’s salvation or something like that and the person being prayed for drove a Kraft Macaroni & Cheese truck. This was the confirmation that woman needed to encourage her. More on confirmation later. But on the other side I recall a story from Graham Cooke where a man came up for prayer and Graham immediately saw a spirit of lust all over the man (this knowledge came from discerning of spirit mixed with word of knowledge). Graham didn’t release it but stepped back into his spirit and asked God what to do. In this instance releasing it could have cause a lot of damage, heartache, etc. What did God say? To proclaim the opposite (which would be prophecy) and to release what was needed to set the man free. Graham released something like this, “I see an incredible amount of purity coming upon your life. I see you loving you wife and cherishing her.” The man broke down in tears…beautiful healing and life-giving tears. There are some who probably would have said, “Thus saith the Lord God Almighty. You have lust all over you and you will burn for it unless you repent.” Not really life-giving nor seasoned with salt. Again God may have you say something like this to the person not using a microphone, “God showed me a spirit of lust operating in your life. You need to stop it otherwise your life will be in shambles. God is not into public shaming but public redeeming! They only public shaming Jesus did was against religion and the religious structure that promoted public shaming. So we receive a word of knowledge and step back into our spirit and ask God what to do with it. Next will come either a word of wisdom or the gift of prophecy may manifest.

The gift of prophecy is probably the most controversial amongst the three. The gift of prophecy coincides with the fruit of goodness. Prophecy in Greek is prophēteia which means a discourse emanating from divine inspiration and declaring the purposes of God, whether by reproving and admonishing the wicked, or comforting the afflicted, or revealing things hidden; esp. by foretelling future events. Most people when you say the word “prophecy” they only think of prophecy in the Scripture foretelling Christ or other events. But of course in New Testament there is both as we see in many epistle, gospels, and the book of acts. We also see prophecy in regards to day-to-day things like in Acts 21:11 which says,

 And as we stayed many days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. When he had come to us, he took Paul’s belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’” Now when we heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, “What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”

Funny thing is the word of knowledge/prophecy pointed to a negative thing but the recipient, Paul, knew full well what would happen and accepted it. Almost like another confirmation for Paul. Personal prophecy is a beautiful thing. Truly beautiful. I call personal prophecy in a meeting a “public honoring.” God points you out and highlights you. He confirms in open what He has spoken to you in private. Beautiful! I love personal prophecy. It is a great thing. I would also like to note that personal prophecy is, generally speaking, conditional. 1 Corinthians 14:29 says

But let two or three Prophets speak and the others discern.

Even a large amount of Old Testament prophecy was conditional in regards to current day-to-day things. Do this and that will happen. Do this and that won’t happen. Some get a prophetic word and run with it. Some rely on prophetic words to know what to do. Both are imbalanced in my opinion. Yet some get a prophetic word that makes no sense and they toss it out which is also not a good thing to do. You won’t lose your calling or destiny by throwing out a word that doesn’t make sense but it may cause delay because there was a nugget in there you needed to get to the next step. There are some who have receive prophetic words 5-30 or more years ago that are just now coming to fruition. Personal prophecy is personal promise with conditional and relational involvement. When Scripture says we are co-laborers then we are co…laborers. We are saved by grace through faith yes, but our growth is determined by our plow.

So the gift of prophecy provides an expected end or expected signpost. A glimpse into the future you and the future space around you. I love Graham Cooke’s teaching “Bringing the future into today” which basically means you take your prophetic word and see the character that is needed to walk in it and start acting in that character now. Prophecy speaks the potential and possibilities. It will provide a future and a hope. It can also provided the prognosis of the diagnosis. Prognosis means a forecast of the likely outcome of a situation. I said it before, “do this and that will happen.” So what happens from word of knowledge to prophecy….?

A word of wisdom. This coincides with love. Wisdom in Greek is sophia which means wisdom, broad and full of intelligence; used of the knowledge of very diverse matters and the intelligence evinced in discovering the meaning of some mysterious number or vision. When I think of the word of wisdom I think of how to get from point A to point B and possible pitfalls in the middle. You get a word of knowledge to diagnose something then receive the prognosis by prophecy but now you need a word of wisdom in order to walk through it all. The word of wisdom can give you a course of action. The remedy for a situation. Supernatural wisdom they may defy logical action. Jesus told different people different things in order to get healed. He didn’t just say you have “this” or you have “that” but said go wash over here or here is some mud…put that in your eyes to help you see. I would say a lot of dream interpretation comes from the word of wisdom as well or even dreams are a word of wisdom, word of knowledge, and/or prophecy. Words of wisdom offer the prescription to get you from the word of knowledge to the prophecy.

I do hope this all makes some sort of sense. Biggest issue I have is getting what is jostling in my brain into something coherent. The illustrations I used hopefully explained the differences and similarities of the three gifts. Three manifestations or diversities of gifts but the same Spirit work in all. There can be much more taught, discussed, and experienced with these three gifts. Let all be done decently and in order, thinking of others before ourselves or platforms. Regarding one another more highly than ourselves. The fruit is always the foundation for the gifts.

Be blessed this Resurrection Sunday for without the resurrection we would still be in our sins and new life wouldn’t be possible. Check out my blog from last year about Great Friday!