Tag Archives: faith

Affirmations or Conversations?

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There is nothing wrong with memorizing a few promises from God and repeating them as a reminder of your covenant standing. But those promises are specifically for those who are in unbroken covenant relationship with God. They’re not for those who have broken covenant through bowing down to a false God, practicing occult activities, or are actively disobedient to God.

Thankfully, because of the cross, we have covenant access to restore our relationship with God when we have sinned against Him. Never take that access for granted. We are required to have a forgiveness conversation with God that can start as simple as “God, is there anything that I need to ask forgiveness for?” Listen for His answer in His spirit voice. Then continue the conversation by asking for specific forgiveness and take the time to learn from God how to approach the same temptation differently the next time. Please hear me. This is what God wants from you.

So, while affirmations can be a good thing when you are in right standing with God, how much better is it to ask God about those promises and how they relate to you? Rather than saying “I am a child of God” simply ask God, “Am I your child?” and listen to His answer. That’s relationship rather than declarations or legalism. When you are in good covenant standing, practice asking God, “Do you love me?” and listening for His answer. When you hear directly from Him rather than memorizing a promise, you please Him with your faith.

When you are in good covenant standing, hearing God is part of your spiritual anointing. Don’t neglect it because you’re afraid of what you will hear. Faith stands strong when fear is present. You will know when you have heard from God, there is no voice like His. And while the devil will try to counterfeit God’s voice when you are new to hearing God, simply ask God, “God, will you silence the voice of the enemy so that I can learn to recognize your voice?” Always listen for God’s answer.

I know it seems like a lot to recognize God’s voice in the unseen spiritual realm, but you can do it when you set your mind and heart to know Him. Certainly, the devil is determined to make you fear the spiritual realm with everything you’ve got. Are you a mighty warrior or a wimpy worrier. You decide!

They Do Not Even Know How to Blush

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A few weeks ago, I wrote about how many pastors don’t know how to preach about God’s wrath. Some even make it seem like He doesn’t have a right to punish rebellion. I could feel God leading me to rebuke that false teaching with great passion.

Leading up to the general election, God has daily prompted me to write about the need to seek God about how to vote. If we ignore God and instead vote as the dark media directs us, or refuse to vote, we are going to feel the weight of God’s wrath that may very well lead to our captivity.

“They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace. Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; they will be brought down when they are punished, says the Lord.” (Jeremiah 8:11-12 NIV)

Without knowing God and hearing His voice, you are NOT going to know how to vote according to His will. This leads right back to me always saying that God is not a book. God is Spirit. God has a NOW voice that He uses to speak to His children in prayer. If you are not hearing Him, then the chances are that you do not belong to Him. That’s a warning! You need to stop everything that’s going on in your life and humble yourself under the Lord’s sovereignty until you hear His voice to lead you.

God is watching you and our nation to see if we are a people who seek God. If not, God can and likely will refuse to be our God. As such, we forfeit His protection and provision. Do you want that?

Can you be bothered to give God the time to really know His heart about the upcoming election? Are you just going to make excuses of why you can’t find the time in your busy schedule to seek God? Are the endless hours or social media, television/movies, and gaming more important than seeking God? How much time did you spend without Him this week while expecting Him to honor you at your command?

If you are willing to neglect God, you’re playing a dangerous game that you cannot win. God can take everything from you in an instant. Know that He is watching how you invest yourself in the upcoming election.

“Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.” (John 8:47 NIV)

The Twelve and The One

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It never fails to amaze me that God will wake me up in the middle of the night to point out something to me.

There were 12 tribes of Israel:
Reuben
Simeon
Levi (set apart for priestly duties; not given land inheritance)
Judah
Dan
Naphtali
Gad
Asher
Issachar
Zebulun
Joseph (often represented by his sons Ephraim and Manasseh)
Benjamin

There were 12 spies sent by Moses to scout and report back on the land of Canaan, (the promised land). The 12 spies (one from each of the 12 tribes of Israel) were:
Shammua
Shaphat
Caleb
Igal
Hoshea (Joshua)/(The same Joshua later sent two spies to Jericho)
Palti
Gaddiel
Gaddi
Ammiel
Sethur
Nahbi
Geuel

And there were 12 minor prophets that ministered to the different kingdoms of the north and south (Israel and Judah):
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi

Each one had a name and was specifically called to carry out a mission. It was important to God that their names would be recorded in the Scriptures.

Then there were the 12 disciples:
Simon Peter
Andrew
James
John
Philip
Bartholomew
Thomas
Matthew
James (son of Alphaeus)
Thaddeus
Simon the Zealot
Judas Iscariot

Each one was specifically called. Each one carried a different purpose. The 12 disciples had an important distinction in that they walked with God while He was in the physical realm in human form (aka Jesus). They didn’t just hear His spirit voice. They could see and hear Him in the physical realm too.

Each of the tribes, spies, minor prophets, and disciples were fallible mankind being called out by an infallible God. He is the same, one and only, God that wakes me up in the middle of the night for an impromptu Bible study session. He’s still meeting with those of us whom He has called and equipped.

I wonder how many prophets of God are walking with Him on the earth today? How many disciples? How many ordinary men and women are following Him? One thing is for sure … He knows them all by name. He is fully aware of each assignment. He wants to lead us. Are we willing?

(I’m up in the middle of the night without any chocolate in the house. Is that allowed?)
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The Temple Courts

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When Jesus was angry at the money changers in the temple courts, He said, “my Father’s house is a house of prayer”. This morning as I had those words in my mind, likely brought there by the Lord, I viewed those words a little differently than in the context of the temple courts.

Aren’t we individually the temple of the Lord (when we’re in covenant relationship)? So, was Jesus reminding us that we are to be a temple of prayer (individually vs. corporately)?

Why does that distinction mean anything? Aren’t we all judged individually for our position in Christ? Being a Bible-toting member of a church (false teaching or otherwise) doesn’t save us. Being a Bible study attender doesn’t grant us access. Being in the elite crowd that is approved by a pastor doesn’t give us favor with God.

God looks at the heart of the one who prays to hear His voice. That’s where favor is found. Access is initiated by a humble heart that seeks God and obeys Him. It is only our Savior that saves us. The in-crowd doesn’t influence God. He views each individual heart and finds favor as He chooses.

Perhaps God was reminding me of all of that so that I would stay content in His loving presence rather than seeking to fit in with a church family that doesn’t know Him or even seem to want to. I’m certain that He wants me to find my identity in Him, not in fickle friendships or with the money changers in the temple courts. My heart must be and will be wrapped in His favor and my obedience. I don’t need a church family. I need God, first and foremost. I REFUSE to sacrifice my place with God to fit in where He’s not welcome.

They crucified Him for speaking out against them.

Evil in the Eyes of the Lord

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What if God, who can see into the future, wanted to warn you about things to come?

Well, if you had your own relationship with Him, He might give you that insight personally. But what if you had God locked up in the pages of a book, and you were trying to read between the lines rather than hear from Him in prayer?

It always amazes me when someone understands that Satan has a now voice but surmises that God cannot speak with a now voice. God is much more powerful and able to speak NOW than the enemy can. God knows the past, the present, and the future. The devil does not know the future beyond what God has allowed to be implied or revealed.

So, let’s get back to the question at the beginning: “What if God, who can see into the future, wanted to warn you about things to come?” Would God want to warn you not to vote for someone who is being led by the devil’s voice? Or instead, would God want you to VOTE for candidates who He is specifically placing into roles that He divinely planned for them? Does God want representatives in government who deliberately seek Him for counsel or not?

Throughout Biblical accounts, the kings who didn’t honor God, were documented as “(he) did evil in the eyes of the Lord”. There were many of them. Do you want someone in leadership roles in our city, county, state, or federal governments that does evil in the eyes of the Lord to represent you? Or would you prefer someone who honors God, listens to His NOW voice in prayer, and leads with His purpose?

If you refuse to vote, ignore God’s will, and dismiss your role in the process, you will effectively usher in evil resulting in captivity. Your ignorance and laziness could be the one vote that neglects God’s intended provision from happening. Will you refuse God or will you vote His will? I’m not asking you to go out and fight a battle. I’m asking you to simply seek God, know His will, and vote accordingly. Can you do that?

Can you allow yourself to be uncomfortable long enough to get your voting assignments from God? Can you get up an hour earlier in the morning to set time aside to seek God very specifically about who to vote for in the general election? Can you seek God for counsel rather than from your ungodly friends? Can you tear down the walls of your heart and allow God to speak to you? What lie has the devil placed in your heart that makes you afraid to seek God for counsel?

On October 15th, I will post how God has told me to vote in the November 3rd election. But that does NOT let you off the hook with God. He wants to see your heart open to Him. He wants to see you taking the time to seek Him. He wants you to know Him more intimately. He is the one who knows the future. He holds the power over life and death. He alone can provide for future generations. Seek Him!

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“Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him.” (1 Kings 16:30 NIV)

“But the people did not listen. Manasseh led them astray, so that they did more evil than the nations the Lord had destroyed before the Israelites.” (2 Kings 21:9 NIV)

Scared of Me?

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Interesting conversation with God this morning. (Yes, it’s early)

God told me that it’s not so much that they hate me, it’s that they’re afraid of me. They’re afraid of the light and power that I carry, according to God. They don’t have the Biblical knowledge to debate me, so they get offended easily in hopes of sidetracking the conversation.

From one recent debate, I asked God why the woman was offended that I called her “honey” during the discourse. Would she have preferred to be called “vinegar”? Certainly, I wasn’t going to call her “salt” because there was no evidence of salt or light in her witness or faith level. She had no faith! Zero. All she had was a confidence in her ability to read the Bible, interpret it to her liking, and stand in judgment against God’s will if it didn’t match hers.

That all may sound harsh if you’re not walking in a prophet’s shoes. Constantly hearing God’s voice and being able to discuss these matters with Him might not be familiar for everyone. And I’m sure it’s not to those who can’t be bothered to listen to God. But my whole life revolves around my relationship with God. I must go where He leads. I must say what He commands. I must yield to Him when He wants to use me as His vessel to deliver words of truth, caution, warning, and rebuke. I don’t get to be (or want to be) offended when God wants to speak deliberately to His church “members” who can’t seem to follow God on their own.

If you’re afraid of me because I carry truth, light, and power from on high, you must question why that is. Oh, I know the devil is afraid of me because of my position in Christ and he should be. But why are you afraid of me? Why can’t you be content with hearing me out and discussing matters with God for yourself? Why don’t you have faith to listen to God’s voice in prayer? God sees it. You must realize that He is not quite as negligent, blind, or mute as you seem to think. The “god” that you serve seems more afraid of you than you are of me. In reality, my God may just be tired of waiting for you to finish your constant list of demands and finally listen to Him for once. But honey, we all know that offends you. What can you do about it when you’re reading my posts? Are you offended in silence? Are you upset that you can’t lord you interpretation of the Bible over me? I think so but let me ask God about it.

From the Spiritual Realm to the Physical:

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Understand that there is a spiritual realm and a physical realm. God is Spirit and He moves around in the spiritual realm. He speaks in the spiritual realm. He anoints in the spiritual realm with the manifestation of the Spirit gifts. In other words, He is with us in the spiritual realm when we operate in those gifts. God has a spirit voice that we can hear with our spiritual ears. We are both flesh (physical body) and spirit. The flesh dies, but the spirit body lives.

Note: God is not a physical book or pages of Scriptures. God is Spirit. The Bible is an inanimate object. It is not alive, but our God is alive and can speak to us while we’re reading the Scriptures or when we are not. He can speak to us anywhere at any time. He is not confined to speaking to us while we read a book. This is important because too many people HAVE NO FAITH when it comes to hearing God’s voice in prayer. Their lack of faith makes them want to limit God to their interpretation of Scriptures. If you can believe that Satan can speak to you in prayer, but that God cannot, you must realize that you are giving Satan more power than your “mute version of God”.

Satan, demons, and evil spirits are active in the spiritual realm. They use their spiritual voices to deliver lies, deception, and evil influence.

When God chose to step from the spiritual realm into the physical realm, He emerged as a flesh-and-blood person. The Spirit is the one and only eternal unseen God. The flesh-and-blood physical person was identified as Son of Man or as Son of God. The “Son of Man” title expressed the human parent’s role in birthing of the flesh-and-blood frame. The “Son of God” title represented the part that the Spirit played in creating the flesh-and-blood frame. The Spirit inside the flesh-and-blood frame was the one and only Spirit of God. There was NOT EVER a baby god. God is an eternal, everlasting Spirit. He was NEVER BORN for He has always been. The temporary flesh-and-blood frame allowed for the INVISIBLE God to be VISIBLE in the physical realm. God is Spirit, not flesh.

Over 2,000 years ago, when God walked in a physical flesh body, human eyes could see God because He made Himself known in the physical realm. He DID NOT EVER create a second God. He created a flesh-and-blood frame to temporarily (33 years) walk among His people in the physical realm.

The flesh-and-blood biology or lineage was in King David’s line in THE PHYSICAL REALM. There is NOT a physical (flesh-and-blood) body sitting next to the Spirit of God in the spiritual realm. God is the only God and He is in the spiritual realm. The “Son sitting next to the Father” language represents fulfillment of the promise to King David for an everlasting government or heir to his throne. It’s not literal. It’s figurative. There is nobody sitting next to the one and only God. There are not 2 Gods or 3 Gods. There is only one God. So to repeat, there it is not a literal Davidic government or kingship in that there is not a king sitting next to the King of Kings in heaven.

Jesus is the one and only Spirit of God who was temporarily in a flesh-and-blood Son-suit. Jesus is God, the one and only.

Good Seed vs. Garbage Theology

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Where are the mighty women of God? Where are the ones who will confront false teaching with confidence and boldness? Where are the women who refuse to allow the devil to placate them with half-truths and garbage theology? I’m sick and tired of socialite book clubs disguised as Bible studies where more time is spent talking about nonsense than is spent understanding God’s heart.

I can’t do it anymore! I can’t turn a blind eye to the devil’s hold on you ladies. You think you find me offensive because I refute false doctrine, but you can’t even imagine how offensive your pathetic half-hearted, uneducated, pretend Christianity is to me.

Listen, your pastor just preached a wonderful series on hearing God in prayer. Simultaneously your book club discussed a book on the same subject. All good seed! Then, you allow the devil to uproot any ground you may have gained by introducing the most disgusting prayer theology in “The Circle Maker”. But you’re offended that God would force me to refute that false theology? Really, you’re offended? You’re angry with me because I didn’t tiptoe around your precious dignity while the devil tried to draw you into deception? You can’t handle the truth! I’m the one who was treated poorly. Where is your hospitality?

I attended four of your so-called Bible studies (where the Bible was nowhere in sight, except for mine). In more than 10 hours of attendance (over two months of poorly organized, poorly communicated, and rescheduled gatherings), God was rarely mentioned except to develop a prayer list of things that you seem to think must have never occurred to Him (sarcasm). Surely, I expect there to be some gracious time to hear each ladies’ hurts and needs, but if I am led by God to devote even the most meager amount of time to debate the wrong theology, I’m the bad guy? I’m the one who got off-track? Seriously? You can’t possibly see things that way?

Sure, I heard all the excuses about how your interpretation of the Bible is more authoritative than actually listening to God in prayer. You supposedly don’t need to hear God, or at least not the way that I do. Those excuses make me want to vomit. You’re afraid that the devil will talk to you. Really? You invite the devil into your garbage theology and allow him to bring you into such fear that you refuse to listen to God in prayer. That’s pathetic! Yes, the devil has a voice in the spiritual realm. That’s a fact. But it’s also a fact that God has a voice in the spiritual realm. A voice that you are supposed to listen to AND OBEY. You cannot obey if you’re not listening. You can come up with all kinds of vain imagination of what God wants you to do to pretend an obedience that you made up. If you didn’t hear God say to do something and you affix His name to it, that’s giving yourself lordship, not God!

I don’t care if you hate me. God is very pleased with my refusal to leave you in your self-absorbed pit. He has commended me repeatedly for having the strength to deliver a hard word FROM HIM once again. You don’t know how much patience was required of me to watch the foolishness that you call Bible Study.

Oh, and btw I know that you’ve been upset with me from the very start because I told two of the Catholic women that they’re not supposed to pray to Mary. Did I offend their sensitive little hearts? Blah! Please go tell God on me! I want you to! But we all know that you can’t be bothered to listen to Him. Keep doing all the talking!

And to all you pastors, this is exactly what you should expect when you can’t bother to put a mighty woman of God in leadership over women’s ministry. Country-club religion!
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Passive-Aggressive Hate!

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The devil would love to silence me when I’m telling others to go to God and listen for His voice. When God wants me to have a strong word so that a seed is planted so deep that the devil can’t dig it up, it’s not unusual for the hearer to be offended. But please hear me. The devil is NEVER going to send someone to tell you to go listen to God with priority. That’s the opposite of what Satan wants. He’s counting on you being offended.

Love is not passive. Hear me again. Love is not passive. Being tolerant of ignorance or rebellion is not love. It’s passive-aggressive hate. I read that term this week and it hit me that some Christians, who refuse to listen to God in prayer, are really more entrenched in passive-aggressive hate than they are in God’s love. God is a God of justice. He doesn’t ignore injustices. He doesn’t ignore evil. He doesn’t choose to have blind justice. And He hears every word of gossip. He won’t tolerate it. And He hears every excuse. He is not passionless.

So, if God loves you enough to send someone to you to tell you that you need to listen to God in prayer, maybe that could challenge you rather than offend you. Yes, I want you to be offended if you expect to be excused from having a relationship with God, or being obedient to Him. The devil knows that Bible better than you will ever know it and he is counting on you locking God up in a book that he can help you misinterpret time and time again. That’s why there are so many denominations of the Church that have contradictory doctrines to each other. The Catholic church uses that same Bible to get their congregants to pray to Mary or dead saints. Please don’t believe me. Ask God yourself if you should pray to other than God. I’m shaking my head here wondering what it will take to get you to sincerely seek God and obey Him.

Again, go tell God on me. I want you to. I know that I will obediently continue to tell people that God is not mute and He is not locked up in the pages of a book that you can lord yourselves over. The devil is never going to like it … it shows up as offense for those who want God locked up in a book and mute. I expect it and I’m not afraid. God calls me “Mighty Warrior” when I tear down altars to false gods. I know who I am and whose I am.
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Tear Down The Altars!

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Yesterday, it occurred to me that God sent me to pastors all these years to correct their false teaching because of my previous position of honoring pastors beyond what they deserved. Before hearing God speak, I worked endlessly to please the pastors at the churches I attended.

I was on more ministry committees than you can imagine from decorating the church, graphic and visual ministries (early on before it was mainstream), newspaper ads to promote events, hosting simulcast teaching, women’s ministry, and care ministries. When I was pregnant with my first child, I climbed up a ladder into an attic loft nearly every week to run the visual ministry of song projection. That was 32 years ago at a church in St. Charles, Missouri. (I created a song database on FileMaker Pro before it was widely available through CCLI Licensing.)

God saw me having more relationship with the pastors than I had with Him. He saw me caring more about what they wanted than what God wanted. Yes, I’m telling on myself. I was a country-club Christian who had her relationship with God through a pastor and church. Just like you?

So, when God wanted to test my allegiance to Him, He sent me to those same pastors to correct their false teaching. I found out real quick that they didn’t have any allegiance to me like I had once given to them. They wanted none of my talents if I was going to give God priority. (Sure, they didn’t say it like that, but that’s the reality of it.)

Well, as it stands and will ALWAYS stand, God gets the priority! When He says jump, I will be quickly in the air! And know this, God called me “Mighty Warrior” as I was learning to tear down the altars to the false gods … just like Gideon. If you’re making your pastor a false god, talk with God about it. He will help you focus your allegiance in the right direction too.