Author Archives: Tammie Edwards

Go-Bag?

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Hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, fires, plagues and wars can leave us in helpless situations. How do we prepare for the unexpected?

We can’t entirely trust the news, weather forecasts, or vaccines to get us where we need to be. God is the only one who has sovereign knowledge of what’s happening, when and where. No weather radio is going to give us the guidance that God can.

There have been times in my life, when God had me prepare in unusual ways for unexpected events. Mostly it was hindsight that illuminated how His direction provided security or escape. One scenario comes to mind because it was so obvious when the situation played out. It’s been more than a decade ago since this story took place but it was clearly divine provision that has become a memorial stone for me. One day, God told me to make an extra set of all my keys: car, home, and office and to put the keys in my car. It was a simple enough direction from God, and of course I did it. The very same week, because of an unexpected once-in-a-lifetime occurrence, I was thankful that God had given me that exact instruction. God foreknew what would take place and that His provision would be an obvious sign to me that He was leading me. God knew in advance that I would be falsely accused and that the person holding my keys would refuse to return them on my release. I had a spare door key to my car in my wallet and a full set of new keys to everything else hidden inside my car. God’s advance instructions provided an escape from the enemy’s plans against me and proof that He was on my side.

God provided much more for me during that very difficult time in my life and I know I could never thank Him enough for His watchful care. But I know too that my obedience played an important part in my safety. I would be lost without hearing God’s voice. Are you hours or days away from your biggest trial? Are you constantly listening to and obeying God’s instructions? Will you be ready for what’s ahead?

What should you place in that “Go” Bag?

Rescued

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I wept while God listened to my grief and devastation over the loss of lives in the Texas floods. My own children attended Christian camps in their youth. My heart breaks for the parents and loved ones whose lives have been forever changed by the sudden rising waters of the river. So please hear me, I am not saying this next part to hurt anyone. This is what God wanted me to write about.

If there had been enough warning, could everyone have made it out safely? Would everyone choose to leave if they heard God say to move to higher ground?

There are going to be health trials, disasters, wars, and all manner of loss of life beyond this day. We will all grieve and mourn loved ones. But God is not surprised or second guessing His own sovereignty. We are each responsible to know God, hear His voice, and follow Him with priority. I’m not saying that anything would be different in God’s plans for those who lost their lives in the recent flood, or that their deaths are any form of punishment from God. I am saying that I will do whatever God wants of me to teach others to hear His voice and know Him. The Lord can whisper your escape plan and allow you to save others. He is my rescuer.

What Is Your Reputation With God?

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“To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.” (Revelation 3:1 NIV)

Notice those words “you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead”? How haunting that must have been to have heard that God saw that church’s reputation as the opposite of what mankind saw it. It was a dead church to God!

The next verse says “Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God.” The warning words continue with a need to repent or there will be great consequences.

The Pharisees had seats of honor and great reputations at the exact same time that they crucified Jesus. Can a reputation among men ever be more important to God than teaching true doctrine? Can group consensus ever take the place of seeking God and knowing His heart?

Yesterday, I listened to a sermon online by a local pastor who is determined that group consensus of like-minded people is more important than hearing God speak on a subject. The pastor seems sure that God wants to be left out as long as the pastor can find a number of people who agree with him on his false trinity doctrine. Listen, the Muslims can find plenty of people to agree with their false religion. So can the Buddhists. And likewise, the Mormons and Catholics have large congregations and leaders who believe false doctrine to be true. And so it is with the false doctrines in the Christian church. Anyone can interpret the Scriptures as they see fit and find a following, hence the various denominations in the Christian churches.

If you believe that God speaks, why is He not your top priority for knowing true doctrine? I really want to know.

Faithfulness OR Deliverance

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Three years ago, I completed the magazine edition “Discipleship & Deliverance” (cover photo attached). At the time, God was waking me up in the early morning hours every day to focus on the work. While I love to be completely immersed in God’s efforts to help this generation, He was pushing me very hard to get it exactly right and on a quick timeline. My thought at the time was that there was someone who needed a “NOW” word from God on the subject. Only 10 copies were printed, though, and I never received any feedback from those who received the copies. I did, however, post pages online regularly but would have no way of knowing for sure who or how many saw the pages through social media sites.

Now, please understand, deliverance is a topic that requires great confidentiality. The devil would love to destroy the credibility of anyone who undergoes the process of turning from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. Deliverance is about restoring a broken covenant relationship.

This morning, God and I talked while I ate breakfast in my van down by the river, again. He had me take notes on my phone so that I would remember specifics about the conversation. Here is what I recorded:

(For context: I asked the Lord what was His favorite thing about me. He answered that my “faithfulness” was beautiful. There was a quick discussion about how faith and faithfulness were not the same thing. While I have great faith, it was loyalty that He was addressing.)

Faithfulness means that you don’t need to second guess everything because you have an immediate attitude of obedience. But that doubtless loyalty only comes when you are sure that you are hearing God’s voice. Once you know God’s voice (from the voice of the enemy), it is much easier to move forward without doubt. This is why learning to discern God’s voice with precision is so important and why relationship is not the same as religion. It’s why false teachers need to learn to recognize the voice of God clearly so that they can change their teaching to true doctrine.

God doesn’t have a problem with as many questions as necessary for you to have confidence in following His direction. He constantly knows your heart so you might as well reveal your doubts when you have them. But that conversation does not let you off the hook for obedience. You cannot be loyal without obedience.

Bogus Thoughts?

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“’For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the LORD.” (Isaiah 55:8 NIV)

Throughout the more than 20 years of hearing God’s voice in prayer, the Lord has told me many things that I would rather have not heard. I guess that I could have pretended that I didn’t hear Him, but that would have likely resulted in actually not hearing His voice going forward.

One specific thing that I have heard the Lord tell me was to distance myself from a family member who is always surrounded in drama and betrayal. The term “no good deed goes unpunished” is exactly right when it comes to that family member. She just can’t help herself. One of my siblings insists that God would never tell me to distance myself from her. As if he, who has only heard God say a few words in his lifetime, would know what God would want for me personally. So let’s hypothesize for a moment what would happen if I chose to ignore God and instead listen to my brother’s instruction. Aside from making my brother a mini-god, I would lose connection to the one true God. I would stop hearing God’s voice because I would have chosen to disobey God and honor my brother above God.

Does God have a purpose for telling me to distance myself from a family member? I could quote Jesus in Luke 14:26 (“If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.”) which seemingly contradicts a commandment in Exodus 20:12 (“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.”) Do I leave the situation up to a Biblical interpretation, a family consensus, or do I give God the absolute authority and obey Him? Listen, I would absolutely be lost without hearing God’s voice. I would be truly the loneliest person on the planet if God ever stopped talking to me. I would be devastated. Not only that, God would likely need to dethrone my brother in a way that would burden my heart.

My daily routine is constantly seeking God. I ask Him for direction all day long every day. It’s one of the reasons that loud music in restaurants is so offensive to me. It is difficult to hear His spirit voice when there are distracting sounds trying to drown out His guidance.

Do I just ignore my brother’s opinion? No, I don’t. I take everything to God and ask Him why my brother is so determined to tell me to disobey God. God’s response is usually something like “Leave him to me. I’m doing something in his life.” I’m not angry with my brother but I can’t help remembering the Scripture where the serpent in the Garden said “Surely God didn’t say” as the devil walked Adam and Eve out of God’s specific will for them.

So why bring all this up now? While I was eating a breakfast sandwich in my van down by the river this morning, God told me that it similarly portrays a pastor’s desire to seek the counsel of men rather than to trust God’s authority on the matter of the trinity doctrine. The pastor has searched the Scriptures, sought peers, and struggled with his own identity but has refused to listen to and obey God. Why? Has he convinced himself that being right with man is more important than being right with God?

Yes, I have provided Scriptures for the pastor to study but always with the instruction to seek God. I have repeatedly stated what I have heard God say but have always reminded that obedience to God is not by proxy. “Don’t believe me. Ask God yourself!” Here’s the thing, I don’t want to be responsible for those who would twist the words that I bring from God. I don’t want to be responsible for being a mini-god for anyone. My responsibility is solely to do exactly what God tells me to do. I’m not responsible for how it is received. Will I lose friends? Sure. Will I find it difficult to be part of a church family when false doctrines are being taught? Sure. But will I ever lose my connection to God? Never!

Perfunctory Prayer

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Which do you think that God prefers: a prayer that privately seeks Him or a prayer posture that others see?

Many years ago, I was out to lunch with a friend. Unbeknownst to her, I had spent the morning asking God questions to include what to wear, how to pay for the meal, what to order for the meal, etc. Even as we sat at the table awaiting for the food to be delivered, I was constantly silently talking with God about what His will was. I awaken every morning talking with God and go to sleep each night having just spoken to Him about the day. My constant focus is on what God wants for me.

When the food arrived, I silently thanked God for His provision. But the friend expected that I should visibly have a perfunctory prayer model for others to see. She looked at me as if I were a heathen because I did not acknowledge God aloud before eating. Inside it hurt, because it seemed that she should have known my heart for God. Her need to be seen acknowledging God before eating a meal in a restaurant was important to her. Just so you know, I didn’t make a scene or even say anything to the friend about it. I bowed my head and was silent for the offered perfunctory prayer.

But please hear me, all that is modeled in the church is a constant yacking at God and very little actually seeking God. It’s a burden to me. I want so much more for the people that I care about.

All this came to mind after watching Episode 2 and 3 of “The Chosen”, Season 5 this week. (Episode 3 is already out on YouTube.) In the episode, Jesus is portrayed forming a whip and turning over the tables in the temple court as recorded in the Scriptures. He was furious! I could feel every bit of that simmering wrath come to the surface because it’s exactly how I feel when seeing some of the garbage theology and country-club religion in the churches locally. Why don’t they get it? Why are they willing to accept the very things that anger God?

While watching the episodes, I felt hatred for the Pharisees who plotted against Jesus. But isn’t that what they were supposed to do? Wasn’t the goal for Jesus to be crucified on a cross? It couldn’t happen any other way according to prophecies. So maybe they were just doing their part in God’s grand plan.

So are the pastors who come against me for bringing true doctrine to them, just doing their part too? Well think about this for a moment. It’s hard for me to be firm and openly defiant against the pastors for teaching wrong when they don’t know that their doctrine is wrong. I want to love them enough to help them know to seek God about the false doctrine. I want to be gentle and nurturing in the process. And please believe me, I try. All that happens is that I invest my heart in them. They don’t change! Then, they turn against me by blocking me on social media or yelling at me in a prayer meeting. It’s only then that I can get the resolve to be more direct. No, I don’t form a whip and go after them, but their animosity towards me somehow frees me to use harsher language against their false doctrines in a more public way. I wonder if God is intentionally hardening their hearts towards me so that I get fuel for the fire that needs to ignite in me against their garbage theology.

Obviously Jesus was provoking the Pharisees against Himself so that they would crucify Him according to the new covenant plan. But that doesn’t mean that He didn’t truly feel every bit of that wrath and anger towards the perfunctory religious practices taking place in the temple courts.

Thirteen years ago, I started a YouTube channel called “Kingdom Champions”. I wanted to use it to teach others the importance of hearing God’s voice in prayer. It inflamed the false teachers against me and their persecution resulted in much heartbreak. They didn’t succeed in silencing me but they beat me down pretty good. They used some that I loved to burden my soul in heinous ways. At times, I think that it’s unfair of God to keep sending me to those “Pharisees” to help them. With all that they took from me, I should hate them. But if I can’t get through to them, they will continue to teach this generation and the next their bogus doctrines of demons. I’m burdened that perfunctory prayer could win out over truly seeking God and knowing His heart.

Don’t believe me … ask God yourself!

(So that this is not referred to as an anonymous post, it was written by me, Tammie Edwards.)

Let’s Talk About Mary

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Who do you say that Mary was/is? Was she the mother of God? Should you pray to her spirit in heaven? What Scriptures could you twist to make it permissible to worship her?

This is where the discussion will turn to the trinity doctrine. (You knew it was coming.) The trinity doctrine espouses that there are three Gods, one of whom was born of the virgin Mary. That doctrine can then be expanded to make it permissible to pray to Mary since she gave birth (or came before) one of their three Gods. The devil surely loves that. So in that line of thinking, not only are there three Gods, instead of one, but there is also a fourth deity to pray to and worship in Mary.

So you may be wondering what is the Christian doctrine that leaves out the worship of Mary. The true doctrine is that there are NOT three Gods. There is only one God. God is Spirit. God is NOT flesh. Mary did not give birth to the Spirit of God. Mary gave birth to the flesh-and-blood frame that the Spirit of God wore as He made His invisible Spirit visible to mankind. God’s name was revealed to us as Jesus.

Our flesh-and-blood frame (born of human parents) houses our God-breathed spirit being. The flesh-and-blood frame is part of the human reproduction process. But the spirit being that each of us is assigned by God is not part of the human reproduction process. When our flesh dies, our spirit lives eternally with God or separated from God based on our covenant standing with God at the time of our death.

Do you see why understanding doctrine is so important? If you could be easily deceived into worshiping Mary and praying to her, then you walk outside of covenant with God and will suffer eternal wrath. The covenant relationship with God is to have NO OTHER GODS. The devil will use whatever schemes that he needs to for you to bow down to other than the one true God.

I’m begging you, whether you are a pastor or not, to please seek God about the trinity doctrine UNTIL you hear from Him and know with full certainty that you know true doctrine. You can’t believably call me a false prophet if I’m always coaching you to seek God for yourself. And by the way, the head of the church is Jesus, not councils of men. Jesus has the ultimate authority about church doctrines, not the Nicene council or any other council. It’s disgusting when you try to circumvent seeking God. If you don’t know how to hear God’s voice in prayer, I offer to teach you. (But we already know that you cannot humble yourself enough to be taught by a woman, especially one that challenges your false teaching.)

God sees and hears everything. He knows when your heart turns from Him. He knows when you defend false teaching and defame His prophets. He is watching. Do you really want Him to see such nastiness?

Half-Hearted CINOs?

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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?

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“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.