The Power in a Name

You don’t have to read very much of the Bible to understand that God is very faithful to honor the meanings of names.  He also honors the names we give to things and people.

In Genesis, God allowed Adam to name the animals.  It is my belief that God created the animals with certain characteristics, abilities and traits. Then He also allowed Adam to have input on the complete package of every animal by what Adam named it. (e.g. God creates lion, but it is not the complete package of what we know is a lion today until Adam named it ‘lion’, and then God honored Adam’s creativity and put the characteristics in the meaning of ‘lion’ into that animal).

I don’t buy into the idea that God gave Adam the names for each animal and Adam was just speaking it.  I believe God allowed Adam to speak into each animal characteristics and traits through the names that Adam gave.  God honors us, those that He made in His image, His creative image, and allows our creativity, likes, and dislikes to join with Him and co-labor with Him in life.

Also, there are many times in the Bible where God changed the name of certain people.  He did this very specifically…not because He liked the sound of a different name better, but because what something is called should describe the object.  In the case of a person, the name given to that person actually helps define who that person is…not completely, but definitely in part.  Remember, He gave Mary and Joseph the specific name to call Jesus…Immanuel-God with Us. It was very specific and described Him perfectly.

Our names have meanings.  God honors those meanings.  I encourage you to research the meaning of your name…in more than one source…and get an idea of what is being spoken over you everyday of your life.  Most days, your name will be spoken over you multiple times.  Example: I am 30 years old.  On my 30th birthday, if I was called by name only once per day, my name (Aaron) would have been spoken over me ONLY 10,957 times. For me, I love that I am called ‘lofty’, ‘enlightened’ and ‘high mountain’.  I don’t take for granted that these meanings affect who I am AND call a destiny upon my life.

Your name is a great place to start praying and asking for prophetic insight to your calling and how the Lord sees you.  If you are starting a family, I encourage you to research name meanings and name your child something that you want to be spoken over him or her everyday.

Believing vs. Knowing

I believe we as individuals in the church sometimes get ‘believing’ and ‘knowing’ confused when referring to faith. ‘Believing’ is the cognitive knowledge of something, usually gained by reading or being told. ‘Knowing’ is having the understanding that surpasses knowledge referenced in Ephesians 3, and experiencial knowledge.

For example, many people say that they ‘believe in God’.  When I hear this phrase I understand that this person believes that God exists. The problem with this being the expression of our faith is that Satan and all of the demons believe that God exists.  In fact, they actually KNOW that He exists.

When Jesus taught about the Kingdom of God, on a couple of occasions, He was very clear that ‘knowing’ Him was the key to entering (Matthew 25 for example). This meaning of ‘know’ refers to a very intimate knowledge that is only gained in relationship.

Another example where I think the church falls a little short as a whole, I know I do, is that we ‘believe’ God is a supernatural God, but we don’t know He is supernatural. For example, we believe that God is the healer because the Bible says so, but do we really know that He is the healer.

For example, if I put everything I have, my hope, prayers, faith, and life into asking God for a loved one of mine to be healed, and they don’t get healed, it is my responsibility to remain in faith that God is the Healer and His desire is ALWAYS to heal.  Jesus ALWAYS healed when He walked the earth (Acts 10:38) and Colossians says Jesus is the perfect representation of the Father.  Jesus said that if we have seen Him, then we have seen the Father.  Jesus moved in power through the Holy Spirit. They are all One,  therefore it is the Father’s heart, Jesus’ heart, and the Holy Spirit’s heart to ALWAYS heal.

Knowing that God is the healer is a completely different level of faith than just believing He is the healer.  Knowing He is the healer means that if someone we are praying for does not get healed, we don’t waiver for one second on whether or not God is the healer or if  His will  is for healing to always occur because we KNOW it is His will.  Instead, we understand that there might aspects either in the natural realm or the spiritual realm that we missednot allowing the healing to take place.  BUT, that DOES NOT change who we KNOW God to be!

The best example of knowing who God is occurs in the book of Daniel. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had what I call ‘But If Not’ faith. They knew that God was able to save them, but told the king that even if God did not save them they would never bow down and worship idols or other gods. They knew that God was able and even if He didn’t save them it didn’t change who they knew God to be.

It is time we get to KNOW God. It is time that we KNOW who He is and what His will is.How do we gain this type of knowledge? We must pursue God and the intimate, experiencial knowledge of Him…so much so that even if something in this fallen world contradicts what we know to be true, it cannot cause us to waiver in what we know to be true.

Philosophy, Religion or Relationship pt. 1

I’m gaining an awareness that the relationship I have with Jesus is insufficient.

Recently, I engaged on Facebook with a complete stranger who believes there is a god, but denies Jesus as Lord.  Actually, this person said that he has written evidence that Jesus never even existed…that He was ‘made up’ in 324 a.d by the Greco Romans. He also went on to say how the Christian religion was filled with contradictions (the Bible).  He provided many links that I could use to do my own research, and while very friendly,  strongly encouraged me to do my own research.

I approached him from a complete loving heart that realized he had been decieved. I ended every exchange with, ‘I encourage you to ask Jesus to reveal Himself to you, to show you that He is real. If He does, then He will lead you into all truth.  If He does not, then please continue on your spiritual quest.’ Both times this man replied, ‘I cannot ask Jesus if He is real because He is not…he was made up…’ I realized I had reached the end of where I could go with this person. Having faith that I threw a seed that I had to throw, and that God can easily plow it under and water it.

At this point, the question was raised to me: What do I do when I come across someone who has a philosophy or a religion that they feel is more correct than mine, and has a ‘bible’ of their own to throw back at me? We both have an equal amount of disbelief in the other one’s evidence.

I must have the type of relationship with the Lord that is experiential, because for someone who is held strong to their ‘written evidence’ and philosophy, only experiencing the Lord through one of our senses (taste, touch, hear, see and smell) will bring the piercing truth needed to break the stronghold of lies.  You see, through our senses truth can be deposited in our hearts.  And, as people, God designed our hearts to go where I heads cannot.  I must have a pure relationship with my Lord, my Savior that I can steward to the world!  Ephesians 3:14-21

Breakthrough in Battle

In a previous post, I told of a friend of my wife’s family (Kevin Walker) that has been battling cancer.  A friend of mine took Kevin and Julie to Redding, CA to Bethel Church.  There he attended the healing rooms on Saturday, and some services on Sunday. I wanted to send out the update from him.  His testimony, so far:

When we went to Bethel the weekend before Thanksgiving, I was pretty intimidated by the whole thing. I’ve been in many environments like Bethel leading worship, but I was always on the stage ministering, not in need, sick, and hurting. This was the first time in my life to have any disease. I came to Bethel with Burkitt-Like Lymphoma.

When I saw the Dr before leaving for Redding, he said it would take a miracle to get this cancer into remission. Bur the doctor didn’t believe in miracles…or God. The cancer was red and inflamed as it was visually spreading from my groin area to my leg. All chemos were unsuccessful and this was the 3rd doctor that said there was nothing more they could do for me. The last ditch effort was to put me on an experimental chemo, but my platelet counts had to be 100,000 in order to do that. The counts didn’t make it before the trip.

At Bethel I was moping and in “why me” mode. This was not something on my radar at 48 years old. We were greeted by Karen Barnes at the healing room, and she took us under her wing the whole weekend, and made us feel so welcomed.  As we sat in the hallway on Saturday morning a “herald-er” of miracles walked up and down the hall with a clip board shouting out what God had done in the last few weeks at Redding. My faith began to rise. I thought, “Why not me?” “Others have seen God move. I can to”. Then soon after they moved us into the soaking room. The worship was free and natural so I had time to align my heart and just unwind.

They called my group into the prayer room and I was prayed over by 4 ladies. I didn’t really perceive anything happening then though it was very encouraging and you could tell these ladies had prayed many times before. Afterward they asked me and my wife, Julie, to sit on a banner and wait. As we waited, Peter Tkaczyk came by and prayed with us. There was power in his insight for us to see that this cancer was not “natural”, but an enemy attack and the aggression was to take us out of ministry as quickly as possible.

Still, I didn’t feel any physical changes, but hope and future were rising up within me as well as possibilities of knowing this was something God really could handle. Someone encouraged us then to move from begging God to thanking Him. Sad to say, this was a major shift in my heart and mind. I’ve known how Father adores me for years, I’ve known I am His beloved…fully accepted…and knighted by Him. But somehow with this disease I had become a begging pauper before Him. That day, Saturday, my words changed from begging to thanking.

That afternoon forward I began to feel energy rise in my body. I was beginning to have a spring in my step. And I was nearly keeping up with the group. The next day, Sunday morning worship was wonderful and I really enjoyed the visiting speaker. After the service a man named Frank prayed over me. He mentioned the spirit of witchcraft being broken off of my life. (My wife and I had already been talking to the Lord about that so this was a great confirmation). Before we left Peter Tkaczyk looked us up again, encouraged us, and prayed over Julie. That afternoon more energy and vitality was entering my body.

Probably the most significant time at Bethel from my viewpoint was in the soaking room at 5 pm Sunday. As I sat on the 2ND row, worship videos were playing and people were encircling the chairs praying, singing, laughing, and enjoying God. I just sat and prayed next to my friends Ron and Shirley Hendrix and my wife, Julie on the other side. After a bit I asked Ron and Shirley to anoint me with oil and pray over me. During that time I put my head back and closed my eyes. As they prayed a bright, round light encompassed me. I was inside a “bubble” of light that went out to the left and right and touched my friends on the left and my wife on the right. Then I couldn’t hear what they were praying much. It felt like I was in that state for about 20 minutes. But later Julie said I only had my eyes closed for about 2 or 3 minutes. Something big happened there, but I’m not sure what.

When we left Redding, the next day my physical energy was off the charts. After being in bed for about 18 hours every day with chemo treatments for six months, this was a breath of fresh air. Walked all over Pier 39, enjoyed  seeing the Golden Gate Bridge, and the next day walked a lot seeing Napa Valley. I felt free and invigorated. Then I began to notice the lumps on my leg were not inflamed and they appeared to be diminishing.

By the time we flew back to Colorado I had appointment with my doctor the next day. Without being on chemo for a month, the lumps were definitely reduced and had stopped their aggression. Every time I had gotten off chemo before, the lumps had begun to increase within 10 days. On this occasion, the doctor looked at the my groin and thigh area and said, “Isn’t that something? This is very significant”. We told him about Redding, Bethel, and what God has been doing there. We told him about the people praying over us for God to stop this menace and perform a miracle like he said we needed. His reply was, “well, people focusing their positive energy is a good thing.” Ha! He couldn’t think it could be God, but we believe he will. My platelet counts had dropped from 94,000 to 84,000 to 64,000. So I still can’t get on the experimental chemo. My wife and I believe this is God’s doing to keep me off chemo to continue to show what He can do. We expect Him to finish the work He has begun in repairing my body.

I have another appointment with the doctor today. It should be even more interesting because now it has been 2 weeks. The whole area looks like I have been through radiation. There is no aggression. I think I have been through God’s (the Light) radiation. I want the lumps to go totally away and have received several words and visions about that. We are still in thanking and receiving mode. Little children are prophesying over us. I haven’t been this alive and full of hope since before I was diagnosed. We can’t wait to see how this all unfolds.

Celebrating each step of breakthrough with thanksgiving is what builds the momentum for the next advancement.  We are joining in celebration and continued spiritual warfare with Kevin, Julie and their two children, Adrienne and Jared, for the healing that is taking place, and the knowledge that complete deliverance from this attack is just ahead.

Kevin and Julie Walker have a website, walkit.org. You can connect with them there to learn more about their wide range of ministry as worship leaders, as well as follow Kevin’s progress against cancer.

It’s So Simple, Not Necessarily Easy

This past weekend I went to a conference where Bill Johnson was teaching. It was an amazing time of worship, teaching and the supernatural. We saw many miracles. But, the most profound thing to me was also the simplest.  God met me right where I needed to be met, and that was at the very foundation of Himself and our relationship to Him.

I wanted to take this post and share the one thing that resounded with me the most.  This is where the Lord has taken me…’You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’^{[e] 38} This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Matthew 22:37-39)  It really is this simple!

Bill used the stories of Joseph and Daniel from the Old Testament to model how to be a Christian in un-Godly situations.  In particular, the story of Daniel stood out to me.  Daniel served possibly the most demonized, anti-Christ ruler in the Old Testament, Nebuchadnezzar.  Nebuchadezzar made an idol of Himself and made everyone worship it.  If they didn’t, they were killed.

So, here you have a devil worshipping king, and a righteous man of God appointed by God to serve the king.  Nebuchadnezzar has a dream and Daniel is given the interpretation from God.  And, when Daniel receives the interpretation, instead of doing what all of us would do when someone who acts outside of God’s will and giving them an ‘I told you so’ speech, Daniel says, ‘‘I wish the events foreshadowed in this dream would happen to your enemies, my lord, and not to you!” (Daniel 4:19).

Daniel sides with the king saying that he wished the events being foretold were about the kings enemies and not him, brokering the Lord’s forgiveness and mercy.  How effective is this? At the end of Nebuchadnezzar’s life he praises and gives God all of the glory.  (This was a major point of Bill’s message).

This picture gives a whole new meaning to love you neighbors and love your enemies.  I am so quick to pass judgement on someone.  In fact, what I will typically say about the lost is: ‘Of course they sin, they don’t know any better.’  That is a true statement.  But, I now know that my purpose here on earth is to ‘broker’ God’s forgiveness, mercy and love. (God says whoever we forgive, He forgives: John 20:23). I don’t understand that verse, but then my understanding doesn’t change what it is that the Lord requires of me.  I believe no amount of head knowledge will explain how that works, only the understanding that surpasses knowledge.

I can’t put into words right now what it is that the Lord is sharing with me.  But, the coolest thing is that after this weekend I will NEVER be the same.  There are only a few distinct times in my life when I can say that after that moment I never looked at life and the world the same…but, I added one more this weekend.

I’m going to put some scripture references that were impactful this weekend as well.  I encourage you to read them closely!!  Bless you!

Psalm 67:5-7

⁵Let the peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You.
⁶The earth has yielded its produce;
God, our God, blesses us.
⁷God blesses us,
That all the ends of the earth may fear Him. (emphasis added)

Hosea 3:5

⁵ But afterward the people will return and devote themselves to the Lord their God and to David’s descendant, their king. In the last days, they will tremble in awe of the Lord and of his goodness. (emphasis added)

**True riches and blessing are not necessarily, in fact I would say do not include money…although financial blessing is given by the Lord.  I just don’t think that is what these two verses are speaking of directly.

It takes many years and storms to make a strong tree

Is God Good? pt. 2

I wanted to clarify a couple things about my last post.  I want to start by stating a couple of ABSOLUTES that I follow in my life.  I try my best to approach these ‘absolutes’ with the heart and mind like a child would have.

#1. God is Good! Nahum 1:7

#2. He is able to do more than I would ever dare to ask or hope. Ephesians 3:20

#3. Jesus said that we could ask anything…ANYTHING!…in His name and it would be given.

I don’t know why people who follow Jesus, who have faith for healing, and who pray for healing don’t receive it sometimes.  I don’t have that answer.  But, because of the 3 things I stated above I refuse to say that it was because God didn’t want them to have it.

In all honesty, God can do anything He wants.  If He wants me to have cancer, and He wants me to die because of that cancer, then who am I to question God.  But, I refuse to believe that might be the case because that type of belief gives me room to not pursue with all of my heart that which Jesus paid for on the cross.

I personally believe that God doesn’t want anyone to have cancer, the same way He wants everyone to be saved…yet, people are still perishing and will go to Hell.  Why do people still get cancer and die when prayed for? Why are people still going to go to hell? I don’t have those answers.

It’s like I’m a gambling man.  I’m going to go all in on the side that I have the best chance of winning…in this example, getting healed.  Matthew 11:12 talks about taking the Kingdom by force, and faithful praying is forceful!!

Yes, we all have to die.  God Himself limited us to 120 years.  But, why do we accept cancer and other diseases that cause insurmountable amounts of suffering, as okay ways to die.  I am sure that these diseases will continue to take the lives of faithful followers of Christ.  But, just because it claims one life doesn’t give us the right to pray for ‘whatever God wants to do.’ God did what He wanted to do.  He came to earth and paid for all iniquities and transgressions.  And, then He left us in charge to go out and claim what He paid for.  WE OWE HIM WHAT HE PAID FOR.  He is not here to claim it, it is up to us.

How would you like to pay for a car in full by emptying your bank account, but, due to circumstances, the only way you get to enjoy the car is if your friend picks it up for you.  All they have to do is go to the dealership, ask for the keys to your car, and drive it home to you…but, they never even went to the dealership because they thought you might not want it…WHAT? You paid for it up front and in cash, but you might not want it.  That’s crazy!…C-R-A-Z-Y!!!

Again, I don’t have the answers to all of the hard questions.  And, I’m not trying to search out those answers.  I will just stick to the absolute truths in the Bible.  Due to the busyness of the world, I have a hard enough time going after the Truth with all of my heart, so I don’t have time to waste throwing in my own ‘what-ifs’ and ‘it didn’t work that way for them.’

Right now, there is a friend of my wife’s family who is a younger man (45-55 yrs old) who has been told he has  just a few months to live because of cancer.  He has a two children I think, and both are still in high school. I will never agree with the thinking that Jesus paid for all iniquities except his, and that God wants him to leave this world with two children whom he is still raising. I can’t!   His name is Kevin.  Kevin’s life may very well depend on my faith to live.  Please join with us in praying for his miraculous healing!!

Is God Good?

I just read, and have heard before, that nothing can touch a child of God without God’s permission.  Following that statement in the article that I just read (you can see entire article by following the link below) was a statement that floored me…’So we accept each hurt, each problem, each difficulty as from his hand, seeking to learn from it all that he would teach us, using all the resources of God at our disposal and asking him to make it turn out for our good and his glory.’ http://tinyurl.com/y9pj2xk

It is a good article.  I agree with it except for ‘So we accept each hurt, each problem, each difficulty as from his hand.’ I STRONGLY disagree with this statement, and it bothers me that it is a common thought in the church.

I don’t have all of the answers.  I don’t like that there is so much suffering and hardship in the world.  I realize its easy for me to say that since I have an extremely blessed life.  But, I know that God doesn’t like that there is so much suffering either.  For us to accept all things as from His hands is to change the character of God to fit our misunderstandings or lack of understanding.  Why do we have to have all of the answers? ‘God’s ways are beyond our ways; His thoughts are beyond our thoughts.’ Isaiah 55:8.  Why is it necessary for us to determine God’s reasoning according to our human reasoning?  That kind of thinking gives us a ‘natural’ God, not a ’supernatural’ God.

Here is what I know.  God IS love! God loves everyone. So, since He knows so much better than I how to give good gifts than (Matthew 7:11) then how can I dare give him blame for doing something that I would never do to my worst enemy.

For example, cancer!!  I would NEVER give ANYONE cancer, I don’t care what they did to me.  Therefore, I will never say that God gave someone cancer because I know that is not a loving thing to do.  And, I won’t say that it was given with His permission, because that is saying the same thing.

How do I explain this contradiction of why there is suffering in the world if we follow a God that is good and He doesn’t give disease like cancer?  I believe that we live in a fallen world where man allowed sin to enter.  And, the wages of sin is death.  Sin has consequences.  And, when Adam and Eve ate the fruit, negative consequences were released.  God doesn’t pass out those consequences as judgement. Let me also say this: If you, or someone else has a disease, such as cancer…or any disease, it is not necessarily because you are living in sin, or have a hidden sin of some kind…its because we live in a fallen world where sin, disease and suffering exist.

As soon as sin entered the world, so did suffering and pain and the thief uses them now to steal, kill and destroy.  Jesus brings life in its fullness (John 10:10)…and Jesus is the PERFECT representation of God.   I don’t know about you, but I don’t consider ANY kind of suffering as life in its fullness.  Also, I don’t remember one time where Jesus blessed any sickness, disease or suffering.  But, I do remember reading in Acts 10:38 where Jesus healed ALL who were oppressed and afflicted by the devil.

It saddens me deeply when I hear a follower of Christ proclaim that God has given someone a sickness, or at the very least, He has allowed it.  First, this is not who God is.  Second, that mindset steals away the faith needed for the healing or breakthrough. (Healing goes far beyond getting rid of disease, its just a common example that I am using)

Yes, there is disease in the world. Yes, God has the power to take it all away at any given moment.  But, when Jesus ascended He didn’t leave God in control…He left us in control.  It is up to us to have faith and live as Jesus lived.

Yes, I know it is the power of the Holy Spirit that heals…but Jesus didn’t say watch and see the Holy Spirit heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers and cast out demons.  He told us to go and ‘Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give. Matthew 10:8

I know there are many people out there who have been prayed for with complete faith for healing, yet they were still taken.. I don’t understand this anymore than anyone else. But, I refuse to put the blame on God to satisfy my need to feel better.

I don’t have all of the answers, but I am willing to live with the mystery…Faith is a lot easier that way. Actually, it is the ONLY way to have faith.  If we can see it or understand it, then its not faith…its knowledge. And, we don’t please God with knowledge…we please Him with faith!

God is Good-Nahum 1:7

Jesus Healed All-Acts 10:38

 

What are you hearing?

I have had a couple of days where my time with the Lord is leading me in a different direction than usual.  I don’t know exactly what it is that I am hearing.  Anyone else experienced that?…to know that they are hearing something from the Lord but not sure what it is that He is saying.  Obviously, it is an invitation to press in and dig deeper.  ‘It is the glory of the Lord to hide a matter, and the glory of kings to search out a matter.’ Proverbs 25:2.

I can assure you that I will continue to seek, knock and ask. But, I’m curious as to what others are hearing.  More precisely, what are you hearing in regards to things to come.  Let me clarify what it is that I am hearing so that I am hopefully being clear on what I am asking.

I am not in a state of fear of the future. But, what I am ‘feeling’ is that there is a state of awareness on a global/national scale that the church should be aware of for the coming days ahead.  I haven’t heard anything specific about whether it is financial, governmental, or just spiritual.  My initial feeling is that there is a great change coming soon that will involve all 3 of these on maybe a global scale, but more specifically with the United States.

Again, I do not know exactly what it is that I am hearing.  And, I also realize that with the current state in the world and in the U.S. I also realize it doesn’t take a prophet to make the statements that I am making.  But, what I am hearing, actually feeling in my spirit is that there is a change coming soon that the Lord is willing to warn us if we are willing to listen.

I am simply asking what you may be hearing on a national/global scale from the Lord.  Please be careful not to respond with just thoughts that line up with what is in the news.  I believe the Lord is wanting us to receive some definite strategy for the upcoming times.  I’m only wanting to get some conversation of what the Spirit is saying on a larger scale, and join forces, faith and prayer in a common goal which is to bring the Kingdom to earth…to bring faith, hope and love.

God Bless!

Faith Comes by Hearing, and Hearing by the Word

Romans 10:17 says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” I believe this verse is taught, many times, incompletely.  I believe that many teachers have incorrectly presented ‘hearing by the word of God’ as the act of reading the Bible…and sometimes I have heard this phrase taught to also include hearing sermons and teachings.

Here is how I understand this scripture: Faith comes by hearing the voice of God, and the ability to hear the voice of God comes by the reading of the Bible.

We all need to have faith to please God (Hebrews 11:6).  How do you get faith?  Work backwards on this equation.

Reading the Bible leads us on the map straight to God’s heart, mind, thoughts, and actions and we gain the understanding of who He is.

When we gain understanding of who God is, then we listen to hear His voice.  How do you know what you have heard is from God?  It will line up with what you have read in the Bible.  (Also, we must allow the Holy Spirit room to guide us because the enemy will do its best to pervert the scriptures and cause us to believe a lie.  This is not as hard as it seems because the Holy Spirit has a stronger influence on someone truly devoted to following Jesus than we sometimes give Him credit. And, allowing the Holy Spirit to guide us is also found in reading the Bible. It’s a big circle of our dependence on reading the Bible and allowing the voice of God (the Holy Spirit) to guide us.)

When you hear the voice of God, the ‘freshly spoken word from God’, faith is birthed. That is the key!  We MUST hear the Lord’s voice consistently in our life so that the worries of the world don’t over take us.  “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2  Our mind must constantly be renewed by God in order to remain strong in His will, and the ONLY way to do that consistently is to hear His voice consistently, and often.

I am in a season right now where the Lord is putting an emphasis on spending time with Him, hearing His voice, and feeling His presence.  During this season I have actually had to put my Bible down when I pray.  Right now the Lord is teaching me how to spend time with Him as friends do…no agendas…not trying to gain anything…not trying to get my prayers (wants) answered.  Not the easiest thing to do.

I don’t know where the Lord has you.  I am in no way saying that everyone needs to concentrate on hearing His voice like I am doing. I am still reading the Bible, because that is what gives the ability to know I am hearing God.  My focus is just on His voice and His presence.  You might be in a season where the Lord wants you to dive into the Bible and learn the scriptures. Wherever the Lord has you, go after it.

Hearing the voice of God is not more important than reading the Bible.  Reading the Bible is not more important than hearing His voice.  They are both equally necessary on the path to faith.

Find where He wants to meet with you, and get there, whatever the cost, and meet with Him!!

 

When Will We Realize and Accept?

I promised myself that I would never do a ‘rant’ post.  But, I am going to break that today.  However, my rant is one out of love, hoping that we gain revelation that leads to experience, which will THEN lead to understanding.

“I tell you the truth, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John the Baptist. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he is!” Matthew 11:11

Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” John 20:21
Why did Jesus Live?  That is the question the church needs to answer.

We know why He died…To take on the world’s sins.

We know why He rose…to give us eternal life.

But, why did He live the way he lived? Do you think it was for Him to come down and show us some cool things that He can do because He is God.  I don’t think so…He did that in the Old Testament.

Why did Jesus live the life He did?…a life of miracles, a life of signs, a life of love and forgiveness.  Easy! He did it as an example of how we are supposed to live.

The first scripture shows us that anyone empowered by the Holy Spirit is still greater than all of the greats in the Old Testament. For example, Moses parted the Red Sea…well, its obvious but I will say it anyway…God parted the Red Sea.  And, if you have the Holy Spirit inside of you, then you have the power inside of you to do the same.  Yes, you could part the Red Sea, or any sea, if the Holy Spirit chose for you to do so.  The difference between Moses situation, and the situation I’m in is that I don’t have a need at this moment to part a body of water.

Jesus has commissioned us to go into the world the same way He was commissioned by the Father.  Remember, of all the miracles Jesus did (and John says that the books in the world couldn’t contain them all if they were written down), Jesus did NONE of them…ZERO…as God.  He did them ALL as a man empowered by the Holy Spirit. “I can do nothing on My own initiative As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” John 5:30  Scripture also tells us that Jesus denied all of His rights of being God to live life as a man.  He didn’t deny that He was God, because He could not do that…He just did without the ‘perks’, if you will.

I love to read the Old Testament and all of the wonderful, miraculous, and frankly strange things that God did through the Old Testament greats that were anointed by God.  But, as a church we MUST realize that those stories are there, not to point to an individual for us to see how great they were…they aren’t even there JUST to point at God for us to see how great He is.

All of those stories are there as testimony of what God has done, can do, and will do so that we have access to faith that anything is possible.  “For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” Revelation 19:10.  The significance of this verse lets us know that if God did something for someone else, He will do it again…if prophesies the result. (Key-this does not prophecy the process, only the end result.) God is the same yesterday, today and forever-Hebrews 13:8.

After we gain this revelation, which can only be revealed by the Holy Spirit, then we must ACCEPT it as truth.

I have a hard time with this acceptance. But, it is absolutely vital.  We must accept that all people are insignificant without the Holy Spirit, and everyone empowered by the Holy Spirit is as great or greater than anyone who has ever lived!