Am I Faithless and Perverse?

Have you ever wondered why Jesus said, when told about a boy with a demon, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you?"  Luke 9:41  I used to think that He was rebuking His disciples for not being able to cast the unclean spirit out.  But He was addressing a whole generation of the nation of Israel, not just a few guys.  What do you think was bothering Him?  I got an insight on that today from our Old Testament passage in the OYB.

When I was pondering what to write today, the Holy Spirit said "Start with Jesus and go back."  So I did.  This is a good principle - I highly recommend it!

I'm quite certain that Jesus was disturbed because this was God's chosen people and they had become completely victimized by Satan.  If they had obeyed God's directions back when they were given the Promised Land, the ones we read today and have been reading, they would not have been in this predicament.  They were as bad off as the rest of the world, at least in the demonic oppression arena, when they should have been free from the evil one's torment.  But they did exactly what God had told them not to do: imitate the nations around them, especially when it came to spiritual practices.

“When you come into the land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the LORD, and because of these abominations the LORD your God drives them out from before you. You shall be blameless before the LORD your God. For these nations which you will dispossess listened to soothsayers and diviners; but as for you, the LORD your God has not appointed such for you."  Deuteronomy 18: 9-14

When I was in college (long, long ago "in a faraway land"), I got caught up in the occult.  I promise you, when you do this stuff, or even dabble in it, you open up doors to demonic influence.  My salvation included a lot of necessary deliverance from evil spirits.  Some people go way too far in condemning every little thing, and they become as tormenting as the demons they're afraid of!  I'm not talking about witch-hunting or "finding a demon under every rock".  I'm serious, though, about not grieving the Spirit and not giving place to the abominations that God clearly hates. 

Unfortunately, our culture is full of evil practices, idol worship, and occult fascination and involvement.  "Pagan" is big these days.  I run into it a lot in the artistic circles I associate in (this is my mission field).  The Lord reminds me often not to let it influence me.  We are so surrounded by it that I think we (the Church in general) are becoming callous to it.  Be open to the correction of the Holy Spirit, and also of those who watch over you spiritually, such as your pastor, when they warn you of these things.  I'm not one of these, I am just a messenger (but if you hear His voice through me, listen).  As such, I'll name a couple of things as examples of what I feel are infiltrating influences that I know for a fact that some Christians are allowing in: vampire stuff and Harry Potter.  Sorry to meddle, but these images and ideas are from the devil; they should not be fun to a believer because they grieve the Holy Spirit.  This stuff is contamination; I think at best it is lowering your spiritual immune system, but probably much worse.  Please consider dealing with it! 

When our spirit is no longer grieved by what grieves the Holy Spirit (or we continue to ignore the grief) we are in great spiritual danger.  This troubles me because we are to be overcomers, and this means "conquerors".  Should we be conquered by the evil that Jesus died and rose again to conquer?  He delivered us from evil; we even pray "deliver us from evil".  Why do we play with it then?  We call it "entertainment"!  Wouldn't Jesus call it "faithless and perverse?"  This hurts, I know, but it needs to be said.  Believe me, I've heard it from Him more than once myself.

It is prophetic types, like me, who are most attracted (when not yielding to the Holy Spirit) to darkness, evil practices and occult spiritual power.  Even though they are called to be especially tuned-in to God's communications and purposes and to help train others this way, it is this type of person that is most likely to be influenced by satanic and occult things.  [This is why God gave instructions as to how to know a prophetic word was from Him or not. Deut. 18: 21-22, and many others]  This may seem strange and unbelievable to many, but if you are this type of person, or you are near someone who is, you will easily be able to observe what I am talking about.  Sadly, I have known people who are amazingly gifted prophetically who have gotten far too interested in what the devil is doing, so much so that they ended up following him instead of Christ Jesus.  Don't you be one of these!  And if you are a parent, and you have a child who is generally drawn to these things, pay attention, because you probably have a prophetically motivated/gifted child, and you will need to understand these things and learn how to raise them up in the Lord according to their gifts.

I praise God because Jesus conquered!  He completely trampled down the devil.  Jesus is Lord!! It is up to each of us individually to allow Jesus to be Lord in our own life.  When He is, He will increase His kingdom in us, and through us where He gives us authority.  These are dark and perilous times, and deceptions are rampant.  Since we are the Children of  Light, let us all live in the Light and shine His Light into the world.

July 1, 2010 Don't Listen To the Trash Talk

I don't know about you, but I've heard the same type of trash talk in my head that Sennacherib was laying on Hezekiah.  Whatever voice it is, any words that lie about God are trash.  You don't have to believe them, or even listen to them.  God will put down the enemy that exalts itself above the knowledge of God, or He will give us the strength to do so.  Remember David and Goliath?  Same situation.

Todays readings all seemed to be about words!  Words are powerful.  Gossip's got hidden poison in it, as we saw in the Proverbs.  Praise and the declaration of God's word are weapons that can take out Satanic control of nations, as we read in Psalms.  We saw what the Assyrian king got for his efforts to defame God (crazy that he would go back after the decimation of his army and worship his loser god, isn't it?).  We saw how the prophetic word annulled the evil pronouncement against God's people.  We read about how people can truly see future events and declare them to you, but you have to hear God about your response to it, as did Paul about what would happen to him in Jerusalem (all prophesy needs to be interpreted and applied properly, which takes seeking God).

Knowing God's word and learning to know His voice, in whatever form it comes, are two of the greatest pursuits in life, and I am dedicated to them.  I am grateful to every teacher, pastor and prophetic communicator that has ever helped me to recognize God's word, who has given me tools to help me walk in obedience to God and to overcome the devil's trash talk. 

God's word is your defense.  When you stand in the truth of Christ, nothing can ever defeat you. 

June 11, 2010 When We Cover Our Ears

From the glory and rejoicing of the dedication of Solomon's temple to the hard-hearted stoning of Stephen:  what a jolting and disturbing contrast!

I don't have a lot to say about this.  Except: this could be us!  At any time, it could be me.  This is a stark picture of what happens to us when we habitually stop our ears from the Word of God, reject true prophetic expressions from the Lord, or refuse to receive a godly rebuke given in love.  Taking the truth can be painful, but when we refuse it, we can kill.  (Don't just limit killing to picking up a stone-- you know we can kill with words, with looks, with rejection.)

I pray that the Spirit of Wisdom and Discernment will show us the heart of the matter.  One thing I see is that, if we get stuck where we're at and make a religion out of what's supposed to be a relationship, we are at risk of completely misunderstanding, and even outright rejecting,  the next thing that God might do.  His purposes have been flowing along, right from the beginning, and He's never turned back from where He's been going.  The people of Stephen's day were right in the middle of God's river, the same river they were in during Solomon's reign, and yet they misinterpreted what was happening.  He even told them in advance what He was going to do. 

KEY:
God always goes higher and deeper!  Instead of the commandments in the ark and the glory cloud in the holy place of the temple, the living Word was in Stephen and the glory of God had filled him, a temple "not made with hands." [Not just Stephen, but any Christian who allows Him to do so.]

I've seen and heard of God doing some pretty strange things.  Sometimes I've misjudged these things, and later had to repent.  I think God's going to be doing some very radical things in these days.  I've heard some things, even just today, that fit that description, and I'm not going to disregard them.  We need discernment, and we definitely need to stay close to Jesus and listen to His Spirit, Who is glad to interpret to us what He is saying and doing in these last days.  Let's not cover our ears!

"But they cried out with a loud voice, and covered their ears and rushed at him with one impulse." Acts 7:57 NASB

Bonus:  Discern the difference between following the crowd and the unity of the Spirit.

June 8, 2010 The Glory of Wisdom and Counsel

Today, the glory of God shines forth in two awesome examples of the how the Holy Spirit manifests Himself as wisdom, understanding and counsel (see Isaiah 11:2)-- King Solomon and Stephen.  I never would have thought to connect them, but there it was.  I hesitated to even mention it for fear of it being too obvious.  But then, the glory of God is obvious each and every day when then sun rises and we think our first thought-- but plenty of people manage to miss it.  It's always in good taste to magnify the Lord!

I'm not going to write a big essay on these two, because I think you're intelligent enough to see what I'm talking about.  I'll simply refer you to a few verses to get you started on your own study.  God honored Solomon's request for "understanding to discern justice, behold, I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart." 1 Kings 3:12.  "And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had rendered; and they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice." 1 Kings 3:28

The Apostles told the people to chose deacons from "men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom." Acts 6:3.  "And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people." Acts 6:8  (Notice that Stephen was not one of the Twelve, yet he did signs and wonders).  When he was taken before the council for his "blasphemy", they saw his face shining with the glory!  What was the glory?  The Spirit of God!

In the next few days, when you read about Stephen, look to see how the same Spirit of discernment was working in him as in Solomon when the king judged a case.  Why did he get a different reaction from the same people than did Solomon? How does Solomon's heart for the nation compare to Stephen's?  What does this tell us about the prerequisites for making righteous judgments?

There is great glory in wisdom and discernment!  I want those-- don't you? We can't be sure what kind of outcome we'll have when we function in the Spirit of wisdom and counsel, but I believe it is a great need, not only in our daily lives, but for the nations we represent.  Whatever the turn of events, we can be assured that God's glory will rest on the one who serves Him with faith, love, and humility enough to give His timely counsel with razor sharp clarity of discernment and wisdom.  We could even end up glowing like Stephen did!

May 14, 2010 God Looks on the Heart

“Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7  I am so very glad that God looks at the heart, and that when He looks at me, He sees Jesus, and me in Him.  After reading this part of Saul's sad, sad story, I was very grateful to read of Jesus' mercy with the woman caught in adultery.  He saw a heart of repentance.  If there had been true repentance in Saul, he would have been accepted. 

No amount of bargaining with God can bring about a truce with Him; only accepting His way, and that Way is Christ.  But His love covers a multitude of sins-- things that couldn't be wiped out with any amount of tears or efforts at restitution.  We need Him.  We need to fear Him and obey Him, which can be hard until we know Him better.  Once we know His love, we would go through flames of utter destruction to get close to His heart.

Samuel was still learning lessons about discernment and seeing the heart, not just hearing words or seeing masks.  Jesus quoted what the Lord said to him, too, about not judging by appearances.  We need to know that God sees our heart: there's nothing we can hide from Him, but there's also nothing that God is hiding from us.  If we want to know Him, He is more than willing to reveal Himself to us.

I have never been the person the world would choose (funny, but I was really the proverbial person no one wanted on their sports team, at least until later on in highschool), and you probably aren't either.  But that's OK, because God chooses us.  He loved us before we knew Him, called us and accepted us.  I don't want to be unchosen for the things He's called me to do.  That keeps me on the straight and narrow.  He's not going to entrust anything to me if I'm untrustworthy.  I'm glad though, that He's not going to "unchoose me" from being His child, or "unfriend me" because I mess up.  He knows my weaknesses, and He helps me (and disciplines me sometimes).  Jesus said He'd never leave us or forsake us.  We would have to totally reject Him and leave Him completely to end up like Saul, which is, I guess, what Saul did.  I'd much rather be the one on the healing end of the harp than the one with a tormenting spirit because I rejected the Spirit of God.

 

January 25, 2010

There are a lot of voices in the world, and we have to discern which ones we're hearing, and choose our responses accordingly. The people were saying all sorts of different things about who Jesus was, but the only right answer was revealed by the Father-- Jesus is the Christ, God's Son.

Peter got that revelation, but then he heard and responded to the wrong voice (Satan's) when he rebuked Jesus.

Every revelation from God is not as overwhelming as what Peter then got on the mountain and heard God say "This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to Him!' Matthew 17:5. It's still the same powerful revelation though, so hold on to it. The next time an opposing voice comes along, use this Word and shoot down the lies.

And listen to Jesus, no matter how He's speaking!

January 20, 2010

Again I am struck by the agreement of the passages for today, and the message in them. Dreams and parables, signs and wonders featured strongly. This is very timely, for aren't we in the times Jesus prophesied, the end of the age? Maybe we have heard the story of Joseph and the parables of Jesus since we were children, and take them too lightly. But they have huge significance for this time that we are in.

God will be speaking to us (and even to unbelievers) in dreams and visions, because we will need instruction! The parables are important for our time! Understanding God's spiritual language is needed for direction, wisdom and discernment. For our protection and the good of those we care for and serve, we must seek the Lord for understanding! It's not just for people who might considered weird because they are gifted prophetically, it's for anyone "who has ears to hear."

"Jesus told the crowd all these things in parables; without a parable he told them nothing. This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet: "I will open my mouth to speak in parables; I will proclaim what has been hidden from the foundation of the world." Matthew 13:34-35

Jesus is still speaking in dreams, visions and parables today, and He is still giving those who seek him the keys of understanding that will save the day.

January 12, 2010

OYB: Genesis 27:24, Matthew 9:2-8  Today I saw examples of the contrast between blindness and sight (speaking spiritually here). Isaac was physically blind, but he could have exercised discernment. Instead, he allowed himself to be deceived. Jesus as the Son of Man, on the other hand, was always perceptive-- nothing could fool Him or deceive Him-- He always knew the truth. He could see faith; he knew men's thoughts and motivations, and of course, he knew the Father's heart and could always see what the Father was doing. Because of this, He had authority. He had the authority to forgive sins and he had the power to issue a blessing. He is the example we are to follow.

January 7, 2010

I'm on the topic of "seeing" again! Does that surprise you, since I'm an artist? Sometimes I forget that God sees, really sees, and sees me. I used to be afraid to be "open" with God until I realized He sees it all anyway. And still loves me. I want intimacy with Him (I always think "into-me-see"), so I want to go purposely to the Well of the Living One who sees me (Genesis 16:14).

When I got to the Gospel reading, I was a little worried at "Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them" Matthew 6:1. I brought this up with the Lord, concerning doing this group especially, and my fund raiser for Need Him Ministries. Checking my heart best as I could, I felt my motivations were right, to lead others towards God and to shine my light. Will others judge my actions wrongly? Maybe, but God SEES my heart.

Then in Matthew 6:22  I saw something different in one of my favorite verses about the eye being healthy. If I trust my own eyes, my natural vision, I'm going to be full of darkness. But if I give up my own sight and let God be my "eye", I will be full of light-- because He REALLY sees, knows, discerns-- there's no darkness in Him.