What's gotten people in trouble for so many centuries, is reading the Old Testament, without reading it through the lens of Jesus. (I speak from experience. Learn from my error, please.)
I don't recommend trying to understand God from the Old Testament any longer UNTIL individuals demonstrate they've got a handle on the first three verses of Hebrews, the letter written to the people of the Old Testament, which declares,
"In these last days [God has] spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things,... being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person..."
Until you can recognize that Jesus is the "express image" of God, until I learn to interpret whatever I read from the Old Testament through the revelation of the Father that is Jesus, then I WILL misunderstand God's nature. You will too.
Personally, I no longer listen to Bible teachers who haven't figured this out. Whenever someone shouts, "God is like this!!!" and points to the Old Testament to declare something about Him that is not in the revelation of Jesus, then I smile and nod, and I delete them from my Facebook Feed, or put their books in the Goodwill bin.
I won't drink from that polluted well any more. There's no life in it.
Showing posts with label discernment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label discernment. Show all posts
Thursday
The Cleaning Lady
The Cleaning Lady
I’d like to tell you the story of a friend of mine, whom
I’ll call Chantelle.
Chantelle had just found a roommate and a nice apartment,
and they were in the early stages of moving in, when she called me. “I’d like
your help in praying over our apartment before we move in.” She and I had dealt
with some things together before, and she understood that teamwork is valuable.
So we began to pray. We prayed over the kitchen, the dining
room, the living room, and declared the destiny we heard Father speaking about
for the rooms and their activity. During the prayer time, I slipped away, and
tossed a large handful of Dove’s chocolates into her empty room, just so she’s
find a nice surprise.
When we finished praying about the public rooms, we headed
down the hallway, and we both felt something strange, an unhealthy, unclean
presence back there, and we both felt it at the same point, right as the
hallway turned the corner.
Cool! A teachable moment! So we discussed it, discussed what
it felt like, and I proposed that we check the back rooms individually for more
sense of it.
We checked her room first, and there was no sense of that
particular darkness, but there were wrapped dark chocolates scattered on the
floor. She laughed and picked up a couple of them, and we agreed that this room
wasn’t the source for the sense of the unclean that we felt. She offered me a
chocolate and we moved on.
We prayed over the bathroom, blessed it, and ruled it out as
a source of darkness, and moved on, while she nibbled her chocolate.
The roommate’s room. As Chantelle opened her roommate’s
door, we felt the unclean darkness inside. “Aha! I suspect we’ve found a clue!”
The roommate wasn’t home, of course; she wasn’t a believer, and wouldn’t
understand what we were doing. In fact, there was just a small stack of boxes
in the middle of the room.
We discussed the situation. We both sensed that there was
uncleanness on the walls, though they appeared a clean white to our eyes.
Chantelle stepped into the room, spiritual senses wide open, looking to sense
where the unclean stuff was coming from. The closet? Nope. The window? Nope?
This place where the bed obviously went? Nope.
That left the boxes in the middle of the room. They were
just moving boxes, and only two or three of them; they looked innocuous enough.
She popped the last of the chocolate in her mouth and touched the top box.
Bingo! This is where the darkness came from! As we talked about the source of
the presence, she straightened out the foil that had wrapped her chocolate, and
read the quote it contained: “You are exactly where you are supposed to be.” We
laughed!
We didn’t get into the boxes; they weren’t our property, but
we felt the need to address the darkness, particularly, the darkness clinging to
the walls. So we prayed that it would be removed. Nothing happened. We
commanded it to leave. Nothing. We prophesied blessing on the room and its
future. Nada.
I had an idea. “Chantelle, why don’t you ask Father for the
right weapon to remove the darkness?” She gave me a funny look, but we’d done
stranger things than this together. She prayed, and I could see from the look
on her face that she’d seen Him give her something.
“What is it? What did he give you?” She scowled. “A
washrag.” We laughed some more.
But she began to wield the washrag that she saw in the
Spirit against the darkness. In reality, she began to wash the walls with it,
and it was the first time that we saw the darkness give way, though it was a
fight.
After a few minutes, we recognized that this was going to
take all night, and I couldn’t help her, as I was still standing in the hallway
(out of respect for someone else’s room).
Another thought presented itself. “I wonder if that washrag
is for you to wield, or if it’s for someone else?” We prayed. “An angel is to
wield it.” “OK. Why don’t you invite that angel in?” She did, and she laughed.
“What do you see?” “A cleaning lady!” We laughed some more.
So Chantelle handed the washrag to the cleaning lady angel,
and invited her to wield the weapon. Immediately, she began washing the walls,
and by the time Chantelle had reached the door to the room, the first wall was
halfway clean; we could both feel the darkness lifting. That was better! We
blessed the cleaning lady, and invited her to stay. It seemed to us that her
assignment was the back of the apartment, particularly the hallway and the
bedrooms.
We felt the freedom to invite a couple other angles to the
house. A big armed one was stationed outside the downstairs entrance, and Chantelle
assigned another, whom she named Cheese Grater Guy, to the front door, to
remove any “Klingons” from guests to the home.
When we left, we looked back at the bedroom windows, and we
both discerned what appeared to be a cleaning lady waving happily to us from
the roommate’s window. We laughed and waved back.
The really fun part of the story came weeks later, when the
roommate cautiously reported that she “could feel a presence” in the back
hallway. Chantelle replied, “Yep, and she’s staying here! We’re not going to
get rid of that one!”
And the cleaning lady likes cats. Both Chantelle and the
roommate had pet cats, kittens, really, who loved to play with them. But from
time to time, both women could see the cats in the hallway, playing with someone
they couldn’t see with their natural eyes.
Preparing for an Uncertain Future.
I’ve been asked recently, “How should we prepare for the
upcoming hard times in our nation?” The topic comes up a fair bit in one form
or another.
I started to reply to the individual who asked this one, but
there are several folks with questions on this topic. Here’s what I observe on
the topic:
§
No single prophet will have all the insight on
this (or any other) topic. Father promises to reveal his secrets to “the
prophets” not “to each prophet.” I won’t have anything close to a complete
picture. Having said that,
§
It’s not the prophet’s job [ever] to replace
your hearing from God yourself. Take what you hear from the prophets to God to
get your instructions for your own situation.
§
I believe that fear is the primary danger ahead
of us: the enemy is making a pretty strong focus on this sin, trying to drive God’s.
If believers resist that temptation, we’ll be positioned to get the rest of it
right. (This means, of course, filtering what we listen to, and HOW we listen
to it.)
§
It’s my opinion that the disaster
prognostications flooding the media are fear-based, and are in error, if only because
they’re based on fear.
§
While God is calling some of his children into
the prepping community, “prepping” is not the answer. Luke 12:20-21 applies to
those who, because of fear, store up all they’ll need to survive Armageddon: I
don’t believe that’s actually possible; if we knew all that we needed to store
up, that violates the First Commandment, and God has promised to not permit
that. (Note: the “first commandment” is more of a threat than a commandment: “You
will not be able to have any other gods before me: you set ‘em up & I’ll
knock ‘em down!” [http://bit.ly/1nn65Rm])
§
I personally believe that the epic disasters of
Matthew 24 and the Book of Revelation are clearly behind us, not in front of us
(that is perhaps another conversation, and others believe differently). Nevertheless,
§
That does NOT mean I see blue skies and
butterflies. Someone really smart said, “In this world, you will have
tribulation.” I suspect that’s related to the fact that we are engaged in the
greatest war this universe has ever known. It’s NOT “good vs evil.” It’s about
the Kingdom of Heaven vs the lesser kingdoms (of which
there are many: “good vs evil” is one; fear is another, and self-sufficiency is
a third).
§
It is my opinion that the most critical things
we can do are in John 2:5 (“Whatever He [Jesus] says to you, do it.”) and Hebrews
12:1&2 (“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of
witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily
entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing
our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before
him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of
the throne of God.”) Key: fix our eyes on Jesus. Having said that,
§
This does not mean “Don’t prepare.” It means
look at what Jesus is doing and do what he says. He has had me make SOME
preparations (we have gotten out of debt, and we grow some of our own food on
our city lot, etc).
§
I’m reminded of stories like Matthew 17:24-27 (and
we could choose many others!): It appears that Jesus is invested in
provisioning us. Which leads to,
§
I believe we’re coming into a season where we rely
on the supernatural for our daily lives. We need to (and are, in fact,
beginning to) get used to miracles, so that we can multiply food or raise the
dead comfortably and consistently.
§
Whatever troubles that come are an opportunity
for the Kingdom
of God , not obstacles.
Even if there is real persecution against believers, upheaval of any sort open
people’s hearts and minds to the King of the Kingdom. If we respond in fear we’ll
miss the opportunity (see Romans 8:15).
§
Other people may be called to different
responses. I am clearly called to a non-political response, but Father has
specifically spoken to me about others whom He may be calling to be involved
with politics, or even with forceful resistance to evil. Their calling is not
my calling, but I need to not hinder them.
§
The story remains unchanging: God’s goal for us
is still intimate relationship, his instruction is still to extend the kingdom,
by means of the Great Commission.
So what do you hear God saying to YOU about this season
ahead of us?
An Upgrade by way of a Dream
I had a dream. The next morning I told it to a friend, and as I told it, I realized that God was speaking to me.
In the dream, I had visited with my family, at my parents’ home. At the end of that visit, someone across the way started shooting at us from the undergrowth. Because of the danger, everyone else left, and as he drove off, my dad told me that he had a weapon I could use. It was in the hall closet.
I ran to the closet, and searched under the bed linens. I remember checking the shelf from left to right; I found a tiny handgun, a pea-shooter, really. It didn't even look like a gun; it looked like a tiny tambourine. It was obviously not going to be accurate at any distance beyond a yard or so, and wouldn’t pack much punch. It was a weapon, but not as powerful a weapon as I needed.
After a great deal of hard work and persistence, which were not part of the dream, I overcame the enemy.
Later, as the family was driving back up the driveway, I realized I stopped looking before exploring the whole closet. I dug into the linen closet again. On the same shelf, a bit farther to the right, I found another weapon: a large, semi-automatic pistol, probably a .45 caliber. Next to it was a package of extra ammunition wrapped to protect it from age. It had been there all along for me to use.
On reviewing the dream, I believe God was telling me that He has made another weapon available to me, beyond the weapon of worship that I'd been using, a new weapon that I hadn’t yet. It was a much larger & more powerful weapon. (And indeed, that was my experience.)
I suspect there's a fair bit of this going on, God upgrading his kids' weaponry, training our hands to war.
Put your trust in the LORD your God and you will be established. Put your trust in His prophets and succeed.
This is before us today.
We all know that 20:20 speaks about vision. Also true for 2Chronicles 20:20, which includes this declaration: “Put your trust in the LORD your God and you will be established. Put your trust in His prophets and succeed.”
We will be established, we will stand our ground, when we trust what God has spoken to us, what he’s given & done! This is safe territory, and considering the context of the verse, that was a huge declaration! You’ll be OK.
But God is inviting us to receive a NEW word from him (“prophets” speaking of the prophetic community we’re part of), which will take us into a new realm of battle, and into a new realm of victory. You’ll take territory you’ve never had before, territory that you’ll never have to give up.
We can succeed, either playing defense or playing offense. But we score more victories when we take the offense.
God has been speaking to some of us in the Northwest about this, and he used the Superbowl to do it: I’ll summarize it this way: When the people that have spent their lives at defensive suddenly begin to play offense (even from their defensive positions), then the other guy is going to look really bad.
When we add offense to our defense (not a different place, in the midst of our defense), suddenly you accomplish things that nobody has ever accomplished before.
(We could add something about getting the people that have been sitting quietly on the sidelines for all these years involved, but that’s another topic.)
Interestingly, in the original context of our verse, this offense consisted of “Give thanks to the LORD, for his love endures forever.” When we get that down, that’s a big deal in the progress of the battle that we’re facing right now, the battle that looks to be the end of us and our line.
The result of this shift? The result of this declaration? “Jehoshaphat and his men went to carry off their plunder, and they found among them a great amount of equipment and clothing and also articles of value—more than they could take away. There was so much plunder that it took three days to collect it.”
If you’re going to listen to the NEW word from God, if you’re going to take the offense in the battle, then you probably ought to bring a wheelbarrow with you. Because you’re going to need it.
We all know that 20:20 speaks about vision. Also true for 2Chronicles 20:20, which includes this declaration: “Put your trust in the LORD your God and you will be established. Put your trust in His prophets and succeed.”
We will be established, we will stand our ground, when we trust what God has spoken to us, what he’s given & done! This is safe territory, and considering the context of the verse, that was a huge declaration! You’ll be OK.
But God is inviting us to receive a NEW word from him (“prophets” speaking of the prophetic community we’re part of), which will take us into a new realm of battle, and into a new realm of victory. You’ll take territory you’ve never had before, territory that you’ll never have to give up.
We can succeed, either playing defense or playing offense. But we score more victories when we take the offense.
God has been speaking to some of us in the Northwest about this, and he used the Superbowl to do it: I’ll summarize it this way: When the people that have spent their lives at defensive suddenly begin to play offense (even from their defensive positions), then the other guy is going to look really bad.
When we add offense to our defense (not a different place, in the midst of our defense), suddenly you accomplish things that nobody has ever accomplished before.
(We could add something about getting the people that have been sitting quietly on the sidelines for all these years involved, but that’s another topic.)
Interestingly, in the original context of our verse, this offense consisted of “Give thanks to the LORD, for his love endures forever.” When we get that down, that’s a big deal in the progress of the battle that we’re facing right now, the battle that looks to be the end of us and our line.
The result of this shift? The result of this declaration? “Jehoshaphat and his men went to carry off their plunder, and they found among them a great amount of equipment and clothing and also articles of value—more than they could take away. There was so much plunder that it took three days to collect it.”
If you’re going to listen to the NEW word from God, if you’re going to take the offense in the battle, then you probably ought to bring a wheelbarrow with you. Because you’re going to need it.
Good Treasure, or Evil?
“A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” [Luke 6:45]
Reflecting on the repeated word “good.” (Principle: when the Book repeats something, it’s worth paying attention to!)
The word for “good” is ἀγαθός, and it “describes that which, being “good” in its character or constitution, is beneficial in its effect; it is used
(a) of things physical, e.g., a tree.
(b) in a moral sense, frequently of persons and things. God is essentially, absolutely and consummately “good. (Vine's Dictionary of New Testament Words)
This tells me something that I don’t actually want to know: what I say (and presumably what I write about on FB) reveals my heart. If I’m talking about things that are beneficial in their effect, if I am pointing out that which is good about things, then this verse declares that I am a “good man” and I have “good treasure” in my heart.
But if what I say (and presumably what I write about on FB) is talking about things that are faults, or problems, or failures, or complaints or even just drivel, then this verse declares that I have “evil treasure” in my heart.
Certainly, I wish to apply this to myself: I can judge my own heart by watching what I say. Are my words revealing good or evil in my heart?
But I probably need to take this a step further as well: who am I reading, who am I following. If they’re speaking things that comfort me or challenge me or cause me to dig deeper into God, if they’re declaring what is true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous or praiseworthy (see Philippians 4:8), then I can safely judge the fruit: this is “good treasure” coming from a good heart.
But if I’m listening to people or reports that are bringing fear, or outrage, or self-pity, or resentment, or entitlement, or powerlessness, or reports that are stirring worldly desires (“the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life,” 1 John 2:16), then I can – and must – judge that report as “evil treasure,” and recognize that it is coming from a motivation that has evil toward me in it, whether those speaking it mean for it to or not. (I’m not judging their heart; I’m judging their words.)
May I tell you a secret? That’s why I stopped watching the news. Father showed me this, and he called it my “devotional with the world.” I don’t hide from the news, but I get my news on my terms now, not on theirs.
I intend to judge fruit. I choose to be a fruit inspector. I choose to filter the fruit that others give me, to receive the good, and reject the evil.
Reflecting on the repeated word “good.” (Principle: when the Book repeats something, it’s worth paying attention to!)
The word for “good” is ἀγαθός, and it “describes that which, being “good” in its character or constitution, is beneficial in its effect; it is used
(a) of things physical, e.g., a tree.
(b) in a moral sense, frequently of persons and things. God is essentially, absolutely and consummately “good. (Vine's Dictionary of New Testament Words)
This tells me something that I don’t actually want to know: what I say (and presumably what I write about on FB) reveals my heart. If I’m talking about things that are beneficial in their effect, if I am pointing out that which is good about things, then this verse declares that I am a “good man” and I have “good treasure” in my heart.
But if what I say (and presumably what I write about on FB) is talking about things that are faults, or problems, or failures, or complaints or even just drivel, then this verse declares that I have “evil treasure” in my heart.
Certainly, I wish to apply this to myself: I can judge my own heart by watching what I say. Are my words revealing good or evil in my heart?
But I probably need to take this a step further as well: who am I reading, who am I following. If they’re speaking things that comfort me or challenge me or cause me to dig deeper into God, if they’re declaring what is true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous or praiseworthy (see Philippians 4:8), then I can safely judge the fruit: this is “good treasure” coming from a good heart.
But if I’m listening to people or reports that are bringing fear, or outrage, or self-pity, or resentment, or entitlement, or powerlessness, or reports that are stirring worldly desires (“the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life,” 1 John 2:16), then I can – and must – judge that report as “evil treasure,” and recognize that it is coming from a motivation that has evil toward me in it, whether those speaking it mean for it to or not. (I’m not judging their heart; I’m judging their words.)
May I tell you a secret? That’s why I stopped watching the news. Father showed me this, and he called it my “devotional with the world.” I don’t hide from the news, but I get my news on my terms now, not on theirs.
I intend to judge fruit. I choose to be a fruit inspector. I choose to filter the fruit that others give me, to receive the good, and reject the evil.
Walmart: To Shop, or Not to Shop
A few years back, a familiar and none-too-pretty tale was
played out yet again in the Northwest. (It is by no means exclusive to the
Northwest, except that I am more in touch with what happens in the Northwest
than other areas.) I’m going to use Walmart as an example, but the issue is not
about Walmart. It’s about us.
It started with an announcement that Walmart was considering
building a store in a modest-size town. The next phase was outrage from a great
portion of the community, various lawsuits filed, for which Walmart had amply
prepared and easily won, and sales of bumper stickers proclaiming, “I don’t
shop at Walmart!”
Behind the scenes, Walmart built their store, stocked their
store, hired employees and quietly opened for business. The Walmart haters
still hated. People bought stuff. Employees earned paychecks. Life went on.
It strikes me that there are legitimate reasons for
communities to not love Walmart’s influence in their community. Walmart does
business differently, and that has social and economic effect on the community.
There are also legitimate reasons for Walmart to do business
the way it does, and those business decisions have made Walmart incredibly
successful.
And there are people who legitimately need the infamously
low-paying jobs that Walmart offers, if only because they can get work nowhere
else.
Father whispered to me about the protests recently:
o If I refuse
to shop at Walmart, then I have judged Walmart in my heart and in my actions.
That’s not actually good Christian behavior, partly because it opens me up to
judgment, and I’d rather that didn’t happen.
o If a
community joins in loud and apparently united outrage against Walmart, then we
make its employees (and applicants) outcasts from the community. We create a
caste of “untouchables” in our community. I don’t think we really want that to
happen, either.
o If we
declare that “Walmart is evil!” (as I’ve heard many times), then we’re also
making declaration that they become evil, and we’re releasing the power of evil
into those people who are part of Walmart; we’re giving evil a measure of
freedom to work in our community. I surely don’t want that to happen!
o If there’s
truth in the declaration, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be
also,” then the prayers of my heart regarding Walmart will be more effective if
I spend a bit of my treasure there. I bought some supplies there this weekend;
I consider that an investment in my prayers for this economic powerhouse in my
community.
In fact, I’ll confess: I’ve been praying for and prophesying
to my local Walmart since the very first announcement that they were going to
build. I’ve walked through the building’s foundations, declaring that this
store, at least, would be founded on righteousness and truth. They had to cap a
well to pour that foundation, so I declare
springs of living water in them, particularly that they would be a
spring of life to their employees.
I don’t spend much of my treasure there. I believe strongly
in doing business with companies that are locally owned, and Walmart doesn’t
qualify for that one. Besides, I don’t love the quality of a lot of the
products they sell. (There’s a difference between “inexpensive” and “cheap.” I
tend to prefer the former.)
Now, I am absolutely NOT trying to tell others whether they
should shop at Walmart or how to spend their money. I’m describing some results
of our choices.
I was actually shopping at Walmart when Father began to
speak to me about this. It was funny, but I felt his blessing flowing through
me to the store, it’s employees and its very interesting customers.
But as he spoke to me about Walmart, he included other
issues in the conversation. The movie Noah was one. There are many others. We’re giving away influence in the
marketplace when we protest market leaders for acting like market leaders.
We believers have the freedom to spend our money where we
wish. But there are real effects to the words of our protests, and there is an
authority in our prayers that follows the spending of our treasure.
The Vision of the Wooden Spoon
The vision began with a quiet stream, in a quiet, green
meadow; it reminded me of Narnia for some reason: that peaceful. The stream was
wider than one could jump across, and deeper than you’d want to wade across,
and its flow was smooth and fairly fast. All in all, it was a very peaceful environment.
The birds were singing.
Then a giant hand appeared in the sky, holding a giant
wooden spoon, the kind of spoon that people use in the kitchen to mix cookie
dough. The spoon dipped into the stream and stirred.
For a while, nothing much happened, except the stream became
more turbulent from the spoon’s motion. After a minute or two, the stream
darkened, and soon I could see things in the muddy stream: old tires, boots,
cans, bottles, sticks and stones, jars, bags of rubbish. The hand with the
spoon withdrew into the heavens.
I was kind of appalled. This had been a peaceful stream, in
a beautiful meadow, and now it was full of trash and garbage and muck and mess.
Well, actually, the peaceful stream had always had the trash and muck and
garbage and muck and mess, but it had been lying hidden in the mud on the
bottom of the stream. Now the stuff was out in the open.
The vision continued, and the stream kept flowing, and then
I saw it: the garbage was flowing downstream with the flow of stream. Some of
what had been stirred up came to the top of the stream, and was carried far
downstream, out of the picture. Other things, heavier things, were carried a
little ways downstream but they settled back to the bottom of the stream. Soon
the stream was clear and peaceful again, but I knew that old tires, discarded
shoes, bottles and cans were still there, lying on the bottom of the stream.
The hand with the spoon appeared again, and stirred the water
again, and again the stream darkened with mud, again tires, discarded shoes, bottles,
cans, and other detritus were stirred up, and again they floated various
distances downstream.
The cycle was repeated several times, until eventually, the
stirring from the almighty spoon did not bring up muck and garbage.
The stream returned to peace, but it flowed smoother,
faster, than it had before, and I realized that it flowed cleaner than it had
before. The garbage on the stream bed had settled under so much mud that the
stream flowed smoothly over it, but still the garbage had polluted the stream.
Now the stream was actually clean.
I believe that this is what Father is doing in some of our
lives. He’s stirring things up in our lives, and it’s uncomfortable. It’s easy
to be appalled or offended at what he’s doing, because he’s good at what he
does. Things are being stirred up, memories, habits, relationships that have been
in our lives are being stirred up from the dark depths of our lives, and
brought into the light.
And the reality is that much of what he’s stirring up is
garbage: shame, embarrassment, memories of foolishness, of sin, histories of
unwise choices, character weaknesses. It’s easy to resent these coming to the
surface after how many years of being hidden in history.
But he’s bringing them up in order to wash them away, in
order to remedy the issues. Trust him. Have hope, rest in the confident
assurance that he does know what he’s doing, and that he’s working for good in
you, for the purity that we really have wanted. He’s answering our prayers.
We can trust the spoon. More specifically, we can trust the hand wielding the spoon.
Homosexuals And the Move of God
There’s been a lot of talk about an increase in the movement of God on the earth, and how this is the beginning of a new “wave” of God’s interaction with this planet.
Recently, someone asked me a good question: “Where do gay people fit in the next wave? I heard one prophet say they will be a part of it, and they won’t necessarily be delivered, but that they too can walk with Jesus and be filled with the Spirit. Will the next wave deliver them, empower them wherever they are at, help them live single, or something else?”
I’ve heard testimonies of Spirit-filled homosexual churches. I’ve heard prophets and evangelists testifying that they’ve been among churches that come from the homosexual movement: not “ex gays ministering to homosexuals,” not “former homosexuals,” but “churches made up of people in the homosexual community.”
The testimonies, from reliable sources, are of churches, filled with the Spirit of God, among the homosexual community. (The testimonies, like the churches themselves, are not in the public eye because of all of the wrath they have received from the religious community.)
I’m committed to learning from others’ testimonies (http://j.mp/WUa9gS), so I will not reject these testimonies. In point of fact, they are fulfillment of prophetic words from myself and others, and fulfillment of God’s promise that he would call people to himself from the ends of the earth.
So where do homosexual churches fit into this next move of God? For right now, I’ll employ a new phrase that I’ve only just learned: “I don’t know.” (Whew. It feels good to say that.)
I’ve spoken out publicly about two characteristics that I (believe I) know about the coming wave:
1) It’s going to be so different than what we’ve experienced before and what we expect, that it will be hard for most of us to recognize.
2) It’s going to be so big that it’s kind of overwhelming.
When you combine those two, it makes for a real mess: outspoken church leaders who are overwhelmed by things they don’t understand or recognize. That ought to be interesting. Perhaps MacArthur’s “Strange Fire” conference was a representation of that?
But there’s a third thing that (I believe) I’ve seen: this wave, this move of God, being so big, and being so different, will carry with it things that we’ve always considered heresy, wrong, unclean. (Tsunamis are very seldom sparkly clean.)
This is where I put the reports of God moving freely among gay churches: I know (I’ve seen it in visions) God is going to breathe life into the homosexual community, and I hear reliable reports that he has begun to do this already. But wait! Shouldn’t they repent? Yeah, but I didn’t repent of all of my sin until I understood it was sin, and some of that was decades after I was saved and filled with the Spirit. And I guarantee you that their repentance is not my responsibility!
This is also where I put the (equally credible) reports of the New Age movement coming to Christ. I know God is going to breathe life into the New Age community, and I hear reliable reports that this, too, has begun to already. But wait! Shouldn’t they repent? Yeah, but see above.
So yes, the grace of God convicts God’s children of sin, and leads them to cleansing and repentance! Yes! Yes! But He clearly does that in his own time, not in mine.
So how will homosexuals and New Agers fit into the next move of God? I don’t know. I expect that they’ll be involved, but let’s see what God does, shall we? And let’s welcome those He brings into his house!
The Symphony
I enjoy classical music. More than any other kind of music,
the composers of great classical music wove melodies and harmonies together, often
mixing layer upon layer of different music, weaving it together into a glorious
piece. The fact that some, like Beethoven, couldn’t hear what they were
composing overwhelms me.
You couldn’t ever play a symphony on a single instrument.
Which melody would you play? They’re all woven together, each instrument taking
our turn at the forefront, taking a turn in the background. When they’re all
playing the symphony together, the result is glorious!
“Symphony” is an interesting word. It’s actually a Greek
word that’s so unique that we don’t translate it, we just use English letters
to pronounce it with.
The Greek word συμφωνέω
(“symphōneō “) means “to agree together,” or “to agree with one in making a
bargain, to make an agreement, to bargain.” Our working together – not all
doing the same thing, but working, each in our own way, toward the same end – is a symphony.
Our word συμφωνέω is
the heart of Jesus’ declaration in Matthew 18:19: “Again I say to you that if
two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done
for them by My Father in heaven.” This is a symphony.
I suppose that there are a few things that stand out to me
in this:
§
Our “agreeing together” makes beautiful music in
heaven. I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess that it makes Jesus really
happy.
§
This isn’t about numbers. He doesn’t say
anything about “If you gather all the Christians in the city….” The symphony begins
with “two of you.” I think we miss this one sometimes.
§
Our “agreeing together” isn’t about us doing
stuff in unison. If every instrument played the same line, the only variation
would be when someone missed the note, and it would sound like a junior high
school band concert. There is nothing beautiful in the “symphony” produced that
way, except that little Johnny is actually playing something; I sure wish he’d
practiced his part.
I think we’ve missed this one sometimes as well. I’ve been browbeaten in the name of “unity” to do the thing that the browbeater is doing, in the way the browbeater is doing it, rather than playing my own part on my own instrument. I’m not sure that browbeating someone into submission is the best method of achieving beautiful music. I grieve that we’ve done that.
I think we’ve missed this one sometimes as well. I’ve been browbeaten in the name of “unity” to do the thing that the browbeater is doing, in the way the browbeater is doing it, rather than playing my own part on my own instrument. I’m not sure that browbeating someone into submission is the best method of achieving beautiful music. I grieve that we’ve done that.
§
Our “agreeing together” is powerful. That
symphony moves Father’s hand to do “any thing” (“each, every, any, all, the
whole, everyone, all things, everything”) that we agree about. This is some of
the beauty of the symphony, I think: actually seeing “on earth as it is in
Heaven” happening, and us getting to take part in it.
The fact that we don’t see as much of Father’s hand being moved by unit may be a good clue: maybe the way we’ve been striving for unit isn’t the most effective way.
The fact that we don’t see as much of Father’s hand being moved by unit may be a good clue: maybe the way we’ve been striving for unit isn’t the most effective way.
I suspect that we’ll accomplish the symphony of unity much
better if we’re all playing the music that our great Conductor places before us:
following the Conductor will be more symphonic than following another musician,
no matter how good they are. The trombonist will never make beautiful music if
he’s trying to play the timpani’s part. Or the piccolo’s part. Or the violin’s
part.
More to the point, the trombonist will never be judged for how well he played the second violin’s part. His only reward will come from how well the trombone part came out when it was called upon.
More to the point, the trombonist will never be judged for how well he played the second violin’s part. His only reward will come from how well the trombone part came out when it was called upon.
My encouragement is for us to look to the Holy Spirit for
the part you’re to play in this whole symphony, not to human leaders. We must
fellowship together, yes. We can learn from each other, of course. We do well
to “encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.”
Don’t follow the leader of the brass section just because he’s
loud. Learn to play your own instrument, your own calling, your own gifting.
And having begun, follow the Holy Spirit who’s conducting this symphony.
God, the Murderer
Since the character of God was brilliantly defined by
Jesus, we can trust that if God is a murderer (as some claim, when they read of
Ananias and Saphira), then Jesus would have clearly and intentionally revealed
the murderous nature of God.
Curiously, I don't read about Jesus ever murdering
anyone, not a single person. Nor did he teach his followers about when and how
to properly murder sinners in the Father's name. He did not praise a single
murderer or extol a single act of murder.
Therefore I conclusively deduce that God is not a
murderer. (In fact, Jesus revealed that someone *else* has the job description
of "steal, kill & destroy.")
And if God is not a murderer, then he did not, in fact,
murder Ananias and Saphira. If God does not kill, then he did not kill them. If
God *does* kill, then Jesus would have revealed that, since he revealed
God.
If you hold that God killed these two - or any one *else*
- in spite of the clear testimony of Jesus, then either you are confused, or
you are uneducated about the nature and ways of God, or you believe God is an
intentional and malevolent liar.
Hint: there is someone ELSE who is the "father of
lies," and he has a documented history of slandering the good character of
your loving Father. I urge you to reconsider whom you accuse of lying.
QED.
("Logic. Why don't they teach logic in these
schools.")
Whole Lotta Shaking Going On
Hebrews, chapter 12 has been rather a seminal passage for
many of God’s people in recent days.
For a long time, we were focused on verse 7, “Endure
hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children…” and we comforted
ourselves that rather than always expecting to be comfortable, God’s children
might need to expect to be trained, disciplined.
And more recently, we’ve had our attention drawn to verses 1
and 2, paying attention to the “great cloud of witnesses” that are watching us,
and “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.” Living
our lives with heaven in view has been a great focus.
There’s a third part of the chapter that’s capturing my
attention. Late in the chapter, the author writes, “now He has promised,
saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” Now this,
“Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken,
as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.”
I find that my own attention is drawn to these statements
from two directions.
First, many of my brothers and sisters are having their
lives shaken pretty formidably right now.
I think of filling a container with something that is not
liquid (perhaps cereal, or spices, or nuts and bolts). When I’m filling the
container, I pour into the new contents into it, until it begins to over flow.
And then I shake the container; I might bang it on the counter once or twice.
Inevitably, after shaking, there’s more room in the container now, so that I
can pour more in. Shaking makes more room in us, to hold more of God, to care
more for others, to understand (and experience) more of his kingdom.
I also think of paint. When I buy paint, they add the
colorant to make the paint match the architect’s plans. And then they shake it,
so that the architect’s influence is permeated throughout the paint, so that
everything it touches conforms to the architect’s plans. Shaking makes us more
consistent throughout our lives.
And I think of quality control testing. When I build a
cabinet, to hold my tools and such, I often pause during construction and shake
the cabinet pretty aggressively: I’m testing to see how well it’s been built.
If it is going to come apart, I’d rather it did it early in the process – and
this is why buildings are earthquake-tested during the design phase – so that I
can correct the defects, and have an effective cabinet to hold the tools that I
use. Shaking reveals weaknesses, not to draw attention to the, but to correct
them.
The second reason my attention is drawn to these verses
about shaking is because a number of the prophets I am in relationship with are
hearing God use this passage to explain the season we’re in. We’re in a shaking
season.
Add 1 Peter 4:17 into the conversation (“For it is time for
judgment to begin with God’s household…”), another verse that prophetic people
have been hearing for a while. We could make a number of inferences about our
churches, our culture, and our nation, based on this combination, but that’s
not my primary goal here.
The main focus I’m coming away with is this: if you’re
following God, you’re either being shaken, or about to be shaken. It’s for your
good, it’s to make you more like him. Don’t freak out when it happens.
Celebrate your advancement in the Kingdom.
Monday
Judgment for Sins Already Judged
I’m
tired the foolishness of all the “God is going to judge America !”
proclamations.
But
first, a warning: don’t read more into this than what I’m actually saying. This
may trigger some sensitive spots, it may be similar to words others have used
on their way to a different destination. If you’re going to react, react to
what I AM saying, not to what others have said.
OK.
Let’s start again.
I’m
tired the foolishness of all the “God is going to judge America !”
proclamations. They make the proclaimers feel better, but they aren’t
consistent with scripture. And they paint God as a smiter, a big, stern guy who
wants to make everybody pay the price for their sin.
But
the price has already been paid for their sin. If Jesus died for sin, then sin
is dealt with, at least for now. (I’m not saying Rev 20 doesn’t apply; I’m
saying it doesn’t apply NOW.)
If
God judges America for sin, then that means that either a) for some reason
Jesus missed somebody’s sins while paying for sin on the cross, or b) America
would be judged a second time for sins which have ALREADY been judged.
If
God were to judge America for sins that Jesus already judged, I think maybe he
would need to apologize to Jesus, because that would mean that Jesus suffered
and died without accomplishing what he died for. Personally, I don’t think
Jesus failed in his mission.
Biblically:
Father handed [past tense] all judgment to the Son (John 5:22), and Jesus
judges [present tense] no one (John 8:15). I repeat: this does not even talk
about the Revelation 20 judgment [which is future tense].
Having
said that, I am NOT saying that there are not consequences for the sins in
question, and which can certainly LOOK like judgment. And I’m NOT saying that
some people don’t bring nasty things upon themselves and/or their communities
because they partner with demons. That looks like judgment too, but it’s not.
I’ve
come to realize that the greatest danger from sin is not that it will separate
me from my Father – the Cross is proof that it won’t – but that it empowers my
enemy, it gives him permission to wreak his havoc in my life, my community, my
nation. That’s a good enough reason to repent, and isn’t the only one in
Scripture, but it’s not to avoid God’s judgment: it’s to avoid empowering the
demonic.
The
bottom line: There were no sins – there were no American sins either – lying
around at the foot of the cross when Jesus was dying for sin. God is not
actually looking for reasons to smite you.
Let’s
get our understanding of Father right, people.
Dealing With New Evidence
There’s a principle that we all deal with. When we discover
new evidence about something that we already have an opinion about, we are
required to re-evaluate our opinion. If the new evidence contradicts what we
believed before, then we probably need to change our previous opinion.
It happens in movies:
Throughout the movie, you’re led to believe a particular opinion about one of
the characters (perhaps “the butler did it!”), but at the end of the movie, new
evidence is revealed, or old evidence is shown in new light. All of a sudden,
everything changes. My favorite for this was The Sting. When they got up off the floor, it floored me! I
realized that I had seen things wrong, interpreted things wrong. And suddenly,
I understood previous bits of the movie in a whole new light! Suddenly I
understood the characters completely differently.
I saw Philadelphia
Story recently. Throughout the movie, Clark Gable’s character looked like a
troublemaker, but in the denouement at the end, it’s revealed that he did it
all out of love. Suddenly, I understood Mr. C.K. Dexter Haven completely
differently!
It happens in TV
shows: Well, it did when I watched TV, anyway. In the old courtroom series Ironsides, Raymond Burr’s character did
that every week. Barretta, a slightly
less antique show, did the same thing. I imagine that many crime shows use this
pattern regularly.
It happens in real life: We interpret
the news one way, but then something happens that reveals that maybe things
aren’t the way the media spun it the first time.
It happened in the Bible: Throughout
the Old Testament, we were shown evidence that suggests certain things about
the nature of who God is: what His character is like, what moves Him, what’s
important to Him. But the New Testament is all about the denouement: Jesus
himself is the new evidence, and it reveals a whole lot more about God, and
reveals Him more clearly than we’ve ever seen before. And suddenly, I
understand previous bits of the story in a whole new light. Suddenly, I
understand God so differently, so much better.
For
example, throughout the Old Testament, God seems far off and aloof, not really
interested in hanging around the human race; after all, He keeps sending
prophets to lead them instead of coming Himself. But in the New Testament, we
see God in human form walking the streets of a subjugated city in order to be
among humankind. Maybe He’s not really far off and aloof! Maybe that’s not a
good picture of Him.
The
stories of the Old Testament, the way that they were told and re-told and
translated, and interpreted through countless pulpits, suggested that God
rather enjoyed smiting people; a lot of smiting sure went on in those stories,
and sometimes they’re described as God’s actions, and other times, the perpetrator
isn’t really identified, but everybody “knows” that God did it, because “that’s
what God is like.” (Compare 2 Samuel 24:1 with 1 Chronicles 21:1 for one
example.)
But
in the New Testament, Jesus, the “God in human form,” the “exact representation
of the Father,” who “always does what the Father is doing,” never smites a
single person, not even once. And it’s certainly not like he doesn’t have the
chance! Rather, he reveals a God who not only turns the other cheek, but lets
himself be murdered rather than smite a few deserving Pharisees. The God that
Jesus reveals is not a smiter, isn’t eager to judge, always brings healing and
life abundantly, and never brings death or destruction. We had understood him
wrong before, but now, we have new evidence.
We’ve
found ourselves in an interesting place. We have lots of evidence – and I’m
going to call it inferior evidence –
about who God is and what He’s like. And we have, in some measure, allowed that
evidence to create or to inform our opinion of who God is and what He’s like.
We
know better now, or at least we should. We have been given better evidence,
been adopted into a better covenant. The evidence we have now, in the person of
Jesus, and in our own relationship with God, tells us that the wrathful,
judgmental, distant smiting God of the Old Testament is not a true picture of
who God is. We have better evidence than that now: if we don’t believe it, then
it’s our own fault that we’re deceived.
Second Hand Smoke
I felt God drawing my attention to second hand smoke today.
Second hand smoke is smoke that you breathe from someone else’s cigarette, or pipe, etc. It doesn't come as a result of your actions, but its smell still clings to your clothes, and it exposes you to lung cancer nearly as much as if you were smoking yourself.
In some ways, it's more dangerous: pipe-smokers (and some cigar and cigarette smokers) don't generally inhale their own smoke, but if you're in their company, you don't have a choice about whether you inhale their secondhand smoke: it's just part of breathing when they're smoking around you. Your body actually experiences more of the deadly smoke than their body does.
In my own experience, there are far more times that people around me are smoking, than there are times when I am the person smoking. (Full disclosure: I do occasionally smoke a pipe.)
Second hand smoke happens in the spirit realm as well. We experience things – smells cling to us; we’re exposed to deadly danger – not because of things that we’re doing, but because of things that others are doing around us. I suspect it is true here: there are far more times when people around me are doing things to stir up the hornets' nest, than when I'm stirring that nest. After all, there are many people around me, and there's only one of me!
May I encourage us: when we're feeling the "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" coming against us, avoid the foolishness of self-accusation: "Well, I must have done something wrong." Sure, sometimes we do something stupid and open a gate to give the devil permission to steal, kill & destroy. And he generally makes use of those opportunities. In that case, all we do is repent, kick him in the teeth, and move on.
But sometimes the troubles coming against us are brought about by the actions of others: maybe stuff passed on by parents, or foolishness committed by people we're in covenant relationship with, or maybe we've associated ourselves with a group that has given place to some sort of stronghold. Just because we're in relationship with a number of people, there's secondhand smoke around.
It's probably appropriate to remember that our own actions affect many of the people we're in relationship with; in another way, there's no such thing as a "secret" or a "victimless" sin.
I'm not trying to bring a teaching on how to overcome demonic attacks: there's lots of that around, and we all remember: repentance is a super-power, and I suspect the 'kicking the devil in the teeth" exercise will still be valuable.
Rather, this is about diagnosing the source: when trouble comes our way, it isn't always about us; sometimes it's from second-hand smoke
Thursday
Milk or Meat?
There are a couple of places in the NT where
the apostles contrasted the intake of believers, using the metaphor of “milk”
as the food for babies against “meat” as the food for mature men & women.
(1 Corinthians 3, Hebrews 5, 1 Peter 2 are the clearest.)
The apostles (Paul, the anonymous author of
Hebrews, and Peter) all seem to reference something similar to John’s stages of
Christian growth (1 John 2:12-14): that there are clearly stages of growth for
us as Sons of the Most High. John makes it clear: believers in different stages
of growth have different needs (for a discussion of those stages, see here: http://bit.ly/QMANqF)
§
There are several places where
believers are described as children, as milk-drinkers, often bemoaning the fact
that by this stage of their growth, they should be eating meat and changing the
world.
§
There appear to be NO places where
any of the apostolic writers of the NT acknowledge a group that has progressed
from milk-drinking to meat-eating. This may be simply because the epistles were
all written to address problems among one church or another, and the churches
that made the transition didn’t need corrective letters. There is no epistle to
the church at Antioch ,
for example; it may be that this early center of the Church may have gotten
some things right, though we have no record of it.
§
When we are young believers, we
require milk. And when we become mature believers, milk is still good.
§
We are expected to progress beyond
the basics. We are expected to graduate from being nourished by the “elementary
principles” of “milk” to digesting and being nourished by “meat.”
§
So much of the church in our day
has not even well learned the “elementary principles”; These are the “milk” or “baby
food” of Christian nurture (Quoting Hebrews 6:1 here):
1. repentance
from dead works and of
2. faith
toward God, of
3. the
doctrine of baptisms (note the plural), of
4. laying
on of hands, of
5. resurrection
of the dead, and of
6. eternal
judgment.
A number of prophets and apostles are
speaking of the need, now upon us, but growing in necessity, of believers being
established enough in theses topics that they are comfortable (and safe) moving
on to more challenging topics. In fact, Holy Spirit has been speaking to a
substantial number of believers about what some of those more meat-like
discussions will be about, but they would only serve as a distraction in this
conversation.
As He speaks to me about some of the meatier
topics of growth that I see coming to us, I am reminded of two applications
that have relevance in this conversation:
1) There will be people (possibly people who
are invested in a spiritual “milk-delivery service”) who will not understand of
believers’ need for meat, who will speak against it (even accusing meat-eaters
of apostasy and heresy), and, sadly, who will succeed in preventing hungry
believers in their sphere of influence from obeying the scriptures and pursuing
more advanced topics.
2) Those who choose to leave the discussion
of the elementary principles of Christ, and go on to perfection, not laying
again the above foundation, will likely have to go on in the face of such
opposition. A very likely booby-trap will be to engage argumentative
milk-delivery devotees in extensive discussion about the need for meat, though
it will be necessary to discern between those committed to not moving on from
milk from those who have only known milk but long for more. A wiser response
may be just to “set our face like flint” toward digesting and practicing that
which Father is feeding us, and leaving the nay-sayers to themselves.
I believe it will be valuable to recognize in
advance (if it is in advance) the opposition that will be confronting us more
and more as we run the race set before us. Such battles are often won in
advance, when we make our determined decisions of how we will respond before we
meet the opposition.
How will you respond when faced with this
choice? Will you choose a steak knife, or a warm bottle?
Bring the Light
How many times have
you heard this warning: “Brother, we got to be
careful because Satan comes as an Angel of light.”
I’ve been “warned” by sour-faced people not to
trust my Father’s voice, warned not to trust Holy Spirit, warned to stay away
from Father’s angelic messengers, warned against healing the sick or raising
the dead or any of the fun things that Father has prepared for his children.
Apparently, because the devil, who is a copycat and a corrupter, copies and corrupts some of God’s generous gifts, there are some who think that the right answer is to avoid the gifts.
Apparently, because the devil, who is a copycat and a corrupter, copies and corrupts some of God’s generous gifts, there are some who think that the right answer is to avoid the gifts.
That’s like warning me to never use $20
bills, because criminals counterfeit $20 bills. Or never to drink water,
because vodka is clear like water, and you know vodka’s not as good for you as
water. What?
First, let’s abandon this foolishness that we
need to run screaming away from anything the devil does. Yeah, I get it: he’s a
pain in the butt: he’s a liar, and his work is about stealing, killing & destroying. And yeah, I have figured out that those are bad things. I get that.
Here’s the thing: if I’m watching to make sure that I never do anything the devil is doing, then A) my eyes are on the devil, not on Jesus, and B) the devil is directing my actions; Jesus is not. That would, under normal circumstances, mean that I was being led by the devil rather than by God. That’s not acceptable to me.
Here’s the thing: if I’m watching to make sure that I never do anything the devil is doing, then A) my eyes are on the devil, not on Jesus, and B) the devil is directing my actions; Jesus is not. That would, under normal circumstances, mean that I was being led by the devil rather than by God. That’s not acceptable to me.
You see, the devil’s under my feet. He and his realm
are required to submit to me and the authority I carry from my place in Jesus,
from being the Creator’s beloved son, with whom He is well pleased.
In fact (and this will be scary to some folks),
the devil and I have one job description in common: we are both working to
expand our kingdom as far and as wide as we can. Of course, he’s working to
expand the “kingdom of darkness” and I’m working to expand the Kingdom I share with my
Father: the kingdom of light. And you know what happens when light and darkness
collide: nothing. Light shines unhindered in the darkness; if anything, the
enemy’s darkness only serves to show off God’s light better.
So should I be afraid because the devil
counterfeits some of the good gifts Father gives me? No way! Fear is not my inheritance!
Should I at least try to avoid the devil’s deception? Um… duh! Of course.
Should I at least try to avoid the devil’s deception? Um… duh! Of course.
But just because I’m avoiding the counterfeit
doesn’t mean that I run whimpering away from the real thing that is being
counterfeited. The fact that there is a counterfeit proves that the real thing
is valuable, it’s profitable. In fact, it’s worth the risk of counterfeiting and getting
caught.
Yes, there are false spirits. I don’t listen to
them. Yes there are demons masquerading as angels of light. I don’t fall for
that. Yes, there is such a thing as demonic healing. I don’t go there. In fact, don ’t even pay attention.
My job is not to run from darkness. My job is
to bring the light.
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