Judging the News

Do not judge by appearances – John 7:24

If you hear… anyone saying… then you shall investigate and search out and inquire thoroughly – Deut. 13:12-15

The Lord said, “The outcry… is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know” – Gen. 18:20-21

Judge according to facts, never by appearances. Taking a snippet of anything, out of it’s original context is asking for a major misunderstanding. I’m sure you’ve had someone take your words and twist them into something you didn’t mean, or had someone enter the conversation at the wrong time–just in time to hear something that sounded off as a standalone comment. We are told to investigate, search out, and inquire THOROUGHLY before we draw conclusions. We have to see the whole picture first, and we don’t get that from a video snippet. God set the example, when He went Himself to investigate things instead of relying on the report of humans or angels!

Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me judge… between you?” – Luke12:14)

Jesus, the only truly righteous Judge, even refused to judge in situations where He was not yet in authority! It is for the justice system to decide matters of justice. You have the authority to go to the hearing and protest at that time if you feel the trial was corrupt.

Judge nothing before the appointed time – Luke 12:14

Goodness knows, we have some corrupt government, but that does not make them all corrupt. If they are proven corrupt, sentence them. If they made a mistake, then FIRE them like you would a doctor who messed up:

Bring it out in the open and deal with it… Hold this man’s conduct up to public scrutiny. Let him defend it if he can! But if he can’t, then out with him! – 1 Cor. 5:3-5

Doctors and cops, have stressful jobs and stressful decisions to make. Mistakes happen. Rarely is a death with corrupt intention. These people don’t take killing someone lightly. A cop can go 20 years without shooting a person, then one day has to pull a gun and weep over the loss of life–being forced to make this decision.

Research the facts, instead of jumping on the bandwagon of hearsay:

• Cops killed nearly twice as many whites as blacks in 2015. ‪#‎DoWhiteLivesMatter‬? Data compiled by The Washington Post shows, 50% of the victims of fatal police shootings were white, while 26% were black. The majority of these victims had a gun or “were armed or otherwise threatening the officer with potentially lethal force.” Although more whites were killed than blacks, The Wall Street Journal, 2009 statistics from the Bureau of Justice Statistics reveal that blacks were charged with 62% of robberies, 57% of murders and 45% of assaults in the 75 biggest counties in the country, despite only comprising roughly 15% of the population in these counties; meaning even though blacks comprise the majority of criminal, whites comprise the majority of deaths. MacDonald also pointed out that blacks “commit 75% of all shootings, 70% of all robberies, and 66% of all violent crime” in New York City, even though they consist of 23% of the city’s population.
• More whites and Hispanics die from police homicides than blacks. According to MacDonald, 12% of white and Hispanic homicide deaths were due to police officers, while only four% of black homicide deaths were the result of police officers. More so, a police officer is 18.5 times more likely to be killed by a black, than a cop killing an unarmed black person. However, according to WSFA, Montgomery Black Lives Matter is asking the police department to let citizens police their own neighborhoods instead of sending in white cops, even though we are now witnessing something called the “Ferguson Effect” in other cities, as murders have spiked by 17% among the 50 biggest cities in the US as a result of cops being more reluctant to police neighborhoods out of fear of being labeled as racists.

Our unrighteous judgment, suspicions about racism, and refusal to let cops do their job is about to cause even higher rates of murder in Montgomery, and other cities in the nation, that already struggle with this crime.

How long will you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked?… all the foundations of the earth are shaken – Ps. 82:2,5

The world will be a disaster zone as long as we continue to judge in favor of the wicked. When a criminal has a weapon, or is trying to attain a weapon, the police have the right to take action. America needs to understand the role of police. They will try everything they can to arrest someone without shooting them, but when forced, they shoot to kill. That means unloading a full clip. In the case of criminals who are hopped up on drugs or adrenaline–who don’t feel pain and continue to rush people despite being shot–it is even more justified to shoot these people until they quit moving.

We cannot defend criminals. We can however, wisely and righteously, bring corrupt government officials to justice when all the facts are well researched and presented–proving the matter. We should be rioting that Hillary Clinton was guilty of treason and yet not charged, and is being allowed to run for a higher position, not rioting that a cop shot a criminal who was about to pull a gun, or over the number of times they were shot. Some of the cases over the years could be corrupt, but they are not all corrupt.

Some government officials didn’t want to actively patrol heavy crime areas even decades ago. They allowed drug cartels and gangs to do their thing. Now, many of those criminals are the very ones trying to blind and deceive our nation with racist talk and lead us into orgies of unbridled sin (riots). Our news stations after decades still refuse to tell the whole story. Our citizens are unspiritual, untaught, and unjust in their judgments. It’s a perfect storm of all the things that have gone unchecked through the years.

Yesterday, a black cashier ignored me while helping two black customers behind me. As a white girl dating a white cop, there’s no way to hear about a handful of hate crimes without opening my ears to similar situations. While I do not believe this was an issue of race, but perhaps an issue of crowdedness, I do understand how a race that experienced 250 years of enslavement can easily listen to promptings of suspicion and assumption. If I, a christian who has not experienced much racism, am tempted, how much more will the world and those with much experience be tempted? God however, asks us to base everything on truth, and calls listening to suspicion and assumption a sin. When we act on the suspicion or assumption that something is a racial issue, we only perpetuate racism. It’s only when we take those thoughts captive, and choose to act out of a Holy Spirit that the cycle of racism ends.

Be sure of this: The wicked will not go unpunished, but those who are righteous will go free. – Prov. 11:21

It is a Biblical principle that the righteous not be condemned as the wicked. It’s a principle that runs throughout the Bible from start to finish! We cannot condemn all white cops because a couple mess up.

I admire my white cop boyfriend for his ability to handle high stress situations, and treat people with equality. He makes people that look like his grandparents put their hands on the steering wheel/seat when he pulls them over, just like he does someone he suspects, or knows, has committed a crime. He became a cop because he wanted to help protect everyone, and make his hometown a better place.

Thank you God, that YOU protect the righteous and watch over them, and guide their hand in battle (Ps. 144:1). Continue to see America free from racism and corruption. Help us weed out unrighteous rulers in a manner that is honorable. Raise up more judges, teachers, senators who will not take bribes, who judge with discernment, and want to do their job to the best of their ability out of respect for you. Raise up more people who want to lay down their lives for others, who want to pursue and rid America of criminal activity instead of letting it engulf certain areas, who are able to discern who is dangerous and innocent regardless of color. Provide us with more training for both cops and the general population to avoid mistakes. Help us come up with a system that protects the innocent, condemns the wicked, does not cave to human opinion, and is completely unbiased, in Jesus name.

Assisted Suicide

– 1 Sam. 31:3-5 – The fighting grew fierce around Saul, and when the archers overtook him, they wounded him critically. Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run me through, or these uncircumcised fellows will come and run me through and abuse me.” But his armor-bearer was terrified and would not do it; so Saul took his own sword and fell on it. When the armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his sword and died with him.

Saul was critically wounded, but the armor-bearer still refused to put Saul out of his misery. Whether it was true or not, Saul believed that the other people would abuse him. He chose to die instead.

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Maybe you have heard of Brittany Maynard? She was critically wounded; she had terminal brain cancer and she chose to take a pill to kill herself. Oregon calls this the Death with Dignity Act, where doctors can legally assist patients in killing themselves.

Since legalized, 1,327 Oregon patients have received the prescription, and 859 chose to take it and die. New Mexico, Montana, Washington, and Vermont have also legalized similar acts, as well as some other countries such as Netherlands and Switzerland. Switzerland legalized the act in 1942! Today, it is a growing trend and starting to get an American following. This is something we need to be aware of.

– Eccl. 9:12 – As fish are caught in a cruel net, or birds are taken in a snare, so people are trapped by evil times that fall unexpectedly upon them.

It’s important to seek God out for everything. For every new trend, we need to seek His kingdom and His wisdom first. So, what does He have to say about assisted suicide?

1. Let’s not get caught in the trap of this evil time. God is here to reveal the traps and bring us through unscathed.

2. If you assist in a suicide, you are accountable for murder

This year, in Washington, 176 individuals received prescriptions from 109 different physicians, and 57 different pharmacists. God says everyone involved is accountable for the deaths.

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The armor-bearer did not give in to Saul’s tempting, however another person did:

– 2 Sam. 1:2-10,14-16 – On the third day a man arrived from Saul’s camp with his clothes torn and dust on his head. When he came to David, he fell to the ground to pay him honor. “Where have you come from?” David asked him. He answered, “I have escaped from the Israelite camp.” “What happened?” David asked. “Tell me.” “The men fled from the battle,” he replied. “Many of them fell and died. And Saul and his son Jonathan are dead.” Then David said to the young man who brought him the report, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?” “I happened to be on Mount Gilboa,” the young man said, “and there was Saul, leaning on his spear, with the chariots and their drivers in hot pursuit. When he turned around and saw me, he called out to me, and I said, ‘What can I do?’ “He asked me, ‘Who are you?’ “ ‘An Amalekite,’ I answered.“Then he said to me, ‘Stand here by me and kill me! I’m in the throes of death, but I’m still alive.’“So I stood beside him and killed him, because I knew that after he had fallen he could not survive… David asked him, “Why weren’t you afraid to lift your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?” Then David called one of his men and said, “Go, strike him down!” So he struck him down, and he died. For David had said to him, “Your blood be on your own head. Your own mouth testified against you when you said, ‘I killed the Lord’s anointed.’ ”

The armor-bearer refused to assist Saul, by killing him, even though Saul asked him to do so. There are two things that might have happened here. It says that when the armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his sword and died with him.  But it also says that Saul told the Amalekite, ‘Stand here by me and kill me! I’m in the throes of death, but I’m still alive.’ So, 1) did the armor-bearer assume that Saul was as good as dead, and kill himself, or 2) did the armor-bearer witness the Amalekite kill Saul before he killed himself?

The armor-bearers job was to protect the king:
– If he killed Saul, by Saul’s request, then he is accountable for Saul’s death.
– If he stood by and allowed the Amalekite to kill Saul, then the armor-bearer is just as accountable for Saul’s death as the Amalekite.
– If he didn’t fight to protect Saul, then he is accountable for Saul’s death by the Philistines.

The only correct response was to love Saul. There is no fear in love (1 John 4:18). Love protects (1 Cor. 13:7). He failed to love and thus is accountable for his wrongdoing. Fear is a sin as much as murder. In this instance, his fear was murder for Saul and himself.

The Amalekite:
Having just escaped the genocide of his people, the Amalekite had a chance to save his own life by bringing a good report to David, but he:
– Reasoned that Saul could not survive his wounds
– Reasoned that Saul would not survive those pursuing him
– Reasoned that it was honorable to grant the request of a dying man/king
– Was held accountable for killing Saul and was judged and condemned by his own guilty plea

– 1 Samuel 26:9,11 – “No!” David said. “Don’t kill him. Who can lay a hand on the Lord’s anointed and be guiltless?… But the Lord forbid that I should lay a hand on the Lord’s anointed.

A doctor’s job is to heal and save the sick, not help them die because they are overwhelmed by a bad diagnosis. God made every person. God anointed every person with a purpose. Do not harm the Lords anointed. Do not be deceived that you are helping someone by killing them. Tell them of the hope they can have in Christ and that God still heals. ‘Certain death’ is not certain with God on your side, nor is ‘terminal’ final with God.

–  Matthew 10:8 – Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.

Prayer: God, raise up more spirit-filled doctors and nurses willing to speak during hard times to remind people of the hope found in You; to remind the ‘terminally ill’ that there is a chance, a hope, and that God still heals. To remind them of eternity, and bring peace of mind to hospital rooms. To remind every person that there is a chance to repent and turn to God; a chance for God’s grace to take over the situation and turn things around. Place godly advisors in these situations who don’t back down in fear and let the world call the shots, but who stand up and speak the truth in love and do what is necessary to protect the Lord’s anointed.

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More to come on the topic of Accountability. If you enjoyed this post please follow +LoveDiscple

Noah, the Flood, & Evil God

   

The waters, of Noah’s flood, washed away the wicked. What kind of loving God would kill all mankind? He’s so harsh, right? Let’s look into this story and its meaning. Remember God is, was, and is to come; that means His Words, and actions, are without time – and the message stays consistent.

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– John 1:1-2,4-5,14 – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning…  In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it… The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son

– Gen. 1:1-2 – In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

– Matt. 14:24-25,27-31 – When evening came, He was there alone. By this time the boat was far from land and was being thrown around by the waves. The wind was strong against them. Just before the light of day (or the beginning of day; the dark hours before daybreak), Jesus went to them walking on the water… But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him.

These 3 passages have similar components like: 1)God  2)on the water, 3)in the beginning, 4)at the dark of night.

So many people read the story of Noah and think that God wiped out mankind without giving them a chance, but these verses show us that, from the beginning of creation, God has been walking on the waters, looking for people to rescue. Since the beginning of creation, God has been hovering over the waters. When I hear the word hover, I think of a helicopter on a rescue mission, searching fiercely for those drowning.

Hover means to remain in the air in one place. This is God. He has His eyes on all the world. He is our dispatcher. Jesus is our first responder. Jesus says in John 12:49 that He doesn’t do anything on His own, but only does what God has commanded Him to do. Jesus is God. Jesus mission is to rescue.  He’s on the ground, er on the water, coming to the aid of all who cry out for help.

So why did God destroy the wicked? Let’s see what the definition of wicked is, so we know who drowned in Noah’s flood.

The dictionary says wicked means:
1. distressingly severe, as a storm
2. unjustifiable; dreadful; beastly
3. extremely troublesome or dangerous
4. evil or morally bad in principle or practice

Hmm… by definition it doesn’t sound like God sent a storm to destroy the wicked; it actually sounds like the wicked people were the storm.

– 2 Sam. 22:5-7,17-18,20,49 – Because deadly breakers engulfed me, while torrents of abuse from the ungodly overwhelmed me. Binding ropes from Sheol entangled me while lethal snares hindered me. I cried out to the Lord in the middle of my troubles; I cried out to my God. He listened to my voice from his sanctuary, and my call for help was heard… He sent for me from on high! He grabbed hold of me, drawing me out of deep water. He rescued me from my strong enemy— from those who hate me continually, since they were stronger than I… He brought me to a wide open area, rescuing me because he was pleased with me!… delivering me from my enemies. You exalted me above those who rebelled against me, delivering me from violent men.

– Prov. 10:25 – When the storm ends, the wicked vanish, but the righteous person is forever firm. (*We are in the storm right now)

We can surmise that wicked people destroy themselves. They are their own storm and since God gave us freewill from the beginning, he lets our freewill play out to the fullest extent. People have blamed God because it’s easier to blame God than blame self; we don’t want to take responsibility for our own actions and admit that we did wrong. People have also chosen to blame others instead of blaming self; Adam blamed Eve, and Eve blamed the snake, and I’m sure the snake blamed God for being loving and giving him the freewill to choose to do wrong! Granted, many of us are victims of someone elses wrong doing. I was. I was a long-suffering victim of many things. Family, friends, people without God, and people with God, all hurt me (I put part of this testimony at the bottom of this post). I had to hold on to God, take responsibility for my own life, and wait for the other side of God’s ‘Noah’s ark’ promise:

God can save the righteous from those who are wicked. God’s ways tell us to die to self, and not repay evil for evil, though that goes against every fiber of our being. God doesn’t want us to have to protect ourselves; we are His kids. He is our protector and He is more than capable of taking care of us.

Imagine you are the father to a child and someone just came up and slapped them to the ground. We gonna fight; you don’t touch my child like that. God, our Father, is the king of everything, and he is a warrior king at that. Don’t cross him. He can vaporize you in an instance, or worse yet, make you face an eternity of punishment…

But guess what. We are ALL God’s children. He says:

– Eze. 18:23 – “Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked?” declares the Sovereign Lord. “No, instead I would like him to turn from his sinful ways and live.”

– 2 Peter 3:9 – The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

God is waiting for every child to ask Him how to love. He is love! He is pulling out all the stops to show us love, but God can’t help us until we are willing to listen to His advice. That’s the definition of love: respect. God respects you enough to let you make your own choices. In Eden He gave us a choice, and everyday on earth is another choice. He will never FORCE us to do anything, and that should show you that He loves you, not make you think that He doesn’t care about your choices. He has given us His Word as our way to hear His advice on any, and every, topic. He is our loving, good, heavenly Father that is with us at every moment. He is not a wicked person who thinks he is supposed to control someone. Our Father teaches us right and wrong, then gives us the choice to make. This can cause us pain if we choose our own way:

When dad says, ‘Don’t touch the stove or it will hurt you’, then we test it out and get hurt – that experience should drive us closer to our father, and show us that we can trust his advice.

Haven’t you seen a parent that was loving and wise, but the child was too rebellious to take their advice? The child put himself through hell before he finally realized he needed to take his parents advice. They had to face the consequences of their own choices before they could accept the wise advice of their parents. Their pride got the best of them: ‘I know better than my parents.’ Soon they realize, ‘My parents had more experience than me. I went through the same pain and trials they went through, because I was too prideful to listen to their advice. They were trying to save me this pain. They had a good plan and future in mind for me and I missed it.’

Every person sins. God does not destroy us because of sin. Those of His children who are willing to listen to Him and take His advice are covered (by Jesus blood). All His children will sin, but they will immediately turn to Dad and say, ‘I did wrong; teach me how to do right.’ These children are not wicked, or rebellious. They are God’s heart.

The people that God calls wicked, are those who are so prideful, that they truly think they can do no wrong, or have never done anything wrong. Those people will be destroyed unless they open their eyes to their wrongs, ask forgiveness, and turn from their wicked ways. They are hurting themselves, and everyone else, and they cannot admit that they have done anything wrong.

David had a son who tried to steal his throne. David loved him and did not want to punish him. Eventually, Absalom led an army against his father David, to destroy him. David’s commanders went out to battle and David said, ‘Be gentle with Absalom.’ In the battle the commander thought he knew better than the king, and he killed Absalom. When David heard this he cried, “My son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! I wish I had died instead of you. Absalom! My son, my son!”. – 2 Sam. 18

David is often used as a depiction of Jesus. Jesus told us to go ‘fight the good fight’ by sharing His love with every person. How dare one of us decide that we know better than Jesus, and try to cut down one of His children.

The disciples painted a better picture for us, on how to treat those living in sin:

Water is often thought of as representing sin. Think about baptism: we are dunked under the water, and it represents dying to sin and self. Then we come out of the water, and it represents new life, lived through the Spirit of God.

Jesus gave Peter the ability to walk on water, just like he gives us the ability to live free from sin. We are walking toward Him without getting bogged down in the mire. Peter (like all those who are walking toward Jesus will) fell into a bit of sin, started to sink in the water and cried, ‘Help!’ It says Jesus immediately stretched out his hand to catch him.

As Christians we are all called to live the same kind of life that Christ did. Jesus wasn’t trying to show off to Peter; He was trying to disciple him. We need to get out of the physical boat that we call religion, or the church, and realize that the physical boat can’t save us from the storm. Jesus is our spiritual boat; He is our salvation from the storm of sin. He wants us to 1)get out of the church building, 2)follow Him into all the world, 3)walk on the waters, and LOOK for those who are drowning, thrashing, panicking, and crying out for help.

– Gen. 1:1-2 – In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

Go out, into the dark places of sin, and be a part of God’s rescue mission. Noah preached to a wicked world for 100 years, and no one believed him. We have the same call, and I guarantee it won’t take 1 year for you to find someone who wants God. God is our true boat; there is safety in His righteous ways. Bring people into Him.

Be gentle with the sinner (Absalom). It is hard to see underwater; it’s hard to know which way is up, and which is down. It’s hard to stay on top of the water when the crashing wakes of sin are beating you down.

Be the hovering helicopter with the search lights;  be the hand that helps them up and brings peace to the storm. Get out of your place of comfort, where you think you are safe, and be the rescuer that puts his life on the line to save someone else.

Matt. 10:39 – If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.

Are you so scared of sin that you can’t be obedient to God’s command to go out and help those who need help? If your first response to seeing the firefighter photo was, ‘I thought this was a christian blog; why is she showing a naked person?’, then you might want to check your heart. God’s call, not to look with lust, is serious, but if it keeps you from seeing a person in need and doing everything in your power to go to them where they are, and save them, then you don’t have love. Anything done outside of love is worthless to God (1 Cor. 13:3). And if you’re scared that the second you look on a naked body you will lust, then your heart isn’t that pure is it? Don’t lose your life:

– Is. 43:2 – When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you

We aren’t going to the waters of sin to drown in it. We are passing through the waters to save people. It is hard and you might sink a little, like Peter, but God will never leave you or forsake you; and He is more than capable of getting you back up. Don’t fear for your life. Put your trust in God to save you from sin.

Worship: Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) by Hillsong United

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Thank you God for putting your life on the line to save us. Thank you Christians who put your life on the line to save us. Thank you cops, firefighters, and first responders for putting your life on the line to save us. Thank you for seeing the worth of a person above your own fear of sin, waves, fire, or trials.

 

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Personal Testimony:
I made the decision to give God my life in the 5th grade. I didn’t have anyone to train me in His ways, so I lived the same way a non-Christian would, except that I was reading the Bible for myself. In 6th grade I read about the gifts of the Spirit; I came across the scripture and had no idea what it meant. Most of the gifts confused me, but I understood what a miracle was, and that sounded nice, so I asked Him what the others meant. Several years later, in 9th grade, I had planned out my suicide. I was tired of my lot in life. I could’ve blamed God, but God gave me a home; my parents lovingly adopted me. God is love, and everything that comes from love, comes from Him. Everything that’s bad comes from sin (outside of the plan of God). My parents weren’t perfect, nor was my birth mother; they had their own struggles. It wasn’t my fault, but I had to suffer through it. One was driven to drinking and abuse. A hard life drove the other crazy; schizophrenic to be exact. My life was hell for many, many years, but theirs had been too. I love them very much, and forgive them, but I had a lot of pain at that time, so I was sitting in the place where I would kill myself; preparations at hand. No one was there, but as I shut my eyes to cry, I saw Jesus. He walked up to me and placed His hand on my head saying, ‘Peace be still.’ This overwhelming peace flooded me. Every other thought was silenced. I told him, ‘God, I have nothing to live for but you. As long as you are in my life, I’ll keep trying.’ I walked away that day, but a month after that the thoughts came back. I had a string of suicidal thoughts, about the length of my testimony to this point. I was just about to leave for church, so I went and tried to stuff them down. I went up for prayer after the teaching, and before I had spoken a word, the 15-year-old girl (who had been preaching) opened her mouth and repeated verbatim – word for word, sentence by sentence – the full length of the thoughts I had thought. She then rebuked the evil spirit behind the thoughts, and prophesied God’s good purposes over me. 1)I had been alone when I thought them, 2)I had not said them outloud (they were thoughts), 3)I hadn’t told anyone about them – and yet this girl knew exactly what they were. Freaked. Me. Out. Just like God proved I wasn’t alone the 1st time, God showed me again in this 2nd instance – I AM with you. God came Himself the 1st; and the 2nd, he came through a person. This is the gift of prophecy; the ability to HEAR God’s voice, through the gift of the Holy Spirit (who is God).

How did I know it was God and not the devil? Well, I sure as hell knew it was something! But the Bible also says, 1)the gifts of the Holy Spirit are for every man, and 2)the devil doesn’t work against himself. Satan was trying to get me to commit suicide both times. He would not have interjected a vision of Jesus or a prophetic Word from Jesus that 1)lined up with scripture, 2)immediately kept me from killing myself, and 3)strengthen my relationship with God. As far as I was concerned, there was no question in my mind whatsoever that there was a God; this was solid proof.

God tells us that he never leaves us or forsakes us; He is always with us. Reach out to Him; He is speaking. How can we as Christians pray, and be mad at God because we don’t hear a response, while many of us have disowned Christ (the Word of God), which says the gift of prophecy is a gift for every man to help us hear His voice?

– Matt. 23:29-32 – “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. 30And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32Go ahead, then, and complete what your ancestors started!

Meant for “bigger things,” Scuffy the Tugboat sets off to explore the world. But on his daring adventure Scuffy realizes that home is where he’d rather be.
‘Home is where the heart is.’ My heart is in God, and God’s Spirit is in me; home sweet home

Prayer: God, I understand that we are all sinners, and I have many things to relearn about you and cause to come into alignment with your Word; but helps these who are hurting and asking to hear your voice. Deliver your righteous ones from the sins of their leaders. Remind us of your word to test every spirit, and taste every word that is spoken, to see if it lines up with who YOU say you are. Strengthen us to search you out, so we can see for ourselves how real you are. Raise up those working by the Spirit of God, though the workers be few, for a sign to all the world. We will be mocked, beaten, and called heretics, but so was Jesus. You, God, were rejected by the world and the church leaders (Pharisees). Don’t let me stay in the physical sinking boat of religion, trying to save my own life. Give me the power of your Spirit to walk on the waters and rescue those drowning. Don’t let it be said of me that I didn’t preach for the 100 years of my life, trying to pull people out of the flood waters. You are my boat, and you live in me, which makes me a boat. You do the steering; just help me be willing.

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I’m working on a multi part blog about the Holy Spirit. I hope to make it fully comprehensive about who He is and what He does. You know the fruit of the Spirit is love, and love is God; we need the Holy Spirit. Nonetheless, I’m not through writing it yet, so here are some resources to help you find out more in the mean time:

Highlands Sermon Series – The Holy Spirit
Riches in Humility, by lovedisciple

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