Tag Archives: jesus

Closed Doors Trek?

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The Lord has been showing me closed doors lately. He allows me to glimpse in and then closes the door with finality.

I’ve been looking for office space so that I could have room to work on finishing the Discipleship magazine. Two years ago, I closed my office and moved everything into storage. I hate paying for storage and not having my things easily accessible. For weeks and months, I have been following God’s lead about possible office venues. But most have just been way too expensive and would keep me financially strapped. And for what? All to create a magazine that nobody really wants?

This week, God directed me to an office that was affordable and just exactly right. I sent an email to the broker and patiently waited for a response. But God would not let me call the broker. The next morning, I was being impatient with God about it, and He said “If I want you to have it, it will be yours.” I took that to mean that nobody was going to interfere. But what it really meant was that God didn’t want me to have it. When He finally allowed me to call the broker later in the afternoon, they had JUST signed the lease with someone else. I was disappointed. I was already imagining having a workspace again. But God wanted a closed door instead.

Of course, at any time I could have chosen to ignore God’s leading and just do what I thought was best and I’d probably have an office space by now. But there would never be peace in my heart. I know that with certainty. It makes me wonder how everyone that doesn’t hear God’s voice gets where they are going. Does peace elude them?

The closed doors are painful at times. But being separated from God for even a moment would be unbearable beyond understanding. Behind every closed door is something that God doesn’t want for me. I receive that and will try to glimpse inside those temporarily open doors with much greater inspection of God’s heart for me. I do know that His plans are rarely ever the easiest trek. But why would I need to be His “mighty warrior” if things were destined to be easy?

Rewards For Obedience?

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Do you think that the Lord rewards us for our obedience? I do. And I also think that He punishes us when we refuse Him. Rebellion is ugly to the Lord. But when we submit to Him we are rewarded with more intimacy of heart and sometimes tangible blessings.

Let’s talk about obedience first. Recently, the Lord asked me to once again offer a Bible Study to teach about hearing His voice. I already know that most people are too lazy to put in any real effort to show up, study, and seek God. But, my obedience is not contingent on how many people attend the study. My obedience is in walking intentionally on the path that God has for me. I can’t take it personal when there is not as much interest in the Bible study as I might hope. I’m not responsible for how other people respond to the invitation. That’s between them and God. My rewards are tied to pleasing God with my faith. So, even though my expectations may be low for how others will respond, I’m going to keep stepping forward in obedience. Every time that I’ve done this in the past, God has increased the anointing that He delivers through me. I want that.

Now let’s talk about disobedience and ignoring God. What if I instead said to God that I know that nobody is interested and why should I waste the energy? Should God be pleased with that response from me? Should He reward me for thinking that I know better than Him what the outcome should be? Seriously, I don’t need to know the outcome. I just need to know the next step forward. That’s how God does things. So, please don’t think that I’m naive about people wanting to learn to hear God. I know that most don’t want to. It’s up to God how He chooses to discipline or punish those people. I just need to keep stepping forward with a positive goal to please God.

What about you?

The Gullible One?

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I’m sorry to be so blunt but you CANNOT interpret the Scriptures correctly without hearing the voice of God!

The devil is a liar. His whole scheme is deception. If you’re reading the Bible without God present, you are going to be deceived. When you study the Bible, you must do it while listening to God teach it to you. Ask questions to Him if anything is vague. The reason why there are so many misinterpretations and bogus doctrines is because they have left God out of their study.

Look at all the variations of religions that are out there. Some pray to statues. Some pray to Mary and saints. Some pray to themselves. Listen, Christians pray with God and hear His voice. At least, that’s the expectation. Without it you are lost!

I’ve spent the last 20 years offering to teach Christians to hear God’s voice in prayer. This is the anointing that God has placed on me. I’m not a singer. I’m not a musician. I’m not a historian. I’m a child of God trying to lead others to hear His voice so that they can refute the false doctrines in the churches. It’s not complicated.

We all want Christian community. We are want to be received and loved. But it seems that it becomes all about something else when we can’t agree on doctrine. Why can’t we agree on doctrine? Seriously, God is not going to give us different answers where doctrine is concerned. If we believe different doctrines it can only be because some aren’t submitting to God’s authority and teaching when they study doctrine. It’s frustrating especially when those that teach falsely claim to hear God’s voice. Really, how long does it take to ask a question to God like “Are there three Gods?” “Is the trinity doctrine correct?” “Is there a God sitting next to another God on thrones in Heaven?” It shouldn’t take weeks or months to ask a simple question if you really hear God’s voice. How long does it take to ask “God, do you want me to remove the word ‘trinity’ from the church website?”

I’ve been more than patient, but at some point you have to believe that “they” don’t want to address these issues with God. Their seat of honor is more important than being right with God. He sees it. He’s not naive or gullible. They can fool audiences that don’t know God, but they can’t fool God.

Native Language Tongues

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If you have ever had the Lord speak through you in the gift of tongues, this will not be a foreign concept for you. Evidently, some of the pastors that I’ve been asking to seek God about the trinity doctrine, don’t know how to assess if they are hearing their own internal silent prayer voice, the spirit voice of the enemy, or the voice of God. So, God asked me to write about how they can be sure when God is the one answering their questions about doctrine.

There are two ways to be sure that you’re hearing from God.

1) Test the spirits. (1 John 4:1-3) I’m not going to elaborate on this method for today because I believe the second way is the most effective way for those who can yield themselves to the Holy Spirit. If you want to know more about testing the spirits, I am happy to answer questions.

2) Allow the Lord to speak aloud through your voice just as He does in speaking in tongues. God can speak in your native language just as He can speak in tongues of angels or foreign languages of men. The devil cannot speak through your voice only God can. I do recommend that you do this in a private space where you and God are alone. Below is my conversation with God asking Him the questions that I provided to dispute the trinity doctrines to give a glimpse into how He answers these questions. He spoke these answers aloud through me.

Me: “God, is there more than one God in the Christian religion?”

God: “No, child. I am the Lord, your God. There is no other.”

Me: “What is your name, God?”

God: “I am Jesus. My name is revealed through the Scriptures.”

Me: “God, what do you think of the trinity-of-Gods theology?”

God: “It is garbage theology that has been used to deceive many.”

Me: “Is Jesus a separate God from the Father?”

God: “Child, you don’t need to ask that question because you know Me.”

Me: “It was awkward asking it because it seems so foolish, but this is supposed to be a role-playing question and answer session. How would you answer one of the pastors asking that question?”

God: “I would answer it differently based on their level of understanding. This is where I would let them get to know me more intimately. Each of them comes from unique perspectives including areas of false doctrines that they have not yet overcome.”

Me: “The final question that I listed in my suggested questions is: ‘Is the Holy Spirit a separate Spirit from the Spirit of God?’ How would you answer that question?

God: “I am the Lord, there is no other.”

So, if those pastors are reading this, please allow the Lord to answer those same questions through your voice. Let Him speak aloud through you so that you know that it is not an enemy spirit voice speaking to you in the spiritual realm.

Whenever I have any doubt about what I’m hearing in prayer from God, I ask Him to speak through me so that I have all assurance that I know His will before moving forward. The enemy does not have the power to speak through you in tongues. It is a manifestation of the Spirit*. Also, remember that you can ask as many questions of God as is needed until you have peace and until you can speak with authority about those answers. Don’t come away from the conversation feeling vague. Keep asking questions until you are certain of the truth. God has all the time in the world to spend with you. Don’t rush the conversation.

*See manifestation of the Spirit gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; See also Mark 16:17; Acts 2:1-4; Acts 19:6; 1 Corinthians 13:1; 1 Corinthians 14:39.

To those same pastors, I will not publicly humiliate you if you privately contact me with questions on hearing God. You asking the questions shows a humility that God honors. It’s when you don’t bother to ask the necessary questions that I mock you and your false theologies. I can forgive being blocked on Facebook and your earlier refusals to respect me appropriately.

The Pharisees had “book” learning. In contrast, the disciples were able to learn at the feet of Jesus. Which are you: a Pharisee or a disciple? I want you to learn at the feet of Jesus which means hearing His voice. If I can assist you with learning to discern His voice, I want to do exactly that. I hope this post helps.

What is your belief statement?

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Yesterday, God had me write out a little sticky note reminder. He wanted me to create a belief statement that could replace the trinity (false doctrine) belief statements to model the possibilities for correct doctrinal statements for the local pastors. His hope was to make it easier for them to change their “What We Believe” statements to truth. It seems that most of them don’t really know exactly what they believe.

This morning, I went to Sunrise Bread Company, and sat down to handwrite the result of my discussion with God. While enjoying a hot cup of coffee and a huge cinnamon roll, I penned the words below.

***
We believe that there is only one God. God is invisible Spirit (also known as the Holy Spirit). He made Himself known visibly and audibly to mankind while He walked on Earth, robed in Son-of-Man flesh, 2000+ years ago. Today, He makes Himself known to us individually as we choose Him as our God. As His disciples, we should expect to hear His voice, experience His presence, and walk in His supernatural power when we are yielded to Him in covenant relationship. His name, made known to us, is Jesus. He is the one and only God. He will not compete for lordship.

The attributes of God are:
*God is Spirit. (John 4:24)
*God is invisible. (John 1:18)
*God is Creator. (Genesis 1; Psalm 139)
*God is sovereign. (Genesis 15:2)
*God is omnipresent: always present. (Psalm 139:7-10, Jeremiah 23:23-24)
*God is omnipotent: all powerful. (Psalm 33:6, Job 11:7-11)
*God is omniscient: all knowing. (Isaiah 46:9-10)
*God is eternal/Alpha & Omega. (Deuteronomy 33:27, Jeremiah 10:10, Revelation 22:13)
*God is infinite. (Colossians 1:17, Psalm 147:5)
AND
*God is love. (1 John 4:7-8)
*God is holy. (Revelation 4:8)
*God hates evil. (Zechariah 8:17)
*God is just/justice/righteous judge. (Deuteronomy 32:4)
*God is good. (Psalm 34:8, 34:22)
*God is merciful. (Romans 9:15-16)
*God is wisdom. (Romans 11:33, Proverbs 8, Job 9:4)
*God is gracious. (Psalm 145:8, Ephesians 2:8, Exodus 33:19, Matthew 5:45)
*God is sin-forgiver. (Micah 7:18)
*God is faithful. (Deuteronomy 7:9, 2 Timothy 2:13, 1 Corinthians 13:12)
*God is jealous. (Exodus 20:3)

*** End of example

A belief statement could also describe how to mend a broken covenant relationship. It could describe how God’s salvation method provided us each individual access to Him to ask for His forgiveness and to hear His response. There are lots of great things that the “What We Believe” sections could include. But know this, trinity false doctrine is NOT one of those things. All it does is show how little the church leadership actually knows God. If you want to advertise that, then go ahead. That’s your choice. But you could instead choose to use your website to equip people for covenant relationship and hearing God. Evangelize to a lost world or further confuse it?

He’s Not Here?

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It’s strange that we “celebrate” the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ at Easter. He was beaten, tortured, and crucified on a cross. And He left us! … or did He?

What is the miracle of Easter? Others were crucified on crosses. Lazarus was resurrected from the dead by Jesus before His own resurrection. And Enoch and Elijah are recorded to have ascended bodily to Heaven too. So what is the real Easter miracle? At Christmas, we celebrate the miraculous virgin birth of the Christ child. I wonder with our focus on miracles have we missed the most precious thing to celebrate? God with us! The creator robed Himself in human flesh and walked visibly with our forefathers. He proved Himself to be real. He didn’t have to do any of the things that He did.

God always had the power to forgive sins, He didn’t need the cross for that. God always had the power to remove His own wrath. God always had the power to open the way to covenant restoration conversation without shed blood or a priest. He didn’t need the cross. He didn’t need to be born of man. He didn’t need to perform miracles. He didn’t need any of it. He chose it. Why?

All of this drama after 400 years of silence. Why? Certainly, it wasn’t so that we could have Christmas gift-giving or Easter-bunnies and egg hunts. Maybe He did it so that we would recognize Him. Maybe we needed to have a historical timeline of His human existence. Maybe we needed a tangible God so that we would know how to love Him. Without His voice, presence, and power made known to us, He could be just a far away mythical being. But now we have this place in history where we can come individually to Him in private prayer and know Him. I mean really know Him.

Some do all the talking in prayer and they miss the best part. They miss God making Himself known. They miss hearing His voice. They miss knowing His comfort. They miss learning from Him as His disciple. They miss the dearest parts of our Lord. He didn’t leave us. He didn’t forsake us. He makes Himself known. We get to hear His creation voice. We get to feel His manifest presence. We get to walk in His supernatural power. But some choose to ignore His voice. Some choose to forfeit His presence and power in exchange for material wealth or recognition from men.

How can we show our love to the Lord? We can listen for His voice. We can consult Him on everything. We can choose Him above all else. We can desire to see His face. We can tell others about Him. He can be our God. He is God with us! He is here! Why have we missed that?

But hey, go do the Easter-bunny thing with the churches who teach false doctrine and continue to ignore God. You’re good at that! Make sure you wear your best dress and smile pretty for the camera.

The God of the Covenant (The Only One)

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In the Old Testament times, God dwelled among His people in the Tabernacle (Exodus 25:8-9). The Ark of the Covenant was a place of God’s presence (Exodus 25:22). The New Testament fulfillment was God in flesh, aka Jesus, dwelling among His people (John 1:14).

While we don’t go around calling Jesus “The Tabernacle” or “The Ark of the Covenant” to identify Him as “God with us” or “God’s presence”, those identifiers represent prophecies fulfilled as God made Himself known in human form (Isaiah 9:6, Exodus 25).

God gave exact specifications for how the Tabernacle would be designed. The Tabernacle was a tent of meeting and a precursor to Solomon’s Temple. Both were created to be a place where a sinful people could approach a Holy God. The high priest would enter the Most Holy Place once a year on the Day of Atonement. The high priest’s role was to sprinkle blood on the mercy seat atop of the ark of the covenant to atone for the sins of the people. The hope was that the judgment of God would be transformed into mercy from God. I should note that the sprinkling of blood did not obligate God to forgive the rebellion or evil deeds of the people. It was simply an act to signal a hope for covenant restoration from God. Without restoration God could abandon His people as they abandoned Him in their disobedience and sin. (Think of a marriage contract where one betrays the other with infidelity.)

Everything about Christ on the cross was to replace the earlier Tabernacle and Temple. For example: The veil or curtain that divided the Holy Place and the residing place of the Ark of the Covenant (aka the Most Holy Place) was torn from top to bottom when Jesus died. The torn veil at the entrance to the Most Holy Place symbolized our ability to approach God for a private and individual covenant restoration conversation. We don’t need a high priest to approach God on our behalf. Jesus (who is God) was the final priest. He forever fulfilled the need for intercession. We are each responsible to have conversation directly with God. (Read Hebrews 10:10-12.)

Church Assessments 1/18/25

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Competing Voices

The first step to learning to discern God’s voice is to identify the competing voices, both in the physical realm and in the spiritual realm. The devil, demons, and evil spirits have a voice in the spiritual realm. Their voices can seem like your own thoughts if you don’t know yourself well enough to assess your unshakeable values. (Read about Adam and Eve talking with the serpent in the Garden in Genesis 3.)

When I first started hearing God’s voice in prayer, I made the mistake of telling those closest to me that God was speaking to me. They jumped to conclusions that I was delusional and that I would hear “god” tell me to kill them. So, for the record, God has never told me to kill anyone. He’s perfectly able to speak it into existence and make it happen without my involvement. So if He wants you dead, well that’s what will happen. He doesn’t need me to do it.

Why did I write that paragraph? Well, it’s unfortunate but even your most trusted friends and family can turn against you for hearing God. Read the story of Joseph and his brothers (Genesis 37). Joseph had dreams from God. He made the mistake of telling his family the content of those dreams. Their resulting jealousy made them throw him in a pit, leaving him for dead, and then selling him into slavery. Really, there are not many people that you can trust to talk to about hearing God. Even many pastors will demand that you’re not hearing from God (because they don’t). Secular psychiatry will most certainly condemn you because in their minds God isn’t real.

So, are you courageous enough to step into an unfamiliar realm of listening to God in prayer? Can you shake off all the secular lie-labels of mental illness? Can you stand strong against the giants, like young King David did? What is your faith level? You’re not going to get to a place of hearing God daily if you shrink away every time the devil sends his minions to accuse you.

If you’re ready, then step 1 is to situate yourself in a distraction free area. No phones; No television or music; No panoramic views to draw your attention away. Nothing should compete with your ability to listen to God’s voice. God sees everything. He knows if you have a phone set on vibrate so that you don’t miss an “important” notification or call. If you aren’t all in, then He isn’t either. Earnestly seeking Him means to earnestly seek Him. He’s always looking for wholehearted investment. If you can’t do that, then you aren’t going to hear God. I’m sorry but you are going to have to make God priority. And that might mean that you are going to need to get off your self-made kingdom throne.

When you are positioned to really listen for God in the physical realm, then you are going to need to thwart the enemy’s voice in the spiritual realm. This is a good time to ask the Lord to silence the enemy. It’s that simple. You don’t need to be a spiritual warfare “freak” or a deliverance expert. All you need to do is ask the Lord to bind the enemy so that you can hear from Him. If He truly is your God, then He will silence the enemy for you. Remember God wants you to be able to hear Him so that you can know Him and walk intentionally with Him. The devil doesn’t want you to hear God because he loses all power to deceive you when you can fact-check with God.

In earlier posts, I have talked about the need for covenant relationship with God. If you have pledged on oath to God that He is your only God, then you have initiated the covenant relationship. If you’re not sure if you have asked God to be your God, then do it as you begin the conversation with Him. It never hurts to restate your allegiance. In step 2, we will review how to restore a broken covenant through having a sincere forgiveness conversation.

Did this answer any of your questions? Do you want to privately ask me about this? You can contact me at TammieEdwards@therogueprophet.com. I want to help you learn to discern God’s voice. I do know that it can be scary to approach this subject. But listen, I’m not the most courageous person ever, and I did it against all the maneuvers of the enemy. So you can too.

Attached are two pages from The Rogue Prophet Magazine, “The Covenant Voice of God” (pages 29-30, dated August 2024) that outline Step One of Discerning God’s Voice in Prayer.

Church Assessments 1/15/25

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“Away From Me, I Never Knew You”

Trust is the nucleus of valued relationships. Once trust is diminished there is not enough substance to recreate a lasting bond.

For the last two days, I have been focusing our attention on the manifest presence of God and His supernatural giftings. I hope that I have conveyed that God only delivers His power and authority to those who are in covenant relationship. A broken covenant or broken trust removes God’s provision and protection.

God is wise enough to not be in a one-sided relationship … something that I wish I had learned earlier in life. Maybe I have trusted some people more than they deserved. God has much better insight than I do. He knows how to set boundaries and to require a sincere apology for wrongs done against Him. I’m learning to distance myself from half-hearted superficial “friends”. But it has taken too many decades for me to finally get with the program. I know now not to forgive people who aren’t asking to be forgiven. They don’t want to change. They don’t want to admit wrongs. They just want to use me and my giftings. God figured all that out much earlier than I did … because He’s God, and I am not.

These two Scripture texts, recorded in the narrative from Matthew, as red-letter words from Jesus are very telling about how Jesus views those who are not trustworthy with the primary objective.

• “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (Matthew 7:21-23 NIV)

• “Jesus turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.’” (Matthew 16:23 NIV)

How could God trust pastors who teach falsely to another generation of churchgoers? Why would God want to supernaturally anoint pastors who teach that there are three gods (in a one-God religion), or teach that God doesn’t have the right to anoint women in leadership, or that the miraculous gifts of the Spirit are not permissible for this time in history? Have they broken covenant by refusing to seek God and learn from Him on these matters? Will they hear God say those crushing words “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!” Maybe then, they will realize how loving it was for God to send His prophet with a message of instruction, warning, and rebuke. Will it be too late?

Church Assessments 1/14/25

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Rapid-Release Spiritual High

Disclaimer: you might not be ready for this! If you have ever experienced a spiritual high with God, you know that there is nothing in the physical realm that can duplicate that freedom of body and soul. There is no chemical or biological release to compare to a true move of the Spirit of God. Every move of the Spirit is precisely intimate. God knows you better than any human partner could.

What I often see in the charismatic churches is a pursuit of a quick spiritual fix. While that eagerness to feel God’s Spirit is understandable, the lack of it is very evident in the robotic mechanisms of the non-charismatic churches. Again, the Lord wants me to talk about the cameras in the sanctuary. This is a big deal for God. Would you want cameras recording your intimate naked moments with your spouse? (That was intentionally carefully worded. But you get the picture … right?) Will you ever catch a move of the Spirit on camera or will He stay away because your need to record His presence is anticlimactic? Why bother if you miss the point completely?

“Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” (Acts 2:2-4 NIV)

The Biblical encounters with God were obviously never caught on camera. The belief in those moves of the Spirit require faith. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. God doesn’t want disconnected, low-investment voyeurs trolling His activities looking for proof of His existence. But perhaps, that is what the church has become. Or, is it a place where you can momentarily hide yourself from God? Because you are in a corporate gathering, God certainly won’t approach you to open your heart for inspection. He wouldn’t embarrass you that way, would He? Joining in on religious events allows you to fake a more robust pleasure by association with the “saints”. Pretty much anyone can spot a fake orgasm, especially the faker. (Remember the disclaimer in the first paragraph.) Do you know what it is like to be in the Spirit, or not?

“On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.” (Revelation 1:10-11 NIV)

Other Scriptures to Consider:

  • “You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.” (Romans 8:9 NIV)
  • “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24 NIV)
  • “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:25 NIV)
  • “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.” (Romans 8:26 NIV)
  • “At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it.” (Revelation 4:2 NIV)