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Author Archives: Rachel


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Do We Have Free Will?

Do We Have Free Will?

 

Lately, free will has been brought up in several conversations carrying the assumption that we have free will and it got me to thinking . . . how much free will do we really have?

Let’s look at what we didn’t choose in our physical life; to be born, where, when and to whom we were born, where we grew up, who we grew up around, our family, our genetic make up, our IQ, our body type, our race, our gender, our personality, generational weaknesses and strengths.

Given all these restrictions, how much free will do you think we have? Our will is constricted to certain things, whether we like it or not.

Those things pertain to our physical life, what about the spiritual life?

I believe it is very similar, because throughout the Word, this earth, our lives, the physical parallels the spiritual. First, I believe we don’t chose salvation. We didn’t choose our physical birth and we didn’t choose our spiritual birth. How can a dead life choose life? It is dead. It can’t comprehend the things of God. It can’t understand the spirit life to choose the spirit. It is in rebellion against God, not wanting to draw near. Isaiah 53:6

God saves, God calls, God chooses. We don’t think that is fair? What about the ones who didn’t have a choice where they were born and were given horrible circumstances, in slums, in drug addictions, in a place where human life isn’t valued, and no love? Is that fair? How much choice did they have?

Romans 9:11-23, John 6:44, Romans 8:28-30, Matthew 22:14, 1 Peter 2:9

Second, like our physical life, we live within defined limits in our spiritual life. God saves us and gives us new life. He determines the grace we have, the spiritual gifts we possess, and our spiritual growth. Romans 12:3 1 Corinthians 12:11 Ephesians 2:10 Philippians 2:13 Our will comes into play in seeking Him, drawing near and abiding in His truth. Matthew 7:33, Hebrews 11:6 If we seek Him, then He has promised to do all sorts of wonderful, powerful and amazing things in our lives. Our will, what we say happens or doesn’t happen and the choices we have, is limited.

Acts 17:26-28 And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, 27 so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; 28 for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’

There are two faulty beliefs that cause us to think that God being in control of our salvation isn’t fair and therefore couldn’t be.

1. The beliefs about hell.
2. The beliefs about God’s complete plan of salvation.

I don’t profess to completely understand either though I am seeking, but from what I read I am not convinced of an eternal torment as most churches teach or that we fully understand God’s plan of salvation and the roles we each play. Romans 9:22 We don’t know His thoughts, and I believe there is more to this life than we know. God is not like us, He is much bigger and we tend to forget that truth. We each try to fit Him and His ways into what we can understand right now.

To try to make God’s Word fit our ideas of justice and fairness is not seeking The Truth but trying to establish our own. We need to be okay with what we read, keep questioning, asking, learning, admitting we don’t know, and acknowledging there is more to learn. The entire Word fits together like a puzzle if certain pieces don’t fit we don’t have all the pieces yet. Only with all the pieces can we understand His Truth. We need to remove our church filters telling us what to believe and read His Truth to know and not to convince ourselves of what we currently believe. Only then do we have teachable hearts. God doesn’t want us to assume we know all or throw up our hands and say how can we know? He wants us each one of us to seek, grope, and ask for truth because that creates intimacy with Him.

Our will only comes into play in certain things. God holds the reigns. After all, He is God we are men. Psalm 9:20 We need to stop trying to make His truth fit ours and seek His.


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The Power of Confession

 The Power of Confession

 

A while ago, my mom and I had a heart to heart discussing some of our deepest wounds. It wasn’t meant to be a confession, though that is exactly what it was. We were simply being honest and open about issues we face and how they impacted each other and sometimes still do.

Recently, my husband and I had a similar conversation. Again, it wasn’t meant to be a confession, we were just being transparent about pains and weaknesses and how they affect each other. Like the conversation with my mom, our talk was liberating on many levels. We had confessed our shortcomings to God many times, and told each other sorry for things we had done, but when we exposed the depths of our souls and our own pain that caused pain in each other; it took healing to a new level and brought us closer. Through our words, love abounded and pain receded.

The freedom and restoration I experienced from these two encounters got me thinking about the power of confession. Both conversations encompassed deep wounds and I am discovering the deeper the pain the more restorative the confession. Usually we are scratching the surface when we tell someone we are sorry, but when we pour out our souls to another in love it is truly powerful.

James 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

When and why is confession between two people so powerful that it heals years of pain? When it is grounded and flows from love. As for the why, there are many reasons it is powerful, but here are three.

1. Vulnerability in confession communicates the extent of our love for someone. A heart of confession is open, honest, contrite, humble, and doesn’t care just about itself but also others. When we are willing to be naked, vulnerable, weak and to set our pride aside it reveals our love for the other person. If we didn’t love them we wouldn’t be willing to be so open and exposed. Our willingness to unveil our souls is powerful because it infuses truth and love into the relationship

2. Words have power. Created in God’s image our words have tremendous power. They can heal or damage. Openly stating that we have caused hurt, though often unintentionally, frees and heals the hearer. Confessions are words of love, which are more potent than words of pain.

3. Truth manifests love. The more we see and know about ourselves and others in the light of God’s truth, the more we can truly love. Knowledge brings understanding which fosters love, which sets us free.

We are made to love and for that reason most of what we do involves others including our healing and theirs. Philippians 2:4 Confession is just as much about the other person as it is about us. God may know, we may know but they don’t know our heart until we speak it. When we put our pride aside, acknowledge the pain we feel and caused we love. The reward is two-fold; we are more fully freed and healed from our brokenness and so are they. Even if others aren’t ready to confess their part in creating pain, the love we show will help heal their brokenness and put them on a path of being able to face their own pain and the pain they caused.

Confession doesn’t promise something similar won’t happen again. It expresses our hearts that we don’t desire to hurt. We are human and putting off our old self and living in the new life is a process. Letting others see into our hearts to know that we desire to give love not pain covers a multitude of sins.


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Space Suit: In God’s Presence

Space Suit: In God’s Presence

 

Have you ever had the feeling of being consumed by the presence of God? A while ago I got a strange but clarifying image that it is like being in a space suit. In a suit your life is preserved, protected, you see the world a little differently, and it goes wherever you do. Wearing it changes how you interact with your environment. If provides oxygen, the breath of life. If you take it off you lose life.

Before this unusual analogy, God’s presence seemed ethereal and hard to touch. But this image helped me to grasp how real it is and it established the solidarity of His presence in my life. It seemed a strange image but it worked. It helped me to see what it means to dwell in God’s presence, and what it means for our lives. In His presence we have protection, provision, love, mercy, grace, counsel, comfort, truth, favor, and life, everything we need. All He is surrounds us and fills us. When God consumes us, our role becomes one of rest. He does the work through us and our focus shifts from doing to being. We don’t push through life, but let God flow and work through us.

These verses give a peek into what it is like to dwell in His presence, in this space suit:

2 Corinthians 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.

2 Corinthians 12:9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Psalm 37:3-5 Trust in the Lord, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. 4 Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.

Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Philippians 4:19 And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Abiding in His presence is beyond amazing, wouldn’t you agree? Who wouldn’t want this life?

How do we put on this space suit and keep it on? By staying connected to the source. We stay connected by trusting and acting on our knowledge of Him, which is faith.

It all starts with what we know. We bring all that we are to our relationships. Now, a friend may not know a certain side of us, but that is just a lack of knowledge. It is the same with God. He is always there, but our experience of the various aspects of Him comes from knowing Him. This is why abiding in His Word is the foundation of experiencing His presence.

If we don’t know God, His promises and His ways then how do we know what to trust in? Without knowledge we end up trusting in our own image of Him, a false image, that is powerless, or we trust in ourselves that is just as helpless.

Abiding in the truth not only gives us knowledge but cultivates trust in that knowledge. Trust, acting on our knowledge, is how we dwell in the space suit.

How many times do we read in the Word, trust and such and such will happen? Trust manifests His presence in our lives. It makes what we learn about Him a reality. Without trust the knowledge we have would be lifeless.

We come to know and trust God like other relationships. We spend time talking, listening, learning, asking, seeking and experiencing and in the process we know and trust, trust and know. God made this dynamic to be a process that requires time and experiences that give us a deep understanding of Him, therefore His truth always coincides with mercy for His kids.

As we approach the next phase of manifesting His presence in our lives, increasing trust, it is critical to embrace this truth – ALL His paths are truth and mercy. Psalm 25:10 We are on the path of knowing and trusting we aren’t there yet. Our experience of Him isn’t dependent only on our trust, but also on His mercy. We know that we should trust, but we don’t. But as long as we are seeking Him, His mercy is more than enough to cover our lack.

Finally, to increase our trust, God brings events into our lives to test and strengthen it. God knows trusting Him is a struggle that is why He places challenges before us, to push us into deeper union with Him, otherwise we would remain at the surface of His presence instead of consumed by every part of it. If we remain as we are we miss out on experiencing all He has to give us. The purpose of these struggles is to become united to Him. 1 Peter 1:6-7

Consequently, these are the situations in which it is hardest to trust. We are experiencing the sovereign hand of God heavy upon us. Not against us though that is how it may feel, but to draw us near. Like Jacob did to become Israel, we wrestle with God through these times to become who we were created to be. These times push us into Him. We cry out to Him from the depth of our soul, ask Him to help with our unbelief and through the process we draw near to Him, our ultimate purpose. John 17:21 He expects us to doubt, struggle, and question through these times. But He wants us to keep Him by our side throughout the process. We are the caterpillar struggling to become a butterfly.

These trials are difficult to the point of breaking us, but their intensity is essential to obtain the trust we need to experience more of Him. We have to set our expectations aside of how we think things should be going, focus on abiding in His truth and trust Him that He is working everything for the purpose of being united to Him. He will give us exactly what we need to get us into a conscious awareness of that space suit, because that gives Him glory.

The secret to abiding in His presence, in the space suit, is knowing Him, so we can trust Him, then working through those tests of trust and when we do we will move deeper into His presence, the fountain of life.


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Babylon the Great – The Church System

Babylon the Great – The Church System

 

Could it be? Is it possible that the church, the institutional system, is an aspect of Babylon the Great spoken of in Revelations? This idea is a hard truth to swallow, but our spirits live on truth because it establishes our beliefs and thus our faith. Galatians 3:11 Faith isn’t worth much if it is in the wrong truth, therefore our duty is to seek out the truth.

1. Babylon the Great is the Mother of Harlots

Revelation 17:5 MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

Babylon symbolizes a woman who played the harlot against God. The only ones who can play the harlot are those who profess to be united to God in the first place. You can’t cheat if you aren’t in a relationship.

Throughout the Word, God calls His people a harlot when they break their covenant with Him; they have left Him in their heats to follow other gods, other gospels, other Jesus’, other truths, while still carrying His name. He abolished the old covenant and established a new. Because Revelations talks about a time in the future, then the harlotry must be in regards to the new covenant, the only active one that means anything.

2. This woman is also referred to as the great city.

The great city is Jerusalem. Jerusalem symbolizes where God’s people reside. Matt 23:37

Revelation 17:18 And the woman whom you saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth.

Revelation 11:8 and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

We begin to see that this woman is headed toward a downfall so much so that she will become like Egypt and Sodom and God will deal with her as He dealt with them.

3. The woman is drunk with the blood of the saints.

Revelation 17:6 I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement.

Those who drink the blood of the saints are of the church.

We have this example in the Pharisees. They called themselves children of Abraham; Jesus called them children of the devil. Talk about a mistaken identity. What happened with people in the church in Jesus’ day is happening today. The church started out in accordance to God’s ways, but then went its own way. Even to murdering the prophets, sound familiar? Matthew 23:31, 35, 37 John 8: 44 We can kill someone physically, but another way to kill them is the truth they stood for. We kill it by twisting it and not heeding it making it void and meaningless.

John marveled with great amazement, this truth is indeed shocking.

4. Babylon the Great has become a dwelling place of every foul thing.

Revelation 18:2 And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird.

The great city, the woman, played the harlot and turned symbolically into Babylon. Her downfall is so severe that she becomes a dwelling place of demons, where no good thing dwells.

1 John 5:19 We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.

Babylon can’t be the world. The world has always been full of demons and lies because it is under the devil’s control. Only God’s people are separated out. So the world couldn’t become a dwelling place, it already is one. Therefore what has become inhabited is somewhere that wasn’t before – where God’s people dwell, church system. Furthermore, He is telling us to come out of something. We can come out of the church system.

Church system (institution of God’s people) = Jerusalem = the great city = Harlot = Babylon the Great

Now what?

Because of what the church system becomes God is going to destroy it. He warns His people who can still hear His voice to get out while they can. If you look at the church, it isn’t headed in a good direction. There is a disconnect between the Word and what we see in the churches. We like to rationalize and justify the downward spiral of the church, but the Word foretells its future and the Word stands forever.

Revelation 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues

It has grown so corrupt with deception and lies that even the elect are going to have trouble standing firm on the truth. Matthew 24:24 Think about how deceptive that must be? Churches are incredibly persuasive. Religious leaders have a power over people because people trust them. Just ask the lobbyists. They led the masses to crucify Jesus who days before they were praising. They led the people of Lystra who were worshiping Paul and Silas to turn to stone them leaving them for dead. Acts 14 Never underestimate the persuasion they have. God knows their influence and who is behind them that is why He tells us to get out. It isn’t safe. We have to trust Him, putting aside our justifications.

Psalm 74:3-4 Lift up Your feet to the perpetual desolations. The enemy has damaged everything in the sanctuary. Your enemies roar in the midst of Your meeting place; They set up their banners for signs.

Right before this verse the writer talks about Mount Zion which is a name to describe God’s people in the future. Hebrews 12:22-23. The sanctuary, the meeting place of God’s people is going to suffer perpetual desolation. A New Jerusalem will take its place. Revelation 21:2 It seems that time is upon us. He wants His people out of the old so they don’t receive her plagues

You may think now is not the time, but when? Who will you listen to tell you to get out? If you don’t and decide to stay a little longer, I pray your teacher is God and you can clearly hear His voice above all the others. Deception and lies are only going to continue to grow worse. 2 Timothy 3:13. Many are going to go astray. Things aren’t going to get better. If we think we or our church is above deception then we are most deceived. The church served a purpose for a time, but like most man-made institutions it has gone sideways. Ezekiel 8

Where do we go? To Him, to His Word. He will be our Shepherd, He will write His truths on our heart, He will teach us, guide us, and protect us. He has given us all we need, His Word, Himself, and when you get there you will find others.

People are leaving the church because they feel something is amiss. Could it be that they have heard His call in their hearts? Those that know their Shepherd’s voice will follow Him.

There is much to say on this topic but I pray this encourages you to search out His truth from His pure Word.


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Of Law or Of Grace

Of Law or Of Grace

 

I read a post several weeks ago. The woman said she felt such a strong disconnect with mainstream Christianity that she wished to be called something other than Christian to denote the separation.  I resonated with her comment and as I thought about it, I see a clear separation in one underlining belief that affects everything.

Though called by the same name, there are two different groups of Christians who couldn’t be further apart; those who are under the law and those who are under grace.

Those under the law go to church, tithe, try to act like a good person, participate in ministries, and go to Bible Studies because that is what they should do as Christians. If they don’t then they feel guilt however subtle. If they do they feel good about themselves.  Their faith has become a religion of works earning their place in heaven or in God’s heart. Their obedience is out of fear of God pulling away and withdrawing His blessings. In essence their actions are bribes to receive His good favor. Deuteronomy 10:17

Plain Truth Magazine put out an interesting article this month on churchaholics, which describes this group. The article is worth the read a couple of times.

In contrast, the other group lives solely by grace. They focus on abiding in God’s truth, nurturing their relationship and whatever good comes out is the fruit of His spirit within them and not by their power of will or efforts.  Because it is His work and not theirs, there is no guilt in doing or not doing.  What they do is about desire not raw obedience. Obedience pertains not to bribing God to bless them or be good to them; it has to do with how close they are to God. They experience blessings because God is in their lives. The closer they are to Him the more they experience all He is. He is their reward; their everything.

Which group is correct?

The covenant we have with God is established on grace. In Christ there is nothing we can add to our salvation or sanctification. Exodus 31:13 It is the second part where the do-gooders go sideways off the path of life. We enter God’s kingdom by grace, we grow in it by grace and we become great by grace. We do nothing. Matthew 18:3-4 Everything comes from God’s spirit working in and through us. We don’t work for God, He works through us. Nothing is forced, earned or contrived.

When we start to add anything to the covenant of grace then we are trespassers to His covenant, and are no longer abiding in it. Matthew 25:29 If we aren’t living, breathing and acting from grace, then we aren’t living.

The doctrine of grace is not easy to accept and follow in a world where our value and acceptance is based on what we do. Under grace it is disobedient to try to work, earn, and prove. Hebrews 4:11 We all fall at times into the trap of works, but what are we striving for grace or works? Every other religion is based on works and many Christians have joined them. Therefore they have a different religion with a different god.  2 Corinthians 11:4 That’s the separation.

And the tricky part is the majority of those who say they are under grace are actually under the law. The masses think they are under grace because leaders tell them they are, but if they examine their deep-seeded motives they would see they aren’t. The two groups talk the same lingo, but the foundation of their motivations, actions, and judgments denote a huge separation.

How could they be so misled? The legalism is disguised, subtle and in what people praise, not necessarily say. It is couched in friendly, loving words, sweet smiles and jovial countenances, but it is law all the same. You should be in church.  Do whatever you do, but make sure you come to church. (smiles)

They are like your sweet but over controlling mother, playing the guilt trip card. If you were a good Christian then you would be in church. Guilt is a very powerful motivator.  We do whatever we can to remove its presence in our lives. And most churches are employing this tactic to maintain their costly lifestyle and doing so they are breaking their covenant of grace with God and bringing many down with them.

We come to God with our lives one way, grace. We either live by His covenant or not at all.

I think the church was at one time an instrument of God to grow His people, much like Egypt. Deuteronomy 5:6, 26:5-6 But like Egypt it has become a house of bondage with its oppression of should to’s. God is calling His people to Him in grace and those who know the true Shepherd’s voice will follow it.


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Who is Israel?

Who is Israel?

 

God’s Word is complex, intricate, and perfect. There is nothing straightforward about it because it is living, layer upon layer, precept upon precept, full of symbolism, parables, and riddles. Truths lie beneath the surface to be revealed to whom God chooses through His spirit. 1 Corinthians 2:14, Proverbs 1:5-6, Isaiah 28:13, Luke 8:10

One area that shows such complexity and perfection is how He talks about Israel (along with other symbolic names for His people) within the prophets; mainly Isaiah through Malachi. Who is He talking about exactly; the actual seed of Abraham, the country Israel, and/or those born of Christ?

Now, what’s the big deal? Most of what those prophets talked about has already been fulfilled. Has it? Anyway, it pertains to someone else, not me. Does it? It depends on who you believe Israel is. Understanding this one thing changes everything.

If we are the temple of God that means we are established on the words of the prophets and apostles with Christ as the cornerstone. Ephesians 2:20 We are established by words because words reflect our beliefs, which affect what or who our faith is in, which affects everything. For this reason, God desires us to know His truth. He gave us one job; believe in Him. John 6:29 And because Christ is the Word, we need to know what the Word is saying so we can believe it. That means we have to seek and know THE truth to believe and be established on it. Otherwise we are building someone else’s temple.

I have been exploring this topic, Israel, and here are some of my thoughts . . .

Initially, Israel, which was Jacob’s new name after he wrestled with God (how about the symbolism in that?!), were those who were physically born from Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham. Jacob had 12 sons who grew into the 12 tribes. God’s law pertained to these people. They were His special people that He chose out of all the other nations to know Him. They were His because of their physical birth.

But then Christ came and things changed. Now those spiritually born through Christ are God’s family. The old covenant is obsolete. Hebrews 8:13 Once we come into God’s kingdom we have a new citizenship, there is no Greek or Jew. Galatians 3:28 We are now of God’s family and spiritually Israel.

The true Israel, the people of God, is no longer about the flesh but the spirit. Romans 2:29

Romans 4:13 For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.

Galatians 3:7 Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.

Galatians 3:29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise

Galatians 4:28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise.

In Peter’s and Paul’s day, the idea that God’s people were no longer determined by physical birth took getting use to. That is why there was a separation between the Israelites and Gentiles (those who were of the blood line of Abraham and those who weren’t). For the first time they were going outside the physical family. Imagine how odd that was after all those years? In Christ, God did a new thing. His family is no longer formed through physical birth but by spiritual birth.

God wants none to perish including the original Israelite nation, but now like every one else all that matters is if we are spiritually born in Christ. 2 Peter 3:9 That is why there is no Greek (gentile) or Jew (Israel), there is only Christ. Who is Israel or God’s family now? Looking at the verses above, it is those who claim to be spiritually born in Christ.

This is where it gets fun. When you read the prophets, you see a strong parallel among what they say and the prophecy of the New Testament, because the prophets are speaking of a future time as well as the past. Revelation 10:7 The prophets are speaking of one prophecy on top of another. The events in the Old Testament served as examples of what will happen in the end. 1 Corinthians 10:11.

If the prophets are speaking of the future, wouldn’t they talk about Israel as it is in the future? What true Israel is today? I think so. Why would they talk about an obsolete covenant? God has told us that covenant is gone and now all is through Christ. The prophets wrote for a time, when the Word would be available to His people so they could read it, know it and take heed when they needed it the most.

I think the prophets are talking about those called by His name today. If you read the prophets with this mindset, it changes everything because they are talking about His church today and it doesn’t look good.


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Listening to the Spirit

Listening to the Spirit

 

To stop and listen to the rhythms of life beneath all the noise is a lost art in our modern world. The voice of our inner spirit is suppressed by busyness, television, books, magazines, cell phones, pagers, email, competition, idle chatter and all we do to make ourselves feel worthy. Underneath the distractions is our spirit trying to be heard. The ramifications of silencing our guide is broken homes, dysfunctional children, physical aliments, depression, monotonous living, robotic spirituality, addictions, and spiritual blindness to name a few.

This truth has recently come to my attention. I am dealing with the consequences of not listening through various physical aliments. They are minor but it is clear to me the source is years of suppressing my spirit’s voice. I didn’t take time to listen but bulldozed through the years trusting medications and doctors instead of seeking inner counsel. Doctors can’t know the complexity of your emotions, your past experiences and everything that create your current physical state. Our body and soul are connected but yet we often act like they aren’t. God gave us a guide to build truth in the deepest part of our soul if we will listen. Truth that sets us free.

Lately I have been opening my ears and what He is telling me is incredible, I had no idea.

If we could go on the counsel and guidance of others then why would we need the Holy Spirit who was sent to teach us all things? We need to be listening to Him above all others and yet we have forgotten how to listen. Instead of listening to our spirit as our counselor we listen to others. We no longer make our own decisions, take time for inward reflection, and think for ourselves but rely on others to do these for us. Those in our circle of influence; media, family, co-workers, church leaders; tell us what to believe, to think, to trust, to do. These people are ill-equipped to guide anyone because they are just like us.

Matthew 23:8 “But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren.”

When we tune into our spirit we tune into Him as well. Our impatience is driving us into the arms of some “Joe’s” philosophies. I don’t care how many initials are after his name or how nice he appears; he isn’t equipped to guide us as the Spirit is. It is the Spirit’s role and no one can fulfill it but Him. God constructed this world, the physical and spiritual elements, to work a certain way. Either we get clued in and do it His way or we miss out altogether and stay bound, blind, and dumb (in hearing and insight).

John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”

God uses other people to encourage and help us. But our ears need to be in tune with the Spirit so we can discern what we hear, if it is truth or not and if it applies to us or not. If not, any good is mixed in with the bad and we are still seeing foggy. People are human, they make mistakes and they are learning just like we are. Like a doctor misdiagnosing a patient, others can give us the wrong diagnosis and remedy. We need a stronghold to test what we hear against whether it pertains to doctrine, health, work, relationships or whatever. That stronghold is the Spirit. I have gained more truth from listening to the Spirit than I ever have listening to man. Others add a little here and there crossing a t or dotting an i, but He opens up volumes of truth.

With modernization came isolation from our inner voice. We need to reorient our lives to create an atmosphere so we can hear. We need to be still, abide, and listen to what the Spirit is saying to each one of us. It is a conversation between you and Him, are you listening?


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Abiding in God’s Presence

 Abiding in God’s Presence

 

I often mention that reading God’s Word, the Bible, is essential to our spirits’ lives. But what makes all the difference is how we read. Most people read the Bible like they would another book; a text book, a historical book, or a guide for good living and miss the whole point.

God tells us He is our husband, so that is how we are supposed to relate to Him. He desires not that we know about Him, but that we intimately know Him. To talk to Him like a spouse, to spend time with Him one-on-one on a regular basis, to listen to His words, and to put our focus on Him. He created the Bible to foster this intimacy with us.

For years, I read the Bible like a book. I believed they were His words, but I didn’t understand what I want to share with you today – that it is about a fostering a relationship not reading a book. Because of my lack of understanding, I couldn’t stay focused or disciplined in my reading. It would often be dry, I wouldn’t get much out of it, most of it didn’t seem to relate to me and parts were boring and confusing. So, I rarely read, read in spurts, and preferred listening to someone else talk about Him instead of going to Him. I knew I should read, but just couldn’t seem to fly solo.

After hitting yet another low point in my life, I made a commitment to read a chapter a day regardless of how I felt (that was key to getting started). After that commitment, God showed me how I was approaching it wrong in three main ways; my motive, our relationship and His role. From then on everything changed; I mean everything – my entire existence because I started to abide in His presence.

  1. My motive.  Every time I sat down to read, it had always been about me; what I got out of it, if I felt encouraged, inspired, connected to God, if He answered my questions and prayers to be healed, restored, and feel His presence.

God told me – what if you treated your husband that way? What if it was always about you? What kind of intimacy would you have? Intimacy takes two. Your motive when you come to My Word should be to learn about Me, to get to know Me. That fosters intimacy. Stop making it about you. Make it about Me and I will take care of you.

He started to reveal Himself to me in ways I had never known despite the years I spent in church and Bible studies.

  1. Our relationship. I use to approach reading the Bible like reading a book, after all it is a book, right?

God told me – You say you love Me, but you don’t spend time with me like you love Me.  I am no longer a flesh man, the flesh is gone. I am Spirit and that is how you are to know Me. 2 Corin. 5: 16 My Spirit is in the Bible like it was in the flesh man, Jesus. The word became flesh and dwelt among us. John 1:14 If Jesus, the flesh body, was here what would you do? Would you spend time with Him? Would you want to talk to Him one-on-one?  He is here.

I was no longer sitting down to read a guide for good living, I was sitting down with my God and talking with Him, listening to Him, hearing His heart, will, and desires. I was cultivating a relationship.

  1. His role. I had depended on others to teach me about God. I thought I couldn’t glean what they could from the Word, so I didn’t. I figured it wasn’t my gift. It was easier listening to others’ words, ideas, and interpretations than weeding through all those chapters by myself.  I thought it was one in the same.

God told me – What if you always went to your husband’s friends and family to learn about him? They may repeat things he said, talk about things he had done, but how well would you know him? What kind of intimacy would you have with him? This is how you are acting toward Me when you rely on others to teach you about Me. I gave you My Spirit so you can understand all I have to tell you. 1 John 2:27, Hebrews 5:12  Teachers are to teach others to teach themselves, not spoon-feed them. 2 Timothy 2:24  I want you to come directly to Me because that requires a seeking heart, trust and dependency on Me and those things foster the depth of intimacy I desire with you. I will teach you about Me, trust Me. If you continue to rely on others there is only so close we can be.

My mind being renewed in these three ways altered my time with God. My relationship with Him started to become what I always desired thus true life followed. I won’t mislead you, knowing Him takes time, years, just like it does in other relationships. It was years of spending time before I felt true intimacy with Him, where I felt I was abiding in His presence. But God gave us His Word and His Spirit so we could know Him, be one with Him in will, purpose, and desire and abide in true love and truth. If we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us.


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Don’t Forsake the Assembly

Don’t Forsake the Assembly

 

Those who are outside of the Institutional church, often get questioned about the following verse:

Hebrews 10:25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

Dusty Owens wrote a response, Forsake Not the Assembly?   It is worth the read. It makes you think about what you really believe and who you are really listening to and trusting.

 

 


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Guilty Fruit

Guilty Fruit

Guilty fruit isn’t worth much in the kingdom of God, but it is easy to get trapped into producing rotten apples. A friend asked me to join her at a prayer group. I quickly replied yes. As the day approached I realized that was a night my husband and I enjoyed watching one of our favorite television shows. That was our night. Now watch a show or go to pray? Umm, what would a good Christian do . .

I chose my husband. I love spending that time with him. But guilt started to set in for not choosing the prayer group because isn’t that what I should do? The Spirit reminded, no. It isn’t what you do but what is in your heart. The choice is between fruit of love and fruit of guilt. Which one do you think I desire?

2 Corinthians 9:7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.

Guilt came from defining my goodness by my actions. I am writing about this topic in my book and God’s Word is clear, we live by grace alone. If we try adding to it, it is to our shame. Putting trust in our works in any way creates an idol. God abhors idols. I started to step outside the complete freedom and rest I have in grace and into bondage by works like every other religion. Acting on have to’s and should do’s forfeits grace and produces rotten fruit, forced and not of love.

This topic is a slippery slope because many say they do this or that out of love for God. But we have to be diligent in examining our motives. Only God and we know our hearts and even then sometimes we get fooled. I knew mine and God knew it. 1 Corinthians 16:4 Let all that you do be done with love.

Galatians 3:2-3 This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?

Examining my motives, I made the right choice, love. Love is the soil of true fruit. We need to slow down before we commit because of the constant temptation to prove, earn and work because it appeases our need to feel worthy and good. Our worth and goodness are defined solely in Christ. Our focus is to be on abiding in His truth, and fruit, sown in love, will be the natural outcome.

God did an amazing work in our marriage that night, who would have known? The fruit of love is worth a lot.