Tag Archives: jesus

Church Assessments 1/13/25

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The Cure For The Common Life:
Before walking with the Lord, I would not have described my life as common, but that’s only because I didn’t have the anointed walk with Him for comparison. Experiencing the presence and power of God flowing through me has been the highlight of my life. He brings daily animation to my purpose.

Max Lucado wrote a book entitled “Cure for the Common Life”. In the book, the reader was encouraged to explore their spiritual gifts, their “sweet spot” life experiences, and gauge how God had uniquely designed them for His purposes. I love that book. It’s one of my favorites because of the encounter that I had with God through it. It confirmed that God had uniquely made me for His divine purposes. What could be better than that?

In hindsight, I could see how working as an administrative secretary to executives at the space center and as a graphic artist for a strategic consulting group were ordained by God as training to walking in the anointing that He would deliver to me as His prophet. My teenage years, writing for the school newspaper, were when my love for writing began. Nothing was wasted by God. The most valuable training, however, came from being a mother to my two children. That’s when I learned how God loved me. It’s unquenchable love that knows no boundaries that it won’t risk. Hearing God clearly speak to me the first time, at age 40, changed me into a different person. That’s when I knew for certain that God had chosen me to walk with Him on a planned destiny path. Have you inspected your experiences and analyzed your giftedness from God to assess who you are to Him?

• “But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his words and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of the LORD was aroused against his people and there was no remedy.” (2 Chronicles 36:16 NIV)

• “Now this I know: The LORD gives victory to his anointed. He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary with the victorious power of his right hand. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.” (Psalm 20:6-7 NIV)

• “But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.” (1 John 2:20 NIV)

• “and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills” (Exodus 31:3 NIV)

Attachment Source: The Rogue Prophet Magazine, “The Anointing”, August 2022, pages 9 and 21.

Church Assessments 1/11/25

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Summary So Far:

Let’s look back on where we’ve been over the last two weeks before moving on. It helps to summarize the main strategic points. I always welcome questions but since I don’t regularly receive that kind of feedback, I try to anticipate the areas that might be more difficult to digest easily.

True Doctrine:
Repeatedly, I have expressed the need to hear God’s voice in prayer so that you can know true doctrine. All the churches locally teach contrary to each other on some areas of doctrine. For example: 1) Methodist, Church of God, Presbyterian, and some nondenominational churches teach that women are equal partners to men in leadership and ministry. Women can be ordained as preaching pastors in those denominations. But in the Baptist, Church of Christ/Christian, Pentecostal, Apostolic, and some nondenominational churches, women are considered to be subordinate to men in areas of leadership. Also, 2) Some denominations believe that the miraculous gifts of the Spirit such as healing, speaking in tongues and prophecy can no longer be delivered from the Holy Spirit to His people. (Evidently the Holy Spirit lost His power or permission somewhere along the way.) And finally, 3) Some churches believe that there is a corporation of three gods that make up a god-head while others correctly wholeheartedly love only one God and are in covenant relationship with Him.

If you don’t know where you stand on any of these issues, please go back and read the study pages and articles posted on the previous days. I will continue to build on these topics but having a firm foundation in the Scriptures will be helpful to you as we progress forward.

Discerning God’s Voice:
Knowing God and learning to hear His voice in prayer are crucial to being a true disciple. As discussed before: 1) You must be in unbroken/restored covenant relationship with God which means that you must have a sincere forgiveness conversation with Him asking for specific areas of mismanagement (sin) to be evaluated and restored. You must learn from your specific mistakes so that you can prevent repeat occurrences. The conversation should never be “I’m sorry for everything.” Sin and temptations should be intentionally discussed for improvement. 2) You can only have one God, not three. God is Spirit. When God’s Spirit made Himself known in a human-born, flesh and blood frame, He was fully God (as Spirit) and fully man (as flesh). The flesh part was crucified on a cross so that we no longer need a priest to intercede or a blood sacrifice for atonement. Instead God gave us access through the torn veil to approach Him alone in prayer to humble ourselves and ask for forgiveness for sin. That is how we restore covenant relationship. 3) We must seek God, not advise God. That will require a major prayer shift for most people who have grown up in the church and heard prayers modeled that inform or advise God. We must learn to shut up and listen to God rather than counsel Him about matters that He intimately knows better than we do. Who wants a God that needs our advice? I don’t. Sure we’re allowed to talk to Him about our concerns, but we’re not supposed to try to convince God that our ways are better than His.

Women in Ministry/Leadership:
Too many women seem to be content with being lazy or refusing to accept the anointing and giftedness from God. Yes, I blame some of the false doctrine on the women who sit back and accept it. 1) The Holy Spirit anoints men, women, and children for ministry. He looks for a yielded spirit, right covenant relationship, spiritual maturity, and courage to step out. There is no gender bias from the Holy Spirit. There is no age requirement. There is no seminary degree or college certificate required. An hour spent directly with the Lord is equivalent to about 10 hours of doctorate studies. To repeat, you do not need a secular degree if you are learning at the feet of Jesus. He is the one and only God. There is no authority higher. If He anoints you, He expects you to be bold in that anointing. 2) The Bible clearly records that there were women leaders throughout history that were anointed by God as prophets, judges (deliverers), apostles, deacons, teachers, etc. While the law of the Pharisees prohibited women from leadership, they were also the ones who refused Jesus and crucified Him on a cross. You don’t need permission from a Pharisee to be God’s anointed daughter. 3) Women, we have an advocate who will fight for us and with us against those who perpetuate the lies of the devil about our royal authority as daughters of the King. We must use our voice of truth to speak out against the demonic oppression being delivered through those who don’t know God or true doctrine. You cannot be lazy and indifferent. You must stand up as true Kingdom champions, not little princesses who sit silently by while the devil makes a mockery of your spiritual DNA and heritage.

Attached are two pages about “The Laws of the Pharisees” from The Rogue Prophet Magazine, “Spiritual Crimes Against Women in Ministry”, August 2023, pages 6-7. I hope you will study the Scriptures included on these study sheets and speak with God about them. As I always say … “Don’t believe me. Ask God Yourself!”



Church Assessments 1/10/25

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The Covenant Priority

Loving God wholeheartedly is the priority. We do that through having true heart relationship with Him, hearing His voice in prayer, and walking in obedience. In case you need to hear that again, the covenant relationship is about knowing God and walking with Him. If you can’t get that right, then why bother with trying to disciple others?

Evangelism is not the priority. Evangelism is not what saves you. Knowing the Savior and obeying Him is what is priority. Please listen, reading the Bible (which the devil knows better than you do), putting money in an offering plate, faithfully attending church, or loving your neighbor is not the criteria for having a heavenly home for all eternity. Your personal relationship with God is what matters. True discipleship is learned at the feet of Jesus. True discipleship must come from learning to hear God’s voice in prayer and obeying Him specifically.

The priority is not in how many souls you win or in loving others. I’m sorry, but it just is not. If you spend your whole life loving others well but ignore the priority relationship with God, you’re still going to hell. Discipleship is about knowing God. If you want to help others to know God, then you must begin with teaching them the importance of knowing God personally and WHOLEHEARTEDLY. It’s not a secondary priority — it is the first thing. You will spend your whole life with that priority. If God leads you to help a neighbor or to evangelize, then it becomes an act of obedience to your priority relationship. I hope I’m making this clear. Everything else should not be on your radar unless God puts it there. That’s how you choose God first every time.

This story is an example of specific obedience. One day I was driving down the road, and my spiritual vision was directed to a woman sitting at a park. I asked the Lord about the woman. He said for me to take $20 (the last $20 that I had until my next pay day several days later) and to tell her that God specifically asked me to give her the money. So, I did exactly that. I confidently (yet discreetly) approached her with the $20 in my outstretched hand and said “God asked me to give this to you.” She immediately began to cry and said that she was sitting there thinking about running into traffic (to end her life). God knew her need and entrusted me to show up exactly when and where He wanted me to. If I didn’t hear His voice, it would have been nearly impossible to be at the right place at the right time to do His work. But the story doesn’t end there. The next week, I was driving by the same area and saw a homeless man holding a sign asking for money. So, I asked the Lord, “Do you want me to help him?”. The Lord firmly and resolutely answered, “No! Do not go near him! I’m doing something in his life. I do not want you to help him.” The tone of God’s voice made it clear, that the young man was being punished by God. If I had not heard God and decided that it was my Christian duty to help the young man, I would have been working contrary to God’s will. That would not be obedience. It would be the opposite of obedience. Charity is not obedience if it works contrary to God’s plans. Too often, we can assume that we know God’s will when we haven’t bothered to have a conversation with Him. How hard is it to take the time to seek God before walking in a direction? Learning His voice is instrumental to following Him.

Attached are two pages describing the covenant relationship. I hope it helps. I want you to learn to seek God and follow Him. Please know that this post is my specific act of obedience to God. He woke me up at 2:00 am to direct me to type this message to you. He spoke every word of it and authorized me to post it. My priority was in obeying Him whether you take the time to study or not. I’m not responsible for you. I’m responsible to obey God. So just like that $20 that I gave the lady in the park, I’m handing this to you. Maybe God knows that it is exactly what you need. I’ve done my part to obey God. Will you?

(Source: The Rogue Prophet Magazine, “The Top 10 False Teachings In The Churches”, June 2021, pages 12-13)

Church Assessments 1/5/25

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Fasting From Negligence!

Crossroads Community Church starts a 21-day fast today. Their goal is for God to position 21 souls in their sphere of influence. In an earlier post, I promised to help them in their efforts to be able to hear God. As a deliverance minister, I would not advise anyone to fast from healthy foods. We have an enemy that would love to gain access when we are weak.

Fasting does not force God or make anyone a better Christian. So I often roll my eyes when I see that a church is doing a corporate fast. But that’s where they are so let’s see if I can save them some trouble by prompting them in a few areas:

There is no Biblical command to fast from food. In the temptation of Jesus in the desert (Matthew 4:1) we can see that the Spirit was ready to be tempted by the devil when the body had fasted for 40 days. Note: Jesus is the Holy Spirit who was in a human-born, flesh-and-blood frame. We are flesh and spirit. When our flesh is weak, we had better hope to have a strong spirit being protected and led by the Spirit of God.

In deliverance ministry, I often see Christians aimlessly doing spiritual battle because they don’t understand the covenant relationship with God. If we are in unbroken covenant relationship with God, (meaning that we have kept our oath of allegiance to God or had a sincere forgiveness conversation with Him if we have sinned against God’s heart), then God will guard our minds from enemy influence. In other words, if we are right with God, the enemy cannot speak to us because God is present. If we are loyal to God, He is loyal to protect us. If we are not in unbroken covenant with God, then God is not obligated to be our protector.

So for those choosing to fast for 21 days, please be sure that you are in right relationship with God, for every day. Here are two questions that you can ask of God, every morning to be sure that you are in covenant with Him. (1) “Lord, will you please bind the enemy in every way around me?” Listen for His answer. If He answers something like this “I am with you. I will not leave you.” then He is telling you that He is guarding you from enemy access. If you don’t knowingly hear an answer then repeat this question after resolving the next one. (2) “God, is there anything that I need to ask forgiveness for?” Listen for His answer. Lean in to discern exactly what He is saying. If you think that His answer might be your own thoughts then you need to listen carefully to the words being used.* (Example below.) Once you have discerned areas that need discussion with God, apologize and be sure to let Him reveal to you how you could have done things differently; and how you will do them better next time. If you don’t bother to learn from your mistakes, you will likely repeat them. Take the time with God to resolve this so that moving forward you understand the error. If you have had a successful forgiveness conversation with God, then you are in a restored covenant relationship. You will know it because you will feel the burden lifted and you should continue to hear God’s voice in prayer. Remember seek God, not advise God.

*Example of God speaking to you versus your own thoughts. Many years ago when I was first learning to discern God’s voice, I was sitting at my computer playing Solitaire. My mind was focused on winning, of course. But, I heard a silent voice speak to me that was not my own spirit voice or thoughts. The question He asked me was “Who are you competing against?” Suddenly, I was having a conversation and not with myself because my internal conversation would have been subtly different. I might have asked myself “Who am I competing against?” Do you see that the direction of the first question was not coming from within, but outside of myself? (Please if you want to lock me up for explaining spiritual matters, it wouldn’t be the first time. I’m trying to help you, so don’t mock me.) God, will address you with words like “child”, “beloved”, or call you by your name. Listen carefully to the words that He uses in prayer. I encourage you to have a journal to write everything down at least until you recognize God’s voice from a stranger’s voice.

Ok, so I hope that helped. I’m always willing to respond to sincere questions about deliverance. I don’t want to see the enemy having his way with you. I’d rather see you walking obediently with God.

You can privately email me at the contact portion of this website.

Church Assessments 1/4/25

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The Ultimate Whistleblower!

Nobody can be trusted to reveal church corruption, deceit, and evil-doers like God can. God knows exactly what is happening inside and outside of the walls of His church. Unless, of course, God isn’t real in which case everything about the church is fake. Maybe a fake God wouldn’t send prophets either. What would convince you that God is real? How would you confirm allegations of corruption or “swampy” creatures in the church (or anywhere)?

What if you actually experienced God’s presence and heard Him tell you what’s going on? How could you be sure it was God and not the devil trying to deceive you? Would you just decide to ignore the situation because you didn’t trust yourself to discern fact from fiction? Maybe you realize that you don’t really know God, but you have rather enjoyed church attendance to the point that you don’t want to rock the boat or raise an eyebrow in suspicion.

Certainly, if God were real and had all the power that sovereign lordship implies, why would He need to send messengers? Couldn’t He just zap out the evil-doers? Couldn’t He just decide that those people don’t deserve a chance to turn away from their injustices? Couldn’t He demand to exact justice without affording a public hearing with a jury of their peers? If He’s God, He doesn’t need to hide for fear of retribution. So is He the ultimate whistleblower and did He try to reason with those doing wrong before making a public spectacle of their deeds? Hmmm?

Yes, I asked a lot of questions there, do you even want the answers? Who could you ask that you would trust? Have you heard of the word “prayer”? Prayer is a two-way conversation with a very real God. However, if you’re only having one-sided communication where you’re doing all the talking, then perhaps your God isn’t real at all or maybe you are actually the real god. That’s scary! However, if perhaps the real sovereign God and creator sent a messenger to teach you how to hear His voice in prayer, you might be able to discern whether or not He is real. Oh boy, are you up for that? Take a minute, decide, …

If the answer is “no”, then see you later. No hard feelings. But if the answer is “yes, I want to learn to hear God’s voice in prayer”, then hallelujah! We’re on a mission!

There are two prerequisite points that need to be clear if you want to hear God’s voice in prayer. The first one oftentimes gets lost in churchy language. 1) You must be in covenant relationship with God (God is His title — Jesus is His name.) Being in covenant relationship means that you have chosen God to be your only God. You can have no other gods. You cannot value anyone’s authority higher than God’s authority. The moment that you choose a secondary god or a counterfeit authority, you have broken covenant. Thankfully, God does afford us all the opportunity to apologize for the foolishness of choosing other “gods”. Sincerely asking for forgiveness, learning how it displeases God, and promising to not do it again is how we can restore the covenant relationship. So … are you in unbroken/restored covenant relationship with God? It is a necessity to hearing God’s voice in prayer.

The second prerequisite is that you are seeking God to know God. 2) Seeking God means the opposite of telling God. It means that you are humbling yourself and asking questions to get to know His will. If you’re only wanting to hear God with the hope of getting winning lottery numbers from Him, He isn’t going to waste your time or His with that nonsense. He is looking at your heart, and knows it better than you do … unless of course, He isn’t real. Then you know best.

Please gauge for yourself … is what I’ve told you here correct? Could you set yourself apart in a distraction-free area and have a candid forgiveness conversation with God? Could you seek Him? If you did and you heard His voice, would you believe that He is real?

Church Assessments 1/3/25

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Women in Ministry (Part 3 of 7)

This series of church assessments began right where God wanted it to with reviewing a local church, Crossroads Community Church of God. When I first attended the church at the beginning of November last year (two months ago), I had hoped that God was finally bringing me to a church home …

I have missed having a church family. But what God was wanting was for me to evaluate it from a perspective of would I invite others there. I am mature in my faith walk. I have grown to know when there is false doctrine or impure intent. But not everyone has had the benefit of God’s specific direction, shared spiritual experiences and years of study on doctrinal issues as I have. Yes, some can spot a used car salesman better than others just by their tone and insincere gestures, but not many understand how clever manipulators can twist the Scriptures with subtle nuances to fool many. The moment that I’m no longer simply a guest at a church and considering making it my home, it’s going to get a deeper dive of inspection into every aspect, especially if I’m going to invite others into that home church. God wanted me invested.

However, when I asked the church for information via email (in writing so that I was not vague), I was ignored. That makes everything suspect. If you cannot confirm your doctrinal stance, then maybe it’s not clear for a reason. I honestly, at this point, don’t know what the reason is. I don’t have clarity because I can’t get answers or feedback. Unless I see changes to the website or other social media avenues, I’m going to wonder why the coverup.

So, I’m clearly stating. Crossroads Community Church of God, please make your doctrinal stance clear on women in leadership and women in ministry. I can’t be the only one who cares. You have only about 30 regular (adult) attenders at your church and half of them are in the band, working sound and visual, or up on the platform in some way.

Can you not see that your church is dying because you don’t have a strong women’s ministry? If you have good doctrine, you should be standing firm on it. Please also make it clear who is overseeing women’s ministry. Is there a contact person? Is there a regular meeting to invite ladies to? Is there anything at all for a woman to grow in the Kingdom? If not, please just say so. And darling, if you were putting as much energy into this area of your church as you are for community events like chili cookoffs, money-changing marketplaces, and exercise boot camps, you wouldn’t be provoking God to bring a message from me. Just sayin … I’m getting tired of it. He’s not letting me sleep because this is His push to open your eyes. So wake up! I can’t honestly see myself being friendly about this much longer. You may think, well it’s only been two months. So I ask how long do you need? Do you need me to write out your doctrinal stance and post it on your website or Facebook page? Do you not know what it is?

If you can’t be bothered to email me some form of response (TammieEdwards@therogueprophet.com), or post something on your public social media on this matter, then I’m going to assume that you have some big secret to hide. God knows that you have read every single one of these posts. You’re not fooling God.

For Kingdom ladies, here are two study pages that you can discuss with God. I hope more than anything that you will find shelter with Him. (Source: The Rogue Prophet Magazine, “Spiritual Crimes Against Women in Ministry”, August 2023)

Church Assessments 1/2/25

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Crossroads Community Church, “Eyes to See”

The devil and his minions have a primary objective to infiltrate the church with doctrines of demons. Satan is a liar, and he is very clever in his deceit. As Christ-followers, we need to be able to have spiritual vision that can detect evil. As Christ-followers we need to hear God’s voice so that we can step in obedience to Him. We need to be set apart in order to see what’s creeping in to the churches.

Crossroads Community Church is planning a 21-day fast this month. So let’s talk about what spiritual fasting is and what spiritual fasting is not. A biblical fast is not about abstaining from healthy foods. Daniel and his friends abstained from the indulgences of the pagan culture, not from healthy eating. A true spiritual fast is about setting yourself completely apart to seek God. In Isaiah 58, (please read the chapter, it takes about 5 minutes), God lays out where their fasting has gone wrong. In that text, He clearly is annoyed that they think their fasting is about forcing God. We don’t get to force God to do anything. (Who wants a God that can be intimidated by fasting?) Fasting doesn’t accomplish our list of demands. What we should hope for instead is that we are given spiritual eyes to see good versus evil.

Please read the seven letters to the churches in Revelation, chapters 2 and 3 (10 minutes). Do you see how John penned a consultation of strengths and weaknesses about each of the churches? Actually, it was mostly weaknesses, but who’s counting? Could you listen for God to tell you what He sees in your church?

I hope Crossroads’ members, staff, and friends will set themselves apart to sincerely SEEK GOD, not tell Him. Put aside all the religious traditions and clutter. Remove yourselves from the indulgences that are so easily available to distract you from your Kingdom purposes. (Eat healthy to keep your strength up. You’re going to need in the fight ahead.) For some, God will give an increased spiritual discernment that is listed as discerning between spirits in the miraculous gifts (1 Corinthians 12:4-11) as a manifestation of the Spirit. In other words, God will be right there with you pointing out the evil. But if you turn a blind eye to what God is showing you because it’s too hard to confront, God won’t bother with opening your eyes further. And you will sit in your comfortable stinking pew until someone else has the courage to step forward. If you didn’t discern it, that was a message of warning from God.

Oh, Crossroads, how I hope that you will use that 21 days to build your relationship with God. Don’t flaunt yourselves. Instead humble yourselves. Be eager to know God’s will, not busying yourselves telling God all the wise advice that you’re sure He needs. Because from what I can tell, most think that God doesn’t know what’s going on unless you give Him counsel. Are the words “shut up, and listen to God” too harsh? Maybe, and maybe some of you need harsh. Just sayin …

Perhaps you haven’t been taught how to discern God’s voice in prayer. Well buckle up! Your training is about to begin! During your 21-day fast, I will post here to help you learn. I hope you really want to know God, because He wants to be known. The devil has been working overtime to cover your eyes. I pray that you will have eyes to see truth!

Church Assessments 1/1/25

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Women in Ministry (Part 2 of 7)
Christian Apologetics

Various and wrong interpretations of Scriptures have created a very fractured church. Just in the churches in my hometown, I have witnessed hugely different theologies even within the same denominations. You may have noticed that the word “denomination” is not that far from the word “demonization”. That’s because a doctrine of demons or false theology has reared its ugly head and spewed a wrong interpretation of Scripture. I’d like to say that some churches have appropriately separated themselves from the churches who teach falsely, but that doesn’t seem to be the case since nearly all churches are teaching falsely on one or more topics rather than consistently bringing sound Biblical doctrine. Locally, there is even a pastors’ coalition that is willing to hold hands with false teachers in a unity-of-disunity cult.

The lack of truth coming from the pulpits is likely born of two major shortcomings: 1) Failure to seek God; and 2) Refusal to honor God above catering to congregational politics.

If a preacher doesn’t hear God’s voice in prayer, he/she has no business teaching others. Hearing the enemy’s voice rather than seeking God is largely why false doctrines are handed down from generation to generation. Those doctrines of demons keep getting confirmed through the false teachers and received by the ignorant listeners. Both parties have a responsibility to God to seek Him and hear His voice about true doctrine. Please hear me, the Church is a mess of false doctrines and country club religion. It’s the Pharisees on steroids. If you don’t smile pretty when a pastor is preaching falsely, your membership is revoked. Why isn’t dedication and allegiance to God enough to make Christians openly stand opposed to false teaching?

Catering to congregational politics is why some preachers knowingly teach falsely. Either they have been teaching wrong for so long they can’t risk losing “big money” client-congregants by correcting wrong theologies or their jobs (and livelihoods) are on the line if they step out of “denominational” stance. I say risk everything to stand right before God. Unfortunately, many of the preachers in pulpits across our country don’t know God and are cowards trying to pretend that their seats of honor give them the right to bamboozle those who are earnestly trying to learn truth.

It always has made me laugh that the word apologetics is so close to the word apologize. Yes, there definitely should be some apologizing going on! When debaters use a one-verse theology to prove a bogus interpretation of Scripture, they should be asking forgiveness. You’ll see on the attached pages and in the days ahead how often that foolishness is used against women in ministry. Usually with the verse disproving it just a few lines following it. That’s when you can know that some form of selfish gain is at the core of the false theology. How else could you explain intentionally ignoring the context of the passage or the heart of God?

If I decided to build a bogus theology against men in the church, I could easily do it using passages of Scriptures. For example: “Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.” (Leviticus 19:27 NIV); “Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord.” (Leviticus 19:28 NIV); “Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all.” (Galatians 5:2 NIV).

I could debate that if I were not greeted by men in the church with a kiss, that they were disobeying Biblical commands since there are no less than five verses that say to greet each other with a kiss … (Romans 16:16; 1 Corinthians 16:20; 2 Corinthians 13:12, 1 Thessalonians 5:26, 1 Peter 5:14). Do you see where I’m going with this?

“For I strongly warned your ancestors when I brought them out of the land of Egypt until today, warning them time and time again: Obey My voice.” (Jeremiah 11:7 HCSB)

Source: The Rogue Prophet Magazine, “Spiritual Crimes Against Women In Ministry”, August, 2023

Church Assessments 12/31/24

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Women’s Ministry (Part 1 of 7)
Crossroads Community Church of God

Women need training, mentoring, and counseling just like men do. Many women have been sexually abused or traumatized by men. Have you seen the statistics? When there is not a women’s minister, and women are uncomfortable privately meeting with a male minister, the church loses its value as a place of refuge for hurting women. As far as I can tell, Crossroads Community Church of God is in need of a Women’s Ministry Director. There are no scheduled Bible studies on the calendar/website. There is no designated women’s minister listed as staff. A spiritually healthy church should have a vibrant women’s ministry.

Male ministers don’t seem to be allowed to privately message or respond to an email from women. As a female prophet trying to deliver a word from God, all that I can have are one-sided communications with men in leadership. I evidently don’t deserve a written response or an appointment for face-to-face discussion. God said that they’re intimated by me. Can’t say that I blame them. I’m so very scary! So, it seems that all women are equally ignored whether they are strong or weak.

The Lord wanted me to include this brief story. Many years ago, a pastor at a local church that I was newly attending referred to me as just some “hottie” in the church before he proceeded to livestream himself attempting to cast out a Jezebel* spirit from me. In his mind all strong or cute women must be demonically controlled. That pastor was unsuccessful at evicting the Holy Spirit from me. But Pastor Marcus lost his church shortly after, and he is dead. God doesn’t mess around with that stuff. “Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm.” (Psalms 105:15 NIV)

*Note: Jezebel was a Baal worshipper. She was not at any time a prophet of God, or ever claimed to be a prophet of God … in fact, she killed the prophets of God. She called herself a prophetess of Baal. There is nothing Biblical to support that she was attractive or seductive. The only mention of beauty related to Jezebel was that she “painted” her face just before she was thrown to her death to be eaten by dogs. Certainly, wearing cosmetics does not imply that a woman is possessed by an evil spirit, but persecuting prophets of God would indicate a problem. So, you go girl, and be as cute as you want!

The various denominations of the Christian religion have different doctrinal stances regarding women in leadership. The Church of God corporately promotes a good doctrine about women in leadership. In their doctrine, women are equally (to men) anointed by God in the church. In the Church of God denomination, women can be ordained and are able to teach both genders and preach.

However, in other Christian denominations, women are not seen as equals in leadership roles especially if men are present. When I led women’s Bible studies at one local church, I was not even allowed to lead a prayer if a man were present. The protocol was that I was supposed to defer to any man to speak any corporate prayers even if he didn’t know God. In another church (A Church of God denomination), an egotistic male associate minister, Scooter, thought that he had the right to be at every women’s ministry gathering and Bible study to oversee our activities. Obviously, I resigned from that church staff when he insisted on being my supervisor. He didn’t like that I wanted to teach women that God is not mute. If God couldn’t speak to His daughters, then the minister got to be the authority on all matters. Scooter quickly fractured that church, that had grown from 25 to 300 members in about a year’s time, and destroyed a beautiful women’s ministry that so many worked to create. All that destruction because he needed to lord himself over women in ministry. Too often, little men are easily emasculated by the presence of strong women. But listen, Kingdom women, don’t reduce yourself and God’s power through you to satisfy useless idiots. God wants us strong and on the battlefield against the enemy just as He leads.

I have led, hosted, or facilitated women’s Bible studies and simulcast events at the Library, YMCA, work conference rooms, and at three different churches. I’ve seen the women hungry for connection with God. I’ve seen them starved for spiritual growth in the church. I’ve seen women hurting and in need of spiritual counsel that they can’t get in the secular marketplace. I’ve seen women in need of deliverance ministry because they have not been taught the importance of covenant relationship with God. I have actively participated for more than 20 years in daily conversations with God, listening to His counsel about the doctrines in the church. God has equipped me and entrusted me with this voice of truth. I will not waste it! So, if I step on some toes along the way, well … should I say sorry in advance? Because it’s probably going to happen if you are immersed in false teaching or if you are a man/woman who has too big an ego and too little courage to seek God.

So, in summary. The Church of God has good doctrine about women in ministry and leadership. Does your church? Crossroads, you might do well to publish your specific doctrinal stance about women in ministry and leadership (under your “what we believe” section) as an example to other churches. Maybe, a reader here is a woman’s minister at a church where there is false doctrine about women’s giftedness from God (for example the Baptist Church). If you are, I encourage you to seek God about removing yourself from that church and going to a church where the doctrine is worthy of your talents and anointing. Staying where the false teaching is ignored will not end well for you or anyone you love because you are effectively complicit with false teaching. But always, seek God yourself.

Tomorrow, in Part 2 of 7, we will look at specific doctrines. I will include study pages too. I’d like to recommend one book: “10 Lies The Church Tells Women” by J. Lee Grady. It’s an easy read with much Scriptural foundation but without being overly technical. I have another book to recommend, but it reads like it was written by an attorney. So, we’ll save that one for later.

It’s God’s Church!

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To piggyback on yesterday’s rather “hot” post about God not needing permission, I want to communicate that the churches belong to God, not to the pastors, not to the congregants, not to the board or to the deacons and elders.

God, aka Jesus, is the head of the church — nobody else. As the boss, God is allowed to bring a word of caution, instruction, and rebuke to the church. Again, He doesn’t need permission.

He asked me to remind everyone of a few promises (threats) for those who teach falsely in His church. He also doesn’t need permission to act swiftly. So here goes:

“If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” (Matthew 18:6 NIV also Mark 9:42 & Luke 17:2)

“For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.” (Jude 1:4 NIV)

“Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective firepans, and after putting fire in them, placed incense on it and offered STRANGE FIRE before the LORD, which He had not commanded them. And fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD.” (Leviticus 10:1-2 NAS)

“But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.” (2 Pet. 2:1-3 NIV)

“But these people blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like unreasoning animals, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like animals they too will perish. They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you. With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed—an accursed brood! They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Bezer, who loved the wages of wickedness. But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey—an animal without speech—who spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness. These people are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error.” (2 Peter 2:12-18 NIV)

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. ‘Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.’” (Matthew 23:13-15 NIV)

“‘How can you say, ‘We are wise, for we have the law of the LORD,’ when actually the lying pen of the scribes has handled it falsely? The wise will be put to shame; they will be dismayed and trapped. Since they have rejected the word of the LORD, what kind of wisdom do they have? Therefore I will give their wives to other men and their fields to new owners. From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit. 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 8:8-12 NIV)

Will you pursue knowing God’s will about any false teaching? Do you have the courage to admit wrong doctrines and to correct errors? Are you sitting in that comfortable church pew breathing in false teaching and refusing to combat it?