“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!
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.
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 7th 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:
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.
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!
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, norfaint when you are reproved by Him; for thosewhom 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.
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.
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.
Impart by definition is tomakeknown;tell;relate;disclose
Implant by definition is toputorfixfirmly; 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.
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.
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.
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.
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 Jeremiah1:5. 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.
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.
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!
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.
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
I am writing to share some exciting news with you. I plan to be part of a mission team traveling to Nicaragua June 16th through June 21st. Nicaragua is the second poorest country in our hemisphere (Haiti is the poorest). I’m going to sow into the land and the people. I have felt called to go ever since I had a dream with a well known prophet. In the dream this prophet named three names, two of which I don’t remember but Nicaragua is the one that stuck with me so I’m going!
My church, Harvest Christian Fellowship, in Frederick, Maryland, in partnership with Cristo Centro Church of Diriamba, Nicaragua, sponsors TrueHope4Kids, a ministry outreach to school age children in Diriamba. The children who participate in TrueHope4Kids would, were it not for this outreach, likely not attend school at all, but would be out in the streets begging or scavenging the local dump for “treasures” to sell to help keep food on the table at home. In exchange for their caregivers agreeing to keep them in school, TrueHope4Kids provides a nourishing meal and high-quality vitamins every school day, along with Bible studies and other educational activities. The children receive help with uniforms, and receive backpacks filled with school supplies every year. Over the years, many of the children and their families have surrendered their lives to Christ, become active church members and productive members of their community.
Our team will be serving and ministering to these children and their families each day, not only at the TrueHope4Kids location, but also visiting in their homes, hearing their stories, encouraging them and praying for their needs. We will likely do some street witnessing as well. And because we will be there during Cristo Centro Church’s 30th anniversary, we will get to join the congregation for their celebration, where we will have opportunities to serve and encourage them as well!
I am asking for your help to make this trip possible. First, I covet your prayers for success in raising funds and for productive ministry and safety for our team during the mission trip. I know that much prayer is vital for success, and I would be greatly encouraged if you would agree to pray for me and the whole team.
Second, I cannot make the trip without financial partners. I need to raise $1,320 to join this mission team, half before April 15th and the remainder by June 2nd. If you are able to help with the finances, I would be richly blessed. You can use the PayPal donate link below. Donations done that way will not be tax exempt unfortunately. To receive a tax deductible, receipt use https://giving.onthecity.org/hcfchurch/uauth_giving/new and put “NIC Missions 1 John 4:17” as the memo.
Thank you for your friendship, prayers and any financial support you are able to provide. I plan to provide a follow-up report to you when our trip is concluded.
Soul ties. Are they real and do they exist? Some seem to think they don’t exist but I lean towards their existence so hopefully I can explain, with maturity and humility, why I believe them to be true. Check out Generational Deliverance for more Inner Healing & Deliverance information.
So what are these so called soul ties? I think the term “soul” ties can be somewhat misleading. I believe soul ties are at the spiritual level more so then the soulish level but they are on both levels even affecting the physical. So for the sake of a general term I will say “soul” ties.
There are good/Godly soul ties and there are bad/ungodly soul ties. So you don’t agree and say “soul ties” isn’t in the Scriptures. Well neither is “Trinity” or “rapture” or “Calvinism.” I’ll be talking about ungodly soul ties. But know that there are very godly soul ties.
One Scripture that indicates soul ties is I Sam. 18:1-4 which says
Now it came about when he had finished speaking to Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as himself.Saul took him that day and did not let him return to his father’s house.Then Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself.Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his armor, including his sword and his bow and his belt.
Hebrew for knit is qashar which means to bind, tie, bind together, league together, conspire, to bind to oneself. So the soul of Jonathan was bound together with the soul of David. Now, because of this knitting together Jonathan made a covenant with David. Covenant in Hebrew is bĕriyth which means covenant, alliance, pledge. The deeper meaning is to cut or a cutting. Due to our connectedness with God He created a covenant with man. A human makes almost daily covenants with others. Whenever we sign our name we make covenant. It’s a legal transaction. There are other references to soul ties in the Old Testament. Some of those are: Judges 20:11, 1 Chron. 12:17, Psa 119:6.3, Gen 34:3, Num. 25:3, Hosea 4:17, and Gen. 2:24.
Some make soul ties out to be some sort of mystic thing that floats around…it is but it isn’t, if that makes sense. How the bonds work I don’t know (maybe like Quantum Entanglement). As there are many things in the world we don’t know, but is being researched in Quantum Theory, so there are many things in the spiritual realm/dimension that we don’t know. Paul Cox says that being as the physical world is so very complex then we are very naive to believe that the spiritual world is so simple as we like to make it out to be (that is for a future blog possibly). I believe, as we practice discernment, we will understand more and more about the other realm around us(see Hebrews 5:14).
How else do we form these ungodly ties? Among many the biggest culprit is sex. Mostly sex with someone other than your spouse. Like I said, there are many good soul ties we make like with our parents, spouses, siblings, and friends through godly ways. But we also make many ungodly soul ties with people we attach to in ungodly ways. Key verse for this is 1 Corinthians 6:16 which declares
Or do you not know that the one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her? For He says, “THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH.”
Joins in Greek is kollaō which means to glue, to glue together, cement, fasten together. Prostitute in Greek is…yep pornē which means a woman who sells her body for sexual uses and unlawful sexual intercourse, whether for gain or for lust. So, yea, that is where we get the word “porn” from.
Sex was made to be the holiest thing a married couple would experience. Sex is worship and it involves sacrifice (see Rom. 12:1), hence the prevalence of temple prostitutes in Corinth and many other pagan cultures including the worship of Molech where they would pass their kids through the fire (see Lev. 18:21). Having sex, outside of God’s design brings you into alignment with the enemy’s perversion. Sex is covenant and brings attachment to the spirit behind it. This include porn, lust, fantasy, voyeurism, ghost sex (Nephilim), premarital sex, Satanic Ritual Abuse, etc. I’m been pondering this the past week and I feel that ungodly soul ties are like a by-product of improper relationships perverted by cosmic or demonic beings. I also feel, but not 100%, that ungodly soul ties are not only between two different people but one person can get tied to a group of people and also tied with the cosmic or demonic being behind it. This is my theory. Soul ties give the enemy a foothold in one’s life. It causes demonic entanglement (see Heb. 12:1).
A womb is a gateway for authority on the earth. Abortion has defiled this gateway for far too long. Abortion is not about a women’s right to choose but about an agenda by the fallen angels to sacrifice God’s image in order to distort His image, plans, and purposes. Look I may be far off on this but I’m thinking that soul ties can be as far-reaching as they are deep reaching. I believe Mephibosheth was saved due to David and Jonathan’s soul tie. Believe me, I’m not a darkness, demon behind every rock kind of person but the enemy is slick so we need to not be ignorant of his wiles. So due to the enemy not having authority on earth but through people he persuades, deceives people to come into alignment with himself and each other to form far-reaching bonds which give more authority and power for the enemy to act on earth. It’s like his lifeline on earth to spread his dis-ease everywhere. If we can entertain angels unaware we can also entertain fallen angels unaware as well. We must repent and remove ourselves from this network of soul ties. Soul ties may even be transferred generationally.
So what are some indications of soul ties that need to be severed? Good question! Some may include
Pictures in your mind that you are unable to bring into captivity
Unable to forget and leave behind a past crush, girlfriend/boyfriend, spouse
Thoughts of others when intimate with spouse, even when you don’t want them
After divorce, your heart is feels torn and ripped (this is normal and not ungodly but soul ties should be severed nonetheless due to the relationship not being binding or divorce due to abuse and adultery)
Family member/spouse/siblings/children who have passed away
Generational defilement
Demonic or Fallen Cosmic interference with relationships
Continue to feel drawn to a person even when in a bad relationship and you know you don’t like/love them
Codependency issues
Pre-marital sexual relationship(s)
Cohabitation with someone you are not married to
One night stand(s)
Abortion (soul ties with child aborted whether you are the father of mother) being as it is a child they do have a spirit, soul, and body and soul ties must be severed due to the shedding of innocent blood and trauma involved
Miscarriages
If you received an organ transplant
Unequal yoking together of two people or parties
People holding you back from going forward spiritually, physically, and/or emotionally
Anyone who manipulates you or exudes their power over you
Involved in pornography, prostitution, or other sexual sin
Unable to cleave to your wife/husband due to parental manipulation or inability to leave parents for spouse
Ungodly pacts, covenants, agreements, vows, etc make with another person or group of people or the enemy(see Prov. 17:18,22:26)
I’m sure there are several different avenues for soul ties to form. I even experimented with breaking a soul tie with my Grandfather being as I get called by his nickname by my father. I don’t really like being called by his nickname personally, I just don’t like it and I wonder if because of a soul tie my father senses something and somehow relates to him through me. I’m thinking that a soul tie with someone else can attract others to us and because of it, others attempt to reach out to the person we have a tie to. Just a theory so we will see fruit if true and if not then let that idea either fall to the ground or be put on a shelf.
Best Person to ask is the Holy Spirit to see which ungodly soul tie you have. He will definitely guide you. Breaking and severing spirit, soul, and body ties is very important to gain freedom and Generational Deliverance. It was for freedom that Christ set us free. Galatians 5:1 declares
Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you.
So here is a general prayer one could pray to sever soul ties. In the first two ____ put in an action that may have or definitely caused a soul tie ie. abortion, sex before marriage, porn, Freemasonry, SRA, codependency etc. Then the rest of the ____ put in the name(s) of individuals or group(s) you may have ties to.
Father, in Jesus name, I come to You asking for the Holy Spirit to lead and guide me. Father, with what I heard from the Spirit, I now repent for ____ and ask forgiveness for _____. I ask that any spirit, soul, or body ties I have with ____ be severed by the Sword of the Spirit, which is the rhema/spoken word of God. Father I sever all ties in Jesus name. Base upon my repentance and Your just and righteous forgiveness I come boldly to the Throne of Grace asking for mercy and for You to move on my behalf. Now in Jesus’ name I sever all spirit, soul, and body ties with ____. I ask that You, Father, would restore back to me anything that was stolen or given away in this tie and I ask that you would restore back to the other party(s) anything and everything that I took from them. Father it was for freedom that Christ set me free so I agree with freedom right now! I ask for freedom, I seek freedom, and I knock on freedom’s door. Thank You, God, for giving me freedom. I now put the blood of Jesus, the Cross of Christ, and the empty tomb and ascension of Jesus between me and _____. I dispatch angels to minister to me and _____. Father, remove all labels, signs, attachments, entanglements, footholds, and wiles in the spirit realm from me. I remove all ties to the demons involved and command them to leave in Jesus’ name and I ask that, You Father, would rebuke and send away all cosmic beings involved. I choose not to slander angelic majesties (see Jude 8 and 2 Peter 2:10-11) instead I refer to Your judgment and authority, Almighty God. Father, now, in Jesus’ name, I ask You to fill all vacant and empty spaces with your Holy Spirit and Fruit. Fill me with light and the abundance of Your goodness. I call my spirit to attention to receive all the goodness and fruit of God. From now on, Father, guide me in choosing who I get knit together with. Lord I choose Godly soul ties in my life and reject all ungodly ones. In Jesus’ name Amen and Amen
I would also suggest praying the prayers linked to below
I want to talk about generational deliverance which includes but is not limited to generational curses. I know there is a large group within the Church, including some Charismatic and Pentecostals, that don’t believe in generational deliverance. I will address two main points they use to argue against it.
1. Jesus died to reverse the curse so there is no longer any curses to break not deliverance needed.
Correct, Jesus died to reverse the curse and ransom us. The curse is reversed but there some traveling to do until it goes back all the way. Jesus did away with the works of the enemy and flesh, if we believe in it and agree with it. So Jesus did it all. But there is an activation or appropriation that needs to happen. As in salvation, a person doesn’t just get saved but they need to believe and come into agreement with what God has done. Death is still around along with painful child-birth and thorns and thistles while working the ground and sweating (see Gen. 3:16-19).
2. Deuteronomy 24:16 say, “The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers; only for his own sin shall anyone be put to death.” Also Ezekiel 18:20 says, “The soul that sins, it [is the one that] shall die. The son shall not bear and be punished for the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear and be punished for the iniquity of the son; the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him only, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon the wicked only.“
Here people say that a person will only pay for their own sin. True. Now in New Testament Jesus paid for all our sins…but the consequences are still there. If someone sins sexually and God forgives them they may still suffer the consequences. So even though God forgives me currently there may still be consequences for the actions that my ancestors did that were not repented of and therefore myself and my kids may inherit the consequences unless I break them. Ever heard of the phrase, “It runs in the family?” If or when you came to Christ did you find that when you got saved you were delivered from many things easily yet others seem to hold on for dear life? You just can’t seem to get free from it?
So now I’ll explain, in my opinion, what Generational Deliverance is and what it is not. I am not an authority on the subject and this blog will be very limited in information because there is so much out there and so much more to learn. There are several others who have wayyyy more experience than me so I always seek guidance with them if need be.
Luke 11:47-51 says,
Woe to you! For you are rebuilding and repairing the tombs of the prophets, whom your fathers killed. So you bear witness and give your full approval and consent to the deeds of your fathers; for they actually killed them, and you rebuild and repair monuments to them…So that the blood of all the prophets shed from the foundation of the world may be charged against and required of this age and generation.
Generational sin comes from corporateness. Through our DNA we are corporate with all those in our generational line. Generational curses is a common word used but does not explain everything about generational deliverance. A curse, generally speaking, is a thing spoken. One of the Hebrew words for curse is qĕlalah which means curse, vilification, execration, imprecation. Vilification means a defamatory utterance. Execration means the act of cursing or denouncing or the curse to uttered. Imprecation means a formulated set of words by which a curse is invoked (see “Come Up Higher” by Paul Cox Chapter 11). Greek for curse is kataraomai which means to curse, doom, imprecate evil upon. Another Greek word is anathematizō which means to devote to destruction and to declare one’s self liable to the severest divine penalties (see Acts 23:12). Another in Greek is epikataratos which means accursed, execrable, exposed to divine vengeance and to call down curses upon. So curses and cursing play a big role in generational deliverance but it is not all there is.
Ever hear someone say, “It runs in the family?” Well that’s because it does! The biggest red flag you’ll see is recurring issues in the family line which includes, but not is not limited to: health issues, addictions, poverty (not just material), predisposed to the same sin habits of parents or grandparents(“You’re just like your father” or “Your just like your mother”), trouble with the law, always being wronged no matter your innocence, and/or seeing darkness in the spirit without your permission.
There are many more I could list. Point is, if there is a pattern then there is a curse or iniquity on your generational line…and it doesn’t just come through the blood but also relational authority. For example, I know a man who went for ministry and was asked what nationality were his ancestors. He said he was 100% Polish there both parents were Polish. Both ministers looked at him and then each other and both heard “Swedish.” Turns out this man was raised with a Swedish step-father and needed things broken from that side as well.
Iniquity has many attachments that need to be broken off. Iniquity in Hebrew is `avon which means perversity, depravity, iniquity, guilt or punishment of iniquity. It also means a guilt contracted by sinning and anything unjustly acquired. Iniquity in Greek is anomia which means the condition of without law and contempt and violation of law, iniquity, wickedness. Another word in Greek for iniquity is adikia which means a deed violating law and justice, act of unrighteousness and injustice, of a judge as well as unrighteousness of heart and life. Acts 8:22-23 says
Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.”
I’ve read as well that iniquity is unfairness or unequal. So iniquity is deep-rooted sin. James 1:15 says
And this desire becomes pregnant and gives birth to sin, but sin, when it has matured, gives birth to death.
Sin is paid for by the blood of Jesus and iniquity is dealt with by the cross, yet we can still reap what we sow. We can reap what others have sown whether good or bad (see Gal. 6:7-10) but we can destroy and cleanse and stop the unrighteous reaping we are receiving.
So what brings ungodly iniquity in our generational lines and how do we cleanse, stop and destroy it?
Here’s a list of what brings demonic attachments to our generational line
Freemasonry/Masons – Daughters of the Nile, Eastern Star, Rosicrucians, Druids, Kabbalism, Knights Templar, Job’s Daughters, Shriners (I was a waiter/server for Shriners once and they paid with a check that had their name listed as “Mystic Order of the Veiled Prophets of the Enchanted Realm”). Having this in your generational line can bring sickness, premature death, financial and relational problems. Within Mason’s, oaths and vows are made and Acts 8:22-23 come into play and makes one bound by iniquity. As the degrees go up so does the iniquity. They make vows and oaths to pagan deity and fallen angels and even curse themselves verbally. I could go on and on but I would definitely research more if you feel this is in your past. I have more information if you desire and specific prayer points.
Cults – Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, Sacred Name Movement, Black Hebrew/Black Israelites, some Christian denominations can be labeled cultish if they use manipulation/witchcraft to deceive their people and hold them in bondage, Tony Alamo Ministries, Church of Bible Understanding, The Way International, Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God, Raelian Church, Scientology, Heaven’s Gate, Christian Science, Unification Church, The Nation of Islam, United Pentecostal Church, Westboro Baptist Church, and many more.
Occult activities – oaths, spoken demonic creeds, ungodly covenants, idol worship, Ouija boards, Tarot Card readings, Horoscopes, Palm reading, reading tea leaves, Freemasonry, idol worship, worship of Baal, Mediums, alchemy, automatic writing, astral projection (practiced by Freemasons), Voodoo, mirror-gazing, bloody Mary chanting, Clairvoyance, Satanism, Sorcery (drug use), Illuminati (Freemasonry), Wicca, Witchcraft, and so on.
Sexual sin – pornography, masturbation, fetishes, lust, sodomy, necrophilia, Fifty Shade of Grey type stuff, molestation, incest, and so on and so on.
Abuse – sexual, physical, and emotional can all leave lasting trauma on people, which in turn brings iniquity and bitter root judgments in which many get defiled, cutting, and other things to abuse one’s self.
Addiction – drugs, alcohol, prescription drugs, overeating, man pleasing, co-dependency, and any other addiction that we get overpowered by.
Covenants/Agreements – this would include many of the above but also agreeing with any lie of the enemy, selling soul to the devil, eating from the true of the knowledge of good and evil, unequally yoked to others and/or organizations (like joining clubs, secret societies, and the like), finding wisdom and authority from anyone other than God Himself. (see Prov. 27:12-14)
Second-hand defilement – ever heard of second-hand smoke? It’s kind of like that. We or our ancestors got too close to ungodly things and let ungodly things happen instead of either leaving or rebuking/preventing it from happening. Rev. 18:4 speaks of coming out from among something as to not share in their sins. Also 2 Peter 2:7 speaks of Lot being distressed and had to leave in order to not be subject to the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah. This is in regards to current or past second-hand defilement that can attach to your generational line. I must also add that this doesn’t mean we will automatically be defiled by our surrounding because, as mature believers, we are called to change our atmosphere and our surroundings. But it can happen. Immaturity is the key here. Mature believers can handle themselves and have discernment about these things. If the Spirit says “leave” then get out of there but He may say “cleanse it” or “rebuke it.” Be lead and not lead.
Willful, deliberate sin – any sin that is willful, deliberate, and repetitive will transfer over, generally speaking, unless dealt with and repented of. You don’t want to carry your ancestor’s baggage and you surely don’t want your kids to carry your baggage.
So I’ve listed several different things that will bring defilement on your generation line/bloodline. Defile in Hebrew is tame’ which means to be unclean, become unclean, become impure sexually, religiously, ceremonially. It also means to be polluted. Greek for defile is koinoō which means to make common or unholy and another word in Greek is phtheirō which means to corrupt, to destroy.
Generational deliverance involves getting out of denial of your past/present and your ancestors past. The rug will continue to get lumpier and lumpier until you stop sweeping things under it and pull that rug up and deal with the junk there. It’s scary but, with God, you have nothing to fear unless you don’t want to be free and I know what it’s like to walk in new freedom. It can be very new and different. Prisoners find it hard to adjust to freedom and so we will need to adjust to liberty. But liberty is what we must walk in.
There is freedom! There is liberty! There is healing! There is a God who loves you despite the junk! There is a God who will visit that iniquity and destroy it by His righteous wrath (see Ex. 20:5-6)! We must come into agreement with His blood, cross, resurrection, and ascension and appropriate it to us and our generational line so our kids and future generations can live in liberty and fullness and not have to deal with what we have not dealt with. Exodus 34:6-7 says
“The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”
Due to our standing in Christ and His finished work, forgiveness is here and it is ours. We need to stand in place of our ancestors and repent for their involvement in order to break curses, attachments, and defilement. We renounce what they said. We forgive them for what they did. We break covenant by the blood of Jesus which speaks louder than all over covenants. Repenting on behalf of ancestors is not making you responsible for their sin and iniquity. You won’t be judged for their sin because that is their sin but we have the opportunity to make things right. To cleanse and purge away what others have done. To redeem time. To redeem land. To redeem because our redeemer lives. Jesus opened the way and completed it so we just stand in agreement and speak that forth over our generational bloodline.
So to cleanse our generational line we must first be saved or get saved. Save in Greek is sōzō which means to save, make whole, deliver, and heal. Submit therefore to God and resist the devil. Get baptized in the Holy Spirit. Get out of denial and face the facts of your own sins and iniquity. Repent for them and reckon them dead. Get the log removed from your eye so that you can see the specks along your generational lines which include Father/Step-Father, Mother/Step-Mother, and long-term foster parents. Look for patterns. Looks for defilement. Look for involvement of the things list above. Repent on behalf saying a prayer like this,
“Father I acknowledge the sins of my ancestors and I stand in the gap and repent on behalf of them(list the sins and involvements/covenants etc). I forgive my ancestors for what they did to allow curses and defilement and I ask for You to cleanse and wash away their sin/consequences by your precious blood and I bring to death their iniquity by your cross. I call forth the resurrection power of God over my life now. Cleanse all defilement, Jesus. Cleanse land and time, Jesus. Father, dry up these demonic rivers in Jesus’ name. I take all authority away from the defilement and demonic by the name above all other names, Jesus who is called Christ, the Messiah. Father I ask that You, God of all Gods and the God of the spirits of men to sweep away everything that is not of You. By my repentance and your justice of forgiveness (see 1 John 1:9) I declare this aspect of my generational line cleansed, purified, and dead. I now call forth the resurrection power of God to redeem that which can be redeemed and now the riverbed that has dried, I ask Father you flood it now with Your blessings as a replacement. According to 2 Corinthians 7:1 I am purifying all of myself and by generational line from all things that contaminate so that holiness is perfected in the reverence of the Lord. Father, I now ask that you hide me in the shadow of Your wings. I declare my life is hidden with Christ is God. Now, in Jesus’ name, I send away all familiar spirits that have been following my generational line. I send these demons to the feet of Jesus never to return back to me. Your authority is broken by repentance, the blood, and the cross. Now, Father, release all generational blessing. I receive all blessing stored up for me in my generational line. God I pray that You, God, would rebuke all cosmic beings that are playing a part in this. I do not come against them myself but I ask You, Father, to take care of them. In Jesus’ mighty name. Amen and Amen!
This prayer can be used for several different things but there are others things that need different types of prayers. If you have something specific let me know and I can find it for you. Email me at onejohn417@yahoo.com.
After praying this, then ask it to be sealed by the Holy Spirit. Call forth the blood of Jesus to cleanse yourself once again. Call forth angels to protect what was prayed and to protect yourself. Place the blood of Jesus around you and others by just saying, “I place the blood of Jesus around myself and family.”
If you have read to the end than kudos to you. Many will see the word count and pass it up and that’s fine. But to those that have read to the end…there is hope, there is freedom, there is Light, there is He who died for the whole world ready to assist and bring deliverance.
For other reference see Nehemiah 9, Daniel 9, 1 Peter 3:9 (inherit a blessing), Leviticus 26:40-42, Hebrews 7:5-10, Romans 5:12, Numbers 14:18, 33.
For many other prayers for generation deliverance I highly recommend Aslan’s Place.
In the Messiah, in Christ, God leads us from place to place in one perpetual victory parade. Through us, he brings knowledge of Christ. Everywhere we go, people breathe in the exquisite fragrance. Because of Christ, we give off a sweet scent rising to God, which is recognized by those on the way of salvation—an aroma redolent with life. But those on the way to destruction treat us more like the stench from a rotting corpse. This is a terrific responsibility. Is anyone competent to take it on? No—but at least we don’t take God’s Word, water it down, and then take it to the streets to sell it cheap. We stand in Christ’s presence when we speak; God looks us in the face. We get what we say straight from God and say it as honestly as we can.
Greek for sweet scent or fragrance is osmē which means a smell or odor diffused and euōdia which means a sweet smell, fragrance. So we are a sweet-smelling fragrance God diffuses among this world and goes up to God and rising to His satisfaction.
We, as believers, are a walking fragrance designed to diffuse His Presence to those around us. We are a sweet-smelling perfume, poured out, diffused to those around to awaken the spiritual senses of people.
Spirit of _____ I call you to attention in the name of Jesus Christ. Rise up and take dominion over the soul and body. Receive what the Scripture has to say over you today, “Everywhere you go, people breath in the exquisite fragrance. Because of Christ, you give off a sweet scent rising to God.” I call forth that sweet-smelling perfume that you carry. Come forth and diffuse to those around to experience the Father in all that He is. Bring life to those things that need life and bring death to those things that need to die. Your worship, being poured out upon the feet of Jesus, is a vehicle in which the Holy Spirit travels to others. Know what is right in the soul and body and bring all into alignment.
______ you are blessed and highly favored of the Lord. Your life rising up to God and enters his nose and He loves it. He cherishes your particular fragrance. You offer a sweet odor that is particular to you and I bless that in you. I bless you with keeping that fragrance going. Like a lamp constantly being filled, I bless you as an alabaster box being filled and broken, filled and broken. Fragrance comes from oil in biblical times. I bless the anointing in your life that brings fragrance. I bless the anointing, the fragrance you have received from the Holy One.
Spirit of _____ you are a sweet smelling fragrance and I bless you in that. You are life-giving. You are salt. You are light. I bless you in the name of Jesus the Christ, the Messiah.
Before I was following my Father, I hated reading. It was the ultimate kill joy of summer when I had a “summer reading list” as a child. I may have only read one or two books and did only one book report out of all of high school. Then, when I starting following my Father at the age of 20, I loved reading. I can’t get enough of it. I don’t have an exuberant amount of books…but I wish I did! It is probably because I am an introvert by nature and a Teacher Redemptive gift. I just felt like sharing the books I love and, if you haven’t read them, maybe you would get out of them as much as I did. This list is in no particular order and consist of both fiction and non-fiction.
The Bible by Holy Spirit and men moved by Him – Prefer NASB, AMP, and NKJV
The Shack by Wm. Paul Young
The Shack Revisited by C. Baxter Kruger
Wild at Heart by John Eldredge
Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge
Love & War by John and Stasi Eldredge
Normal Christian Life by Watchman Nee
Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis
Messy Spirituality by Michael Yaconelli
This Present Darkness and Piercing the Darkness by Frank Peretti
The Auschwitz Escape by Joel Rosenberg
Being With God series by Graham Cooke
Permission Granted by Graham Cooke
The Case for Faith by Lee Strobel
The Problem of Pain by C. S. Lewis
The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning
The Pursuit of God by A. W. Tozer (had dream where I was in a huge library and climbed one of those old school library ladders and picked the book off the top shelf. So I bought it)
Boundaries by Henry Cloud and John Townsend
The God Chasers by Tommy Tenney
Victory Over the Darkness by Neil T. Anderson
What’s So Amazing About Grace by Philip Yancey
Visions From Heaven: Visitations to My Father’s Chamber by Wendy Alec
The Jesus I Never Knew by Philip Yancey
This Day I Was Crucified by Gene Edwards
Transported by the Lion of Judah by Anne Elmer
The Circle Series by Ted Dekker
Come Up Higher by Paul Cox
Exploring Heavenly Place Volumes I & II by Paul Cox
Defeating Dark Angels by Charles Kraft
A Celebration of Sex by Douglas E. Rosenau
Spiritual Revolution by Patricia King
For Men Only by Shaunti and Jeff Feldhahn
Developing Your Prophetic Gifting by Graham Cooke
Deadly Emotions by Dan Colbert M.D.
The Stronghold of God by Francis Frangipane
Agenda 21 by Glenn Beck
Beautiful Outlaw by John Eldredge
Fathered by God by John Eldredge
For Women Only by Shaunti Feldhahn
Elijah House Prayer Ministry materials
And now here are a few I look forward to reading in the future
Prophetic Wisdom by Graham Cooke
Dissociative Identity Disorder: Recognizing and Restoring the Severely Abused Volume One by Tom Hawkins, Ph.D. with Diane W. Hawkins, M.A.
Multiple Identities: Understanding and Supporting the Severely Abused by Diane W. Hawkins
The Weight of Glory by C. S. Lewis
These are among a few I still want to read along with many, not yet written books. If you know of other book, fiction and non-fiction that have touched your life please comment below and I may add them to my list.
This is a continuation of the my previous post: Paradigms. I could have made this into one blog but I try to keep them short…though I am thinking of writing a book at some point where I can go into further details about certain things.
Lets take a gander at Romans 8:28 which says
We are assured and know that [God being a partner in their labor] all things work togetherand are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose. (AMP) (emphasis mine)
Many, me definitely included, tend to focus and perceive one thing going on in life. My paradigm can be paralyzed by my current perception due to the emotion I am feeling. Feeling, of course, are neutral, neither good nor bad but they point to something deeper. Emotions generally point out the roots.
I spoke to my dad a few nights ago and he gave me an eggcellent demonstration of paradigm and it goes perfectly with the above picture…get it now…eggcellent. He took an egg and turned it on its side and said you see a circle and that’s what you believe about it. The next person sees an oval and that’s what they believe about it. I though about that and I took it a step further and God sees the inside of the egg. God sees the inside or the good that comes from all things working together. Also in my previous blog I said how the Paradigms are locked into the soul and only by the spirit/Spirit can you step away and see it as it is. Last night I was talking to my wife about it and this scripture jumped into my mine which was 1 Corinthians 2:11 which says
For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man who is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.
So here we see that the spirit of a man is the part of us that can see the whole of us. This is why we must nurture and care for our spirit. I am currently reading Blessing Your Spirit by Arthur Burk and Sylvia Gunter. We nourish our bodies and souls but how many nourish their spirit? There is a difference between soul and spirit and that is clear in Scripture (see 1 Thess.5:23, Heb. 4:12). We need to do as 2 Cor. 7:1 says
Therefore, since these [great] promises are ours, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that contaminates and defiles body and spirit, and bring [our] consecration to completeness in the [reverential] fear of God.
Our spirits can be crushed, defiled, wounded, captive, slumbering, etc. So without being nourished and healed we cannot properly see all things working together. So when I can only see the one thing happening without a proper heavenly/spirit perspective we get locked into our current emotional response because we are still in the soulish realm. I must indicate here that the soul/soulish realm is not demonic nor evil but a vehicle in which the spirit relates to the earthly realm along with the body being the agent by which we have authority on earth. Scripture even indicates that our souls should prosper (see 3 John 1:2).
The only way for our paradigms to shift is if our spirit is well enough to see all things working together. I believe our spirits are currently seated together in heavenly realms with Christ Jesus (see Eph. 2:6). We truly can see all things working together because it is possible due to the heavenly realm being outside of time where time is not relative and the eternal realm and unseen things are visible and can be relayed to our soul and walked out through our body.
So next time we see a thing happening, let us drop into our spirit to see all things working together for our good. As we are in the Spirit so let us walk after the Spirit aligning ourselves with all things working together instead of our current thing seemingly holding us back and keeping our paradigm paralyzed.
Have you ever wondering why bad things happen in your life? I do. Why are these things in my life crumbling and shaking? Why are things falling apart? A thought recently popped in my head about this. I’m not saying this is true or whatever but I ponder things like this. Again this may be true and this may not be true but only my thoughts. Eat the meat and spit out the bones.
Sometimes if the enemy is wrapped up too much in our life and the wrath of God against the enemy comes sometimes we get burnt. Some OT references would be Lot and several of the prophets. They were righteous people walking in their destiny yet suffered in the midst. When God judge Israel, as a whole, both righteous and unrighteous succumbed to His dealings whether they deserved it or not. Again I want to be careful here and not generalize anything but sometimes are life needs to be shaken so that which remains is only Kingdom. If we are a little too close to our enemy we can very well experience the chastisement of the Lord. It’s not a good feeling but oh how the enemy scatters and leaves us in His lap. I just had the thought of when I was spanked as a child. My dad would put me over his lap and spank me…then console me. Both happened on his lap…how much more our Heavenly Father. Hebrews 12:5-8 says
…and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons,
“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, Norfaint when you are reproved by Him; 6 For thosewhom the Lord loves He disciplines, And He scourges every son whom He receives.”
7 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?8 But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.
It’s the grace of God that makes our spirits and lives fireproof though parts of us may crumble and burn. 1 Corinthians 3:13-15 says
each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. 14 If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
Sometimes the mercy of God is getting a little of what you deserve. Consequences for actions are a good motivator if not done in fear. The wrath of God is against all ungodliness and unrighteousness. Notice He is against the “ness” and not the person. If God is for you then He is against everything that is against you. Until we give it all up and let God arise in ourselves the enemy will not be scattered. The Holy Spirit is a Gentleman…except when He isn’t. He will patiently sit there waiting in love until you are ready and He will determine when you are ready to deal with the baggage. The longer you don’t deal – let Him deal with it – the harder the burn or the shaking will be. He is a jealous God and will not accept things between you and Him. Isaiah 42:3 says
A bruised reed He will not break And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice.
We should welcome his correction for a wise men loves it. We should welcome his hand on our life. Psalm 19:9-10 says
The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether. 10 They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.
Judgment is not the same as condemnation. There is no condemnation in Christ Jesus!
We must let His light so shine before us so that we can see ourselves and run into His arms as He is running to us. He has His robe and ring for us and a fatted calf roasting on the pit but we need to recognize the slop of the enemy and get away from it. If you are in sin, get healed, healing, deliverance, etc. I currently am reaping what I sown and it hurts but it is the mercy of God. I’d rather feel the heat of the burner on my hand and get burned a little then not feel pain and lose my hand in the process. Pain can be a wonderful thing. C. S. Lewis put it best
We can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.
We could all meditate and take in this song! We Dance!!! Twirling, resting, the Father throwing us in the air and catching us in only the way He knows how!
9 Then David said, “Is there yet anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”2 Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and they called him to David; and the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” And he said, “I am your servant.”3 The king said, “Is there not yet anyone of the house of Saul to whom I may show the kindness of God?” And Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan who is crippled in both feet.”4 So the king said to him, “Where is he?” And Ziba said to the king, “Behold, he is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel in Lo-debar.”5 Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo-debar.6 Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and prostrated himself. And David said, “Mephibosheth.” And he said, “Here is your servant!”7 David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will surely show kindness to you for the sake of your father Jonathan, and will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul; and you shall eat at my table regularly.”8 Again he prostrated himself and said, “What is your servant, that you should regard a dead dog like me?”
9 Then the king called Saul’s servant Ziba and said to him, “All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master’s grandson.10 You and your sons and your servants shall cultivate the land for him, and you shall bring in the produce so that your master’s grandson may have food; nevertheless Mephibosheth your master’s grandson shall eat at my table regularly.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.11 Then Ziba said to the king, “According to all that my lord the king commands his servant so your servant will do.” So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table as one of the king’s sons.12 Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Mica. And all who lived in the house of Ziba were servants to Mephibosheth.13 So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he ate at the king’s table regularly. Now he was lame in both feet.
Yesterday during worship at church I was reminded by the Lord the story of Mephibosheth. How often I have felt like him. Crippled, helpless, subject to the care and needs of others(I’m not disabled). How he must have feared when Saul died because it was common for new kings to kill all direct descendants of the previous king. He ran, had to have help to run, from the new King David. Feared for his life in his crippled state. Defenseless. Broken.
For too long I was like the old Mephibosheth. Crippled by shame and addiction. Fearing the previous king(the enemy). But the new King came looking. He came looking for me. He sought me. He found me crippled and lame with shame, hurt, addiction, and with a false view of Him.
And He place me at His table! He prepared it for me! He cooked for me! He washed me feet…He washed my lameness away. He wiped and collected my tears. I became the new Mephibosheth. I place to eat at the King’s table forever. The King mephiboshethed me. Mephibosheth in Hebrew means exterminating the idol. He, my King, exterminated my idols. They fell to the King. He destroyed them.
When I was feeling this overwhelming love pursuit. I wanted to get on the mic and share with the congregation but I am microphone shy or more like freaked out (I know I am called to speak). The overwhelming love of the Father. How He searches us out. The Hound of Heaven as He has been described as.
WHO? WHO CAN I SHOW MERCY TO? That is who my God is! He searches for who He can show mercy to. Do you hear Him pleading? If not, then hear Him pleading through me…come out and let Him show you mercy! He wants you! He loves you with an everlasting love. He is not worried about your crippling or wounding or shame or even your anger with Him. He is looking for you and begging be reconciled! He loves you and He sees you….and He is running after to meet you in your mess with a robe and ring….with a huge feast prepared! YUM!!!! Have your fill!!!!
May I rest in Your new mercies. Thank You that I don’t need to ask You to come for You haven’t left since I first time I asked You to come. Thank You for the ability to forgive today. Thank You for the ability to respond today out of my spirit and not react out of my soul. Thank You for being my Comforter. Thank You for being Another of the same exact kind. Thank You for leading me into all Truth and revealing the Father and Son to me. Continue to cause the scales on my eyes to fall so I may see the salvation You offer to me. Thank You for being the Wind that blows away the dross and the Breath that breathes Life and Vitality into my whole being. Thank You for making my soul to prosper and my spirit to grow and my body to be healed. Thank You for giving me the language of heaven and angels in which no darkness can listen to or comprehend. Thank You that You are God and I do praise and worship You, Holy Spirit. You are Lord and I give You Lordship over me. Come and enthrone all thrones of my soul. Expose those thrones that are occupied by darkness. Thank You for the gift and ability to repent. Smear me with all You are. Thank You for being in me and with me. Thank You for being a Person and for being personal with me. Thank You. Thank You. Thank You. Thank You for coming with the mother heart of God. Thank You for being a Father to the fatherless and a Mother to the motherless. Thank You that Your gifts and fruit are available to me when needed. Thank You for stepping into me and bringing Life and renewing me and making me born again by Your will.
So it appears that there was some issue with the idea of having or walking in someone else’s anointing or mantle. This is what tend to believe about that…
I was watching a YouTube and the person shared Hebrews 11:39-40 which says
39 And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised,40 because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect. (NASB)
The above picture show Elijah passing his mantle to Elisha. 1 Kings 19:19 says.
So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, while he was plowing with twelve pairs of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth. And Elijah passed over to him and threw his mantle on him.
Mantle in hebrew is ‘addereth which means glory or cloak. 2 Kings 2:9-14 says
9 When they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please, let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.”10 He said, “You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so.”11 As they were going along and talking, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire which separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind to heaven.12 Elisha saw it and cried out, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw Elijah no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.13 He also took up the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and returned and stood by the bank of the Jordan.14 He took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and struck the waters and said, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” And when he also had struck the waters, they were divided here and there; and Elisha crossed over.
So Elisha picked up Elijah’s glory. He picked up where Elijah left off. It’s a beautiful picture of the Scripture in Hebrews above. I also love the picture of Elisha taking that mantle and trying it out. He struck the waters and beseeched the Throne of God and asked where God was…and God showed up and the waters parted!
Even in Jesus’ time John the Baptist came with that same mantle. Luke 1:17 says
It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
There is yet and I believe now is, a generation with the anointing, mantle, spirit, and power of Elijah to prepare the way for Christ’s second coming. I know Elijah was a man just like us (James 5:17). Jesus was a Man too. He is also the Son of God as Adam was also (Luke 3:38). The anointing is the same but different. We have an anointing from the Holy One. We receive it from Him because He decides what type of anointing. Remember what Elijah said to Elisha when Elisha asked for the double portion? Elijah said, “You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so.” The ball was in God’s court in regards to that double portion. Now is there a difference between the mantle or the double portion. The mantle was passed on but the double portion was subject to Elisha prophetic experience.
John the Baptist came is spirit in power of Elijah and Elijah has come to restore all things (Mark 9:12) and, in one of my previous blogs, heaven has received Jesus until the restoration of all things. There is still work to do. I think we get wrapped up in vocabulary(I do) and forget the spirit behind things. We have an anointing whether we call it healing, prophetic, this person or that person, etc. Christ is the Anointed One and He is the one that smears us with it! So when I said I felt like God say I have a Lincoln anointing it means there is a spirit and unction that Lincoln walked in and was not yet perfected and needs someone else to walk in it to fulfill it so he can become perfected for apart from us that wouldn’t come to completion. Don’t get me wrong I’m not running for President LOL. I have this picture of a relay race where there are many racers in one race. As one person runs there heart and finishes their race they pass on the baton to the next person to complete it. I also sense Malachi 4:5-6 is speaking about Hebrews 11:39-40 and it says
5 “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord.6 He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.”
Hearts of the fathers to the sons could also speak of past and current/new generations coming to together and, if I may borrow the term Dutch Sheets used, the synergy of the ages. Standing in agreement with previous prayers and adding on so that bowl of incense may be poured upon earth for perfection.
I went on a little bit of a rabbit trail but I think I clarified. I know some will still disagree but it’s all good! I love you guys who read and comment and like my blogs! We are in this together, Amen!? We need unity amongst diversity for there are many gifts but One Spirit!
I’ll end again with Hebrews 11:39-40
39 And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised,40 because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect. (NASB)
Last week or so I felt that I heard in my spirit, “You have a Lincoln anointing.” Never heard of it but I have always liked Abraham Lincoln and have done papers in school about him. FYI I believe we have an anointing from the Holy One and when people talk about the anointing of so and so I think it more of picking up the reins or carrying on the mission of the person who either dropped it or has passed into full Glory. Anywhoo I did Google it and found one article about it on Elijahlist.com by Bill Yount. I have asked others and they have had the same word over them. I have ideas about what it is but not yet fully (Prov. 25:2). Has anyone else heard about this?
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, which was only 5 days ago BTW, I must say I am thankful for our Father’s Voice. For without it, I would still be in my Stockholm Syndrome.
12 His intention was the perfecting and the full equipping of the saints (His consecrated people), [that they should do] the work of ministering toward building up Christ’s body (the church),
13 [That it might develop] until we all attain oneness in the faith and in the comprehension of the [full and accurate] knowledge of the Son of God, that [we might arrive] at really mature manhood (the completeness of personality which is nothing less than the standard height of Christ’s own perfection), the measure of the stature of the fullness of the Christ and the completeness found in Him.
Matthew 8:20 (NASB)
20 Jesus *said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
Fullness (plērōma) – the state of being filled to capacity or that which is (has been) filled or the body of believers, as that which is filled with the presence, power, agency, riches of God and of Christ
Knowledge (epignōsis) – to become thoroughly acquainted with, to know thoroughly and precise and correct knowledge
Mature (teleios) – wanting nothing necessary to completeness or brought to its end, finished
What I believe is happening and needs to happen is that the Church (https://1john417.wordpress.com/2014/11/28/what-does-the-term-church-mean/) needs to create a place for Christ’s Head to rest. Far too long…centuries upon centuries the Church has been disjointed and far removed from His Head. We hear message upon message of the same things. Milk (1 Cor.3:2). We need meat. We need to consume His Flesh and drink His Blood. We must focus and behold Him in order to go from glory to glory (https://1john417.wordpress.com/2014/10/13/mirror-mirror/). If we keep focusing on our current glory we will never grow and never transfigure into something greater and fuller is measure. There is hidden wisdom reserved for us to walk in…there are book waiting to be opened for us to read (1 Cor. 2:7, Dan. 12:4) We must focus where we are seated in order to influence where we stand. To say it literally, the world depends on it and us to walk as He is in this world (Rom. 8:19, 1 Jon. 4:17)
Hebrews 6:1-3 (AMP)
6 Therefore let us go on and get past the elementary stage in the teachings and doctrine of Christ (the Messiah), advancing steadily toward the completeness and perfection that belong to spiritual maturity. Let us not again be laying the foundation of repentance and abandonment of dead works (dead formalism) and of the faith [by which you turned] to God,
2 With teachings about purifying, the laying on of hands, the resurrection from the dead, and eternal judgment and punishment. [These are all matters of which you should have been fully aware long, long ago.]
3 If indeed God permits, we will [now] proceed [to advanced teaching].
Jesus is our Savior, not death. If we are waiting for death to be free from sin and imperfection than death is your savior and not Christ. We must stop living body, to soul, to spirit and start living, as we were originally created, spirit, to soul, to body. I am of the believe that our spirits are not subject to the limitations and parameters of our body (see Acts 5:15, Acts 19:12, Col. 2:5). Our soul, on the other hand, must be more and more subject to Him and sanctified and prosperous (3 John 1:2). We truly are seated in Heavenly dimensions or places.
Christ needs shoulders and a body not defined by denominations or labels but by His placement. Knit together in unity of the Spirit. His rule comes through man’s agreement with His purposes. A true co-labor and co-work and co-creating with Him (https://1john417.wordpress.com/2014/02/17/what-on-earth-do-we-do-2/). Seek His face and thus become His face on earth. Creation groans together by our unveiling which brings His headship back to original intent. (https://1john417.wordpress.com/2014/10/13/mirror-mirror/)
We need to hold fast to the Head as Colossians 2:18-22 says
18 Let no one defraud you by acting as an umpire and declaring you unworthy and disqualifying you for the prize, insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, taking his stand on visions [he claims] he has seen, vainly puffed up by his sensuous notions and inflated by his unspiritual thoughts and fleshly conceit,
19 And not holding fast to the Head, from Whom the entire body, supplied and knit together by means of its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.
20 If then you have died with Christ to material ways of looking at things and have escaped from the world’s crude and elemental notions and teachings of externalism, why do you live as if you still belong to the world? [Why do you submit to rules and regulations?—such as]
21 Do not handle [this], Do not taste [that], Do not even touch [them],
22 Referring to things all of which perish with being used. To do this is to follow human precepts and doctrines.
Father, we need You! Father us in this new thing and time and season. Father us to completion. Reveal Yourself to us so we may be revealed to ourselves. Creation is waiting Father. May we succumb to your relentless love and transfiguration process in whichmetamorphosis (metamorphoō) happens and we change into fullness and a mature man able to support and bring down your authority in order to make your enemy your footstool and things are restored for Your coming.
According to Strong’s ekklésia (church) means an assembly, congregation, church; the Church, the whole body of Christian believers. Now from what I recently learned this is the most basic definition. In other words the church or ekklésia means a group of people together. But what else does it mean? I will attempt to explain what I recently heard from two different minsters on two different occasion unrelated to each other.
According to ancient Greece the ekklésia was the senate of the government. It legislated what was allowed or forbidden or may I say bound or loosed (Matt. 16:19).
The ekklesia‘s powers were almost unlimited. It elected and dismissed magistrates and directed the policy of the city. It declared war, and it made peace. It negotiated and approved treaties and arranged alliances. It chose generals, assigned troops to different campaigns, raised the necessary money, and dispatched those troops from city to city. It was an assembly in which all members had equal right and duty. As the Roman Empire rose and supplanted the Greeks, the Romans adopted the term into Latin.
The concept that distinguishes biblical usage from classical Greek usage is the emphasis that it is God’s assembly. Ekklesia, therefore, means God’s people, called together by God to listen to or act for God. The emphasis is on the action of God, which has the force of a summons (as from a judge). The biblical ekklesia, the church, is a body of people, not so much assembling because they chose to come together, but assembling because God called them to Himself—not assembling to share their own thoughts and opinions, but to listen to the voice of God. – John W. Ritenbaugh
This should totally change your view of what Church means. Ritenbaugh also says about where the term “church” comes from:
Perhaps the best place to begin answering these questions is by tracing the etymology of the word “church” itself, and then looking at the way it is used in context. Many have assumed that it derives from the Greek ekklesia, but this is not true. The English word “church” descends from an Old English word cirice, akin to an Old High German word, kirihha. Both words derive from a Late Greek word, kuriakon, which comes from the Greek kuriakos, the possessive form of the word kurios, the term for “lord.” Kuriakos thus simply means “lord’s,” showing possession, or “belonging to the lord” (Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, 1985, p. 240). It can denote anything that belongs to the Lord. – John W. Ritenbaugh
When I think of ekklesia I also am directed to 2 Cor. 5:20 when it speaks of being ambassadors of Christ. We bring the current rule and reign of Jesus to this earth as His representatives. We legislate Heaven’s directives upon earth. Far too long the enemy has ruled and run this world but with Christ’s FINISHED work we bring what He brought. Didn’t He pray, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven? Let us create the footstool for our Lord and bring the restoration of all things so we can hasten His coming (Heb. 10:13, Acts 3:21, 2 Pet. 3:12)
We need His directives and wisdom to establish His kingdom. He is coming back for a BEAUTIFUL Bride and not a disjointed church. He is still looking for a place to lay His head…
I do not believe in the escapism that is preached by pre-trib eschatologists. I do believe there is a light that is and will shine brighter and brighter upon His Bride as she continues to make Herself ready. Isaiah 60:1 needs to happen and I believe it will be a literal shining according to Matt. 17:2 and 2 Cor. 3:18. If Moses received a lesser covenant with a glory so strong he had to cover his face then how much more will the greater shine forth on and through us! I’ll end with this scripture:
Romans 8:30Amplified Bible (AMP)
30 And those whom He thus foreordained, He also called; and those whom He called, He also justified (acquitted, made righteous, putting them into right standing with Himself). And those whom He justified, He also glorified [raising them to a heavenly dignity and condition or state of being].
Graham Cooke’s Maintaining Your Inner Compass Part 1 notes from:
Unfortunately the whole sermon is not on YouTube. These notes are directly from Graham Cooke’s Part 1 teaching. I took these notes for a meeting I was a part of. It was very enriching to intentionally listen and take notes. I could have written out 6 or more pages but this totaled 2 1/2 pages. Be blessed! As He Is So Are We!
Graham starts with Psalm 121: I WILL LIFT up my eyes to the mountain from whence shall my help come. My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip. He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper the lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun will smite you by day not the moon by night. The Lord will protect you from all evil. He will keep your soul. The Lord will guard your going and coming in. From this time forth and forever.
David had a brilliant devotional life because he connected with God no matter where he was not matter what he was going through. He knew how to connect with God devotionally. :23-24 the steps of mans are established by the Lord. And He delights in his way. When he falls he will not be held headlong because the Lord is the one who holds his hand.
The great thing about journeying with the lord is that He knows how to keep us. Day after day in every kind of situation. He can turn every circumstance and situation around for our good and prosper us. In all the ups and downs in life God is the one remaining constant. Holy Spirit is teaching us to be constant and faithful because according to 1 John 4:17, as He is, so are we in this world. Because God keeps us we can learn to be as constant and consistent as God is.
What God wants from you He first gives to you. Because God delights in us we can delight in Him. Whatever we are facing it’s important to face with a real enjoyment of who God is for us. Our journey may take us to the vineyards of fruitfulness or the desert where there is no growth. But God will be the same to you in both places. Sometime God is a blazing sun but other times a candle in your hand. You get to walk with God and know him in both extremes. In warfare you get to know the God who laughs at His enemies. God can surround who you are and who you are not. We discover who God wants to be for us in every circumstance. Sometime we need stand long enough in His presence to see the Glory that is there because we are being changed from one degree of glory into another.
Graham Cooke talked about wanting a relationship with God more than just ministry. Devotions should be designed for relationship and not ministry. In personal devotions and relational times we stand before God as a much-loved son. Sometimes we come to God and say Father and other times Daddy and other times Help!
We accept the fact that we will have human and demonic opposition and stress involved with walking with God. But we can find out who God is for me when these things happen. Who is God to me right now? That is the joy set before us. We need not be worried about anything. We are not frustrated because that is a construct that is not birthed in the kingdom. Truth is we get to walk in grace and mercy and peace and love and goodness and rest and gentleness and delight and abundance and power and majesty. We get to walk in those things.
We are being changed from one degree of glory to another. We need to consider the possibility of something glorious happening at least this week if not today. We need to take all our responses from heaven and not from earth. The bible says we can be blessed under persecution. You have to rejoice and be exceedingly glad. The basis of this is moving in the opposite spirit as a preservation thing and as warfare. We get to spank the enemy. Out journey is into an experience in the Spirit so profound that we become as Jesus is because as He is so are we in this life and world. We live from the inside to the outside. All of life in the Spirit is internal. We learn to step back into our spirit and live out of that place. We learn to live in the spirit as opposed to the soul.
We are learning to maintain our inner compass. Our direction comes from inside, our inner man. Guidance is relation and not functional. Guidance is a byproduct of relationship. Too many decisions are made by external evidence rather than internal proof. In order to grow into this we have to develop and maintain our inner compass so when we stop spinning we know where God is because He is our True North. There are three questions we should ask ourselves in all new situation or circumstance. Who am I? What am I? and Where am I?
When life explodes and interferes we must ask Who am I in this? I believe all our journeys begin in the heartbeat of God and that’s where you rest right now. I can have an understanding and experience with the nature of God. I can know what he is really, really, really like. I don’t want to be intimidated by the enemy but be fascinated by Jesus. We try to get faith outside of the heartbeat of God. God lives in you and he has no problems believing. Faith comes from your focus. When focusing on God faith is there. God is faithful that means we can be full of faith.
All revelation of God must be specific to His nature and explicit to your identity. When He shows you something about himself his reason for this is because he wants you to become that next. Your identity gets an upgrade. God is not messing around and nothing casual. Everything about Him is utmost intention so we need to pay attention.
We get to wage war with peace and inflict our rest upon the enemy. Rest is a weapon. We are partners in His nature. David was a man after God’s own heart because he was always discovering his own identity in the face of God who was totally for him all the time. We are learning in the context of that on how to practice opening our heart to revelation and saying yes to God’s love.
Who is God for you right now? What specific part of His nature are you meant to fully experience at this time? When you know you learn to direct yourself toward God in that. We don’t define by our circumstance but by the nature of God being released and revealed to us. God loves us to ask questions but don’t allow your lack of answer to disrupt your internal communion with Him. Sometimes he doesn’t give us answer right away. He wants to teach you to live in the question with Him. What’s more important God or the answer? We don’t need an answer what we need you God. God likes the dialogue. Sometimes there are better questions for us to ask Him. Living in the question makes our life happy in the process. There are times where God allows our life to come into a place of uncertainty. Why? God wants to be your certainty. God is jealous and he is not apologizing. He wants to be your all in all. He wants to have that number one place in your life.
Don’t stop believing until you get an experience. When you get it you longer have to believe. Faith is a temporary thing, not permanent. Faith becomes knowledge. Faith is present to give you an experience. You no longer have faith that Jesus is Lord, you know Jesus is Lord.
Knowing opens you up to the reality of the truth. That you may know what is the hope of His calling. That we may know the things freely given to us by God. You begin to declare things from Heaven instead of praying for them. It’s your inheritance. Faith is the introduction to Hope. It leads you to confident assurance.
What do you need to be confidant in regarding who God is for you right now? The particular circumstances in your life should be leading you to an experience into a particular aspect of God’s nature? What was your last real experience of God? Did you become established in that as a behavior, did you learn how to abide in that? What is your current uncertainty? What do you have permission to ask God for?
In your current situation ask the Holy Spirit this: What is it that God wants to be for me now and who am I in a response to that?
Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer.
Interesting scripture I must say. From now on we recognize no one according to the flesh. I’m sure we all of read that and maybe thought about it but quickly finished our bible reading for the day. Forgive my sarcasm :). I’ve read it plenty times but I love when God highlights the scripture. Holy Spirit Sharpie Highlighter! Anywhoo… So what does Paul mean by this? I immediately think of 1 Cor. 6:11 which states: “Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.“ Paul was recognizing them for who they are and not what they were doing. How many of us are trying to crucify the flesh or die to self? And no matter how much we do, we aren’t reflecting that truth. Ever hear of Phantom Pain or Phantom Limb Syndrome? Get this: people are operating out of something that isn’t there. Something that has been cut off. Something that is no longer a part of them. I researched(if you could call it that) phantom pain/limb syndrome and there are reports of people still feeling the limb and even gesticulating with the phantom limb while talking. I mean in no way to offend amputees btw so please don’t think I’m making light of actual people experiencing this. I say this because the thought occurred to me that if humans can walk and operate like they still have a limb that isn’t there that Christians still operate in something that isn’t there. This is what I like to call Phantom Flesh Syndrome. Now I’m getting off track…which happens when I blog. More on Phantom Flesh Syndrome on a later post.
Back to what I was saying before. The Kingdom is an inner man, spiritually discerned, God breathed life and outlook. We cannot recognize others based on what is dead. We need to call to life or call to a realization of what is already alive. Kingdom looks beyond the veil of flesh into the inner man created in God’s image(read previous Mirror Mirror post). I do not mean we do not acknowledge falling short of our brothers and sisters but we do not recognize as that action because it is no longer the core of who they are. There may be some root issues to deal with but at the core it is not who they are. Paul was pointing out these issues but countered it by saying, “such were(past/dead) some of you but you were washed/sanctified/justified.” You are no longer what you were.
I like how Paul thinks. Grace upon grace. He didn’t recognize them according to the flesh but spoke on their identity. That is why New Testament prophecy is about one who prophesies for edification and exhortation and consolation. That is directed at the same church! How many of us prophesy our words of knowledge? Did you know there is a difference? That is also for another post. Where is the light in an individual? The Divine spark present? Are you mirroring back the negative dead stuff or the alive Kingdom stuff? Are you calling people higher or just exposing what the blood has covered/washed away? No matter the person Christian or Pre-Christian they are created in God’s Image. Are we muddying up the mirror or washing it for people to properly see the image of Him who create them? How do you recognize people? By their sin or by their Redeemer? These are all question we need to ask ourselves when relating to people. Most importantly how did Jesus see those the religious deemed Image-less?
I was in a meeting a couple weeks ago and the speaker was a Pastor’s son from India. As usual, he spoke on what the ministry in India is doing and wants to do etc. The usual missionary type sharing from a pulpit. But something really jumped out at me. His father, during a sermon, was speaking on dreaming. He said, “Many can dream big, but few dream long.” Few dream long.
I need to dream long.
Based on previous blogs I spoke on Presence and Promise and how Presence is key to open Promise. Dreaming long is the same thing. I know for me to dream big is emotional suicide but to dream long is sustained expectancy. I can dream the biggest dreams and despite my doubt or unbelief I continue to dream big…but now I know I need to dream long.
Who knows when a big dream will manifest? Where it will? How it will?
Living in the journey with God is so important. Dreaming big but dreaming long. I’m learning to trust Him for the outcome. I’m learning that living in expectancy is better then living with expectations. Expectancy is choosing to live in the moment with faith in a secure future. Expectancy is dreaming long while enjoying the journey.
How many of us stop to smell the roses, if I may use that term we’ve all heard? Dreaming long and living in expectancy forces us to walk with God and not run ahead of Him. Great quote about dreaming from one of the Wright brothers.
I got more thrill out of flying before I had ever been in the air at all – while lying in bed thinking how exciting it would be to fly. – Orville Wright
They dreamed big and learned to dream long. Dreams are but the desires of your heart. “Everything that you will ask in prayer and believe, you will receive.” – Matthew 21:22
I confess that in 1901, I said to my brother Orville that man would not fly for fifty years. . . . Ever since, I have distrusted myself and avoided all predictions. – Wilbur Wright
It is not really necessary to look too far into the future; we see enough already to be certain it will be magnificent. Only let us hurry and open the roads. – Wilbur Wright
Dream big, saints and dream long! Live in the expectancy of today! Believe you will receive! May God grant to us the desires of our hearts!
15 My frame was not hidden from You when I was being formed in secret [and] intricately and curiously wrought [as if embroidered with various colors] in the depths of the earth [a region of darkness and mystery].
Psalm 91:1New King James Version (NKJV)
91 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
The secret place. Hebrew word: cether meaning: covering, shelter, hiding place, secrecy. The Hebrew word is the same in both scriptures. He formed us and protects us in the secret place. The place of protection is the place we were made.
Another interesting scripture is Colossians 3:10 and it talks about our inner man or spirit being renewed in the image of He Who created it. This is out there but when 2 Corinthians 5:17 talks about a new creation. Not necessarily a recuperated inner man. Why does Ezekiel 36:26 speak of a new heart and a new spirit. Revelation 21:5 says He makes all things new. New in Greek is kainos meaning: recently made, fresh, recent, unused, unworn, of a new kind, unprecedented, novel, uncommon, unheard of. The same word for new creations. The first Adam was a living soul and the Last Adam a life giving Spirit (1 Corinthians 15:45). Two different Adam and two different creations. We are of the latter.
Colossians 3:3New American Standard Bible (NASB)
For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
Our zoe life is hidden with Christ in God. The secret place. Our inner man escaping notice being formed in the belly of the Father. You see Presence fashions us for Promise. When we live where we are seated we live from a place of Presence, rest, and hiddenness. We walk in authority and dominion from a Presence standpoint hidden in the Secret Place where we are continually formed by Him Who made us. And when we live out of the Presence we are like clumps of clay seeking identity outside of the Potter’s Hands. Anyone who has worked with clay and a potter’s wheel you know that, at first it’s formless and needs air bubbles etc. removed. Then by applying water it softens to be able to be molded into the vessel it was designed for in the Potter’s mind and heart. The water of the Rhema Word comes to bring the forming…and how gentle He does it. In the forming process it takes delicate hands and patience. How we feel like we are spinning in the process. We seem confused when our world system constructs get removed and we enter the Spirit and His forming process.
We need to behold Him! To observe Him! How did Jesus walk? With Him. He did only what he saw or observed what the Father was doing…including dying on the cross (2 Corinthians 5:19). 1 John 3:2 Aramaic Bible in Plain English: Beloved, now we are the children of God, and it has not been revealed until now what we are going to be, but we know that when he has been revealed, we shall be in his likeness, and we shall see him just as what he is. I believe the Bride will be transfigured by observance of Who He is in them. Observance not of principles or laws are scriptures reading but literal observance…the same way the Apostle Paul received his revelation. No I don’t believe in “new” revelation as in new scripture but there are new things God is revealing which are in line with what scripture declares.
The Apostle John receive The Revelation of Jesus Christ because he was positioned on His chest. He laid there and made that place his home. Revelation came from that Secret Place. That is my desire. To be so close to His Heart that mine becomes His and His becomes mine and I adhere and stay glued to Him by the Spirit. There are secrets He wants to share but they are found in the Secret Place. Secrets are always from the heart.
I don’t know about you but I tend to get frustrated with life at times. How many of us can relate to our needs overcoming our wants? Needs come and come and must be met and met. Wants seldom show up and when they do we rarely get to fulfill them. Now I know what scripture says about needs and wants. Psalm 23 etc. But how many of our wants or desires come to pass…or come to…pass and not stay. I was thinking about how many things I want to do in life and how I don’t see much possibility of them happening. I know with God all thing are possible but how? I want the Promise so bad. So bad I can taste it…the taste of milk and honey.
I have so many wants: traveling, speaking, counseling, inner healing and deliverance sessions along with Sozo sessions. I desire to set people set free and walking in who they are. Not head knowledge but heart knowing.
Then I listened to a Graham Cooke teaching…
He spoke on living with God in the question. Walking with God in the midst of waiting. I think of the difference between Promise and Presence. God promised Israel a land flowing with milk and honey but His Presence was there in the journey. An arduous journey to boot. Moses had the proper perspective. Even with the Promise near he wouldn’t go with Presence.
My needs need to transfigure 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.
I think that is where I am getting it wrong. Why I’m frustrated. Why I feel like Promise is the carrot on the end of the stick. Interesting scripture in Psalm 103:7 is says God made know His acts to Israel but His ways to Moses. Moses had a backstage pass to what was going on. Sure Moses clearly didn’t get it all right but God trusted Him. I want and need my own Tent of Meetings. A place where perspective is birthed and clarified. A place where I can see God mouth to mouth. A place where Presence sustains while the Promise waits for my arrival. God has given me a name. That name is Possessor. I plan to possess first Presence and then Promise.
Mirror Mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of them all?
How many of us do this every day? We continually seek our identity and validation on other people and things. We look at the Photoshopped world of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest and judge our lives and worth based on other people. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen someone’s post or picture get several comments or likes, while I post the same exact thing and get nothing. How many times have I judged my worth on someone’s recognition or lack of recognition. I started my blog several months ago and someone else I know just started theirs…and theirs has blown up(in a good way). They get all these likes and comments and promotion but I hear or see crickets on mine. I had to check my heart…and my reflection. What part of me am I seeing when I react out of my soul instead of responding out of my spirit. I see myself blocking the post so I don’t have to see it or unfollowing them so my hurt and unresolved rejection isn’t confronted. To be honest I did unfollow. I was envious and jealous. The room of rejection yelled, “SEE NO ONE LIKES YOU!” And I accepted it… Until I dropped back into my spirit and responded with thankfulness that someone is being recognized for their gifts and attributes. There two cents are being heeded and honored and I love it!
I’m going to share something that Jesus showed me a couple weeks ago in a vision(mind’s eye). I was at a Waterboyz for Jesus Boot Camp (based of John Eldredge’s Wild at Heart Boot Camp) and there was a mandatory code of silence to reflect on life and to ask Father God to father me. So I had this picture, vision whatever you want to call it, I was standing in the entrance to my High School’s Cafeteria on my lunch period and surveying the cafe…but first the backdrop. I was never a popular person in High School. I didn’t have a good solid friend or group of friends but I had several acquaintances. I feared every new lunch period because I was never invited to sit with anyone. Never. It was a room screaming rejection and “you don’t fit in.” Frozen with rejection and aimless. So I either sat at the “nerd” table, where one of my acquaintances sat, or some other obscure area. It was awkward. So back to the vision. I saw myself at the entrance to this same cafeteria with rejection screaming “you’re not invited.” Then I saw Jesus…waving me over to his table. He said, “You will always have a seat at my table.” It broke me in the best possible healing way. I have turned to a greater mirror! A mirror that displays goodness and acceptance and redemption and kindness. I love Jesus and how He speaks to our wounded and applies his healing balm. It soothes and replenishes. He is my mirror! He is my reflection! A river that never runs dry and a fragrance that never dissipates. In fact I’m his odor to a rejected and lost world. 2 Corinthians 2:15 says, For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.
I’m going to share several scriptures that speak to mirrors or mirroring and the effect. I’m not going to quote them all but for your reference.
2 Corinthians 3:13-15,18
James 1:23-24
1 Corinthians 13:12
1 John 3:2
1 John 2:6
Roman 8:18
1 John 4:17
1 Corinthians 6:17
John 17:22
Acts 3:21
2 Peter 3:12
Philippians 2:5-8
Ephesians 1:22-23
But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. – 2 Corinthians 3:18
Unveiled faces. We are not like Moses who HAD to cover his face with a veil. Noticed when I talked in the Ten of Meeting he took the veil off. Now with Christ and Him renting the veil in two from top to bottom He, not only gave man access to God, but He gave God access to man! We are image bearers. We carry the image of God on this earth. We are the image of God.
Beholding as in a mirror. What do mirrors do but reflect what is put before them. They don’t make up their own image. We don’t make up our own image. Where do we receive our reflection from? Who do we receive our reflection from? 1 John 4:17 says as He is(currently. not past but now) so are we in this world. The glory given to Jesus by God is transferred to us.
We are being transformed into the same image… What? The same image? “Same” in Greek is autos meaning: the same, himself, in itself it signifies nothing more than again, applied to what has either been previously mentioned or, when the whole discourse is looked at, must necessarily be supplied. “Image” in Greek is eikōn which means: the image of one. Also this verse says we are transformed into the same image. Transformed in Greek is, get this: metamorphoō to change into another form, to transform, to transfigure. To transfigure! The same exact word used to describe Jesus when he metamorphoō on the mount with Elijah and Moses.
1 John 3:2 says, “Beloved, now we are the children of God, and it has not been revealed until now what we are going to be, but we know that when he has been revealed, we shall be in his likeness, and we shall see him just as what he is.” Seeing God, like Moses, has a uncovering of glory that is already within us, locked up in our blood since before Adam fell. Originally we were covered with glory and the radiance of God. Man sinned and that glory was shut up in the body and dwindled to embers…until Jesus breathed upon the disciples thus provided the Oxygen of God upon the ember to ignite and begin the transfiguration process. The more He is revealed the more we will be revealed. Creation is groaning for us Church! We will be like Him because we will see Him. FYI this is pre Second Coming in my opinion according to Acts 3:21. The Beauty of the Bride is in the union with her Husband and Head! We can, by our communion with the Father and submitting to the glorification of us by our seeing Him. We are one spirit with Him – 1 Corinthians 6:17. Co-Heirs. Brothers of Christ. Kings and lords under the King of kings and Lord of lords! Seated together with Christ!
For too long the image I saw was the image I walked out. When I interpret the image incorrectly it will only result of living incorrectly. By the water of word and the Holy Spirit, He can clean our mirror so we can see, unveiled, the Glory of the Lord so we can begin to walk in original design and our original selves.
Prayer:
Father, in Jesus’ name, I ask You to clean our mirrors and remove our veils so we may fully see you and then fully see ourselves. We repent for dismissing our glory, the glory you gave us. We cast our crowns only to have them returned to us purified to then cast them again on your feet. Let us remain in worship at your feet while also communing at your chest in which the revelation of Jesus Christ comes through us so we may truly walk, as Your body, the fullness of You who fills all things in every way. Let us walk as the fullness of You on earth and re-present you to this world. All with the spirit of agape love and true humility, a partner, associate, comrade, and companion of the Divine Nature. Let our mind be the same that was in You, Jesus, according to Philippians 2:5-8. And Lord we know you are the Author and Finisher of our faith and You are the Substance and Hope by which we seek you with all that we are. Thank you for reversing the body, soul, and spirit to spirit, soul, and body. In Jesus name we give you the glory and receive the glory you have given us. We worship and honor You, Almighty God, our Friend. Amen!
My last post I talked about our new identity in Christ as a New Creation, which, by the way, was definitely not all of what I could say about it. It would take many, many blogs to fully describe and understand our New Creation selves.
I will now talk a little bit about what we now “do” with this new creation truth about ourselves. I say “do” because it’s not about something we do or a performance we now must act out. In reality is a “being” that we now walk out in our day to day lives. Human beings, not human doings!
One of several scriptures that come to mind is 2 Corinthians 5:20, “so we are Christ’s ambassadors, God making His appeal as it were through us. We, as Christ’s personal representatives, beg you for His sake to lay hold of the divine favor [now offered you] and be reconciled to God.” (emphasis mine)
Represent Christ
We are ambassadors and are meant to re-present Christ to the world. “Greater works than these you will do,” says Jesus in John 14:12. As He is (currently) so are we in this world! (1 John 4:17)
As New Creations we are now totally and utterly one with Christ, just as Christ is One with our Father. (John 17:21) If this doesn’t blow you away then Romans 8:17 must!
…and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. (NASB) (emphasis mine)
Heirs of God and co or fellow heirs with Christ! This is God’s love and heart for His children and the people of the world. The word heir in Greek is klēronomos, which means one who receives his allotted possession by right of sonship. The word fellow heir is sygklēronomos, which means one who obtains something assigned to himself with others, a joint participant. And these line up with 1 Corinthians 3:9, which says, we are co-laborers, co-workers, fellow workers with God. The word for co-workers in Greek is, synergos, which is where we get our English word synergy from. And what is synergy? Synergy is the interaction of elements that when combined produce a total effect that is greater than the sum of the individual elements, contributions, etc. This speaks directly to John 16:7 where Jesus said, “It is better that I go away so that Another may come and be inside you and we operate in synergy as co-laborers.” (my own paraphrase) I am obviously combining scriptures here but it’s exactly what happens. Now, one can do many things without God, for God and God can do many thing without man but ultimately God want to empower believers to create a synergy between the two to accomplish much more. What else do we “do” on earth?
We are meant to bring the multi-faceted, multi-dimensional, and multi-colorful wisdom of God and display it to the principalities, powers, and wicked rulers in the second heaven.
Ephesians 3:10
10 [The purpose is] that through the church the [a]complicated, many-sided wisdom of God in all its infinite variety and innumerable aspects might now be made known to the angelic rulers and authorities (principalities and powers) in the heavenly sphere. (AMP)
Let our lights so shine before men that they may see the sons of God’s good works and glorify our Father in Heaven. (Paraphrased Matt. 5:16)
Live loved
Ultimately what we “do” on earth is live as much-loved sons of God. Live as we are accepted in the Beloved. The word accepted, in the Greek, means to pursue with grace and compass with favor! We are to “be” much loved sons of God who are pursued by grace and encompassed with favor!
As He is...so are we 