These are the four study pages that were created for an in-person Bible Study planned for this weekend.
Author Archives: Tammie Edwards
Half-Hearted CINOs?
What I see in American churches too often is half-hearted “Christians-in-name-only” (CINO) who don’t want to be wholehearted in their pursuit of God’s will. They don’t want to learn to hear God’s voice or understand true doctrine because that will upset their comfort.
They seem to want to persecute those who stand up with a voice of truth that points them to listen to God for themselves. In the 40 years prior to me hearing God’s voice in prayer, I did the country-club Christianity thing myself. So I recognize it when I see it being paraded through the churches. I have spent the last 20+ years offering to teach others to hear God’s voice and disputing the false doctrines in the church. As a country-club Christian, I was well loved having many seats of honor in the churches, but once I started hearing God speak, I was as unhappy with “them” as they were with me. They saw me as the enemy instead of as someone who could open their blind eyes with truth. All these years later, I’m sure that they don’t want truth. They want half-hearted Christianity.
What use does God have for half-hearted Christianity? Why would God accept or reward being ignored? Could half-truths ever be God’s desire for His church? Could false teachers ever be God’s favored? Could the Bible ever replace hearing God’s voice in prayer?
Does God Still Send Prophets?
“Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues ? Do all interpret? Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. And yet I will show you the most excellent way.” (1 Corinthians 12:27-31 NIV)
The subject of unity has been thrown around to silence some whom God has sent with a message from Him. So let’s examine unity of the Spirit in this passage of Scripture from 1 Corinthians 12 in context. (Notice the section title containing UNITY.)
Concerning Spiritual Gifts
“Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.
To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
Unity and Diversity in the Body
Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?
But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues ? Do all interpret?
Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. And yet I will show you the most excellent way.
Unmistakable Wrath?
The attached pages from the “Mark of Excellence Newsletter” dated October 2021, are being shared as the final newsletter from that year. With the previous newsletters, I have also shared the cover letter that was sent to the pastors at that time. However, the October newsletter on God’s Wrath was shared online only, rather than direct mailed, without a cover letter.
Does God have a right to have wrath? Isn’t He supposed to just arbitrarily forgive everyone (according to the false teachers)? Please review the pages of the newsletter and decide for yourself.
A Listening Prayer?
This reposting of the September 2021, Mark of Excellence newsletter on “Prayer” was already scheduled in the series before the recent prayer meeting incident where I was yelled at by the pastor for bringing a word from the Lord. (Hey, it’s the life of a prophet. I have my big-boy pants on and can handle it. But God … can certainly do as He pleases if He doesn’t like the way I was treated.)
This letter is exactly what I would write today despite that I wrote it nearly four years ago to other local pastors (not the one that yelled). Mostly, I believe that corporate prayer meetings are nonsense, at least the ones that I have witnessed over the years. In my defense, I started going to these recent ones because they were advertised as listening-to-the-Lord gatherings. So, fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. (God did tell me to go, too, so that’s on Him.)
The Contrast of Heaven vs. Hell
In 2021, God had me create a monthly doctrinal newsletter, “Mark of Excellence”, along with a cover letter to the local pastors. The letters were sent to 24 pastors. Since that time there have been some positive changes to those pastors’ doctrinal stances. Also, at least four of those pastors have distanced themselves from the pulpits that they were previously preaching from. I’m not saying that I had anything to do with any of that, but I am saying that God is consistently poised to do whatever is necessary to get the churches on the right path.
Today, all of the local churches continue to have some form of false doctrine. Knowing that causes a great ache in my heart. I was hoping for at least one that would seek God until they knew His heart on every doctrinal stance.
Unity of Unbelief?
Going into the prayer meeting, I had very specific instructions from God. In fact, we had a lengthy conversation earlier in the day about what my interactions would be. I was not to lay hands on anyone for healing. I also was not to pray aloud for anyone. God was intense that I was only to speak exactly the words that He would give to me.
When I arrived at the prayer service, I did not have any idea what the words would be that I was to deliver. But as soon as I sat down in the “sanctuary” and opened my Bible, God directed me to a Scripture found in Isaiah 46. In silent prayer conversation with God, I confirmed with Him that this was indeed the exact Scripture that He wanted read aloud. He told me that He would let me know exactly when to read it. The first 30-40 minutes of the prayer time, I sat quietly while the congregation, led by the pastor, prayed for all manner of healing. God firmly reminded me to be silent.
Then, when God directed, I picked up my open Bible and began to read boldly from Isaiah 46. The place where I finished reading ended with the words (I am God) and will do as I please. The prayer meeting continued seemingly unaffected by the Scripture passage that God assigned me to read. Although I sensed that the pastor may have been angered by it. But perhaps I’m assuming too much.
Before the prayer meeting ended, the last five minutes, the group was instructed to ask God about what neighborhood would be targeted for extra ministry. It’s the same question that had been asked of God at each of the two previous prayer meetings that I attended. Each time God clearly spoke through me the answer “Widows”. And each time, the answer that I heard from God was largely ignored. It wasn’t the answer that the pastor was looking for. This third time, I was frustrated and said so.
The next part is the unity of unbelief part. The youth pastor quickly prayed about unity and humility. Perhaps it was directed at me. Then the pastor chimed in about the need for unity and read from John 17. Again seemingly aimed at me. I could feel God’s heart as He became angry. The words were coming from my mouth and voice, but the words were not my own. “God is not looking for group consensus.” That angered the pastor who yelled my name and declared that he had already said the final “amen”. (In other words, “shut up Tammie!”)
This may have been a long introduction to get to the main point. The unity described in the Scriptures is a unity of the Spirit, not a unity of opinions. God doesn’t need anyone to agree with Him. He will do as He pleases. It’s foolish to have a prayer meeting where God is told what He needs to do. I heard one prayer after another at that meeting that sounded like demands of God. (About that, the Lord has always instructed me to pray “If it is your will, Father, then we ask for healing”.)
How many opinions does it take to overrule the will of God? How many people with a different opinion would it take to convince the pastor that God had spoken? Would ten people agreeing be the right number? Would unity only happen if everyone in attendance voted on the same answer? What dissenting opinions would qualify to vote out the opinion of God?
Now, you may be wondering the same thing that I considered. Was the pastor’s anger rooted in jealousy? Was he upset that God had not anointed him to hear the answer? Was the whole unity thing just a ruse to make him sound “holy” while he demanded that God needed his consent to have an opinion?
Isaiah 46:9-10
“Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’
The Final Amen?
The initial email invite read “Every Wednesday moving forward, we will meet to humble ourselves before the Lord, to listen for His voice, and to ask for His direction as we step forward in the ministry He has called us to in this community.” The first prayer meeting seemed to line up with that sentiment. But going forward, it quickly became less and less about listening for God’s direction and more about telling God of the needs of the church. As if He didn’t know.
But even so, you would think that the prayer group would welcome the attendance of God’s prophet. If they really wanted to know God’s heart they have two choices and that is to seek Him for themselves (which is my preference) or to listen to His prophet. Now, you might think perhaps they don’t believe that I’m God’s prophet. Ok, that’s a legitimate concern. Why invite me to participate in a prayer meeting if they won’t listen to the answers that God provides through me? Was I just invited there to fill a seat?
The other really big question is: Why aren’t they hearing God answer them? They’ve asked the same question at every prayer meeting about what neighborhood they’re going to invest in for a more dedicated ministry. There has never been even one other person at the prayer meetings to state that they’ve heard God say a direction. Certainly, they can be discussing it outside of the prayer meetings, but I thought the purpose of the prayer meetings were to seek God on the subject. My frustration comes from the fact that they seem to dismiss the answer that God has delivered through me on three separate occasions. So it seems what they really want is for God to provide a different answer.
Listen, I’ve really tried to be patient. Every day God tells me the same thing (for month’s now). “Paul needs your help.” Repeatedly, I respond to God’s words by saying that I will do whatever the Lord asks. And I have! You can’t imagine the time and energy that I have put into trying to reach this pastor on the subject of the false trinity doctrine. Early on, I typed a letter and went to a meeting, then I updated two magazine editions to provide more Scriptural evidence and words from the Lord specifically aimed at his doctrinal shortcomings, and much more in the form of public blogs (which he reads). I have listened to every sermon and frequently visited Wednesday evening and Sunday morning gatherings. But I’m constantly met with zero change except for a building animosity from him.
If Paul hears God, there is no evidence of it. He can’t seem to seek God about removing the word “trinity” from the church website. He can’t seem to seek God about whether or not I’m God’s prophet. He can’t seem to seek God about what neighborhood to target. But God is watching every interaction that he has with me, and God is not pleased by the most recent one. I am certain that God will punish him for the abusive conduct yesterday evening.
So, I’m going to pose yet another question. Is it possible that God is refusing to speak to the pastor about anything else until the pastor does the first thing which was to remove the word “trinity” from the church website? That’s what I think is going on. In fact, I’m sure of it. And why bother to target a specific neighborhood if you are going to be just another church that teaches falsely? We have plenty of those already. Maybe Paul should really invest himself and the direction of the church in learning to hear God’s voice. We have plenty of churches that already refuse to seek God. Do we need another one?
A Heaven-Heard Vent!
Ha, it seems that I got to vent a little in this letter to the pastors from June 2021. I’m pretty sure that this was the year when a local pastor taught a Father’s Day sermon saying that women weren’t expected to pray directly to God, but their husbands were. Yes, that’s paraphrased but not by much. In fact, the pastor’s sentiment on the subject made me want to barf.
I think you’ll hear it in my hard words (that the Lord let me use!). At times God has me put my own heart out there in the written draft version and then He goes back through it with me to filter the words … sometimes softer and sometimes harder. I think He and I were on the same page from the start with this letter! We watched that nasty sermon online together so He felt my whole heart real time!
One note that I would like to remind here is that there are two types of spiritual gifts: 1) service gifts, and 2) miraculous gifts. The miraculous gifts of the Spirit require the “now” presence of the Spirit.
Is Jesus the God of the Covenant?
The myriad of wrong doctrinal statements that I hear from pulpits regularly is discouraging. The most offensive is “Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God”. If there are two Gods sitting on thrones in your religion, then you are not part of the Christian religion. Christianity is monotheistic, meaning one God. Jesus is the one and only God. God is Spirit. When the Spirit of God robed Himself in Son of Man flesh, He did not become a second God. Trinitarians believe that the Son is not the Father, therefore, they have two Gods sitting next to each other in their interpretation of Scriptures. It’s false theology!
So let’s revisit the letter that I sent to the local pastors in June of 2021 and the doctrinal “Mark of Excellence Newsletter” attached here. Because this is such a hot topic of debate, I have since created an edition of The Rogue Prophet Magazine, “Jesus, The Everlasting Father” to further refute the false ‘trinity’ teachings. But, as I always say, “Don’t believe me … Ask God yourself!” Certainly, if you truly have a relationship with God, then that’s something you would want to know for sure. I know for sure that there is only one God, not three!
The Rogue Prophet 