Every few years, when conservative Christians think things are getting rough, there are 2 things, 2 themes that seem to rise up and bring a lot of attention. One of them is a Texas thing, but both are somewhat controversial, and both elicit strong emotions. I am almost 65 years old, and these two things come up around the same cycle for some reason, not exactly sure why, but I have a theory. Both of these things bring a lot of attention and make a lot of money for those who are proponents, and purveyors of the cause. They also elicit a lot of negative response towards anyone who may question them or actually verbalize their disagreement or question the beliefs behind them. Let’s explore. Thing #1 – Rapture of the church, or 2nd coming of Jesus To look at this teaching, you need to understand that many evangelical Christians believe and follow rapture theology. I was a child when I first heard the word, although, rapture theology has been rising in popularity since the mid to late 1800’s. This is a basic belief that Jesus is coming back to ‘rapture’ or take His believers to heaven. leaving the unbelievers behind. Many disagree as to exactly what point in history this will happen, but some believe it will be before the tribulation, which is supposed to be a horrible time in the earth. I understand my language above may sound like I am not a believer. I am a strong believer and have studied this extensively, but that is not the point of this blog, so I am not going to get into ‘teaching’ on the subject. You will see my point in a moment. A few years ago, a very popular charismatic pastor spoke extensively about the rapture coming during the 4 blood moons. Many others did the same thing. The blood moons came and went, and no rapture. During the 60’s & 70’s it was a thing. Most believers sat back and didn’t engage in the political arena because Jesus was going to come and take them away from what was going on at the time. There have been countless other times when this teaching rose up, and especially the last couple of years. But we are still here. Thing #2 – Texas Seceding from the Union or secessationism. This is growing in popularity among far-right wing conservatives right now. There are entire plans around it and many are promoting and even supporting this. The most recent push seemed to gain popularity last year, around the election. The people behind this say we can secede and we have everything in place to become our own country again. It sounds awesome until you really start digging into the solutions they are proposing. But it is still a very popular ‘thing’ right now. Conversations around this topic bring lots of questions, but many of the answers are the same. That we have all the things in place to do this, but no in-depth answers. And while it has been discussed in depth for many years in times of struggle, we are still part of the union. So again, while it cycles around, nothing has changed. The power brokers behind it are the same, but the situation has not changed. My theory is that both of these ‘things’ are rooted in 1 answer. Escapism. Escapism defined is "the tendency to seek distraction and relief from unpleasant realities, especially by seeking entertainment or engaging in fantasy." These two things pop up in Texas when don't think the government or the world is going the way we want them to, and when we are scared we will lose our freedoms and our rights. The thought of Jesus coming to take us out of here is glorious. But God didn’t leave us here to hold the fort, he left us here to have dominion. We are supposed to overcome the enemy by being Kingdom. Not escaping and leaving it to it’s demise. When we connect with Him, study and know Him, and allow His purposes and plans to flow from us, we can shift the atmosphere and our nation by our very presence and we will see His Kingdom manifest here in the earth, in America and in Texas. The reason we are all in the mess we are in today, is because too many of us were focusing on the escapism of the rapture rather than getting involved and making sure we didn’t lose ground. My parents generation were so focused on the rapture, they didn’t stand against Roe v Wade and look how many lives have been lost. Churches believed and taught we shouldn’t be involved in the political arena, so we sat back and allowed the enemy to take our country away. Secessationism is also a form of escapism, believing that by seceding we can, collectively escape the pain and hurt that is going on in America. The problem is that the same political spirit behind the evil in our government is the same political spirit behind the powerbrokers of secessationism. They are lining their pockets with solutions that sound great, but in reality would leave Texas in a mess. Take any issue or topic and follow it through to it’s logical conclusion and see where you end up. Currency, commerce, federal properties in Texas, not to mention property taxes, foreign policy with neighboring states, military presence, and border security…around the entire state. While there may be solutions that have been discussed by some pretty smart people somewhere, what kind of financial obligation is it going to take to put all of this into place, especially while we are trying to exit the union? This will cost us a lot more financially than we are having to pay now, regardless of what these leaders tell you. Then in a few years, when Texas is not the Eutopia promised, new people will be elected into office and want to rejoin the union. Then all of that time, effort, and money has been wasted and we will have to rebuild. We don’t need to escape, we need to engage. When you are focused on escaping, you are not focused on real solutions. A temporary mindset produces temporary solutions. A permanent mindset produces permanent solutions. In both of these things, we are not coming up with long-term solutions to any of the big problems, spiritual or otherwise. In the church, or the body of Christ, we need to return to the true word of God and stop the compromise. In the state of Texas, we need to raise up godly leaders with long term solutions that can change the political landscape away from the corruption we have seen and back to ‘we the people.’ We are to be a covenant people, a covenant nation. America is a covenant nation, Texas is not. As a great spiritual leader recently said, Texas is to lead, not secede. God is bringing revival to America, we don’t want to miss that here in Texas. I want to be clear on both of these points. I’ll be front and center when Jesus returns, and I’ll be in Texas when it happens. But in the meantime, I’ll be working to change both the political landscape and the spiritual purposes for God’s will and way, not mans. I don’t want to escape, I want to make a difference, and I know you do too.
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One of my favorite books and stories in the Bible is Nehemiah. Ezra and Nehemiah were tough guys that had a heart to see God’s purposes restored.
In their stories, their beloved Jerusalem and the temple had been destroyed. Nehemiah was allowed by the king, to leave his duties and go to Jerusalem and help rebuild the walls. During the rebuilding, the book of the law had been found. When it had been discovered, the people asked that it be read to them. Ezra stood and read the book and as he did, the people began worshipping and bowing before the Lord. They all soon realized that they were in the season of Feast of Tabernacles. So, it was decided that they should celebrate immediately by building temporary dwellings as a reminder of their time in the dessert. Ezra, Nehemiah, and other scribes stood on a platform the next day and read the book of the law all day, explaining to the people what it meant. We see their absolute dedication to re-establish God’s law in Nehemiah 8:18 "Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according unto the manner." That day, one of the feasts prescribed by God, was once again re-established as a time of celebration, repentance, remembrance and restoration of God’s word in the earth! When the light of truth gets into the darkest parts of our heart, revelation comes. This revelation, brought restoration and the people WOKE UP! We recently entered into the Hebrew year of 5782. I love seeking God’s direction for the coming seasons and, for me it starts in the fall at the beginning of the Jewish year and continues into the coming year on the Gregorian Calendar in January. As I was contemplating what God may have to say about the coming year, I looked up the number 5782 in the concordance which gives us the original language the Bible was written in. I was excited to see that in the concordance, the Hebrew #5782 is the word ‘Ur’ (oor), which means -Awake, arouse, incite, stir up excited, triumphant. Isaiah 51:9 ‘Awake (5782), awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord. Awake as in the days of old, the generations of long ago.’ Ezra 1:5 “then the heads of the father’ households of Judah and Benjamin and the priests and Levites rose up, everyone whose spirit God had ‘stirred (5782) to go up to rebuild the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem. 5782 according to the concordance is the Bible version of ‘woke.’ I knew immediately God was showing us that He is going to ‘WOKE’ the world this year. I truly believe that we just moved into a season where the world is about to be ‘woke’ up to God’s purposes and plans. The enemy sends the false first, but God shows us truth. We are about to be awoken to the WORD OF GOD – not just the Bible, but Jesus as the mighty warrior King, to God as the Father, and to the absolute, awesome power of the Holy Spirit Then I began to ask the Lord about what He will be doing in 2022. He reminded me of what He had given me at the end of 2019, for the year 2020. Ezekiel 20:19-22 19 - ‘I am the LORD your God; walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and follow them. 20 - ‘Sanctify My Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, so that you may know that I am the LORD your God.’ 21 - “But the children rebelled against Me; they did not walk in My statutes, nor were they careful to follow My ordinances which, if a person follows them, then he will live by them; they profaned My Sabbaths. So I resolved to pour out My wrath on them, to use up My anger against them in the wilderness. 22 - “But I withdrew My hand and acted for the sake of My name, so that it would not be defiled in the sight of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out. He reminded me that 2020 was to be an opportunity to observe a Sabbath. The sabbath is a time set apart to rest and to commune with the Father. Last year He gave us a giant pause and we were supposed to use it to seek Him, but we all got wrapped up in our own garbage. Had we truly turned to you and consecrated our time with you, then things would have been very different. During the quarantine, several churches and people prayed and participated in 7:14, which was where they would read 2 Chronicles 7:14 at 7:14am and pm, then pray. However, when churches started opening back up, they went back to church as usually with no real change in the dedication. Back to Ezekiel, verse 21, we see something pretty interesting, as a correlation with what has happened this year. So maybe God has started pouring out His wrath this year. it's not a big stretch of the imagination with everything going on in the world. But what if verse 22 tells us what is coming in 2022? It says that He will withdraw His hand and ‘act’ (work, create, move, or perform) on our behalf ‘for His names (character, reputation) sake.’ He is going to preserve His reputation as a Loving Father, Almighty God. So that it not be polluted (pierced through or destroyed, wounded, disabled, profaned, cast down, made common, dishonored, disrespected) I truly believes this means He wants us to restore His NAME…if we honor Him, He will show us His glory. Just as Nehemiah and Ezra stood and it ‘woke’ the people up to who God is and what His will is in the earth, we are to do the same. We are to wake up, get serious about the things of God and restore HIS NAME in this earth. How do we do that? Romans 8:18-19 tells us that all of creation is WAITING for us to REVEAL that we are sons and daughters of God. Why? Because we have the answer, we have the truth, we have the power and authority of being seated with Christ in heavenly places. Jesus in us, makes us the salvation of the world! We are to be those who revere God as their Father, whose life and character resemble God, are governed by the spirit of God, and show the same trust in God as children do their parents. Those who wear and exhibit the dignity and honor they should, who truly reflect the true love and intimacy of God, and are obedient to His will in every area of their lives. His light, through us, reveals the bondage we are in and shows everyone the way out. We are in desperate need of restoration, just like the Israelites in the story of Ezra and Nehemiah. But we have to ‘wake up’ to this season and take it seriously. We have to stop getting overly wrapped up in all of the garbage going on. Don’t misunderstand, we need to do our part, and take a stand. But keep it at bay and let the restoration of God’s word and law be primary in your life. God is making us ‘woke’ to replace the false application of that word that we all just experienced. The absolute bondage to it. He is restoring HIS NAME and He needs us to re-image HIM in the earth because ALL of creation needs it. Restoration brings multiplication – we must restore Gods order in every area of our country, our lives. As we restore ourselves, we ‘reveal’ God’s image to our spere of influence, then they can ‘reveal’ it to theirs, and it multiplies. It isn’t about being ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ it is about who we are or should be, in every fiber of our being. Remember God’s kingdom destroys all other kingdoms. Daniel 2:44 tells us “And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever. I truly believe that 5782 and 2022, we are to restore and establish Gods kingdom in this earth in this way. That is the only way to destroy the enemies kingdom in the earth and in our lives. As we do, restoration by us will bring multiplication in this earth. FOMO – It’s a thing!
FOMO is that thing that makes your heart twinge when you see something on social media that you weren’t aware of. It’s that thing that makes you go crazy, trying to go somewhere, do something, or be involved in something because you may not have that awesome experience, or meet that right person, or get exposed to whatever is going on. Fomo causes us to jump through hoops unnecessarily, spend money we don’t have, and be where we shouldn’t be sometimes. FOMO-It’s a thing, it is really a thing! Fear Of Missing Out can cause us a lot of anxiety and stress. But keep in mind the key word here – FEAR! The new testament folks missed out. They didn’t have social media, political pundits, Fox News, Newsmax, or ABC/NBC/CBS to tell them what was happening that day in the month of Nissan. They were in the city square, hanging out and doing business just like everyone else. Here he comes in, and they followed the crowd, waving branches and yelling at this guy on the donkey. They had heard the stories of healing, they had witnessed the wisdom he had spoken with. But they didn’t quite know who he was because no one was there to tell them, not really. A couple of his followers, his disciples got it, but many were just jumping on the bandwagon of having a savior to get them out from under the Roman government. They were looking for a KING, one who would gather his army, and defeat the enemy rulers of the day. Then just like that, the people turned on him. They cried out for his death, his ultimate defeat. Little did they know, they were missing out! He did, in fact, defeat their enemy, but it was in the bowels of the earth where no one was watching. He defeated death, the grave. He defeated hell, the ultimate destruction. But no reporters were there to tell the world what had happened. After the absolute devastation and disappointment of the loss on the cross, his followers retreated in fear. They were being persecuted for following Him and still trying to hang on to the hope and promise of His return, not even sure how that would ever happen. Then He just showed up one day, disguised as a gardener, then as someone just walking on the road with them. At the meal, He opened their eyes and they knew, they just knew, everything was OK. He had done what He said. Over the next few weeks, He continued to reveal himself to others and give his followers, His true believers, everything they would need to establish His work, His church, in this earth. But many around them didn’t believe. They were stuck in the doubt and devastation of the persecution and the lies of the traditional church leaders that this was not their promised savior, their coming Messiah. Because they rejected what was really happening in those moments, millions missed out! They missed out on everything. Joy, peace, hope, healing, everything. (see Matthew 21-28; Mark 11-16; Luke 19-24; John 12-21; Acts 1-2) Many years ago, there was a huge revival in Florida that lasted for several years. Millions experienced an amazingly historic even, while hundreds of thousands received Christ as their personal savior. It was a true move of God, an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, a ‘return’ of Jesus to this earth, for that moment in time. (Brownsville Revival - Wikipedia) However, we were in a denominational church and while I heard a little about the revival, none of the people in my world were into that sort of thing. Later, we transitioned into a different denominational arena, and became exposed to what had happened. By the time I was fully aware the revival had ended. The ending is too long and hard to explain in this post, but many of the true moves of God end, because of mans mishandling or other issues that arise. God introduced my husband and I, to the man that was used to lead that revival and we joined his church, locally. The services in the beginning were electric and we saw so many miracles and lives changed. Our lives were also changed forever. I told the Lord then, that I don’t ever want to miss out again, when He is moving in that way and pouring out His spirit in this earth. I have FOMO! Not in the worldly sense, but I have such a desire to experience that kind of environment, I will pay the price to be there, wherever it is, even if it is just me and Jesus in my house when it happens. I want to experience HIM. Just like the early church, many spiritual and denominational leaders went to that revival in Florida, deeming it ‘false.’ Many of these same leaders truly wanted to have the experience of God moving in their church, but they judged it, and their declarations turned seekers away. The rest of the world was calling out for their Savior, but many missed what God was doing because it didn’t show up in the way they had imagined. It’s a thing, it’s really a thing! And it happens all the time. We miss out on what God is doing because He is using someone that we don’t expect Him to. The church it is happening in, is too small, or the people are different, or whatever excuse we use, because our wrong judgements cause us to believe that it doesn’t look like we think it should. We fear it because we don’t recognize it. It looks nothing like what we expect it to. Just like the church establishment in the New Testament did not recognize Jesus. God is moving right now! There are true revivals happening all over the world. I heard that Iran is experiencing an outpouring like none other. Tent revivals are happening in California, in spite of quarantine, and people walking in off of the street, getting healed and saved. Street preachers are seeing miracles all over the place and here we sit, with our masks on, just waiting for the savior to rescue us. Get out, get moving, quit just hoping and waiting. He is moving, Holy Spirit is pouring out. Reject fear…let God protect you from whatever is ‘out there’. I love what Jentzen Franklin said when he decided to open his church back up and the naysayers were afraid of Covid. ‘Don’t threaten me with heaven.’ We are moving into the season of Jesus death, burial and resurrection. The season when many missed Him and missed out on the most amazing thing to ever happen in the history of the world. Don't ever miss out on Him again. Whatever you may be afraid of… spiritual, physical, emotional, whatever it is, reject FEAR and never miss out on what He is doing again. Fear missing out on HIM, more than any other fear in your life. FOMOOJ…FEAR OF MISSING OUT ON JESUS! It’s a thing! It’s really a thing! It is said that life imitates art. But today, we are looking at life, imitating life. If you pay attention, media and culture will tell you what is going on in the world. Several years ago, an American comedian and ventriloquist introduced the world to Achmed the Dead Terrorist. While most of Jeff Dunham’s acts would offend many Christians, his depiction of this “skeletal corpse of an incompetent bomber” gave us a reason to laugh at the insanity of terrorism throughout the world. His bad impersonation of a middle-eastern voice, has caused even many from that region, flock to see him. Achmed is very funny, and when someone says something he doesn’t like, or they laugh at something that is said about him, he yells ‘Silence, I keel you’ and stares them down with his huge eyes, set in sockets of bone. Looking around at the huge audiences, roaring in laughter, he acts as if he has accomplished his goal of verbally terrorizing them. It was and is hilarious, until now. As Americans, for the most part we have always felt we had a voice. We felt we had true ‘freedom of speech.’ Until now….. To address this fully, we cannot start with where we are, but where we have come from. Winston Churchill said “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” And that my friends is where we are. Repeating history. Much of the worlds past of dictatorships, socialism, and totalitarianism has been removed from American schools and the current youthful leadership of this country, for the most part, is totally unaware of the price that was paid and the precious gift of having differing beliefs and true freedom of speech. A current congresswoman, who is known for her support of the violence and riots throughout the summer, and also well-known for her ignorance of just everything American in general, recently stated that a couple of our senators as well as all conservative Christians, need to be removed from office and reprogrammed to come into line with the leftist, socialistic belief systems. Recently we watched Social Media silence the President, Main Stream Media refuse to air his speeches, Journalists cut conservative voices off in mid-sentence, and changing the narrative to fit their leftist agenda. Individuals were given a sentence of social media jail, when they posted something their 'factcheckers' deemed false or innappropriate, only to find out the checkers were being paid by leftists to block the voices. Other avenues popped up and were soon blocked by big tech to promote the belief system that the conservatives were crazy and promoting hate. All while major cities were being burned and destroyed by fascist systems and false accusations of racism. This is the antithesis of free speech. Again, where does of this idiocy start? With the womb. When you do not value human life at its most innocent and vulnerable, you will not value it throughout life. You will not value its voice, its purpose, its right to live and achieve, the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. In 2016, Canada passed laws for physician assisted euthanasia. These laws were designed for those who were in the ‘process of dying.’ I do not have the space here to go into all of the details, but it was considered a merciful act. Now they are looking to expand the law to include those with debilitating illnesses who want to end their lives. So now, we see an entire governmental system with no value for human life, or for God’s sovreign right to begin or to end life. If someone does not value life in the womb, they begin to devalue end of life. Then they have crossed a line in their psyche that causes them to lessen the value of life overall and its value in society. Silence, I keel you! Just like Achmed. Psalm 139:13 You formed my inward parts, You wove me in my mother’s womb. God creates each one of us. From the moment of conception, cells multiply and grow with God given purpose. Within a short time, a heart starts beating with every right a life should have. To truly believe that a life has no right to live out its purpose or voice, is akin to terrorism. On January 27th, the world honored National Holocaust Remembrance Day with hashtags of #neveragain. But it isn’t a huge leap from what Hitler believed to what we are facing today. He believed that Jews had no right to live, he believed no people of color had a right to live, he only believed his ‘race’ or those with his belief system should live. This led to millions being murdered and silenced forever. Silence, I kill you! How have we gotten here? How have we moved into a belief system in America that truly works to take away our right to have a voice, a life, an opinion, a purpose? How has this socialist system permeated so deeply that many in our halls of government believe that those who do not agree with them have no right to speak or stand on their belief systems. All because they do not value life at its most vulnerable and innocent. When my own dad was dying, I had the absolute honor of being with him. It wasn't pretty in the natural, but being able to hold his hand and tell him how much I loved an honored him as he passed, we absolutely glorious and something I never regret. To chemically end his life because he was suffering would have stolen that precious moment with him. I’m not sure how to turn this around, but I know that God can. It takes God invading their hearts and minds, showing and revealing truth. It takes prayers, and courage to stand up for truth. It takes wisdom to show the insidious plan to devalue our children in the education system by introducing the innocent ones to heinous thinking. It takes godly government officials and community leaders to stand and say ‘not on my watch.’ It takes us all, standing up and looking at the evil and declaring “Silence, I kill you. This is the second lesson in my series on Truth. Deuteronomy 30:15-20 See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity; in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statues and His judgements, that you may live and multiply, and that the Lord your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it. But if your heart turns away and you will not obey but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall surely perish. You will not prolong your days in the land where you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess it. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to give them. The 2020 Presidential election had 1 main point, the one thing that was on the heart and mind of Almighty God. Life!!!! God makes it clear that He values life and destroys those who don’t. That may not make sense to us in our politically correct society, but when people are determined to bring destruction, God knows, and throughout history, He has allowed that destruction to overtake them. His ways are clear throughout history, and the entire Bible. As with any passage of scripture, we need to look at it fully, not just take the passage out of context. Here is how it breaks down: Author - The speaker or writer here was Moses who had lead the people out of bondage in Egypt and was preparing them for their final journey. He was writing what God was telling him to write, to make a record of what God wanted and how He wanted life in the promised land to be. Setting – The children of Israel were in the wilderness, living as nomads, moving around from place to place, eating manna and quail. They were miserable. Audience – God was having this written down, directly to be used by the children of Israel as they settled in the land, and then ultimately, then gentiles (or non-Jews), after Jesus came. 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” Pretty clear. Time in History - Having wandered around for 40 years, these people were watching the exodus generation die off, and hoping for the promise land, often wondering if it would ever happen. But let’s take a look at the context – The following was taken from the introduction to Deuteronomy in my personal KJV, Holman Study Bible. ‘The purpose of Deuteronomy is to provide guidelines for the new covenant community to enable them to live obediently before God and to carry out His intentions for them.” This sounds very similar to what the founding fathers did for the new land, for America. They got together and created many documents that established the foundations we needed to begin a new government. Their basis for these documents was the Bible and their faith in God. Most were godly, praying men and wanted to go to a place where they could worship freely without government interference. At the core of everything was the value for human life and the rights of man. Both for America and for ancient Israel. God said it, not man. Deuteronomy 32:29 says “See now that I, I am He, and there is no god besides Me; It is I who put to death and give life. I have wounded and it is I who heal, and there is no one who can deliver from My hand.” God is the giver of life and only God can truly take life. I know this sounds antithetical to the death penalty, however, I’m not going to discuss that at this point, that is for another blog. There is nothing more clear than the fact that God values life. And so should we. I was very saddened by the number of professed Christians who voted for a platform that openly professes their view against life. The problem is that these Christians did not make life the priority when they chose who to support. However, if life is not important to you, then you will not honor the life of others. Life begins at conception and ends when God decides it ends. If you do not value life at its most vulnerable, then you will not honor that life throughout its life. You won’t truly honor their beliefs, their viewpoint, the voice, their purpose, their very being. We see this happening with the ‘cancel culture’ that has so pervaded this year. Cancel culture says that what you say or have done, is not important. It takes one thing out of context and devalues everything else you have done or said. I saw an interview with one of the worlds most well known comedians who has been around for well over 40 years or more. He made a sitcom in the 70’s that was very satirical and in one episode used a word that is now considered ‘hate speech’. The sitcom has been airing in Europe via reruns for many, many years and, all of a sudden, someone sees that episode and complains, so the entire series is taken off the air and considered ‘hate.’ The word was used in a manner to actually bring to light something that was happening at the time and expose something evil. It was not used in what we would call today ‘hate speech,’ it was used to shock the hearer into seeing what was really happening. By canceling the entire series, the lessons and revelations that were brought about were also cancelled and combined into one thought, the creators were bigots. This is not truth, but it was deemed as truth so all of the good was canceled by one misunderstanding of the truth. Cancel culture is a result of generations disintegrating the importance of life. “Euthanization” says someone has outlived their usefulness. It is presented in such a way as being merciful, however it is actually making a decision that only God can make, and it becomes an idol. The enemy’s tactics are not to get us to ignore the truth, but to misapply it. For many years, churches have moved into a watered down teaching that has lessened the sovereignty of God. We have shifted Him into such a loving Father figure that we feel like mercy is His idea. Of course it is, but not when it means WE choose when to take a life because WE think it is merciful. God has used many lives after their ‘usefulness’ to change others…my salvation story is one. I gave my life fully to Christ at the bedside of my father while he was in a coma and we were waiting for him to pass. His passing was glorious because God chose when he needed to leave this earth, man didn’t. When a woman finds herself in a situation that would change her life, abortion may seem merciful. The argument of rape or incest is always thrown out under the guise of mercy. Saving the life of the mother is another tactic used. These all may have a modem of truth, using mercy as the reason. But at the end of the day, abortion is choosing death. That seed of death remains forever in the life of that young woman, until she settles the issue with a Holy God. This is not meant to bring condemnation to anyone who has had an abortion. They condemn themselves enough. But when post-abortive women are counselled properly, they can be set free from this life of condemnation. There is really no such thing as Pro-Choice in this situation. Those who truly believe in, and have a relationship with Jesus Christ, know that the only choice is life. That is what this whole election was about. The fact that life was not predominant in the minds and hearts of many during this election is very telling of why our nation is in such turmoil. Protestors screaming at bystanders, elected officials stating that the American people are not intelligent, fraud and lying are commonplace in our supposed ‘Halls of Justice,’ all speak to the fact that life has not been valued. As with every instruction God gives, there is a promise attached. If we choose life, we live and so do our descendants. He gives us a choice…this is the choice we must make – Life, from the most vulnerable and innocent until God chooses to remove them from this earth. Remember Deuteronomy 30:15-20 See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity; in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statues and His judgements, that you may live and multiply, and that the Lord your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it. But if your heart turns away and you will not obey but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall surely perish. You will not prolong your days in the land where you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess it. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to give them. Always, CHOOSE LIFE!!!! (If you or someone close to you, have suffered with the pain of an abortion and want to talk with someone, please reach out to me. I have a resource that can counsel you and help bring healing to your hurt.) Deception - Today, many are in deception. Everyone believes they have the answer to the problems, and the other side is deceived. However, there is only one TRUTH and those who walk in that truth are not likely to be deceived.
The only remedy for deception is the Love of Truth. 2 Cor. 11:3-4 tells us “But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. For if one comes and preaches ‘another Jesus’ whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit, which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully.” One of the biggest deceptions today is that there are many paths to God. Oprah and many other thought leaders, commonly profess this lie. However, just because you say it many times, It is not necessarily truth. The continued repeating of specific phrases or statements does not make something true. That is a tactic the devil has used for a very long time and it is still in play today. It is also a tactic the media uses to mislead and cause confusion. The partial truth of this premise is that there ARE many ways to God, but only one leads to life, the others lead to God’s judgement. Jesus told us that He was the way to Life in John 14:6 "I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father but by me." Then we see the judgement in Romans 14:11 that Paul reminds us "For it is written, As I live saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God." At some point, every single person alive or dead will come before God at the judgement. One of the biggest reasons we have so much deception today is that hard, biblical truths are no longer taught or preached regularly. If we truly understood and really believed, that one day, we will all have to stand before God, then we would probably live our lives very differently. But let’s get back to Jesus words and breakdown John 14:6. I AM – means to exist, to be present, to stay or remain This is a declarative statement of his existence and the authority He carried. It is also interesting because God told Moses in Exodus 3:14, ‘And God said to Moses I AM THAT I AM, tell the children of Israel “I AM hath sent me.”’ In this statement Jesus made at the last supper to his disciples, they knew this story of Moses and were fully aware that Jesus was declaring his deity, being the Son of God. He was declaring that He was the ‘I AM!' The Way – course, journey, way of thinking, direction In this instance, Jesus wasn’t saying he was one of many ways. Keep in mind, there were other religions and belief systems of the day that declared many gods which also meant there were many paths to whatever end a particular belief system espoused. The Greek and Roman culture was very prominent in the area and had the beliefs of many different gods who performed many different acts. Jesus was openly professing that all of those were invalid and that He, Jesus Christ, was the ONLY way. Only through Christ, can we have the direction we need, and the way of thinking we need to journey and move toward the blessings He has for us. The Truth – only truth, reality of truth, basis for everything Here Jesus was declaring that He was the source of truth. Today, many have no strong foundational beliefs, and their belief systems change with the seasons. This leads to weak belief systems and few, if any, core values. If you don’t know what you truly believe, you will believe whatever sounds good at the time. But many of the things being promoted today make no sense in light of real truth. However, when you have a strong faith and belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, these beliefs bump up against those standards and at some point, either stand or fall. But if you don’t have a sure standard, the lies stay with you and before you know it, you are off into a false belief system that will ruin your life. Remember, at the beginning I stated that the only remedy for deception is the love of Truth. Paul tells us in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 regarding the 2nd coming of Jesus, ‘Let no one in any way deceive you, for ‘it will not come’ unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction.’ The great apostasy today is not people falling away from the church, it is the church, culture, and the world falling away from the truth. This is clearly seen in the Methodist denomination. Charles and John Wesley started the movement. They were the catalysts of a great revival where many were brought to salvation in Christ and they never steered away from hard truths. They stood against the false teachings of the day and changed the world at that time. However, over time, many of the Methodist churches have moved into such apostasy that they go against some of the most basic of biblical values. I know there are some good Methodists who love Jesus, so I don’t put everyone under the same blanket. But a denomination that denies the value of life at its most vulnerable, has walked away from the truth of the word. But that is for a different blog. The Life – literally and figuratively, the completeness of life Jesus is stating here, that He, is the one that gives life. Remember God breathed into Adam, His breath of life. Every soul born has that same breath. Jesus is the giver of breath. The figurative side means that in Christ, we can have real and genuine life, active and vigorous, blessed and absolute fullness of life. That only comes through a relationship with Him. Without this life, we are left struggling, lacking, fearful, and burdened. Our only hope for a truly blessed life on this earth is with Jesus. No One – means no living person, nobody This needs no further explanation. Every single person alive on this earth, or who has passed, will have, or has had this opportunity. There have been many arguments throughout history regarding this belief, but it is true. Comes to the Father – has access to God Almighty This goes back to the ‘paths to God’ statement. God loves us and has given us a path to Him through Christ, and Jesus is explaining this to his disciples. But by Me! – end of argument. There is only one way to eternity with God the Father, and that is through Christ Jesus. You can make all the excuses, arguments, etc., you want, but if you do not make Jesus Lord of your life, you will never be able to have access to Father God. That is the only way. I’m not saying that, Jesus said it. John 14:6 "I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no one comes to the Father but by me." At the end of the day, you must decide if you believe what Jesus said. Not what I’m saying or any one else out there, but what Jesus said. This is the basis for everything else in your life. You cannot know the best way to navigate your life, you cannot know the real truth completely, and you cannot have fullness of life without Him. If you don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus, then all you have to do is pray. Ask Him to forgive you of your sin of denying Him. He is waiting on you to reach out to Him and His arms of forgiveness and love will wrap around you. Then make him Lord of your life, which means He is the director and navigator of your life. It is that simple. Then pursue Him, pursue Truth, by studying the Bible and spending time in prayer every single day. If you need help with that, please reach out to me. If you have slipped away from your devotion to Christ, turn now and repent and give your life more fully to Him. Don’t wait another minute. Deception is rampant and a relationship with Christ will keep you in truth and away from the deception of the enemy. It is your choice, today, choose absolute truth, choose life in Christ. Many years ago, I was on my way up a denominational ladder, when I was struck with a huge decision. This decision was one that I knew would hijack my current trajectory, it would hurt some people I loved and respected dearly, and would cost me, what I thought at the time, was the destiny path God had me on.
I was studying one of the final classes for the ordination process. In the course materials, it stated clearly, that, once ordained, you not only had to believe the 16 tenets of faith, but you had to preach or teach them annually. This practice was to ensure that the body of followers were clear on the beliefs, and knew these tenets were core to the belief of the denomination. At this point in time, I was on a trip, having gotten up early in the morning. It was quiet and I was having my time with the Lord, as was my custom. My process has been, for many years, to journal and read my Bible, then to read a chapter or two in a Christian book of some sort. This morning followed the same pattern, then I picked up the study material for the ordination class. As I read the tenets of faith, I was struck by these words “The initial, physical evidence of the in-filling of the Holy Spirit, is speaking in tongues.” This caught me off guard, so I read it several times. I was immediately confronted with a hard decision; do I believe this tenet of faith? I knew that I did not, for many reasons.
My first response and responsibility to this revelation was to research it in scripture, so I did. I won’t get into my studies at this point, but there is biblical evidence that to support my opposing view. I have lived this Christian walk for many years, 15 of those years with the belief that there are other initial, physical evidences of being Spirit Filled. I was very recently confronted with the exact same statement, this time not in a specific denomination, but in a class setting. The class was being taught by a sweet young couple, whom may not have been faced with the depth of this topic, but were just repeating what was written in the materials. It was like nails on a chalkboard hearing it again. But I sat silent. It wasn’t their fault that I didn’t believe this, and I wasn’t about to confront this, nor try to argue the point in this setting. You see, just as I stated earlier, when I initially did the research and received the revelation that this was not a true statement, I followed up accordingly. I contacted my then pastor, who was also ordained with the same denomination. He got extremely upset. As I stated earlier, when you get ordained with that denomination, you are required to sign a contract stating you believe in the tenets, and that you will teach on them. In order to renew your ordination annually, you must re-sign the same statements. God has called me to a unique position, one that does not allow me to compromise my beliefs. I knew that if I signed that document and didn’t believe in the statement, then I would be lying to my oversight, my covering. My only choice, at the time, was to withdraw from the ordination process. When I explained this to my pastor, he was furious. It broke my heart because I knew it was confronting his own compromise. Remember I said in my #2 point that he had publicly stated he didn’t agree with that believe and I confirmed that with him in my call with him. To withdraw from the process, I had to write a letter to the national organization, as well as the pastor that was sponsoring me in the process. The sponsoring pastor was a different person from my current pastor, one whom I highly respected. I had to resign from the program and explain my position of why. I spent many hours praying, combing scriptures, crying, talking to my husband, getting advice from others. I truly wanted to be wrong in this belief, but I couldn’t argue with what Father God was showing me at the time. Finally, I constructed a letter that changed my life forever. The upward trajectory I had been on, came crashing down. My pastor was very upset with me and, I was confronted the following week at church, by the second in command. We continued going to that church and worked through the issue, but it cause me a lot of hurt and pain. I paid a very large price for that decision and that choice. Throughout the process, I learned that we, as believers, can’t just blindly accept what we are told by our leadership and assume it is true. As Christian leaders, pastors, teachers, etc., we MUST know WHY we believe WHAT we believe. It is very personal, between us and Jesus, and we must seek wisdom, understanding and revelation about every aspect of our belief system. This is the only way we will survive when the storms of life come. I never got a response from my letter of resignation from the program. However, within the next year or so, I saw where the language had been modified a bit, to make it a bit more palatable. This entire process shaped much of how I approach, and what I believe today about the Holy Spirit. The full discussion of that is too much to get into in this blog. The basics of what I believe are as follows:
There are verses in scripture that point to speaking in tongues after people have been prayed for to receive the Holy Spirit, however there are many others that show other manifestations. Acts 9 tells an amazing story. Saul of Tarsus was Jew who was killing those who followed Jesus. He was a devout person, and truly believed he was doing Gods work by eliminating those who believed Jesus was the Son of God. He had been traveling and was struck blind, by God, and was taken to a home in Damascus. God told a Christ follower, Ananias, to go pray for Saul. Ananias argued with God, but eventually went and laid hands in prayer on him. Acts 9:17-20 tells us: So Ananias departed and entered the house, and after laying his hands on him said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight, and he got up and was baptized; and he took food and was strengthened. Now for several days he was with the disciples who were at Damascus, and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” This passage, I believe, evidences the most important initial, physical evidence of the infilling of the Holy Spirit – Power! A changed life! Saul accepted Jesus as the Son of God, which was absolutely against his former beliefs. That can only come with power. Acts 1:8 says but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” This story of Saul, later to become Paul, is the most important image of why we need the Holy Spirit. The healing he experienced, and the absolute, 180 degree turnaround in his heart and ministry is undeniable. Now he was in agreement with those whom he had utterly persecuted just days before. This is absolute evidence of the infilling of the Holy Spirit. But there is no mention of tongues here. It would have been mentioned, had it happened, just as it was in other passages. Keep in mind, that at Pentecost in Acts 2, when the Holy Spirit fell like flames, they were speaking in 'tongues' or other languages. This was so they could testify to other cultures. This still happens today, there are many stories of it, but we just don’t hear much about it. There is also a prayer language of tongues, where the Holy Spirit prays through us, or we pray in conjunction with Him. But many who do not experience that prayer language, can still be filled. They may just have other evidences of it. One of the biggest issues I have with this teaching, is the condemnation that comes on people who do not get the ‘gift of tongues.’ I don’t know why they don’t, I just know I have seen many who did not receive tongues, but are absolutely changed and used by God, non-the-less. I have watched many walk away from prayer lines, dejected because they didn’t receive the ‘gift.’ The enemy uses this experience to make them believe God doesn’t love them as much as others, and that God won’t use them. However, I have also seen many people who pray in tongues all the time, but are meaner than a snake, and treat people horribly. Tongues does not make you a better or more mature Christian. The in-filling and in-dwelling of Holy Spirit, as evidenced by the Fruit of the Spirit does. Fruit is the evidence, fruit is the proof, fruit is the purpose, fruit is the end-game. We cannot do what God has called us to do without the fruit. Without the fruit, we may have a small measure of success as a Christian, but we will bomb out and hurt others in the process. So for me, God has not changed this belief. I see too much real evidence to the contrary. If you do not agree with me, that is fine. Do your own study on the Holy Spirit and see how many times he ‘filled’ or ‘came upon’ people and there is no mention of tongues. Just please don’t try to change my mind…you can’t. Only the Holy Spirit can. Some of my favorite scriptures in the Bible are John 14-17, and they are all in red. For those who are unaware, in old school paper, and book-type Bibles, the words of Jesus are often in red. This way, you know without a doubt who is speaking.
These particular passages are among the final words Jesus spoke to His disciples just before going to the cross, and are very powerful. If you are a novice to reading and studying the Bible, start with these verses, they will speak to your heart. Specifically, for this blog, I want to talk about John 15. In the beginning of this chapter, Jesus gives the analogy of abiding in the vine. This is a beautiful picture of understanding our relationship with Jesus and with Father God. Vineyards were common, so the disciples could easily understand this word picture He was drawing. But tucked in amongst this story, is Love. John 15:9-13 “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you and that your joy may be made full. This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” This morning, I asked the Lord what He wanted me to write about. His response was “Tell them I love them.” In this passage, Jesus is on his way to the most cruel, unbelievable death there was. But this death was the only way to set us free from the grip of the enemy. A sacrifice had to be made so we could have the abundant life and victorious eternity He promised. In this verse, Jesus tells us that He loves us just like His Father loved Him. Then goes on to explain that if we abide in his love, we will have complete joy. The word 'Abide' means to remain, tarry, or not to depart, so basically stay put. When we choose to walk in Jesus ‘commandments’ that He taught throughout His time on this earth, then we will ‘abide’ or remain in His love. Jesus then tells us to love each other as He loved us, and it wasn't a suggestion. How did He love us? Sacrificially. He left heaven to come to this earth and experience every pain and problem we experience. He was fully God, but He was also fully man. And throughout His time on earth, He could have chosen to make his problems disappear, and the pain to go away. But because of His love for us, Jesus chose to go through it all. He went through temptation, trials, misunderstandings, abuse, accusations, ridicule, anger, beating, and a cruel death. All of this was at the hands of the church. What a sacrifice. When He was speaking these words, He knew the worst part of His life on earth was coming. He knew what had to be done. But what does Jesus say in verse 13? “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” Jesus was saying “I’m about to show you how much I love you, by laying down my life, literally and physically.” We have forgotten this verse. There is so much turmoil in the world right now and much of it is because the world is so anxious for their opinion to be heard, and their desires to be met. But what if we laid all of that down and just started loving each other the way Jesus loved us. Regardless!!!! Take a moment to think about just how much He loves you. If you don’t know Jesus in that way, please reach out to me. I would love to tell you about His love for you. If you do know Him, then remember what your life was like before you met Him. Think about just how much He has done for you and the joy in your life because of His sacrifice. If you have lost that joy and that love, reconnect with Him by reading the words in red again. Pray and tell Him how much you love Him. Then do what He did…love others sacrificially. Lay down your agenda and take up His, to lay down your life for your friends. Love someone sacrificially today, and maybe make it someone you don’t agree with, or even like. Do something to show them the love of Jesus today…that your joy, His joy, may be full, just like the words in RED! Today, I read the scariest verse in the entire Bible. It isn’t the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse, it wasn’t Saul (pre-saved Paul) pulling people out of their homes for following Jesus and executing them. It wasn’t the disciples hiding out after the crucifixion, paralyzed with fear. It wasn’t even the Old Testament stories of cannibalism or torture.
Luke 22:3 “Then entered Satan into Judas, surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve.” (KJV) Why is this verse so scary? Because that could happen to us! Before you get defensive and say ‘that would never happen to me,’ let me walk you through a few things. Remember, Jesus chose him! Luke 6:13 tells us ‘And when it was day, he called unto him, his disciples, and of them he CHOSE twelve, who he also named apostles,’ Then in verse 16 ‘And Judas, the brother of James and Judas Iscariot, which was the traitor.’ So Judas Iscariot was chosen by Jesus to be one of the elite. He was also the treasurer which meant he had some credibility with everyone in the executive committee, the apostles. We know that he was sent out with all of them and performed signs and wonders, he struggled with greed as we see in the story of the woman with the alabaster jar, but he also sat at Jesus feet and was taught with all the others. Judas chose to follow Jesus, in spite of the challenges the entire group faced. That took tenacity and dedication. This group was hated by the leadership of the day and challenged by many. They did have a level of celebrity with some of the people, but that waxed and waned depending on the circumstances. He watched Jesus heal people, multiply food, and walk on water. He, like the others, probably struggled within himself, with his own shortcomings, but Judas chose to stay the course. I’ve heard many teachings over the years about Judas and his motives. However, we truly cannot judge the state of his heart at the time and neither can these teachers. How do I know that? Because each one of us face the very same things in our own spiritual journey. Sometimes we are completely dedicated and fully following Jesus, others we struggle with our own humanity. Now back to the reason this verse is so scary. There are many people who glibly say that a Christian can’t have a demon. Well it isn’t that simple. There is a huge difference between saying the sinners prayer and fully giving your life to Christ. It is obvious that some folks say a prayer at some point to get their ‘hell insurance.’ They think, and are probably taught, that prayer ensures your ticket into heaven. However, the truth is, that the only way of ensuring our salvation and deliverance into eternity with Jesus, is to make Him Lord of our lives. This begins with the prayer of repentance, submission, and dedication, but continues in our daily lives with our choices and our heart. Several years ago, I read a book by John and Paula Sanford that explained it perfectly. I can’t remember the exact book or the story, but it gave me the realization, that even though I absolutely loved Jesus and tried to do everything to please Him, when I allowed my anger to get out of control, that was a level of demonic influence. So, while the part of me that was fully surrendered to Jesus, and was ‘saved or safe’, the part of me that allowed my flesh to take over and cause destruction, was not. Luke 21:19 says ‘in your patience, possess your soul.’ Wow, that is powerful. As we move through our walk with Jesus, it is our job to ‘possess’ our soul and be sanctified. That is a process. It is a process that is the result of our choices every single moment of every single day. You see, Judas made choices that was against his soul. He allowed his greed to become bigger than his dedication to Jesus. That my friends, is why this verse is so scary. Many people say that Judas went to hell, however we see clearly in Matthew 27:3 ‘Then Judas, which had betrayed Him, when he saw that He was condemned, REPENTED himself, and brought again his thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders.’ I truly believe that Judas was ‘saved’ throughout his journeys with the Lord. It looked a bit different than it did after the resurrection, but safe, or saved non-the-less. Why do I believe that? Because conviction came on Judas and he repented. If he wasn’t saved or safe, the conviction would not have come. When we allow our ‘soul’ or our ‘flesh’ as some would call it, to overtake us and we behave according to that, instead of what we know Christ would have us do, we are allowing the enemy to use us to bring destruction. Many top leaders in the church have done this. A pastor who manipulates women into have sex with him, a youth or children’s pastor who molests children, a business leader who skims money out of the coffers, a parent who seriously abuses their children, I could go on, but you get the point. The only way to can guarantee that ‘Satan will not enter us’ is by working hard every day to grow in your relationship with Christ, get rooted and grounded in His word, and by repenting and turning from the things that the Holy Spirit convicts you about. Churches today are so worried about offending people, that they quit preaching convicting sermons. Because of that they quit teaching what SIN is. When you don’t know what sin is, then you mistake conviction for offense. Satan cannot have any part of you that is not dedicated wholly and completely to Christ. The Sanford’s taught that the cross was like a ray of light shining into the darkest part of your heart. When the light of the cross shines in, it displaces the darkness, then you invite the Holy Spirit into fill that place, the enemy can no longer have a hold on that place, unless you willfully allow it. But in the dark places, where we don’t allow the cross to penetrate, the enemy can influence and use it to bring destruction into our life. This is how ‘Satan entered into Judas.’ He didn’t have the cross, but he had Jesus and he didn’t surrender those dark places fully to Jesus. This isn’t just about being saved or eternal security. Remember salvation is the beginning of our journey, sanctification is the rest of it. So if Satan can’t have your heart, his next best thing is to make you totally ineffective. If he can use you through those dark places in your heart, then he has done his job and stolen your destiny. So today, pray, and ask the Lord to show you any darkness in your heart. Then repent of any sins around that darkness and ask Him to bring healing. Finally invite the Holy Spirit into that place to bring healing and wholeness. Then Satan will never be able to use that part of you again. This is a process, so you may have to repeat this throughout your life. That is the process of sanctification, and it may take some time, or you may need a bit of help. But commit to this process and watch your life change in ways you could never imagine. Then, and only then, can you be guaranteed that the enemy won’t be able to use you for destruction, like Judas. My prayer over you: Father, hold my friend in your hand, reveal the darkness that you want to heal. Help them see how this darkness has brought pain and destruction and show them how to repent of their part. Then Father shed your light fully and send Holy Spirit to engulf it. Bring complete healing and wholeness and strength to my friend. Reveal the complete truth to them and cover them as they heal and move forward in their destiny. In Jesus Holy Name, Amen. There are two churches here in Wise County that are denominational churches, however there is no evidence of that to the attendees or the public. How do I know? Well God has this amazing way to put information in my path that often reveal truth without me even asking. Many years ago, the Lord showed me that when information comes into my path there is a reason. There are no accidents and I fully believe He gives me information for a reason. The reason most of the time is to just be aware and pray. Sometimes it is so I can watch my step and others it is because I will need it at some time or another, but it happens often. Church number 1, is fairly large, by Wise County standards, and is very popular. It has all the progressive accoutrements of many non-denominational churches today. As I have encountered its members, many are totally unaware of the denominational affiliation. However, a few years ago two things happened, totally without my seeking it out, that gave me the information. Just through random conversations. The first was time, someone I knew mentioned it out of the blue. It wasn’t common knowledge, but they were aware because of a situation they were in. The second time I got the information, I interviewed for a job with the large denominational church in the area, and the interviewing pastor mentioned the affiliation. Reaffirming that the church was very firmly part of that denomination. Again, this was totally unsolicited on my part. I did nothing, but just made note. However, there is no evidence of denomination affiliation anywhere on the website, or if you attend, in any of the printed materials handed out. Church number 2 is much smaller and has experienced many problems. Some time ago, the denomination had a couple who were trying to make a go of this church. There were a lot of struggles and eventually the denomination stepped in, released the couple, and made a plan. They brought in some younger couples and turned the church over to them. The church closed its doors, changed the name, remodeled the interior of the building and became a very progressive, modern church. Again, there is no reference to any denominational affiliation online locally and even in a conversation with the senior pastor, he basically denies affiliation and when forced says there is a ‘loose connection’ with said denomination. But a quick search on the denomination’s website confirms the fact. How do I know all of this? I had a conversation with the local pastor who is part of the denomination that worked all of this out. He told me about the transition and about the couples the denomination was bringing in before they even came. In defense of both entities, they purposed this out of good intentions I am sure. Often organizations do these things with the best of intentions and no thought of any negative impact. Why is any of this a problem? On the surface it seems innocent enough. Many denominations started churches several years ago, purposing to hide the denominational affiliation so it wouldn’t hinder potential members from joining out of fear of a denominational association. The first problem, I believe, is that this practice is very deceitful to the attendees. Why not openly publish and declare you are part of a denomination? In both these instances, the pastors have to be ordained and there are guidelines that the individual churches must follow, so why not make it clear to the people who are attending and giving into the work? The second problem is that they are denying their identity. By doing so they are hindering any blessings that may be a part of the spiritual covering of this denomination. But they are also hurting the overall work of the denomination because it allows for a spirit of rebellion (I’m going to do it my way) to be at play very subtly in the body. The third problem is that it opens the door for deceit in the lives of everyone who attends these churches. You see what operates at the top filters down. And if the top feels it is OK to not be totally open and honest about the affiliation, then there is an underlying dynamic of deceit. Over the last month or so, these issues have really been bothering me. I really struggled with it even though it is truly none of my business. So, as I was praying about it the Lord showed me what I truly believe we are going to see in 2019. Revealing - Unveiling - Exposing I truly believe God’s people have been walking in a cloud of uncertainty and deceit that must be removed. Earl and I have been sort of wandering for the past few years and recently came to realize that because of our choices, we have not only been hurt and devastated, but blind to many things because of it. As we come back into alignment with our purpose, God is showing us more of His. As a result, He is confirming to what this year will be about. Entities that purpose deceit will be unveiled. People that purpose evil will be exposed. Circumstances sent by the enemy to cause confusion and chaos, will be revealed. As the time for exposure draws closer, those who benefit from the darkness will begin to get frantic to maintain the façade. They will lash out at the truth holders, at God’s called and even the innocent to prevent their exposure. Those who are truth-holders may not know that is what they are, but their discernment and ability to expose lies is just part of who they are and what they do. In my life, I have exposed truth without even being aware. I would be in a circumstance or a conversation and say something innocent. Then later find out that it opened a door for truth in a person’s life. I was totally unaware and had no intention of revealing anything. For the Bible students, you will see that In the Greek, Strong’s #2019 is Epihponeo which means ‘to call out, shout or clamor, cry against, or exclaim (Acts 22:24). This is the same root basis for the word Epiphany which means ‘the appearing’ (1 Tim. 6:14). The Hebrew word is Haphakpak which means ‘crooked’ as in Proverbs 21:8 ‘Crooked is the way of a guilty man. The narcissistic Jezabel spirit will try to silence the truth holders by either discrediting or shutting the truth holders down so they have no voice. In the Old Testament the word is ‘crooked’ and the New Testament is “cry out, or cry against” which is showing that the crooked will be exposed (cried out against) or revealed to make straight. People don’t cry out against things they don’t know are wrong. So, the revealing takes place to make the crooked straight. What is the process of this exposure? 1. First a lie must be believed a. No one likes to be fooled, however such is life. Many good people are fooled all the time. For exposure to take place, we must believe a lie first. We need to pray that God shows us where we believe lies. b. Many times, our past hurts, wounds, and struggles cause us to have a distorted view of people, circumstances or life. We ‘want’ to believe the lie because the truth may be too painful. We all have a filter of hurt and disappointment that everything goes through. We must purpose deliverance and inner healing in order to prevent that filter from thwarting the information coming into our path. But that is for another teaching. 2. Truth begins to come out a. God will purpose exposure in some way. Pay attention to the details and information that comes into your path. There are no accidents. 3. Then there is the fallout and the consequences begin to show up a. As the truth is exposed, initial reaction may prevent you from seeing how it affects you fully, however as time goes on, the fullness of the fallout/consequences begin to become known and you may have to deal with them all. Sometimes this only takes a short amount of time, other times it may takes years. 4. There will be casualties and the innocent bystanders begin to recognize how they are impacted a. You may not have been directly involved, however as time goes on you may begin to see how you are impacted. 5. Full realization of new circumstances a. Your entire life may change, or just some of your life may be impacted, however you will soon begin to realize the impact and how you will have to adapt to the new circumstances. 6. Begin to question everything, separating truth from fiction a. One of the first things that happens is a mistrust of nearly everything. Especially if you are directly involved. However, it takes effort to keep from becoming totally cynical and mistrusting of everything and everybody. You need to not begin to fall into another lie as a result. 7. Settling into the new norm a. Recognizing that you will have a new norm and adjusting your life accordingly is key. Get help and counseling if need be, to ensure you are making wise decisions to move forward and not beginning to operate more out of fear than adjustment 8. The new life a. You WILL have a new life. Life will go on and you will be able to adjust and heal. It may be very different, and you will have to grieve the old, but you will survive and eventually thrive again. There are so many examples of this. A wife who has a wonderful home and beautiful family finds it is a lie when her husbands repeated unfaithfulness is revealed. She no longer can stay home with her kids, but now is forced to get a job, go through divorce, loss and even leave her home. Sometimes the complete fallout may take years to get through. Several years ago, a huge scandal took place with a corporation called Enron. The entire business was a sham with thousands of people involved. The owners and employee’s lives were devastated and it trickled down to many whose retirement funds were tied into the company and they lost thousands, even millions of dollars. The common folk whose retirement funds were tied into Enron, now had no retirement or the fund took such a huge hit that they either couldn’t retire when they thought or they, at the very least, had to restructure their investments to recoup the losses. Vendors and associates lost millions. The trickle-down effect was huge. The stock market took a huge hit and many who had nothing to do with Enron were affected by loss in their investments and portfolios. Revealing affects many people, not just those directly involved. What do we need to do? 1. Most importantly, pray for your own inner healing so you fully can see truth, discern and prepare. Information that comes into our paths all filter through our belief systems. If we have been through a lot of problems or hurts, our belief systems will have lies that can prevent us from seeing the truth. However, as we purpose to get set free from those hurts and wounds, the lies in our belief systems get exposed and we will be able to receive truth more freely. 2. Ask the Lord your role in all of this. Are you a truth-holder, are you to help others pick up the pieces, or do you just pray for those who will have their entire life turned upside down as a result? Remember truth-holders may know or see the truth and sometimes they know it and others they don’t. For instance, a woman who casually says ‘I saw your son the other night out with so and so’ may have no idea she just told the Mom her son lied to her and was out with someone he had no business being with. The comment was innocent enough, but it began an exposure in that family. That is a truth-holder. 3. Prepare for the fall-out…the big picture and the consequences. The only real way is to pray and ask God to show you how to prepare. Stay in the word and in relationship with the Lord so you can allow Him to direct you in all of this. Get wise counsel if need be and resist the urge to tell the world and possibly take in some really, bad advice. Of course, this depends on your level of involvement. 4. What is your new norm? Begin to recognize that the old is gone, so where do you go from here? What will it look like and where will you fit into the new equation? 5. Continually ask for wisdom and revelation. The only way to stay ‘safe’, as it were, is to walk in continued wisdom and revelation. Take every piece of information and put it up against what the Word of God says and His will and character. While the Lord was showing me all of this, He reminded me that going into 2010 the Lord told me there was going to be a revealing as well and, believe me, there was. That was 9 years ago. I asked, why 9 years? I went to www.hebrew4christians.com to identify the significance of the number 9. The following is taken from the website. Tet also represents the two possibilities of man. The first possibility shows a man bowed down before the crown, taking up His yoke, his soul is then subject to the discipline of the Lord and the nine-fold fruit of the spirit will grow in his life (See Gal 5:22-23); and the man will die to himself, and all that is outside of the yoke of Christ (See Luke 9:23). However, the second possibility is if the soul refuses to bow down and instead rebels, the inner life will take on characteristics of the serpent, Satan. If that man chooses to live for himself, relying on his own inner sense of autonomy, he will share the fate of Satan and eventually eat dust. Rebellion or submission…those are the choices we will have as a result of this coming year. While this may sound like a hard word, it is also a hopeful word. None of us want to live in continual deception, believing lies. We can only have a truly fulfilled life if we lay aside the lies, walk in truth and allow God to give us a new life. We don’t need to fear the revelation either. Often it is hard to see, and usually very painful, but it is also very good. Many times, revelation can give us the direction we need to move into our purpose and destiny and can set us up for His amazing plans. Without revelation we might continue in darkness. One of the final upsides to this, is that those who have ‘seen’ it in the spirit are relieved. Their suspicions are confirmed, and they breathe a sign of relief as they have often wondered if they were crazy. It is easy to think you are nuts when you really believe something is going on, but for all intents and purposes, you see nothing happening in the natural. As much as these ‘prophetic’ people hate to see these things happen because they understand the fallout can be devastating, they are also vindicated as a result. So get ready everyone because….. 2019 is the year of Revealing - Unveiling - Exposing |
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