Let the Church say “Amen”

What’s in a word?

Amen.

Amen is literally a universal word:

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

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

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

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

Thayers Greek Lexicon says this about the word:

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

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

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

Let the Church stop overusing the word “Amen”

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

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

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

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

 

 

What do you call Him?

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

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

What do you call Him?

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

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

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

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

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

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

What do you call Him?

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

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

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

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

Challenge

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

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

 

The Power to Bless

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I’ve Started a YouTube Channel!

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

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

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

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

God Bless!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thank you and God bless!

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

Blessing Your Spirit

1 Thessalonians 5:23 says

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.

Amen and Amen!!

 

 

Our Conversation Is In Heaven

Philippians 3:20a is KJV says

For our conversation is in heaven…

I know that the KJV got this one wrong for properly translated it is citizenship. One version translates it as business but the actual Greek word is politeuma which means the constitution of a commonwealth, form of government and the laws by which it is administered….just a little tidbit.

So even though it is translated wrong in KJV, the first time I saw this it kinda stuck with me. Our conversation is in heaven. I would venture to say that, like me, sometimes I forget that God and Heaven hears me even if I don’t begin with, “Dear Father” and end with “Amen.” Pray without ceasing is an apt description of this. I believe, since we are seated together with Christ, that our speech is in constant contact with the spirit and heavenly realms and demonic realms. Since we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses (see Heb. 12:1) our ever word has a reaction to the things around us. Prayer is not performed by a formula but a protocol or vehicle which carries information. Please do not take this as condemnation or even conviction but an opportunity. An opportunity to realize what we function is as the Church. As re-presenters. The beauty of God with us is that we are invited into the current conversation in Heaven. The discussions of the Godhead. Because we are seated together, our conversations down here have an affect and effect up there where we are seated. That is why it is very easy to be in the spirit in one moment and the earthly in the next because only a thin veil separates the two. Like God, our words do become flesh and dwell among us sometimes negative and sometime positive. The Scriptures call it the fruit of our lips (see Heb. 13:15, Prov. 13:2). Fruit is meant to be consumed and bring a nourishment. If you’ve ever experienced a conversation with our Father you know what I mean. It’s nourishing, building, sustaining. When our conversation revolves around His conversations their is synergy which bring the power of His glory and releases fruit. We truly become yoked to God. Everything of ours is His and everything of His is ours. For God to release Kingdom here, we must know Kingdom there. I use “here” and “there” for the sake of observation. There is a thin line between the difference. In reality, our conversation and His conversation must perichoresis in order for fullness to manifest.

For God to move in our midst, there must be covenant. Covenant is the protocol in which agreement releases Kingdom. It’s the difference between praying to God and with God (see Rom. 8:34). Conversing with a God who is here as opposed to there. How thin was the place in which Jesus literally saw what the Father was doing and did it? Second by second interdependence. Where God cause me to will and then I do will. Where God cause me to want and then I want. Where my daily second by second conversation is in heaven and His conversation is in me. The Holy Spirit is in us and with us (see John 14:16-17). May our conversation in Heaven perichoresis with the Father to manifest Kingdom promises in the here and now.