“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.
It’s amazing how many people can be reached via Social Media. My first blog post was posted January 27th, 2014. Since then I’ve reached 167 countries! I have 1,539 followers and have had 47,024 views and counting! With 2,480 Likes and 799 comments I’m amazed from those who support me in this. I’ve grown and am growing everyday and I seek and dig in the Scripture. But all those numbers don’t matter in the end. If the Lord wants someone like me or you to write and only He sees it and is pleased than that is all the matters! Thanks again!
I want to thank all my followers and readers. Thank you for reading, liking, sharing, commenting, and praying. And I want to thank my Father in Heaven for creating me as a builder and no longer a consumer. As a Teacher redemptive gift, it has been a joy to dig deep and seek questions to answers that some have and some have never thought to ask.
If you want to sow into this blog and ministry you can do so below. Thank you all!
How many of you of prayed “the blessing” over your meal? I know I have. We bless the food we eat. We tell people “be blessed” but what are we really doing? Another term used more often in liturgical settings is “Benediction”. Do we know the power of blessing? Do we know what it really means “to bless”? Let’s delve deeper shall we?
Hebrew for Bless is barak which means to cause to prosper.
Greek for Bless is eulogeōwhich means to consecrate a thing with solemn prayers.
What do we bless? We bless our food. We bless our relationships and work. We bless the church service and bible studies. We bless many things but does it every feel cliché when we say it? Churchy even? Now I understand Church culture and the Christianese language well; I’ve been around it most of my life. But only in the past couple years have I really grabbed ahold of (loose term because God and His ways are higher) what it means to bless.
So what causes our blessings to have power behind it? Intentionality. When God blesses He is very intentional. Genesis 1:22 says, “And God blessed them, saying, ‘Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.'” God not only blessed but was specific in His blessing. His blessing provided instruction, identity, and purpose. God said. He spoke. The same mouth He used to create the animals was the same mouth He used to provide their identity. Remarkable as it is, this is even seen in human’s blessings.
We all know the story of Jacob and Esau so I won’t break it all down here. Esau was, according to tradition, the rightful heir or beneficiary to Isaac and his land and fortune. Rebekah overheard it and told Jacob to lie to Isaac. Isaac blessed Jacob with the blessing that Esau was meant to have. Here’s the kicker…Isaac couldn’t take it back nor transfer it to another. Once it was all said and done there was no going back. Such power in the blessing. So much so it established Jacob and Esau’s future from there forward. The power to bless. The power of the blessing.
So what? This was something written a long time ago. It couldn’t have any bearing on today could it? Why yes it does. Today, if you listen to the news, you’ll see the continuous conflict of two blessings that were spoken way back when. Isaac, a fallen human, blessed and changed the future immensely. So does that mean we, blood bought heirs of God, can do likewise? Yes and I would say more so. But how? Glad you asked.
Being as we are created in the image of God and are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, designed to co-labor with the Lord, we have the opportunity and unction to establish His Kingdom and dominion on the earth. What can we bless? Land, time, buildings, objects, etc. Rabbit trail commenced: have you ever heard of theology of the land? Probably not. Something I have never, ever heard anyone reference before though I just recently noticed myself, is the very common scripture 2 Chron. 7:14 which states the God will heal our land…rabbit trail ended. God blessed the 7th day (time) and made it holy. Eph 5:16 talks about us redeeming the time. (the concept of redeeming time is for another post). God blessed mountains and objects and certain foods.
God has given us the power to bless. We must be intentional, use our mouths to speak His words, and speak design, purpose, and instruction. Since we will be held accountable for the words we speak let it be blessing and not cursing. Let us bless with focus and legitimize people’s design and purpose.
In my next post I will talk about why we bless our spirits. I’ve posted a few YouTube videos and several blogs where I’ve blessed people’s spirits so I will talk about why I do so.
I bless you today! I bless your design and purpose. I bless you with God’s love, joy, peace, goodness, kindness, patience, mercy, power, and majesty. I speak forth healing to your whole self, spirit, soul, and body. I call you bless and highly favored. I speak to the light that is your spirit and tell it to grow, be nourished, and reflect the image of God. I call forth the treasure and inheritance that God has planted in you. I speak to the spark of creativity in you and call it forth and I bless it with God’s power. I bless your purpose and God’s plans. That they would collide in a beautiful array. I bless your whole spirit, soul, and body with God’s transfiguration power that as you behold Him you are changed from glory to glory. I bless you in Jesus’ name.
Sometime back I talked about Learned Helplessness along with Signs & Freedom involving Learned Helplessness. I hope that those posts have put to words and defined things you may have struggled or are struggling with. I mostly hope they have helped you break free or give you tools to help your specific issue(s). But how about Learning Freedom afterwards? Let’s delve in and hash out some ideas.
It was for this freedom that Christ set us free [completely liberating us]; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery [which you once removed].Galatians 5:1 (AMP)
The context of the above Scripture is in reference to the Law given in the Old Testament and our relation or lack thereof to it. I could go into all the ramifications of this but this particular post is about much more real life than theological pandering. So Christ has set us free, is setting us free, and will set us free. But how do we learn freedom?
There are generally two types of non-freedom we are in or can be in.
Captive: one who is taken or held apart from their will, confined, held under control of another but having the appearance of independence
Prisoner: one who breaks the law and is subject to correction or imprisonment due to wrong actions or choices
Captives can be freed via having a greater authority or power than the person keeping them captive.
Prisoners can be freed via a legal process.
Isaiah 61:1 says,
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, Because the Lord has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners
Here we see liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners. There is hope for both. There is hope for me and you.
If you want to Learn Freedom or are Learning Freedom you have to choose freedom or at least make advances towards it. If you are like me you can attest to the fact that once you got saved you were delivered from a bunch of stuff…but some things remained. In my posts Generational Deliverance and Soul Ties(which I think I need to update) I posted some tools for getting free from some of that remaining junk. Anywhoozel how to go about Learning Freedom
Have you ever been scared of freedom? Have you fought actively against freedom? It’s possible you may have Stockholm Syndrome of some sort. Or, like me, you’ve been used to bondage. There is no shame in it. It happens. But we must get free.
There is an interesting dynamic to inmates who have been in prison for their whole adult life. They cannot assimilate with society because prison is all the know. They have been institutionalized. One of the saddest scenes in The Shawshank Redemption is the death of Brooks Hatlen. A man who was in prison all his life was finally freed only to not know how to live. We need to know how to live and not just survive.
As Arthur Burk says we can only be delivered to zero but after that we need to grow. Most of us have been born in the negative. Whether it’s alcoholism, drug addiction, poverty, abuse, or you name it, we need to get free and delivered. We need to get up to zero. But to get above zero we need to grow…we need to learn freedom. To learn freedom it would take a series of books to go through all the nuances and specifics of each story and each specific detail. There is a plethora of material I could point to you (please ask if you are curious) regarding many different way to freedom. I’m not the kind of person who is bound to one stream. All (almost all) steams have their specific tool and will help specific people with specific things. However, one stream can never be a catch-all.
Freedom often comes in increments. Sometimes all at once. Why doesn’t all freedom come all at once? Well, you’ll have to take that up with the Father. Most of our issues didn’t come all at once so I guess our freedom generally won’t come all at once (like I said earlier, sometime we get delivered from a lot of things but then there the few things that tend to hold on).
There are some ministries (programs) that measure freedom by minutes, days, months, and years. Some measure freedom by the intensity of the manifestation involved during the process. Some is based on behavioral changes (modification) and still others is based on the finished work of Jesus are there is never and will never be the need for freedom because we already are there. Many stream preaching their own way and usually saying it’s the only way. Not me.
Freedom will take many shapes, modes, colors, paradigms, streams, avenues, streets, paths etc. If measuring your freedom helps you to learn then, by all means go with it, as long as it doesn’t become a religious thing. If it takes a manifestation then let it be genuine and altering and not just a show. If it takes behavior changes (modification) then let it be breathed on by the Spirit to regain the habits and forge new neural pathways. If it’s simply by the finished work of the Cross (which all true freedom ultimately comes back) then let that freedom come and walk it it but, I say this very carefully and humbly, never hide behind it. What I mean by that is that if you have a real issue and nothing changes then there might be something God may have you do. Don’t stuff it or think it will go away, it might but it might not. God will oftentimes have you co-labor with Him in your freedom walk. You never know when you get out of something and strive for freedom that God will give you a new tool and that tool can be added to your toolbox to help others who were in your same steps. I heard someone say once that when all you have in your toolbox is a hammer then everything looks like a nail. God wants to give us His multi-faceted, poly variegated, multi-colored wisdom and this wisdom comes with being fiercely intentional in learning freedom.
Learning freedom comes with using passionate purposive action and belief. It comes with getting out of your current boxes of beliefs and values and making room for God’s wisdom. Learning freedom comes with make changes and steps that will bring change. Learning freedom comes when you step out into the discomfort of new experiences without the common crutches you’ve learned to rely on. Learning freedom comes from gaining the ability to discern the roots to chop and the roots to nurture. Learning freedom may take a gigantic leap or just a baby step. Learning freedom comes when you know your Father is with you and in you, urging you forward and being there when you fall. Learning freedom comes when realizing you can be truly free. Learning freedom comes when you shed off the label of “wretch” and attach the label of “son.”
How have you learned freedom? Please comment! There is so many other aspects to learning freedom but for word count’s sake I’ll end it here.
I feel my calling, design, and purpose is to help people. I am Elijah House certified and Sozo trained. I would love to be able to help in any way I can. Do you have questions? Concerns? Issues you can’t seem to overcome? Health issues where medicine doesn’t work or barely works? Maybe you are unsure what is fueling the anger you feel or the lostness you experience.
I am willing to listen first and offer help second. If I don’t know the answer I’ll look for the answer. If I can’t find an answer I’ll do my best to point you in the right direction. So please contact me at onejohn417@yahoo.com for any type of question, concern, or insight you may be seeking regarding any issue you may be facing.
I’m not easily shocked and everything shared with me is 100% confidential. If I may say with all humility I’m known by my friends and family as a person who always has a listening ear and where secrets are safe. There are many people hurting and don’t know who or where to go for help so I want to be a place/person where someone can go to. This is a 100% free service. So please contact me at onejohn417@yahoo.com.
Disclaimer: I’m neither a psychologist nor trained in mental health whatsoever. However, I do read a lot of books, articles, studies, teachings, ideas, etc about mental health and the people who suffer from mental health issues. My heart goes out to them. If it were one people group who I would love to see most set free, healed, and delivered it would be those who suffer with mental illness. History has shown that patients with mental illness have had atrocious things done to them and I am horrified about it. Thankfully science, psychologists, and revelation has increased and brought much growth, understanding, and tools to bring freedom, healing, and deliverance to those precious people suffering under the weight mental illness.
The past several weeks I’ve been reading “Brain Rules” by John Medina. Needless to say the book fascinates me. I just finished the chapter on Stress and you can read the overview of the chapter here: http://www.brainrules.net/stress.
In the chapter on Stress, one point in particular jumped out at me and it was talking about Learned Helplessness. If you Google it you’ll come up with several different links that are much more detailed and scientific that anything you’ll read below. But I’ll do my best.
Learned Helplessness is when a human or animal is subjected to aversive stimuli which is inescapable. The result is that a person or animal stops trying fight against it and just takes it basically. Things will never change so why even try anymore type of mindset. Even when opportunities exist to get out of the stimuli their learned helplessness will forestall any movement to get away from it.
This concept is geared more towards animal psychology however, it can apply to many situations regarding human beings. The notion is that the lack of control a person experiences breeds a helpless attitude, which in turn will cause a person to overlook openings for change and/or growth.
Steven F. Maier and Martin Seligman were the two psychologist who stumbled upon this discovery. They detected this via an experiment on dogs. They found helpless behavior in canines who were trained to expect an electric shock after hearing a noise. After this conditioning, they placed the dogs in another box where there is one side that would provide an electric shock and another side which provided no shock and the only separator was a very low wall which the dogs could easily walk over to get to the other side. The dog who was conditioned to feel the shock never even attempted to leave the electrocuted side. In another test one of the dogs was harnessed and shocked so the dog was unable to vacate the electrocutable side. (To read the rest of the explanations and different test that were fun visit: http://psychology.about.com/od/lindex/f/earned-helplessness.htm)
Now regarding people. It happens all the time. A person undergoing stress for a prolonged time that is inescapable can Learn Helplessness. It can be a root issue that can lead to depression. Personally, I’ve experienced Learned Helplessness, but not to extremes as some have I’m sure, but I’ve felt it’s twinge in my life. However, my reactions usually show up in other ways like being angry at bad drivers or people who mess up by food order.
Here’s a quick backstory. Growing up I, for the most part, was raised in the ideology that a kid is meant to be seen and not heard(some of you may have grown up with “It’s better not to be seen or heard”). It was not always the case but most of the time it was true. I was the quiet one, who didn’t excel in sports, so I was pretty much dragged along to my brother’s traveling sports team. I was raised not to ask questions therefore, my opinion didn’t matter. This was and is still an issue in my adulthood. Without a voice as a child, I “knew” my voice didn’t matter as an adult. I learned that it was pointless to speak my mind because it was never heeded nor sought out. Now as an adult my wife almost always wants my opinion, she even loves my opinion. This was new to me. I lived so long on the electrocuted, your voice doesn’t matter so why even say anything, side of the box. Growing up hearing my father reply to me asking a question, “Just say, ‘Yes, dad.'” was my harness holding me back. I just went along with things.
Another slight pang of Learned Helplessness I’ve experienced is lack of control in my life. For the Alphas out there it is probably the exact opposite you’ve experience. In the lion’s share of my adult life I was again dragged along with others. I didn’t go to college and didn’t have a career. My parents divorced and my dad moved out so I was lived in our house with my mom and brother. It was a trying time to say the least. Both of them were party animals drinking and partying very late in the evenings when I liked to sleep. I felt totally disregarded. They didn’t give a lick of what I had to say. Then when I called them out on it, I wasn’t a righteous person either, they called me judgmental. So my uncle in MN had ALS so my mom wanted to move out there…so I followed with no real choice. I lived in MN for three years, my cousin passed away, my mom dispersed all her money from selling the house, then she decided to move back to MD…I followed. I felt helpless to make my life’s choices because I didn’t feel I had a choice. Electrocuted again.
Now back in MD I lived with my dad, because I didn’t have a choice. Then moved back in with my mom and brother and the partying commenced but this time at other houses thankfully but unthankfully. Unthankfully because I received a phone call at 2:00 AM saying there was a car accident and my mother was pinned in the car. Harnessed and electrocution. I told my mother that evening to come home. She didn’t listen. Thankfully she is in Our Father’s arms. It took me years to be able to keep my phone on during the night after that. Being as I lived with her and she was no longer alive…I was forced to move once again.
Lack of control is still a pain I feel from time to time. This isn’t the need to control everything but simply having a choice and making a choice. I’m going on 32 and am almost three years into a career that I thought I’d like but ended up not being exactly what I thought. Now it’s not that I don’t like what I do but it is a very high stressful job. My biggest problem is that I care. I want to help people. Fixing computers isn’t really helping people but it does partially pay the bills. Being married presses me onward though because I need to support my wife and any future children. The job is stressful and that is the crux of Learned Helplessness. I care and want things to work but I am given poor tools. It’s like giving me a screwdriver when I need a screw gun. Five months into the job I started getting panic attacks at very random times. Not to mention leaving a church and having a brother and father who didn’t want me to get married, didn’t hear what I had to say, and even tried to split my wife and I up. Mixed in was lies, gossip, triangulation, and never being able to provide the other side of the story.
Now my story isn’t that bad and nowhere near other people’s stories. We can all find places in our life where we’ve Learned Helplessness. The issue here is the “learned” part. It’s very hard to unlearn sometimes. The number one thing to help Unlearn Helplessness would be an incredible conspiracy of grace to come upon you. A conspiracy so profound that it would totally shift your paradigm. Thankfully some do experience it. I envy them. However others do not. For those who don’t, there is one word that will explain the medium for healing and that is process. I do not like process. It’s messy, it disturbs my current reality, and can be quite painful. It takes trust and when it’s hard to trust it’s hard to submit to process. As Wm. Paul Young says in The Shack,
“I suppose that since most of our hurts come through relationships so will our healing, and I know that grace rarely makes sense for those looking in from the outside.”
You can’t schedule friendship and friendship is where healing comes from the most. Friendship with God and friendship with His children, our brothers and sisters. Even then it’s incredibly difficult to find friends who are willing to be available. That’s why people have to spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on counseling or therapy when just having real, available, grace empowered friends would provide the soil for healing. So where do we go from here? Great question!
Pray for willingness. It’s the obstacle that births Learned Helplessness to begin with. We don’t posses the ability to be willing to walk over that small wall to that other side of the box where there are no pangs, twinges, or electrodes. We can’t be willing because we are hurt. Is it no wonder that in Matthew 8:2 the leper asked Jesus,
“Are you willing to make me clean?”
Sometimes we need someone else’s willingness to breath upon the ember of our fading willingness. And what did Jesus do in response? He said,
“I Am willing. Be cleansed!”
Then He reached out and touched him. He reached out. He touched.
Maybe you don’t have any Learned Helplessness…but you know someone who does. Maybe, based upon the Spirit’s movement, it’s time for you to reach out and bring a whole bunch of willingnessness with you. Sometime all someone needs is a touch. A gesture. Intentionality is key. Generally speaking, people know when someone does something intentional. There is usually a cost or sacrifice entailed with it.
Now for those in my boat and so many others what do we do? Is there hope? Are we harnessed somehow? Have we lost the willingness we so desperately need? Like I said above we need to pray. Pray for willingness. God has promised to give us willingness. Philippians 2:13 declares,
For it is [not your strength, but it is] God who is effectively at work in you, both to will and to work [that is, strengthening, energizing, and creating in you the longing and the ability to fulfill your purpose] for His good pleasure.
Dearly Beloved God is willing! God is able! Grace is within you whether you know or have experience it or not. Grace and Joy are your inheritance.
Our hurts don’t come prepackaged, so neither will our healing. Our wounds are specific so our healing should be just as specific.
Lets pray.
For your soul:
Father, yes, you are a father despite my experiences that try to tell me otherwise. I have learned helplessness. I’m not speaking death but being real. I’ve been harnessed and electrocuted. I’ve been hurt. The pain is real and I flinch at the smallest things sometimes. I see faith, I see hope, I see joy but they seem so out of reach. But I choose to say, “You are Good.” You are a good Father despite it all. Give me willingness. Holy Spirit breath and birth in me willingness. Send me those who are willing who can walk with me, side by side. Father show me your willingness. Jesus reveal Yourself to me. Show me where you have been throughout my life. Show me that you’ve been with me in this box all along. Apply Your salve. Apply your oil. Heal my soul. Heal my body. Give me back a voice. Give me back my ability of choice. Make my will free again. Father, I ask You to lift off all crushing and shame that’s on my spirit. Lift off rejection from my soul. Release all demonically inspires lies and harassment. Remove the talons of the enemy from my mind. Father, give my soul perspective that in the midst of stress I can choose peace. In the midst of heartache and despair I can walk to the other side of the box and have joy. In the midst of this dark night of the soul I want a bright day of the spirit. Thank you Father for being my Father.
For the spirit:
Soul I recognize the frustration, pain, hurt, and trepidation that you have been experiencing. But, if I may, ask you to step aside for a brief moment. This is not rejection. I am just applying something to the spirit that will assist you along the path of healing. Spirit of _____ I call you to attention in the name of Jesus Christ. Spirit, I understand if you may be distant and afraid to come fully forward and I understand that and I acknowledge your right to feelings of safety. Please stay present throughout this blessing. Spirit if you are fully forward than great. Receive the word of God for you today in Philippians 2:13 , “For it is [not your strength, but it is] God who is effectively at work in you, both to will and to work [that is, strengthening, energizing, and creating in you the longing and the ability to fulfill your purpose] for His good pleasure. Spirit God has and is giving you willingness to jump to the other side of the box. Where the soul has learned helplessness, spirit you have learned willingness. You are designed to lead, guide, and bring into alignment the soul with the Kingdom and to take all of life’s woes with a more than conqueror mindset. You have the ability to help the soul get free. And spirit only you and the Holy Spirit knows the things of man. The soul does not. I bless you spirit with going to mind and setting things right. Where stress has taken over and damaged the brain, you spirit have the ability to repair. You, spirit, are the sustaining force that God created the whole of man to have. You, along with the Holy Spirit sustain man. Spirit go to the face of the Father and receive instruction, insight, revelation, power, and authority to set things right. Joy, Peace, Love, Faith, Hope are all your forte. It’s who you are. You are created and creative light made from the same substance as God. You are created in His image according to His likeness. You have what it takes. I bless you spirit in the name of Jesus Christ.
I hope this helps. I love people and I want to see them whole, healthy, set free, and walking in the fullness that Jesus died for and God created us for. Be blessed today and for the rest of your life. Let us no longer learn helplessness but to learn willingness to move over and manage, with out spirits and the Holy Spirit, the stress that the worlds brings.
If you’ve read through and I got something wrong please comment below cordially. If you have any insight or tools that may help comment as well.
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.
Yes you fell…we all have and most will again. But it’s not your end. A righteous person may fall 7 times but will rise again. Yes even in the midst of your fall you are still righteous. As the Apostle Paul said, “Such were some of you…but you were washed.” You may have fallen today or an hour ago but with each rising comes a washing. Yes you messed up. Admit it. Come to grips with your actions. Then move forward. If you ever think that God gets tired of you just remember Psalm 121:4, “He who keeps you will neither slumber nor sleep.” He isn’t tired of you and He will never get tired of you coming to Him. I release the truth upon you that you have the ability to go boldly before the Throne of Grace to receive the mercy that you need. Go! Boldly! Never cease going! He is available! He is watching and waiting with His eyes on the horizon! Don’t you see Him! Run! Run faster! Because He will overtake you with His grace. I see Him removing the stained clothes you wear. I see Him washing your feet. I see Him, in you, beckoning for bear hug. I see new clothes! Clean clothes! I see Him calling you to His table of abundance. “Kill the fatted calf! Bring the best wine! My child is here and My love is forever upon them!” You know what? I see Him offering His seat at the table for you. Take it! Is is Him that calls you precious. It is Him that says, “You are worthy of my love.” I understand this is contrary to all religions and religious activity. But it’s true. You are no longer defined by your past or even your present. You are defined by the Great Definer. It is His Word that stands across the ages and sands of time. What He says counts! Not the enemy, not your soul, and not the accusers. Go and so no more! This is declaration and not a warning. Know who you are, know who He is, and know you and Him combined. Get back up! Stop trying to get a grip on Him…rest in His grip on you. You may feel lost but He is never lost and has found you. He is leading you back to still and restful waters. Soak it up! Rest! Let His love take you to where you never thought was possible! Let His perfect love cast away all fear. Let. Let the love do it….and not yourself. Let. Allow His Love to do it apart from you ability to grasp it’s all consumingness. Yes you fell and have fallen. It’s time to get back up. Will you allow His grace, mercy, and love overtake you today? It’s available right now…and will be available for all eternity.
Balance. That’s not a popular word amongst some Charismatics. A real popular word amongst non-Charismatics and when I say Charismatics I mean those who don’t believe in cessationism. Charismatics, generally speaking, take the word “balance” as limiting and binding. There was an article written a couple of years ago by Anthony Bradley entitled, “The ‘new legalism’: How the push to be ‘radical’ and ‘missional’ discourages ordinary people in ordinary places from doing ordinary things to the glory of God.” You can Google the article if you want. This blog isn’t geared necessarily towards anything he did or didn’t say but the article brought up some things I’ve been thinking about and haven’t thought about for a couple of years.
I’m speaking from a guy who was raised in the Charismatic(if you like labels) church. Though I was raised in the Charismatic church, I did my own thing for several years and when I was 20 years old made my own decision to follow the Lord. I then went back to the Charismatic church. I also had a couple spurts in a Methodist and AG church, which had wonderful believers in them. Some of the things I’ve experienced were completely amazing and life changing yet at the same time I went through a lot of shame, rejection, and not being able to quite measure up to others around me. And this had nothing to do with sin but with Charismatic performance.
Due to the lack of freedom in many evangelical churches where you can neither dance nor raise your hands during worship, much less show any type of emotional responses or even read the Scripture for yourself, believers have been so hungry for more. Like the ability to express one’s own love for the Lord in ways that they feel comfortable like flag waving, dancing, lifting hands, prophetic art, clapping, shofar blowing etc. But now these actions have become performing, not to say the people themselves are performing to please God because that’s between them and the Lord. With these new sets of standards it opens the possibility that if you don’t do these things then you are labeled nominal or cold or lukewarm or quenching the Spirit. For example, when everyone stands up in church to sing the songs on the projector and you remained seated you may get a look or a “gentle” nudging from another to stand up and get excited about Jesus and you succumb to the pressure to perform all the while it could be the opposite of how your spirit connects with God.
Personally I connect better while sitting and being still. I love reading while laying down as opposed to sitting. Our spirits are Hand-crafted and designed on purpose and for purpose. We are living stones being fitted together. We have to let one stone be different from all others otherwise there might be a chink in the armor of the whole. We have so desired freedom that it’s become a bigger box than we were in before…but it’s still a box if you let it define what’s new and acceptable.
We’ve erred on the side where freedom becomes an activity instead of a rest from activity. Freedom means to dance…it also means not to dance. Freedom means to shout…it also means not to shout. Freedom means laying prostrate in front of the altar…it also means not laying prostrate in front of the altar. Freedom means me being me…it also means giving the Spirit permission to push me a little. Freedom means I can get slain in the spirit…it also means I don’t need to get slain in the spirit. Freedom means I can stand up and raise my hands…it also means I don’t have to. Freedom means I shake & bake by manifesting…it also means I don’t have to. Freedom means I can speak in tongues…it also means I don’t have to. Freedom means I can get drunk in the spirit…it also means I don’t have to. Freedom means I can live in Truth without conforming to someone else’s standards. Freedom means I can walk in my design without fitting into someone else’s design.
If a person knows what they know and knows what they don’t know and is secure in that and can allow someone else to know what they don’t know and can lean into that then maturity and balance can come. In order for balance to occur there must be two sides having equal force all hinging on a higher Truth that keeps both afloat. Jesus had a great nugget that I don’t think I’ve ever heard mentioned in a sermon and it’s in Matthew 13:52 and says,
He said to them, Therefore every teacher and interpreter of the Sacred Writings who has been instructed about and trained for the kingdom of heaven and has become a disciple is like a householder who brings forth out of his storehouse treasure that is new and [treasure that is] old [the fresh as well as the familiar].
There is nothing wrong with liturgy and there is nothing wrong with spontaneity. There is nothing wrong with hymns and there is nothing wrong with prophetic singing. It was for freedom that Christ set us free.
Several years back where I sat like a bump on a log in midst of others feeling overflowing joy and laughter and His Presence. They would shake & bake and feel great all the while I felt the sensitivity of a gnat. I felt somewhat devastated inside. If this is what freedom was then I wanted in and no matter what I did by mimicking, or getting prayer, or even doing a little fake it till you make it, I just didn’t get it. It was sin because I knew others had sin. What was it? It was even worse when it came for a prayer line when those who were shaking & baking would get more and more prayer and I would stand there in “receiving mode” and get a quick 5 second prayer. A common remark I’d hear about those “experiencing more” than me would be, “The Spirit’s all over him,” and then they would point their finger and the person would flail even more. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not one of those “strange fire” people. I have physically experienced God on several occasions and I fully believe God touches His children in amazing ways. I’ve been healed twice of sinus infections. It’s the box. It’s the “Freedom” box that I don’t care for.
We cannot set aside one set of rules in exchange for another set rules. We need freedom to and freedom not to. The Holy Spirit is wind and blows one way and you don’t see it and it blows another. You don’t know where it’s coming or where it’s going. So are those born of the Spirit. We are ingrafted into this wind and we must leave behind our belongings and step into sonship where you can do what He wants for you and not what others want for you. God’s wants for another may not be the same as His wants for you. His wants for me won’t be the same and His wants for you.
Oneness comes with diversity. In our soul this doesn’t make sense. By our spirit knows. Adam left sonship behind for his own belongings. And until we leave our belongings at the foot of Him we won’t have oneness but a certain longing for unity out of our grasp. I must leave my belongings, the things I use to belong, at His feet and enter into sonship with the One True King.
On a side note. One thing that has set me free from being fascinated by externals is Psalm 103:7 which says,
He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the sons of Israel.
For me personally, knowing His ways is tops. His acts are cool but I never want them to be a distraction. If my wife lauded my gifts and not my heart then I would feel…well used. I don’t get the ecstatic reactions to gems, glory clouds, or angel feathers. Whether they are real or not. It’s not my focus. Because for me, if it was my focus, I would not feel legitimate unless I was able to receive the same exact things. Unless I got a gem stone, unless I got an angel feather(though I joke I do get them when my goose down pillows expel them), unless a glory cloud fills my room I won’t feel up to par. All these things are great, fantastic, and utterly amazing acts of God. But for me, which won’t be for you too, I love His ways. I want to know Him.
Please mind my rant in the midst of the case I’m presenting. I wanted to provide the other side of freedom. The balance. The true freedom where my design can flourish in the midst of a person’s completely different design. Where both designs can be honored, legitimized, and celebrated. So here’s a blessing.
Spirit of _____ I bless you and call you forward and to attention. I bless you spirit with God’s completely different, one-of-a-kind, mold-breaking design. I bless you with the freedom to and the freedom to not to. Be free to be led by the Spirit into freedom. Not chaos but freedom where you can be you and another can be another. Spirit of ____ listen to God’s word for you in Psalms 103:7 which says, “He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the sons of Israel.” Throughout the time Israel was in the wilderness there was a special thing Moses and God had going…something different that Israel’s status quo and box. I bless you spirit with knowing God’s ways without needing His acts as a legitimacy crutch. Be blessed and astounded and amazed by His acts but when they aren’t present know your Father has never left you. Absence of His acts never proves the absence of His Presence though His Presence may be known by His acts. Spirit I bless with you the balance of 100% Scripture and 100% Holy Spirit. I bless you with the freedom to have the soul or body touched by God and I bless you with not needing the soul and body touched. Spirit, all you need to do is go to the face of the Father in all situations, circumstances, problems, provisions, and applications and receive all you need from God. Receive all your directions from the Father’s face. May the Father’s face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May you shine, spirit. May you exude all the reflections, colors, rhythms, wavelengths, sounds, freedom to and freedom not tos that God has placed within you. May you walk in oneness with diversity. May all portions of you be blessed, healed, celebrated and rejoiced. You weren’t wrong in your design, in your feelings, or in your ways of connecting with God. God made you to connect with Him in certain ways and at certain times. There is no box over you spirit! You are free to go to the face of the Father so He may unpack all of your special and unique design features. He will unlock, in His timing, every He has place in you from the foundations. Be blessed spirit to ride the wind, be united to the wind, and to be excited for the wind.
I hope you get the gist of what my spirit was feeling and I hope your spirit caught it. The soul can get pretty wrapped up with a lot of things. One day our spirits will rule and reign in the rightful place it was designed for.
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.
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.
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.
Free Generational Deliverance course online. It used to be $100 but is now free on Aslan’s Place website. Thought I’d share it with those who are interested. Have a blessed weekend!
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.
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (NKJV)
The word “completely” in Greek is holotelēs which means – perfect, complete in all respects. The word “whole” is holoklēros which means – complete in all its parts, in no part wanting or unsound, complete, entire, whole.
So there is a sanctification that needs to happen in our pneuma, psychē, and sōma. From my experience in the Church most preachers/teachers refer to believers as body, soul, and then spirit. I believe this is incorrect and that Paul referred to us as spirit, soul, and body for a reason. I believe, and am persuaded by Scripture that Man was created spirit, soul, and body, spirit being the predominant part, then soul, and lastly body. Many neglect the body, many neglect the soul, but most neglect the spirit. Most inner healing and deliverance deals with the soulish realm. I must add that the soul or soulish realm is not evil…I repeat it is not evil. God wants our souls to prosper (see 3 John 1:2). But a lot of inner healing and deliverance doesn’t build the spirit but a growing number are being to focus on building the spirit. Jesus may have said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” but that doesn’t mean He wants our spirit poor.
I’ve been working through the book Blessing Your Spirit and is really helping me in building my spirit. It is my belief that a person’s spirit can be bigger than their body. I also believe when our spirits are fully mature we will transfigure according to 2 Corinthians 3:18. When the curse is reversed in full manifestation then we will once gain walk as Adam walked prior to the fall and will walk in full glory and unhindered relation with our Father. That which was, will be according to Ecclesiastes 1:9.
What many do is clean house. Get rid of all the moldy carpet and drywall. Strip out the tiles and rotten wood until there is untouched, clean, and undamaged material. That is where many of us stop. We’ve renounced and repents of sins. Asked God to cleanse the bloodline and break generational curses. We have cut soul ties (but should also call back what was stolen from us and be restored back to us and whatever we took from the person would be restored back to the person we had ties to) and released people by forgiveness. We’ve rid the garbage and trash lying around. All of these are a great starting point and the first steps. But a person doesn’t strip their house of all the junk and then blow up their air mattresses and hunker down on a construction site. We want to re-furnish the house! Build back up! Rebuild! We need restoration! Apokatastasis is the Greek word here and it means – restoration of the perfect state before the fall and of a true theocracy. Another interesting passage is in Acts 3:20-21 and it says
For the time being he must remain out of sight in heaven until everything is restored to order again just the way God, through the preaching of his holy prophets of old, said it would be.
Depending on the translation it says He must remain in heaven until all things are restored or He must remain in heaven until it is time for all things to be restored. I lean towards the former but this is my opinion. All in all, all things will be restored no matter what and you and I are involved in that process. How about we begin now? I’ll also note something that may step on the toes of eschatologists but I will say it cautiously. What if we have our eschatology wrong just like the Pharisees had the first coming wrong? What is we are looking at things from a wrong or irresponsible (as in escapism, let the earth go to hell) way? John the Baptist came and prepared the way for what Jesus would finish. Likewise, what if the Bride were given the ability to respond to the Holy Spirit and start restoring all things now and taking her rightful place as the ekklēsia? For this to happen we must build our spirit man or inner man. We must do it. We must focus our attention to the strength and ability our spirits have. We must speak to our spirits and call them to attention and that our souls and body get behind our spirits. Even though we are born again and our spirits have been roused they still must be nourished and built up.
I am going to post some prayers to pray out loud that will help to encourage and build our spirits in order to walk after the spirit because our spirits are where we most experience God. They may not be in succession because I tend to blog what I’m thinking about at the moment…lol I would encourage you to by the book I linked to above. I’m obviously not going to post the ones in the book but will ask the Holy Spirit to come up with some O(o)urselves. So here is a good prayer for a starting point. Pray it out loud and where you see a _____ just put in your name or the person you would pray it over with them listening. This is like a multivitamin for your spirit.
______ listen with your spirit to the word of God for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:23 declares, “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” You are meant to be sanctified and preserved complete and without blame. You are the point of contact where God speaks to you and dwells with you. You are meant to be built up and nourished and for too long you have been in the background and the soul and body have taken precedence. But now it is your turn.
I call my spirit to attention and call you blessed and holy. I call you clean and powerful. I call forth the authority you have in the spirit realm to manifest in the physical. I call forth your rightful place in the relationship between my soul and body. I call you to headship along with the Headship of the Holy Spirit. I removed, in Jesus’ name, all defilement, slime, grim, dust, rust, moths, and weeds from you and I replace them with all fruits of the Spirit including love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,gentleness, self-control against such there is no love according to Galatians 5:22-23. I call you out of all slumber and captivity and proclaim freedom to you. Spirit of _____ I call blessed and highly favored of the Lord. Shine forth in your design that was given to you before I was born and before creation.
Holy Spirit I ask You to seal my spirit, ____’s spirit with Your seal in the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
Thought I’d share that I recently received my Elijah House Prayer Ministry 202 certificate of completion! A year prior I completed the 201 class and received a certificate for that as well. It is my desire to get into this type of ministry.
Inner healing & deliverance is a passion of mine and I believe all of us could benefit from prayer ministry/counseling in our lives. It’s good to appropriate all He has done for us through the Five R’s:
Recognize
Confess and Repent
Release through Forgiveness
Reckon as Dead
Resurrect (bring to life)
I also believe in the Sozo ministry and Sapphire Leadership ministry along with Aslan’s Place ministry and Restoration in Christ ministry. I know there a many more out there but I only have exposure to the above listed. I believe that I should utilize as many tools as possible. It’s my desire to get into this type of ministry and am currently semi involved in Sozo and am in a part of a local Healing Rooms.
All of these are based off the finished work of Christ and shed blood from the garden of Gethsemane to the Cross and the resurrection and ascension of Christ. I believe Inner Healing should, generally speaking, be done prior to deliverance. Remove the garbage and the flies leave by default. I do not believe there are demons under every rock….but sometimes they are under every other rock.
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)
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?
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.
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!
Have you ever wondered why God chose to reveal Himself as a Father? Have you? I never thought of this until listening to Wm. Paul Young (author of The Shack, Cross Roads) speak about it and after reading and listening to John Eldredge from Ransomed Heart speak and write about it.
We need fathers! Physical and Spiritual! Paul wrote about it as well..1 Corinthians 4:15. Everyone wants to teach but no one wants to take the time to father. A father is involved and doesn’t just spit out knowledge and leave you to figure it out. He is THERE for you. A father leads and guides…shows you the Way in which you should go (Prov. 22:6) But if you look at the Church there are many teachers… I need a father. My earthly father did what he could with what he had and his father as well.
The wound of a father cuts the deepest. For me I can recognize, these days, the story that is behind my father. I know him and forgive him but I have been wounded. I craved validation and approval. I didn’t always get it. Especially a little over a year ago.
I was engaged to my now beautiful wife and there was some miscommunication/gossip/triangulation (see my blog He Said She Said) and it caused speculation and the appearance of a wounding. But the case wasn’t so. You know the whole Telephone/Grapevine game. The original message gets distorted usually by the next person. Soooo I said all that to say this…he didn’t want me to get married. He said he wanted to make sure I was sure but it got out hand. He invalidated my choice and because it was one of the most important decisions in my life he was invalidating me. It was rough…and still is some days. I literally have a sinking feeling in my gut for a couple weeks. I needed his validation but didn’t get it.
I also have tried to connect with older men and nothing…absolutely nothing. Empty promises and fakeness. What does a young man who needs a father/mentor do when no one wants to do it? I know many others in the same shoes as I. And it doesn’t matter your age. Fatherlessness is way to prevalent in society hence the statistics above. But God!
God came as Father. THE FATHER! A Father who wants to be with you. A Father you not only loves you but likes you. A Father who is here to validate you as a man. A Father that WILL be a Father to you. He knew the void and He filled/fills/will fill it. You can walk as a son fully loved and validated and accepted and…approved of. Don’t you just want to hear God say over you, right now, “Behold my son in who I am well pleased.” Do you realize God the Father spoke that over Jesus…and he didn’t do one thing yet. He was pleasing because of who He is and not what He did. And guess what…you are in Jesus and Jesus is in you. The Father’s pleasure is on you right now regardless if you just slipped and viewed porn or yelled at your kids or smoked a joint or whatever issue you may be recovering from. His view of you has and will never changed.
One of the things God the Father has shown me, in the middle of sin, is that He loves me so much. One day while driving home I was grieving over my sin and shame and told/asked God, “You must be tired of me.” Immediately my Father spoke into me, “I neither slumber nor sleep!” It was like a boom in me. An explosion of connectedness. He isn’t tired of me. He isn’t fed up with me. He is not ashamed of me (Heb. 2:11). He is love…He doesn’t have love He is the stuff.
God has not abandoned you! I say it again..God your Father has not and will not abandon you. Your sonship and His fathership is attacked and the enemy doesn’t want it…but God has and will break through. Can’t you hear Him right now speaking validation and honor or you? I know you want to be honored and He is honoring you right now. I see new robes He is placing on you right now (Zech. 3:3-5) He is not fed up with you. He is not tired of you. You do not drive Him up a wall. You do not get on His last nerve. You do not press His buttons. Come back to His heart…it’s where you belong and where you find yourself. He has a ring and a new robe and is throwing a party for you! You are the center of His attention and He is fathering you right now. Will you let Him be that Father? Your future depends on it. Let Him come into that invalidation and validate. Let Him enter the disapproval and heal it. Let Him heal your wounded heart with His love and satisfaction in you as a man and son of His love.
Let your initiation in manhood begin…!!!
Please watch this video…it’s amazing! Be blessed men of God! You are God’s son and He loves you with everything He is!
Today is Good Friday. I would call it Great Friday. It is when the God of the Universe chose to suffer at the hands of men our wrath. He truly was bruised for our iniquities. By His stripes we are healed. He didn’t have a Jewish lynching…it was the world’s lynching. Flesh was ripped from his muscle, bones, and tendons. He was so whipped that he didn’t even look like a man. God, in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself. Can you look into His eyes and see the Passion? Can you see the fire in His eyes? Can you see that He is and has made all things new? Can you read between the lines that were upon His body? Can you see Him looking at you while on the cross? Can you see His lips saying, “I did this for you.” You know what I see?
I see Love. Not some ooshy gooshy love but the kind of love that makes someone fight to the death for you…even while a person reviles and spit upon them. The kind that loves despite the lack of response. The kind of love that beckons you to be loved. The kind of love that sets you free. The kind of love that one weeps out of pure joy. The kind of love that is patient, kind, gentle, and not holding things against kind of love. The kind of love that when you see it you rise above things. The kind of love where you no longer see yourself apart from it. The kind of love that provides the lens by which live our life. Love. The kind of love that shows you open cell doors and beckons you to just walk out of them. The kind of love that shows you your worth and purpose. The kind of love that literally permeates your whole being and changes you inside and out. Love. The kind of love that heals the deepest wound of your soul. The kind of loves that loves you just as you are. Love. The kind of love that only One can provide and sustain. The kind of love where nothing else matters. Love. The kind of love that, once felt, is never a memory, but a constant companion. Love.
Great Friday
But this Great Friday is but a precursor of glorious Sunday. Death thought it won…but oh how it lost.
I am sure we have all gone through this in different relationships. “Tony is very offended at what you said and wants you to know that.” “Stacy wants to know if you can help her with this situation she is in.” We have all heard things like these from 3rd parties. Elijah House calls it Triangulation. It’s where one person speaks through another person to get information passed. And it is usually done for negative reason.
The reason I am blogging about this is because I had a dream last night. In the dream I was talking with an person who told me that another person was offended at what I said of did to them. Then I woke up and immediately thought about that term Triangulation and how I have experienced it in the past and even recently. It can be very damaging and hurtful.
As I lay awake after the dream I was being flooded with thoughts concerning they way Triangulation works within relationship and the harm that can occur by these actions. I believe these thoughts were God’s voice showing me things about Triangulation.
Triangulation – He Said She Said
Triangulation is very harmful. It is damaging and is a breeding ground for suspicion, speculation, bitterness, lack of trust, and dishonesty. I’m sure we all know the game where a bunch of people line up and the first person is told a short story and then they have to tell the next person what they remember and the next person relays the information…that they remember. Then by the time the last person hears the story it is nowhere near the original. This is a perfect example on how it works. It almost always tell only one side of the story as well. It is also been called “the grapevine.”
Triangulation itself is used to locate a GENERAL area but never SPECIFIC area. In cell phone tracking it takes three cell towers and triangulates to create a triangular area where a particular cell phone is located. We could call it a gray area. There is a lot of gray area when triangulating. He said this and she said that. Meanwhile the 3rd party can easily fall into preference over one story. I believe a lot of the times triangulating is used because a person is so offended that they don’t want to reconcile or talk things through but just to vent/gossip/find someone to back them up.
This can be a sketchy situation with the 3rd party individual. If the 3rd party is mature they will take Proverbs 18:17 into consideration. Also Matthew 5:23, 18:15. If someone is emotional unstable or something like that it can be understandable. It’s one thing to have someone say, “so and so is hurt and you should pray about it and go talk with them,” then to have someone say, “so and so is hurt. Tell me what you did and I’ll talk with them.” It is always better to work out something with the person involved instead of involving someone else especially with family because it is hard for that 3rd to not take sides.
Triangulated
In my case I had several people talking amongst themselves about me and another person. First off, I had no idea this was happening and once I did the 3rd party person was totally in line with the other person without ever coming to me to see if what they said was true. It was very damaging and trust was very broken. It hurt so bad it felt like my gut was punched and fell on the ground for over two weeks. It was horrible. Plus the other person along with me was never, to this day, asked for their side of the story. Trust and honesty was broken all because people wanted to triangulate their issue to someone other than the person who “offended” them.
As believers we need to grow up. I say that with utmost love but also utmost earnest. We need to go to the person we have the issue with whether they like it or not and if by all means attempt to make peace. Lets find the truth is situations by doing it together with maturity and not immaturely going to other people to find solace and for someone to take our side without ever having the other person’s side to the story. If you’ve been hurt go to the person that hurt, not right away, but when you are ready. Please let the person know that. Let them know you were hurt but need time. I will say this: if you are hurt go to someone for prayer, counseling, encouragement, and healing. But don’t go to trash and attempt to reconcile through someone else. We can’t trust the grapevine. Stories can get very convoluted using triangulation. If you need another person to be with you when you talk to someone then that is fine. Go for reconciliation. God loves reconciliation. He reconciled with us. Do we not know that we will judge the angels and the world. (1 Corinthians 6:1-7) Seek Him in all things regarding offense, hurts, and hang-ups. Let us love one another and talk things out with one another directly.
If you have read this to the end, thank you. Forgive me if my grammar, spelling, and sentence structure isn’t the best. I hope you hear my heart on the matter. We, definitely including me, have triangulated in our relationships. Let us rise higher and become mature and solid food eaters! Hebrews 5:14
What is shame? How do you know if you carry shame? How do you know if it’s affecting your life? How do you know if shame is your current mirror? How many times have you heard someone say shame on you? How many times have you said it yourself?
Only the shamed will sow shame. Shame damages and destroys the image of God in you. Shame is a dirty mirror indeed. It is when you take what someone says about you as a value statement instead of an observation. Someone with shame will take correction as someone judging you but if you take it as an observation you’ll take it as a learning situation and thank that person because you know that if a wise man is rebuked he loves it because he wants to learn and is teachable. If you take things as value statements then anything anyone says to you even remotely negative or even positive remarks, you’ll immediately hide and run and think shame and won’t accept compliments.
But when healing and truth comes you can take what people say as constructive criticism and with thanks because it gives you an opportunity to grow and learn. Now there are things that you need to simply refuse due to ill intent. Scripture says rebuke a wise man and he will love you for it. (Prov. 9:8)
When was the last time someone was rebuking and returned love and thankfulness in return? But that is what a teachable spirit is: knowing that iron sharpens iron and all things and situations can be used to grow and thrive in. Shame along with the view of that what people say about or to you as value statements only make you want to run and hide.
If we are adults and we were wounded by a parent who would knowingly or unknowingly wound us we can get healed and walk forward and out of shame. Some of you have tried to help your parents out with housework or yard work only to have them pick it apart and say how bad of job you did or maybe you wanted to wash your father’s car as a surprise and your father only could see the spots you missed and were still dirty and decided to rewash the whole car all the while telling you how you missed so many spots.
These things have hurt you and you’ve probably decide you’ll never wash a car or do dishes again. Maybe you decided you never want to be vulnerable and help anyone again because they won’t approve of how well you’re doing. There is healing and restoration for your heart, soul, and spirit. God will heal you and then you no longer need to take things people say about you as value statements and now they will only be observations because you know that your Heavenly Father is the one where you truest identity is present.
God is not ashamed of you! His smile over you is consistent because that is who He is!
The problem is we take our messed up pasts and poor parenting and place that label on the Father. He is not like your parents. He is so much better and he will re-parent you and you’ll learn what it means like to be approved and accepted and truly loved as a son or daughter of God.
Healing
A prayer for healing:
God. I need you as my Father. Help me. I need You to re-raise, re-parent, and re-present parenting to me. I hurt. Shame has been on me for so many years. But I know, deep down, You are good. Forgive me for judging You based on the bad parenting and upbringing I had. Thank you for forgiving me. I give you access to all areas of my life and heart. Bring healing! Thank you for bearing my grief, shame, hurt, and damage. You are good, God, and I believe it now. You are awesome and, God, I now believe I am awesome too! I am awesome because I am created in Your image. Thank you, Father for giving me the healing and ability to call you Father. Thank you that my heart is good and with this good heart I can love you with it when before my heart was hurt and couldn’t love you properly. Thank you for placing me in Christ, where true and ultimate healing is. Thank You for giving me eyes to see, ears to hear, and a good heart to receive and experience You and the Love that You are. I forgive my parents and teachers and coaches and relatives and siblings and anyone else who may of wounded or hurt me in the past. I release them into Your hands. Thank you, Father, for healing and setting me free to be free indeed. Thank you for being in my Shack all along waiting for me to come to You for healing.
A declaration:
Father, in Jesus’ name, I declare the person reading this is free from shame! Free from the pain that it has brought! And free from the past! You’re heart is beautiful, awesome, powerful, clean, and free to love God and others. I declare you now can love yourself! Healing come right now to the wounds of the past and present. Healing! Healing! Healing! No more shame! Shame OFF you! I decree complete healing! Set free by the love of the Father who loves you with and eternal and everlasting love. I call forth your spirit man to rise up and receive the love of the Father and the acceptance and approval of the Father! No more shame! No more shame! The love of the Father, Perfect Love cast out all fear right now! Father comes with your soothing voice and touch and complete the work You began in their life! I say all this in Jesus’ mighty name!
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 