There Is No Line To See Jesus

24 Dec

My story based on Becky Kelley’s music video located at  http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=OExXItDyWEY&vq=medium.

God wants us to be deliberate disciples. He opens our individual spirits and pours out a richness of invigorating truths that we can only see through His eyes. He is the way. He is the truth. He is life.

We miss so many of Jesus’gifts to us. We have so let the Christmas season be an excuse for indulgence in material things and tempting delicacies that the line to see Jesus during His own birthday celebration doesn’t appear to hold the same excitement as the one to see what Santa can give us.

Jesus doesn’t entice us just for one decorated holiday out of the year with temptations of material possessions that give us a few moments of pleasure and a few days of brightly lit trees leaving behind a pile of debt.

A line draws attention and indicates there is a wait for some brief encounter. The line to see Jesus is only an illusion of our ability to comprehend at a material level. Jesus does not limit us to a brief season with promises of toys to delight and entertain us. The throne of Jesus is not a temporary one. He doesn’t dress in special attire and allow us a few minutes of His time to tell him what our carnal desires are. He is always available to us without waiting. His capacity to give was proven at Calvary. His life is the ultimate gift. Jesus gives without ulterior motives and His life made the line unnecessary. Hence, we can’t see the line to Jesus because there isn’t one. Jesus is always available to us – no waiting. The gift of eternal life has already been bought and paid for. There is nothing standing in the way of His immediate availability to any one of us.

Jesus’ gift to us is truly priceless. It is life everlasting. It is a gift that cannot be purchased or compared to anything on our earth. We only need to invite Him into our hearts. With His gift of eternal life comes the knowledge that He will not disappear into the night promising to return at the same time next year. Jesus offers us life with the promise that He is with us at all time – every moment – good and bad, fun or no fun. His gift of life to us is ours for the asking. We only need ask Him to forgive our sin and invite Him in to our hearts to live.

Jesus is the one waiting in line. Don’t make Him wait any longer. He is waiting for your invitation today.He won’t say no. You will  never again stand in any line alone. He will accept you with open arms and give you eternal life and His constant companionship.

Read more about the Good News at .http://faithwritersjesuspage.weebly.com/.

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Elephant? What Elephant?

20 Dec

Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate) Faithwriters Challenge
Topic: Elephant in the Room (12/05/13) –  Highly Commended – Top 5 Award

There is an elephant in the room. What, you don’t see it? Oh, you see it but you prefer to ignore it. That’s typical. Confrontation is something most of us don’t like.

It’s easier to pretend all is well. Besides, confronting the elephant could mean we might get stomped on or at the very least come out bruised and scarred. Easier just to look the other way.

What would God have us do in this kind of situation? Confrontation doesn’t necessarily mean attacking someone or condemning them. Nor does it mean controlling a situation to gain power and have it our way.

Keep in mind that Scripture tells us to avoid strife. So, confronting the elephant in the room isn’t a license to attack. Proverbs tells us that a fool’s lips bring him strife, and his mouth invites a beating. Wow! That says a lot. Further we are told that a fool’s mouth is his undoing, and his lips are a snare to his soul. Therefore, we are to avoid strife.

Hummmm. What does that leave us? We are taught by Jesus, that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Is it possible to face an elephant with those attributes? There is a simple answer to this question. If you can’t, then don’t. Recognizing an elephant in the room doesn’t always mean overt action is called for. Jesus said that the two greatest commandments are to love God with all your heart, your soul and your mind and then to love your neighbor as yourself.

Prayer is the first step. Seek God for the answer to this dilemma. Don’t get in a hurry to come face to face with that elephant! Pray for guidance. Pray for God’s timing. Pray that God create circumstances that open a door to the situation and give you the wisdom to speak into the situation in a way you can be helpful without condemnation or judgment.

It is the Holy Spirit’s responsibility to do the convicting and the teaching. So, prayer is first. If God has a part for you to play in the situation He will make it clear and the timing will be right.

God doesn’t get in a hurry. Neither should we. Leave the elephant alone unless God directs you otherwise. Keep the Scriptures mentioned in mind to avoid costly circumstances.

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God Supplies Our Need Before We Know We Have One!

16 Dec

God just amazes me more every day. Lately I have become aware of just how much more God knows about me than I do. I know I shouldn’t be surprised. His Word does tell us in Psalms 139 that He knew us while we were still in our Mother’s womb. He knew every step we would take, each time we would stand up and sit down and every word that would come out of our mouths, before we speak! So, why in the world should I be surprised at His knowing what I need before I do?

A couple of weeks ago my refrigerator starting going out. I pampered it as much as I could but it finally died! I called a repair man and made the dreaded appointment. After all, it’s Christmas. What timing! Anyway, I braced myself for the worst (sad that we do that) and began to wonder how I would manage the repairs or worse, a new refrigerator.

I was talking to my son a couple of days later, before the repair man came. I was kind of whining to my son about my dilemma. He said, “Mom, not to worry. I have a side by side in my store-room, plugged in and ready to go. You can have it if you need it.” Right then I knew my refrigerator was dead and God had already provided what I needed. So, I could face the repairman without so much anxiety.

Sure enough, my refrigerator was dead and the repair was going to cost way more than I could afford. I loved that refrigerator. I was kind of worried about loosing my really nice Amana, stainless, side by side refrigerator to an unknown sitting in a storage unit. Well, beggars can’t be choosers, as they say.

That next Sunday my son came with the refrigerator in tow. I could see it from the front door. It was white. I was a little hesitant to check it out. But, I walked out to the trailer and took a look at it. Hummmm, not too bad.

My sons and I got the old frig out and the new one in. We plugged it in and said our goodbyes. I proceeded to clean the refrigerator and put all the shelves in. Goodness, it cleaned up very well. Wow! I liked it even better than the beautiful Amana stainless. It looked much better in my kitchen than the sparkling stainless.

Once again I had to apologize to my Lord. He never, never lets me down. Who new He’s a decorator? He knew I would like how this white refrigerator looked in my white kitchen much  better than the stainless.  So, why was I so worried about it?

This may seem a little silly as you read about it. But, it really isn’t. The point is God always knows what we need before we do. And, He cares right down to the color. He provided the new refrigerator before I really knew if I needed it or not. And, better yet, my son had bought it because the price was so good and kept it plugged in all this time, not knowing what he would use it for. But God knew all along. He knew way back when my son bought it that I had a need coming up and I would need that refrigerator.

Now, how can we doubt our God’s provision? This wasn’t a silly thing to Him. He loves me (and you) and knows what our needs are. He loves us so much that He gives, and gives and gives. After all, He gave His Son that we might have life – what’s a ‘lil ‘ole refrigerator?

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How God Provides For Us Through Our Faith

29 Nov

I was facing foreclosure on my home through a series of improper choices. I had done everything I could to prevent it but here I was facing the possibility of losing everything in my golden years. How did this happen to me?

Trusting God had never been a problem for me. I knew He was with me and could rescue me at any time. He had never failed me. I also I knew how to find inspirational Bible verses that would encourage me.

I loved my home and didn’t want to move. To make matters more difficult, I had a small business at home which was my only source of income other than my Social Security. I now faced one of the biggest challenges of my life. I had no idea where I would go or how I would make a living.

I was really scared. I did all I knew to do.  The first foreclosure date was miraculously delayed for 30 days. During that time the fire got hotter. I thought maybe I should pack and begin to look for a job. But each time I made an attempt to do those things I felt uneasy. So, instead, I concentrated on seeking God. I wanted to make sure I was hearing Him. I spent much of my time looking up  inspirational words from the Bible. Those meaningful quotes from the Word of God were literally words of life for me to live by. I held on to them as one would hold on to a life raft.

During this major life event, the most frightening I had ever faced, my prayer life began to change.  I spoke with God all the time. I acknowledged Him in everything. I did know He had never failed me.

Our church had just started a new series on The Circle Maker. The Pastor read some good Bible verses in Matthew 20: 29, 30-32. There were two blind men sitting by the edge of the road. When they heard that Jesus was passing by they called out to Him, “Lord, Son of David have mercy on us”! Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you”?  He asked. “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight”.  NIV

That’s when my miracle really began. God spoke clearly to my heart that He wanted me to tell Him what I wanted Him to do for me. I thought I had done that. As I sought Him further on the matter, He began to show me how I had limited Him by asking only for the things I could visualize Him doing for me. I was limiting Him to those things I could see. Oh my! He challenged me to ask Him for what I truly wanted from Him.  Like the blind men, I thought it was obvious what I wanted from Him. But, He wanted me trust Him – to step out and ask for something that might not happen. Oh, that’s what faith is!

I had been telling God what I wanted but I was giving Him a way out. I ended my prayer something like this, “Father, I’m willing to give up my home, if that is your will”.  God stopped me there. He revealed to me at that point that in saying that to Him I was, in fact, opening the door for the enemy to steal my home from me.  He pointed out to me that this was where I was giving Him a way out instead of believing Him for what I wanted Him to do for me.  God wanted me to ask Him to allow me to keep my home!

My mind began to race. I began to reason and to jump ahead and work out all the details. He stopped me there and instructed me to take one step at a time as He directed my path. (Psalms 199:105) It was a struggle to form the words and get them out of my mouth. I was afraid I was asking too much of Him.

I did succeed in forming those words. I asked Him with great humility to please allow me to keep my home. God did not fail me. How God provides is the exciting part. The quotes to live by that God led me to were my hope and my salvation.

I saw miracle after miracle for another 30 days. That’s another story!

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Who Will I Be Today?

19 Nov

Scripture tells us that God’s ways are higher than ours. Our imagination doesn’t do justice when it comes to working out the details of our lives and the purposes God has for us. We can’t know just how effective we can be in His hands if we follow His guidance and step out in His courage as He directs us.

Our first concern is usually ourselves. We consider all the ways that our lives will be affected and how we are going to be inconvenienced. We reason and plot, plan and scheme. We don’t mean to be crafty. But we can be.

  • Robert Burns was a poet from Scotland. In his Scottish dialect he said, ” “O wad some Power the giftie gie us To see oursels as ithers see us!” Or simply,  “I wish for a power to give us this gift: Being able to see ourselves the way other people see us.” (Wikiquote)

Each of us sees ourselves differently than others do. We wear many masks. We want others to like us and to accept us, so we have become adept at changing those masks as needed. We work so  hard at being what others want us to be that we do not become all that God intended. We rest secure in our own decisions instead of yielding to His direction for our lives.

I don’t know about you, but I have an idea of how I want my life to be. I set my goals and work hard at achieving them. If something comes up to  interfere with my preconceived ideas, it upsets me – or, it used to. I  have discovered that God’s ways are always so superior to mine. I have to bury my flesh, my emotions, my “rights”, my will. It’s called FAITH.

God sees potential in all of us. He knows our limits. He uses all the pain and failures in our lives to train us. We don’t pass through our trials and tribulations for no reason. Even if we have brought them upon ourselves! God can use everything that is meant for our destruction as a gift to someone who needs us to understand what is happening in their lives. They need someone who has received God’s grace and mercy to show them that same grace and mercy.

No experience is wasted. We need one another. We should sometimes forget the awkwardness we are subject to or the inconvenience of the disruption in our lives – if God has a task for us that is not exactly what we had made room for in our goal setting.

We should always be available to God if we truly want Him to use us as His disciples. We must look beyond our own comfortable surroundings and yield to His call – whatever it might be.

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Are We There Yet? – Keeping Up With God

14 Nov

God’s Word tells us that He will guide us – He said He would shine a light on our path. That means that we can’t see too far ahead. Think about it. If it is totally dark and you had a flashlight, just how far ahead could you see? God wants us to trust Him and to walk by faith, not by sight. He will lead us, if we let Him.

Lately, I’ve been on a journey with an idea where I am headed yet not fully aware of everything I would like to know. I have a tendency to hear something from the Lord and then run with it. Oops! I’m finding out that I can get off track that way.

We have read in the Bible that there were many who didn’t seek God first. Sometimes, even when they did ask Him, they didn’t obey. They did it their way! Well, it seems that God  has been working that out of me lately. I recently wrote an article about not getting comfortable, yet I seem to do it all the time. (Do what I say – not what I do!!)

In the past few weeks I have been seeking God about some very serious decisions I need to make. I pray and wait. Wait some more. Pray some more. Get a little news. Change direction. Wait some more. Pray some more. Are we there yet? God, can’t this go a little quicker? How about doing it this way? Oh, you don’t need my help – I need yours? Oh, okay.

Things begin to pick up – move a little faster. Now we’re getting somewhere. Now I’m sure I know where He is leading me. Oops! Got it wrong again. I ran ahead again. Had to back up a little. Wait some more. Wait some more. Wait some more. Oh, well – I must have misunderstood. I didn’t really hear Him; or did I? Hummmm, okay, that does it. It didn’t work out after all. Heck fire. Guess I got it all wrong.

A few days later things turn around completely, God says “Go!” – and I’m not ready. I thought . . . Oh, I see. I’m sorry, Lord. It wasn’t time yet. But, it’s time now. Then, everything starts falling into place – one thing after another. There is no doubt God was at work behind the scenes. I couldn’t see it. I got weary and quit talking to Him about it. But, He was still faithful. He never gets weary. He was still working all things together for my good, because I love Him and He loves me.

The great news  is – He didn’t give up on me. He knew how to get my attention so that I didn’t miss one of His blessings. God is so smart. God is so good. Thank you, Lord, for loving me so much.

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God Speaks Through Internal Peace

9 Nov

When God speaks to our hearts, He gives us a deep sense of internal peace to confirm the message is truly from Him. Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I now give and bequeath to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Don’t let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” John 14:27

When the deceiver speaks to us, he cannot give us peace in our hearts. We might experience peace, emotionally, but emotional peace won’t last. Only spiritual peace will last. When we try to solve things with our own reasoning, we cannot experience lasting internal peace. “The mind of the flesh (which is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit) is death (death that comprises all the miseries arising from sin, both here and hereafter). But the mind of the Holy Spirit is life and peace (both now and forever). Romans 8:6

One of my Mother’s favorite expressions was “follow peace”. God’s Spirit lives within us if we are born-again believers. One of His gifts to us is His peace if we are following His will. If not, that peace becomes disturbed. There is a fine line within us about recognizing God’s peace. We may have hardened our hearts to God’s Spirit. In other words, we may have trained ourselves to ignore that still small voice within us by giving way to the comfort of the flesh (our bodies) or our emotions (our souls).

Ignoring the peace within our Spirits to follow the peace within our souls (our emotions) can be very dangerous. The Scriptures tell us that our hearts are deceitful and that we don’t even know how deceitful. That is why we need the Holy Spirit within us to be our guide. Some of us have become accustomed to selective hearing and obedience. God didn’t intend for us to live like that. We must be deliberate about listening for the Holy Spirit and in walking in obedience. Our commitment to God should be deliberate and constant. We are to “acknowledge God in all things”. This indicates that we don’t sail along doing things our way and stopping to ask God when we feel like it. To walk in this way is like walking on a slippery slope.

If we want a true and real relationship with our Father, God then we must yield to Him in everything. He isn’t just a “Sunday morning God”. He is a “24/7/365” God. He lives IN us. He is WITH us at all times. Sometimes we feel like God doesn’t keep up with us. We get in a hurry and don’t take the time to ask Him about things that concern us. The truth is we are the ones not keeping up with God! We like things done in our time and in our way. God just takes too long sometimes – most of the time. So, we think we just don’t have time to ask Him about it.

I would go so far as to say that I believe that many of our problems would go away if we would take the time to wait for God’s direction. That being said, know that there are times when God directs and things still seem to go wrong. Recognize that when this happens God did not call us to a life free from difficulty and hardship. But He IS there to walk us through those things. To walk through them on our own is possible but with much more turmoil. When we are yielding to God, we can keep our peace and know that we can trust Him to guide us to our destination, shielding us from anything not acceptable to Him.

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Do You Live in Bondage or Walk in Freedom?

31 Oct

WHAT DO I PAY FOR FREEDOM?

We all want to be free. What does that mean to you? If you love the God of Abraham, freedom comes by walking in obedience to Him. To be able to do that you must first know Him.  You must be born again by inviting Jesus Christ into your heart. To know Him you must spend time reading His inspired Word written down for us in the Holy Bible. This is where true freedom is.

God wants only the best for us. Satan tries every way he can to deceive us; his mission is to steal, kill and destroy. Some have unknowingly tried to make the God of Abraham like pagan gods by worshiping an “image” of whatever they have made Him out to be.  Instead He is our Father in Heaven who wants to know us personally and develop a relationship with us – a personal relationship.

Serving God is not following a set of rules, nor is it just attending services to fulfill an obligation. Serving God is an honor and a privilege. He loves you and me with a love we can’t understand. We have to use our faith to receive it. The more time we spend getting to know Him, the more we are drawn into His presence and the more our spiritual eyes and ears are opened to His ways and His truth.

WHAT IS FREEDOM?

Freedom means different things to different people. God has a plan, a pattern for our lives – a road map, if you will. He didn’t just toss us in this world and tell us to sink or swim. If you belong to Him, He is with you always and will never, ever leave you. He will walk with you through whatever comes your way. He doesn’t always remove the pitfalls but He does pick us up and dust us off when we fall down. He sets us back on our feet and stays with us, continuing to guide us.

If you are a believer in the God of Abraham and you want to live a life dedicated to Him, you are expected to walk in obedience to Him at all times. You can’t know His will for your life if you don’t know Him. We make it so hard on ourselves. The Bible tells us that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. That doesn’t mean we won’t have problems. If becoming a Christian meant being free from all problems . . . well, it just doesn’t.

CHOICES, CHOICES, CHOICES

We face a world full of choices and decisions every day. Some are easy – most are not. Let’s discuss the ones that have us really bound tightly. We have a problem and we take it to God in prayer. We tell Him the problem and then tell Him what solution we need.   ????   Hummmm, it really doesn’t work that way. We can certainly tell God what we want and how we would like the answer to come.  Then comes the hard part. If our minds are set on only receiving our answer the way we want it we may be in for many disappointments. Preconceived ideas generally set us up for disappointment. The Bible tells us that God’s ways are higher than our ways and that we cannot fathom the depths of His understanding. In other words, He has plans for us that we can’t even understand, let alone ask for.  We ask Him for something based on our limited knowledge of how things should be worked out.

GOD IS FULL OF SURPRISES!

The most exciting thing about God is He is full of surprises. His answers will always be the right ones. He knows us better than we know ourselves. Also understand that when God answers prayer it isn’t always a “yes”.  It can be “wait” or . . . “NO”! Oops – not what we wanted to hear.

THIS IS WHERE THE FREEDOM COMES IN . . .

If you limit God to what you know and what you can see you are possibly setting yourself up for a great fall. You are also in danger of becoming “bound” – Encarta Dictionary defines bound as “. . . obliged to do something or behave in a particular way”.  Two definitions from the Thesaurus for “bound” are “obligated” and “constrained”.  That is opposite from “freedom”.

It’s a matter of the Spirit being in control – yielding our Spirit to God for His guidance. He loves us like we love our children. He wants the best for us and has the ability to make it happen. He also has the ability to “see around the corner” – He knows what is coming, we don’t. His answers sometimes aren’t what we want to hear. Yielding to God is not always easy. It means yielding (submitting) to Him. Many times it means we don’t get our way. This is where trust comes in. If you will notice, when you let God have His way you are putting your trust and “faith” in Him. Remember, faith is the “substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”  Scripture also tells us that without faith we cannot please God.

NOW FOR THE HARD PART

When God answers with “No” or “Wait” or leads you in another way, your emotions (soul) kicks in and you want to dig your heels in – have it your way. You can. But when you do, you have lost your freedom. Say what? You heard me correctly. When you pick and choose which of God’s directions you will follow, you are not actually being obedient.

Let’s say you pray that God remove you from a situation and you tell Him how you want it done. He answers by sending just what you need to be removed from the situation, but it’s different from the terms you told Him you wanted. So, instead of following God’s plan and being removed from the situation, you hold out for doing it your way. In the meantime tension builds, stress becomes harder to deal with and everything turns out to be a mess. Then, the “way out” God offered you may not still be available or even if it is, you have delayed your freedom by trying your own way first. If you had done it His way immediately, you could have avoided many of the problems and most of the stress.

That is sort of a simple way of saying it, but I think the message is clear. We have freedom of choice – God gave us a free will. But, we have the honor and the privilege of having His Holy Spirit as our counselor and our guide to give us the perfect solution to our situation. It doesn’t mean we will always immediately like the way God has shown us. But, as we step out in faith we will eventually see that His ways are better than our ways and He has a reason for wanting us to follow the map He gives us.

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Manifestations of the Holy Spirit

20 Oct

I have been writing about the many gifts God has given us so that we might minister to one another as needed. We are His body and we need one another. God intends for us to live in harmony and to reach out to one another as His disciples. Before I discuss what is sometimes called “the five fold ministry” (Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher,  – Ephesians 4:11-13), I believe the next step should be in describing some of the manifestations of the Spirit.

God sometimes gives us a “Word of Knowledge” –

  • Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” I Cor. 2:12-13 KJV

As we seek God in prayer or in searching His Word, or as we pray with others, God’s Holy Spirit sometimes gives us what we call  “A Word of Knowledge”. This simply means that our all-knowing God promised to send His Holy Spirit to be our Helper and our Counselor among other things. As we search for God’s truth and His answers, He will sometimes supernaturally give us knowledge about something that only He knows. He tells us in a way that something inside of us leaps with excitement or joy – sometimes maybe even tears. He knows our inner most being. He knows things about us that we don’t even know about ourselves. Sometimes we can’t even put into words what we may be feeling or struggling with or searching for. God may show us in His Scripture or He may speak to us through another person or in any number of other ways. The point is, when He speaks to us – we know it has to be God speaking because no one else could possibly know.

Many times another person who may be praying for you or just talking with you about a concern will suddenly say something that touches you in a special way. You may even ask them “Have you been talking to someone about this situation?” Or you may be curious about how they knew how to say just what you needed to hear at that moment. Most of the time the person who spoke the “Word of Knowledge” may not even know exactly why they are saying to you what they are saying. This is one way God speaks to you in a personal way, through the Holy Spirit, to touch you deeply about what is on your  heart.

Another of God’s gifts, or manifestations of the Spirit, can (and usually does) work along with the “Word of Knowledge”. It is the “Word of Wisdom”.

  • This wisdom is an explanation of the mystery of God that centers in Jesus Christ – “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him.” Eph. 1:17
  • This wisdom is the result of revelation from the Holy Spirit – “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit; for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.” I Cor. 2:9-10 KJV

As with the “Word of Knowledge”, God’s “Word of Wisdom” is something said or prayed over you that may give you the “wisdom” you need as an answer to the “Word of Knowledge” spoken about your situation.  As an example – A “Word of Knowledge” might be something like “God sees that you are struggling with . . . . and He wants you to know  . . . . ” In other words, the person praying with you may receive the knowledge of what you need to hear and then give you the answer as a “Word of Wisdom”.

This doesn’t mean God tells everybody your business. The person praying over you or speaking with you usually doesn’t even know why they are saying what they are saying. They just “hear” God’s Holy Spirit speak as they pray or as they talk to you and only you and God know what it means.

God is a personal God. It is not His nature to tell  your business to other people or to embarrass you, or to condemn you. His only motive is to love you and help you. Some of us have seen and heard of things that I call “Spooky Spiritual”.  This is when a person doesn’t walk in wisdom as the gifts of the Spirit begin to move in their lives. They try too hard to reach too far into things God doesn’t intend for them to know. Scripture tells us that we “see through a glass darkly”. This means that God doesn’t intend for us to know everything about every situation. As disciples of Christ, we walk by faith, not by sight. He will give us signs along the way and encourage us as we walk. But, He never intended for anyone to be spooky spiritual and tell us things that they have no business telling us.

This is where the two spiritual realms come into play. The spiritual world is real. Those who walk with God and know His Word, know how to hear his voice and can discern what God is saying. Those who are not submissive to the Holy Spirit of God and seek to know more (fortune tellers, psychics, etc.) can reach far  into places that God never intended for us to go. This doesn’t mean the “other side” has the information we need and God doesn’t want us to have it.   It means that the devil is just waiting for you or I to be vulnerable enough to believe his lies. Don’t forget, the devil comes to steal, kill and destroy you and he does not play fair! God has given us the power to be overcomers in this world. In order to do that we must know Him and know what His Word (the Bible) teaches us about Him.

God speaks to all his children. Some who try to talk to us about what God is saying don’t even know how to hear Him for themselves so they certainly can’t hear Him for you! Always be cautious. It is imperative that we know God’s Word so we can know God Himself. Then, the enemy won’t be able to deceive us.

At times, as we pray,

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There Are Two Sides of the Spiritual Realm

16 Oct

Paul says in the 12th Chapter of I Cor. That the church, as the body of Christ, are believers, exercising various gifts, even as the human body have different functions and purposes. Paul describes how these members working harmoniously together, become the mystical Body of Christ on earth. Without the Gifts of the Spirit, the Church becomes something quite different from that which God intended. Instead of being a supernatural organism, the Church is then only another human organization.

  • There is no evidence whatever that the Gifts ceased because the Lord withdrew them. (Gordon Lindsay, All About the Gifts of the Spirit)

    A Scripture that has been commonly used by those who hold the position that the Gifts of the Spirit have ceased is I Cor. 13:8-10. Here we are told that prophecies, and tongues, and knowledge shall cease, or pass away. Just one glance at the Scripture shows however, that the period referred to is not this age at all, but the perfect age which is yet to come! (Lindsay)

    • 8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
    • 9  For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
    • 10  But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. (KJV)

    Many hold back in seeking the Gifts or even the knowledge of them. Some have decided (without Scriptural confirmation) that  the manifestations of the Spirit they see couldn’t possibly be “holy”, so they mistakenly decide that it must be from the devil himself.  We all have a little fear of the unknown but without knowing the facts it is like watching a football game without knowing there is a football on the field! We would just see big men, dressed kind of strangely, running around and knocking each other down! We would see part of it but not understand what it was all about because we didn’t know what the object of the “game” was.

  • We actually need the Spiritual Gifts to give us power in the battle – in our spiritual warfare. Scriptures give us means to test the spirits and discern which is not from God. Keep in mind that satan always attempts to counterfeit what God does. There will always be people in the world who prefer to believe in the evil side of the spiritual realm than the godly side. Why is that? If we can believe the things we read in God’s Word it should be evident that God doesn’t do things like man does. There is a touch of the supernatural in so many of the Biblical testimonies. God has not ceased to do His mighty works. The Scripture above does not mean that after Jesus came all the other miracles of God ceased! Just the opposite – Jesus came to fulfill those promises and magnify those gifts. If you read the verses again you will see that “when that which is perfect is come” — that means when Jesus comes to take us all home — He will take the place of everything we have known – He IS love and love (charity) NEVER fails.

  • Regular Bible reading is so vital to our spiritual growth! If we don’t study God’s Word for ourselves we will listen to so many untruths about God and His ways, including the gifts He has so freely given us to live in a world full of hate and evil. It seems obvious that we need His gifts in order to help us overcome our obstacles, as Jesus promised. Jesus also told us (in Scripture) that we would do GREATER things than He did (provided we are born-again believers).  We really need to relax a little about God’s spiritual gifts.

  • I heard a story about a man being given a tour of heaven after having just arrived. During the tour, he was shown many beautiful things. The angel  guiding him passed up one particularly large room with a beautiful door. The new resident of heaven asked why they passed it by without looking in. He was told that if he were to look inside the room he would become very sad. But, the new resident pleaded until he was granted permission. When the door was opened he saw a room full of unopened gifts – all sizes and shapes – beautifully wrapped. He asked the angel what all the gifts were for. He was told by the angel that they were gifts from God, intended for him while we was on earth but that they were never accepted.

  • Wouldn’t you just be heart-broken if you knew you were refusing to accept amazing gifts from your Heavenly Father? He won’t force them on us. He loves us enough that He gave us His only Son. Why in the world would He then offer us something that would hurt us in any way? God loves us so much. Think of how you have felt at a time when you wanted to give something special to someone you love and it was rejected. Remember how it felt. You were probably hurt and/or disappointed. But, you can’t force someone to accept a gift. A gift is just that – a gift. A gift is something given to someone to express love or appreciation.  It is usually something special, out of the ordinary.

  • What better way for God to express His love and appreciation for us and to reveal more of Himself to us than to give us Spiritual Gifts? God IS Spiritual – His gifts should be supernatural. He does give us all kinds of gifts in the natural – some we don’t even realize are gifts. God IS love – He desires to bless us. His spiritual gifts are one of the ways He does that. It is one of the ways He shows His love.

  • This is the season for Halloween – spooky – strange things. It is one of the largest holidays celebrated – bigger than Christmas to some merchants. People are curious about the supernatural – more so the evil side. They aren’t so willing to accept the godly side. Please understand that the spiritual realm is very real – both sides. We know plenty of the world’s carnal side – we need to desire more of God’s supernatural side. Our pride is usually what keeps us from it.

  • Pray about it. Study the Scriptures and ask God to open your heart to His truth. He won’t embarrass you. He won’t force anything on you. He wants you to have everything you need to fight the spiritual battle you face every day of your life. Trust Him.

    In addition to my own material I have included quotes from the following:

    • C. Peter Wagner “Your Spiritural Gifts”
    • Gordon Lindsay “All About the Gifts of the Spirit”
    • Adult Education and Discipleship Ministries – FBC – Garland “Gifts are for Giving”
    • Biblesoft Libraries
    • Sandy Trice
    • David Francis
    • KJV

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