"You're Killing Her!"

I had an interesting dream (aren't most dreams interesting?) recently.

Do you remember the battle of wits in The Princess Bride? My dream wasn't about that scene, but it referenced one line from it. This is that scene:

Vizzini: So it is down to you, and it is down to me. If you wish her dead, by all means, keep moving forward.
Dread Pirate Roberts: Let me explain...
Vizzini: There's nothing to explain. You're trying to kidnap what I have rightfully stolen.
Dread Pirate Roberts: Perhaps an arrangement can be reached?
Vizzini: There will be no arrangement, and you're killing her.

That's the line: Vizzini, holding the knife to the princess's throat, declares to the man who loves her, "You're killing her."

"You're killing her!" The villain blames the hero for the villain's own actions. That's a memorable scene in what is arguably the best movie ever made, but that scenario plays itself out over and over in the real world: the person doing good is blamed by the evildoers for the evil that he himself is doing. (I wonder if that ever happens in politics?)

God used that scene in a dream. It seemed that Father was calling out that lying spirit.  I was thankful.

And that's when Father spoke into the dream, and his mighty voice declared two things.

1.  A number of his kids have been falsely accused of what the devil has been doing. The accusations are lies. That's not who you are and you haven't done those things, the enemy has done them. Don't believe the lie.

2.  The enemy has had other lies, other lying spirits, deployed to protect the lie. Those are being disempowered and terminated as well. Some of them were very powerful, some very skilled with weaponry (I think of giants and swordsmen, of course.)

I believe that the lie that "You're killing her" is being exposed as a lie: those who are accusing others, more specifically, those who are accusing you, of doing evil will be exposed as liars, and they themselves will face consequences for that.

It's worth mentioning that if you've actually done the evil thing and it's just being exposed, then you don't qualify for this promise. There's a lot of real evil, even among the church, and much of it is being exposed these days, and God is not offering to keep sin hidden.

In addition, I believe that Father is revealing, and disempowering, other spirits who have been assigned against you to protect the lie that the accuser is making against you. He has made plans that would cover his lie, and if it were found out (as it is now), to cover his escape, but Father has already dealt with those lies as well.

So the exhortation is for us to pay attention. Specifically, we are called to stop paying our attention to the accusations against us, to let go of the fear that they are spewing at us, and to fix our eyes on the One who has already defeated them, who is now marching them off to captivity.

Look to your deliverer. Look to your King.

Who’s Minding the Store?

I had an interesting afternoon. I was out for a walk in the rare spring sunshine, and I came on an area that was a mess. It was actually a parking lot for a large government office building.

There was some old vandalism, the detritus of where someone had cleaned out a stolen purse, a few bits of drug paraphernalia and a whole lot of litter. A lot of this mess looked like it had been there for a while. 

The context for this story is that I’ve been reflecting for a while on the value of beauty for its own sake. Beauty is good because it’s good. Beauty is good because it’s a characteristic of who God is and how he does things. Beauty is good because it communicates that there’s good in the world, and it’s within reach. 

Back to the messy parking lot. I’ve been trying to clean it up some, just because it feels better when it’s cleaned up. It crossed my mind that with all the personnel cutbacks and all the drama (there sure has been a lot of drama in our society in the last couple of years), that there was nobody responsible for cleaning the place up. I confess, I grumbled a bit.  

“That’s right, Son. Nobody is taking ownership for this.” And suddenly some lights came on, and I was in a very strange place. Suddenly I think I knew some things that I am absolutely certain I didn’t know before. 

I’m still in the place of testing these new things, but when the lights came on, when those thoughts showed up, they showed up with scripture used in an unfamiliar way to support them. 

I’m asking you to think these things through with me, test them with me. Don’t bother telling me “But that’s not traditional!” I already know that.  

Hold on. This might get bumpy. A bunch of thoughts showed up all together. I’ll try to sort out some of the key thoughts.

• Yes, beauty represents God better than a mess. That in itself is enough reason to clean up the mess as I can.

• I already knew that wherever hell has its way, there’s a mess: pain, confusion, squalor, deception. The physical mess here reminded me of hell’s work. 

• One thought that caught me off guard is that cleaning up the parking lot is a good way to make hell less comfortable, and to make the place inviting to the things of God. (Seriously? What?)

• And the big one: when a place has no ownership, it invites hell, it invites the demonic. 

And as that thought dropped into my mind, this verse came with it: 

“When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.” [Luke 11:24-26] 

We (correctly) use this passage to teach a number of good things. But one thing I think it teaches, or at least it was teaching me this afternoon, was that this person got into trouble the second time because they weren’t taking ownership for their soul. 

Yes, God had set them free and cleaned them up. But there was no real opposition to the return of the impure spirit and its seven “more wicked” spirits, so they just moved in. There was nobody taking responsibility for the clean and tidy soul. Nobody was minding the store.

And I wonder if something like that has happened with this government office building? It was all clean and tidy when they finished the mess of construction and took down the fences. It was swept clean and put in order. But nobody took ownership of it; nobody made it their responsibility to keep the place looking nice, to keep the bad things out. Nobody was minding the store.

So normal things happened, and bad things happened. People began parking in the parking lot, teaching their kids to drive in it (it’s a big parking lot), folks took shortcuts through the lot, and kids began hanging out next to the dumpsters after (or during) school, vagrants set up camp back inside the landscaping and used for their latrine. It was like a handful of demons were settling into the territory. 

To repeat: the principle that I’m working on sussing out here is this: when nobody takes ownership for a thing (a place, a soul, fill in the blank), then hell likes to waltz in and make themselves at home. Or so I suspect. 

As I write this, I am feeling a nudge that this might have broader implications than a parking lot. In fact, it doesn’t seem insignificant that this is a parking lot for a government office building. 

For a long time, it was religiously incorrect for believers to soil themselves by working for the government, or for big business. And so there was a lot less “minding the store,” as it were, by believers in the midst of the federal Government, in state and county government; there was a lot less “minding the store” in big business (like Signature Bank or Disney or Anheuser-Busch) new tech startups (like Google or Facebook or OpenAI or whatever). 

Sure, there were bureaucrats on duty, business executives paying attention to business, but there was nobody taking any real measure of responsibility for the spirits working in these organizations. 

So hell was comfortable waltzing in and making itself at home. And look where we are now. 

So where do we go from here? 

Sure, prayer is the easier part. Don’t get upset, I didn’t say it was easy; just easier than the alternative.

Part of the alternative is for believers to work – to work in positions of responsibility – in government or in business and on behalf of both the Kingdom and our employer to make decisions that are responsible. 

The rest of that alternative is to roll up our sleeves and get involved, to take responsibility for places and organizations and regions and such. To clean up the parking lot, to report the shoplifting, to set policy in the place. 

And when hell rolls up ready to get comfy, we get to say, “This is my turf; you’re trespassing. Out you go!” 

The Day of the Big Guns is Over

There have been several events this week that have reminded me of this prophetic word from a friend of mine:

On a Sunday evening in the fall of 1998, I was in a home meeting a friend's home. While we were worshiping, the Lord gave me a vision.

The picture was of a city; it had an enemy marching towards it, a large army marching in ranks. Inside the city there was a very large cannon, and the people of the city were frantically hurrying to crank the cannon up into position to fire, but it was going up slowly, very slowly. I found myself frustrated with how slowly it was moving.

Finally it came up to the right position and then started to come right back down. This happened again even more slowly than the first time, and with more frustration on my part. I wondered if this vision was really from the Lord.

Then the scene changed, and I became aware of movement to my left and then to my right. Small groups of people were moving forward, but no one said a word. These were small teams of warriors, moving purposefully, sometimes forward, sometimes sideways, sometimes waiting. I could see that their eyes were fixed on a common point ahead of them. There were several groups, and though they were was no communication between them, yet they were moving in coordination with each other.

As I saw them, I was aware that these warriors had come out of the desert, and that they had spent a considerable length of time there. They had learned to pay close attention to the One Who was leading them. I was then looked and saw that it was the eyes of the Lord that their gaze was fixed on. There was no need of talking for direction, for the Lord led them with His eyes. Their enemy was unaware of their presence, and unaware of which direction they would be moving.

Then I heard the declaration, “The Day of the Big Guns is over.”

I asked the Lord what He was saying in this. He said to me that we - the church - had been waiting for a very long time for God to bring a move of his Spirit by someone well known. But every time a big-name evangelist was brought in, nothing happened; the only result was unbelief. He said he was not going to use the “big guns” any longer. He was going to use those whom He had trained in the desert, those who had come to know Him so well that they would follow Him with just the glance of His eyes.

He was going to use people like us.

You're Not Immune From That, You Know

I had just started my walk with father the other day, and I realized I was feeling kind of strange in my soul. I examined my heart for a bit and realized there was a sense of unworthiness there, a vague sense of uncleanness.

What better time to discover these issues, I thought, than walking with God? so I began, as has frequently been my practice, to search my soul with him, to unburden my soul, to find whatever was amiss and 'fess up and fix it. 

I had been going at the search for a little while when I paused and recognized that Father wasn't joining in it with me. It was like he was just standing back, leaning against a tree, arms crossed over his chest, waiting for me to notice him. 

I stopped my search for my dirty laundry and gave him my attention. 

"Son, do you remember the counsel you give people about not treating your emotions as always truthful?" 

"Yes...." I replied. "The feelings are real, but they may not be telling the truth." 

"Yeah. You're not immune from that, you know." 

And I realized that he was telling me that my feelings were lying to me, that I didn't have sin in my heart. What I had  was  an accuser  telling me, lying to me, about sin in my heart. Oops. 

We talked about it some more, about how hard I've had to work to get past that lie that says that God can't relate to people who sin. He reminded me that any time his kids sinned, he was always, always out there going after them. 

"Sin doesn't scare me, Son. But I think it scares you. And sometimes, just the Accuser whispering about sin scares my children off. 

"Come here, Son. Let me hug you."

The Chef's Knee

I was raised in the church, but I was raised by a couple of left-brain, logical thinkers: by a school teacher and an engineer. They taught me math and science and the occasional Bible story, but we knew nothing of the power of God. We prayed for every meal, but it was a routine; we did it because that’s what good Christians did.

The church we were part of explained why nothing supernatural ever happened and why the miracles that the Bible talked about weren’t really what they seemed to be, and how science explained them.

Many years later, after I came to a real and personal faith and began to pursue Jesus for myself, I discovered that the gifts of the Spirit were real and that there was actual power present in them. I’ve spent the last half century pursuing knowing my loving King and learning all I can about the tools that he’s given us to run this race well.

The son of a schoolteacher doesn’t have any trouble studying the Book, and the son of the engineer has got some natural advantages applying the wisdom of that Book to his life. But power? But the supernatural? Now wait just a doggone minute here. It’s harder to overcome the natural and logical mindset that I was raised with.

Fast forward a few decades. I’ve taught hundreds, maybe thousands of people about the love of God, the gifts of the Spirit, and even about how to heal the sick. I didn’t have much personal experience actually healing the sick, and the voices from my childhood kept explaining away any healings and miracles that I did see.

So one Friday night, I’m with a team of friends hosting a large meeting, when all of a sudden, one of the group gets up and announces to the auditorium that God wants to heal everyone tonight, “If you need healing, come forward.”

I was confronted with my unbelief. So I kicked into administration mode and connected people who needed prayer with people to pray for them (“Just like we’ve talked about,” I reminded a few of them), but there were so many of them!

Among the last to arrive was the chef in charge of the kitchen at that facility, and he was bearing down on me, and he was limping. We had talked a few times; maybe I wasn’t a complete stranger. I looked around for someone with a healing gift. Not a one!

So here I was, acknowledging that God heals, but full of unbelief, and I was expected needing to heal this guy’s torn ligaments. I was doomed.

So we found a place out on the edge of the crowd where he could sit down and where I could get my hands on his knee. He explained how he needs to be on his feet all day, every day, and the stress weakened his knee, and then he stepped wrong or fell or something (I wasn’t paying as much attention to his situation as I should have been, being much more attentive to my immanent unmasking as a healing fraud).

 I laid hands on the knee, and quietly complained to Father that this wasn’t fair! He wasn’t impressed with my panic.

Eventually, my adrenaline levels dropped enough that I remembered to ask Father how to pray, and I had an impression, so I prayed in that direction. I prayed hard in that direction. I prayed every little detail I could think of in that direction, and in the direction next to it just to be safe.

Eventually I had to come up for air. “How does your knee feel? Stand up and test it.” I tried to sound confident.

He tested it, and sat back down with kind of a scowl on his face. “It feels warm inside, but I’m not sure it’s any better.”

My heart didn’t really have any further to fall, but I figured “warm” was a good sign. “OK, let’s pray some more.” It was clear he wasn’t in a hurry.

Over the course of the next hour or two, I threw every prayer I knew and six or ten that I didn’t know at his knee. I wasn’t going to fail because I’d given up: I was going to go down fighting. Every ten minutes or so, we’d check it again, and every time it was a little better. “Not a lot better, but yeah, it’s a little bit better.”

It must have been the nine thousand and twelfth time we stopped to check his progress that he bent and stretched and matter-of-factly announced, “Yeah, I think that did it!” I picked my jaw up off the floor and thanked him for his patience. We were nearly the last ones out of the room.

I had reason to return to that conference facility several times, for several different kinds of events, often including meals, and every time he saw me (he never once missed me!), he’d come out of the kitchen, wrap me in a bear hug, squat down and bounce back up and announce, “Yep! It’s still healed!” (You should have seen the looks on the faces of some of my business associates at the tech events there! I remember that feeling, when I first heard that healing really was for today.)

Healing is still not one of the primary tools that I use in the ministry Father has me involved in. And every time that I slap hands on someone for healing, hell rubs my nose in that fact. “You don’t have that gift!”

“No, but I know a Guy!” and I remind him of the chef’s knee. Shuts ‘em up every time.

It’s still a challenge, still a battle every time I go after healing, and I mean that literally: when we heal the sick, we’re conquering the works of hell (both in the natural and in the minds of those we’re healing): hell is fighting (unsuccessfully) for survival; of course there’s a battle.

And no, not everybody I pray for is healed, not by a mile or six. But I have a testimony to keep me going.

What Scriptures do you use to resist control, manipulation by other people?

We had a discussion on social media of this topic. 
(I wonder if this might be helpful to others.)
  

Samuel Cobb
John 2:15 - Jesus made a whip 😉
 
Craig Adams
"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which he appointed before time for us to do."
It's difficult for me to submit to improper/false authority when I keep my eye on the task.
I spend enough time distracted as it is, I've no time for such foolishness.
 
Cathy Myers
Usually quote a good man's steps are ordered by the Lord- remind myself. Psalms 37:3 and remind others God doesn’t usually send my mail.to them first!
 
Matilda Bob
no weapon formed against me Is 54:17
 
Julie Barnett
2 Tim 1:7. We have a sound mind under the leadership of the Holy Spirit. No one else has the permission unless we give it to them.
 
Christine MacDonald
2 that I use:
Gaatians 5 v 1
"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Do not allow yourselves to be bound again to a yoke of slavery."
Philippians 2 v 9-10
"Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name.
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth."
Ultimately manipulation has it's roots in witchcraft so I think it's important to exalt Jesus above all that cr*p!
 
Judy Walker
Look them in the eye and let my yes be yes and my no - no.
 
Darlene Sanchez
I tell people God doesn't gossip and tell other people whst I am suppose to be doing that I am his workmanship and led by his Spirit to do his purpose
 
Diana Kay Adams Smith
Whom the Son sets free, is free indeed❣️
 
Al Mack
In John 8:36 "So if the Son sets you free you will be free indeed."
 
Darlene Sanchez
Those who are led by the Spirit are the sons of Papa God
 
Dan Smith
The more I know who I am in Christ, the less anyone can manipulate me. It's really easy to spot carnal advice or suggestions when you are secure with who you are.
I don't know if I can point to a single verse.
Romans 12:2 is pretty good though.
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.
 
Hope Gerry Evarts
Gal. 1:10 Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.
 
Mary Sue Davis
I just don’t let them do it and choose not to be offended.
 
Rob Coscia
The big hardcover one.
Jk. For me, it’s every scripture about his peace. Peace that makes you whole, peace that guards your heart and mind, peace that enables you to sleep through storms, or to take authority over them when your friends are trying to manipulate you with fear and guilt.
“Don’t let your hearts be distressed and afraid! I’m imparting an amazing gift to you—my peace. Not the fragile, conditional peace the world uses, but my peace of complete wholeness, unassailable confidence, transformational calm, and immeasurable blessing” (John 14:27, paraphrase).
 
Lisa Thompson
Rob Coscia, great response.
 
Shelley McDaniels
I balance Colossians 2:16-23 with 1 Corinthians 8:9-13.
 
Al Mack
http://nwp.link/ShelleysVerses

 
Shelley McDaniels
Al Mack thanks. And 1 Corinthians 8:9-13
9 But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak. 10 For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, will not the conscience of him who is weak be emboldened to eat those things offered to idols? 11 And because of your knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? 12 But when you thus sin against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.
 

Anthony Thunder Mouth Smith
Saved by Grace through Faith and not your OWN.
Grace releases you from religious control
 
Al Mack
Ephesians 2:8
 
Jonathan Christie
“Let your love abound with all discernment...” Philippians 1:9
 
Michael Ferry
How about the Gospel according to Mike?🤣🤣🤣🤣
 
Michael Ferry
“Thou’s opinion is thus of no significant influence upon my freedom in Christ to live and walk free from thine down looking pressure to submit!”🤣🤣🤣🤣
 
Cameo Chambers
Do I need scriptures to resist these things? I just have a pretty keen sense and don't tolerate it.
Al Mack
Same here. But in this case, I felt the need to pray some scriptures, and I realized I needed more ammunition from the community. 🙂
 
Lisa Southwick
No specific scripture, but the one that says, Those who follow the Spirit of God are the sons of God. HE has told me that "Righteousness does not submit to unrighteousness." & I use that all the time, in these types of situations... but, of course, that is not in the bible... but, it was the Word of God to me. 😘
 
Al Mack
Romans 8:14: For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons and daughters of God. 🙂
I love how you're using logos and rhema together! 🙂
 
Gloria Mayo
“We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,”
2 Corinthians 10:5 ESV
 
Jacquelyn Golden
This thread is like a breath of fresh air!
Al Mack
Isn't it, though! 😃
 
Robert Blok
I pretty much see through those things now. But if pressed,
Love one another, as Jesus has loved you.
John 13:34
 
Leona Gay Townsend
It’s not a scripture but Holy Spirit spoke this to my heart years ago, I wrote it, therefore I can say to satan that it is written. He said to me, “Submit to authority, but never to control.”
 
Al Mack
"...therefore I can say it is written!"
I love it! Warring with the prophetic word!
1Timmy 1:18 This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare,
 
Tesa Wallace
Subdue the earth and conquer it! That includes all the self righteous religibots going to and fro seeking whom they may devour
 
Judy Brost
Get behind me Satan
Luke 4:8 etc.
 
Eldon Frye
Eph. 6
 
Susan Roemhild
Greater is He that is in me then he who is in the world 😊
1 John 4:4
 
Thomas Patrick Brown
i would have to look them up , but Jesus , peter , and paul all said that those in spiritual authority r not to ' lord it over ' another sheep's faith
Mark 10:42-44, for example
 
Brenda Bastanzi
Slow to speak James 1:19
 
Stevie Dotson
I do what Michael did when contending with Satan over the body of Moses, all he said is, The Lord Rebuke You 🤘
Jude 1:9 Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”
 
Sandra Hines Carney
Mostly, I don't answer fools according to their folly (Prov 26:4). Control/manip people like to argue & I just won't. But if they press the "you shouldn'ts", I usually mention "to the pure, all things are pure..." or "all things are permissable...". (I try to use good sense to avoid stuff that isn't beneficial.)
Titus 1:15
 
Shelley McDaniels
And another one I use when fending off legalism (vs sincere holiness) is John 6:28 -29 AMP
28 Then they asked Him, “What are we to do, so that we may habitually be doing the works of God?”
29 Jesus answered, “This is the work of God: that you believe [adhere to, trust in, rely on, and have faith] in the One whom He has sent.”
 
Jerry Dean Miller
Right off the top of my head (and having looked them up afterward):
"But Jesus called them to Himself and said, 'You know that the rulers of the Gentiles domineer over them, and those in high position exercise authority over them. It is not this way among you, but whoever wants to become prominent among you shall be your servant." Matt 20:25-26
"But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth your father, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Christ. The greatest among you shall be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted." Matt 23:8-12
I can gladly serve somebody but the second they start acting like I have to obey them, it's over, Prime.
"But Hebrews 13" - aaaah, yes, Hebrews 13 "Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you."
It turns out Jesus did not contradict himself when he inspired the book of Hebrews.
The phrase, "that have the rule over you" is translated from the Greek word, "hēgeomai" which CAN mean someone who is actually in command of someone else, but Jesus' own words about not "lording it over" tell us it can't be used that way here, and the word has other meanings such as "to lead" or "to go before" and "to consider, deem, account, think"
"Obey" here is translated from "peithō", which means:
-persuade
- to persuade, i.e. to induce one by words to believe (in this case "be persuaded by")
- to make friends of, to win one's favour, gain one's good will, or to seek to win one, strive to please one
- to tranquillise
- to persuade unto i.e. move or induce one to persuasion to do something
- be persuaded
- to be persuaded, to suffer one's self to be persuaded; to be induced to believe: to have faith: in a thing
- to believe
- to be persuaded of a thing concerning a person
- to listen to, obey, yield to, comply with
- to trust, have confidence, be confident
These were approved trustworthy people the author of Hebrews was referring to. Jesus also said you can know a tree from its fruit, so this would not apply to an obviously bad tree, which also means that it CAN'T be an absolute statement of submission. If you read the entire verse and don't just focus on the English word "obey" he's saying not to make these people's lives hard by fighting with them. They weren't to be, as things were in the "Shepherding" movement, the people who could tell you who to marry, where to live, whether you could move or not, or leave, etc.
Sorry this is so long, I just anticipate where someone will go and try to avoid it being a back-and-forth by already going there.
 
Graeme Campbell
I guess there are two kinds of control / manipulation. Those who do it from a place of authority / perceived authority, and those who don't. For guarding my heart from those who control / manipulate from a position of authority I like 1 John 2:27:
"But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him."
So when the control and manipulation are around having the 'right' doctrines and beliefs in order to be able to belong to a particular group, I like how this verse makes everyone equal in their authority to hear God and understand right doctrine for themselves from Him, while simultaneously challenging us to abide in order to be taught by Him.
In terms of general manipulation and control, I again like John, this time John 15:5 "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing."
When we abide in Him, we are in peace and hear His voice. When control / manipulation hit us, it tries to steal our peace, and as soon as our peace is lost it should be an alarm bell to us to return to the peace of that abiding. I've heard the acronym FOG used for "fear, obligation, and guilt" as the main tools of manipulators, and all of these take us out of peace and into a fog where it's hard to make right choices. Recognizing and guarding our peace and place of abiding are really powerful counter-weapons to that.
 
Daniel Merritt
For freedom's sake you were made free...
Galatians 5:1: It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
 
Tammy Renee
God will contend with those who contend with me. And every tongue that rises up against me, thou shalt condemn. If God be For me, who can be against me, No one!
Isaiah 54:17: “No weapon that is formed against you will succeed; And you will condemn every tongue that [fn]accuses you in judgment.
This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, And their vindication is from Me,” declares the LORD.
 
Renee Johns
John 8:36. I'm free. I get it.
 
Karlo De Leon
Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom 😊
2 Corinthians 3:17
 
Zee Ellyson
I use a Johnnie Cash song, "I keep a close watch on this heart of mine..."
 
Kellie Robinson McNeff
No weapon formed against me shall prosper, and I am above and not beneath.. and then I might if it's really really bad listen to Nazareth Hair of the dog..but it has to be really bad.. because it's not a proper song..
Isaiah 54.17.
 
Hazel May Lebrun
Manipulation... I pray it off, pray it off... and also pray for my enemies to be blessed... ask for angelic assistance... take a quick look to make sure no baby sheep are in the line of fire and then... walk away from it as much as I can.
 
MaryEsther Zacharias-Mark Ezekiel
2Timothy2:19-26
 
Becky Emerson
See to it that no one takes you captive to hollow and deceptive philosophy which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world, rather than on Christ.
Col. 2:8
 
Liz Adams
A person cannot serve two masters.
Matthew 6:24
 
Nicole Payne
I think I don't pay attention. If someone tries I walk away. Shake the dust off my feet... Shake the neg energy away and move on.
 
Robin Scudder
Whom the Son sets free is free indeed!!!
John 8:36 “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed."
 
Anne Sermon Stoothoff
It’s Shakespeare and a rather despicable character says it. “To thine own self be true.” The Holy Spirit clearly spoke this to me in a life or death situation. I’ll never forget the courage it took to stand up.
 
Angela Conley
Submit to one another Eph 5:21.
 
Angela Conley
Mat 20:25-27 don't exercise authority over others but be the slave of all.
 
Micah Wade
I try to resist control/manipulation of other people.
 
Roger Balsley
Stand fast in the liberty where with Christ have made you FREE
Galatians 5:1
 
Frank Vasquez
Mark 16:16. And joshua 1:9. 😏 our body is a temple. GOD lives In Me and teaches with everything need be. Meditate in HIM like a deer panting for the waters, congregate, fellowship, and to me... Worship is where my true strength lies in. Opening the floodgates of heaven... And where is the kingdom?😏 yeeee
 
Stephen White
Crystal Warda Amen! yes, he certainly does set the captives free. In 1 John 3:9 John says if we confess our sins He will 'forgive' them and cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness. That word translated as 'forgive' does not mean how must of us modern Americans think of forgive as like to overlook something. In reality, that word aphiēmi means sent away. It's literally the word they use for divorce...where the husband "sent away" his wife. So they viewed this word with a thought of something leaving which is why John went on to say He will cleanse us.
I've been set free from a bondage before and it did come through confession. I held on to that verse and kept confessing. BUT my confession was basically telling our Father what I was doing wrong and how it feels like a bondage I cant control and I'm sorry. That DID NOT get me set free. The confession that brought me to freedom was when our Father led me to look deeper into my heart. Then I started to realize that I was in bondage to something because there were aspects about it that I loved, which meant that I didnt love God with ALL my heart, mind, soul. Looking into the depths of this reality and confessing to God the true deep reality of my heart with a deep sorrow that pretty much felt like worthlessness, is what led Him to release me from my bondage and set me free from it. The confession He is looking for is for us to dig deep into the true reality of our heart and its relation to Him, not a play by play of what we are doing wrong.
Remember God IS love, when we treat others unloving, unforgiving, unmercifully, when we walk in sin, etc...we are working against Love, against what Love wants to do in you and in the other person and it shows we are not fully in love with Love with all our heart, mind, soul.
Also, I should mention there were other things that Jesus taught that I just had to change, I had to nail a piece of myself (my previous belief or way) on the cross in order to do His way. So our Father will set us free from bondages, but other things that are not bondages, He expects us to obey them.
May you hear His voice clearly and follow it.
 
Linda Minihane
No weapon formed against me shall prosper, praying God's wisdom, determining strong perimeters
Ephesians 6
 
Stephen White
Be wise as a serpent but innocent as a dove.
Mt 10.16
 
Jaimee Hinman Jessee
All those forms have a root of several possible spirits: witchcraft, jealousy, predator spirit. All open a door for a mesmerizing that can cause disillusionment and confusion. Use Psalm 5:12 “Surely Lord your bless the righteous and you surround them as a shield.” And also Psalm 89:5-18. Sometimes we draw these types to us when we carry either a victim mindset or come into agreement with a victim spirit that was sent with the other person’s attack and agreement they made with the enemy against us. Just came into deeper revelation on this today actually and it’s been profound to understand the battlefield and threefold weapons of the enemy to use jealousy, victim spirit and mesmerizing spirit as a threefold chord attack.
 
Jasmine Holcomb
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. -
 
Michelle Stensgar
Matthew16:23
Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns."
 
Donna Gibbs Schofstoll
Eph 6:12
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
 
Grace Nyakanini
Zephaniah 3: 17b: The Lord your God is with you,
the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.”
God takes GREAT delight in me.. He always looks out for my welfare and everything concerns my life.. he rejoices over every good in my life" If God delights.. even rejoices over my life then anything contrary to this word, I reject over my life ..! Anything bringing anything less than delight of God over my life I reject!
 
Karley Lucia
Not casting your pearls to swine
Matthew7:6 “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.
 
Elle Revilo
bind & rebuke ...targeted & psychological warfare sent against me
 
Karen Taylor
All the in Him, through Him, in Christ scriptures. When you know your identity, manipulation has no place to land.
 
Michael Markum
it's not a scripture but this works for me
May be an image of animal and text that says 'Every time you feel yourself getting pulled into other people's nonsense, repeat these words: NOT MY CIRCUS, NOT MY MONKEYS. Polish Proverb InsideOut-theDocumentary.com'
 
Kriston Couchey
Jesus wept... John 11:35
 
Hazel May Lebrun
If they're doing it in person and I just whack em with a big King James version, does that count? 🙂
 
Roddy Young
Jesus said "let your yes be yes and your no be no, anything else comes from the evil one" when we are not in control of our yes and no, we are prey to the manipulation of others and ultimately the evil one
 
Valerie Questad
Not a verse but I remember a shocking statement by a Christian counselor who told me "Jesus was not a doormat!" I thought he was speaking sacrilege. Then I learned.
 
Aunt Henry
“No weapon formed against me shall prosper” The scripture is used against the enemy not people. Those being manipulative and controlling are under demonic influence. “ we wrestle not against flesh and blood” once we get that, we are on target.
Isaiah 54:17
 
Curtis Artz
John 13:34,35....pretty much covers everything....for me ✌️
"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
 
Charlie Townsend
Galatians 1:10, The Passion Translation
10 I’m obviously not trying to flatter you or water down my message to be popular with men, but my supreme passion is to please God. For if all I attempt to do is please people, I would fail to be a true servant of Christ.
 
Jutta Hypes
1 John 4:1 is great
Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
 
Susan Melanie Storm
Galatians 5:22-23  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
I test the fruit of what choices are being made in myself as well as others that relate to me or my family.
 
Al Mack
“Don’t submit to the mindsets or imitate the character of this world, but rather let God transform how you think. With a renewed mind, you can know God’s will for you, and live in agreement with every good, satisfying, and life-completing word” (Romans 12:2, paraphrased by Rob Coscia).

Mabel Parada
YOU ARE NOT TO GO THAT WAY AGAIN
Deut 17:16
 
Steve Crane
Manipulation of someone's conscience to get money is common on both small and large scales. 2 Corinthians 9:7
Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
 
Susan Melanie Storm
Galatians 6:7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.
 

Sometimes we fire blanks.

Sometimes we fire blanks.

Oh, we don't mean to. We think we are firing powerful weapons of war, kicking ass and taking names.

But sometimes, sometimes we're actually firing blanks.

Jesus modeled for us a way to pray that was more about telling the situation how it needs to be, rather than about us whining at God to pleeeeease make it be that way. We are learning to command, to declare, rather than to ask politely. Or impolitely.

That much is good.

The problem is, so often we just fire blanks.

We read the Gospels oh, and we observe how Jesus did it. He said, Lazarus come forth! And Lazarus came forth. He said, I am willing, be cleansed. And the leper was instantly healed.

We look at the model of Jesus, and we make it our model. But we are only looking at part of the model that Jesus gave us. We're looking at his Harvest, not his labor.

I am a member of a few prayer groups. I am embarrassed to tell you how many times, in response to a really dire need, somebody pipes up, blithely commanding all demons to go to hell, smugly decreeing bones and skin and organs to line up, happily commanding this and that, and wrapping it all up with a grin of self-congratulation.

And of course very little actually changes. Nobody really expected it would. I think even that the enthusiastic intercessor himself didn't expect it. And why would he? We get so that we’re commanding everything nowadays, and nobody points out that it's not really changing much of anything. The emperor has no clothes on, but everyone is afraid to mention it.

Yeah, I know. I’ve overstated it in order to make a point. You know this goes on, at least some of the time.

I have been reflecting on how much of Jesus’ life is hidden from the casual reader of his biographies in the Gospels. I suspect that this is on purpose. If we really want to know the secrets, he wants to go find them for ourselves, to do the work of learning, to make the knowledge our own.

The gospels are quick to tell his hero testimonies, how he healed this person, raised that guy from the dead, all before lunch, and without raising a sweat.

That's the part that big, flashy, and easily captures our attention. But it's only the end of the story. We miss the beginning and the middle. And I think that if we don't follow all of Jesus’ example, the beginning, the middle, and the end, we will probably not have the results that Jesus had.

I have been involved in a lot of spiritual war. I have friends who have been in so much more than I have. Some of it has been successful; some has been less successful. Ultimately, I think that Winston Churchill may have had it right. War involves blood, sweat, toil, tears. And healing the sick, raising the dead, these are acts of War. It’s not a quick declaration of victory and move on.

I've been thinking about the topic of rest recently. God is constantly inviting his people to a place of rest. Not a place of doing nothing, a place of doing much, but doing it from the place of resting in him. Kind of a foreign concept to most of us, I think. But it wasn't foreign to Jesus. Jesus seemed pretty big on working from a place of rest. I’m beginning to learn the value of this.

And Jesus was always getting away with Father. Sure, we have our “quiet times,” and that’s a great starting point, but it seemed that Jesus spent all night in prayer sometimes. All night, getting to know what Father was doing and thinking.

In fact, there was one time he spent much of the night in prayer, and it was hard work. He sweat blood. We talk about that in the context of the Easter story, but as he said, “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” Paul kept up the theme. “These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come.”

I’m not saying that blood is the signifier of a solid prayer life. I’m saying there’s work involved, hard work, if we’re aspiring to declare with the kind of power that Jesus’ declarations had.

There is one more secret, I think, that we need to lay hold of. In John 5, Jesus revealed this secret: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.”

The last secret (for this moment) of Jesus’ amazing record was that he was only doing what he saw Father doing.

A whole lot of our failing comes from our making our declarations about things that are in our heart and mind that are not actually things that Father is doing. They may be things that we wish he was doing, things that we think he might want to do, or things that we ourselves want, and we’re maybe just putting God’s name on them.

That’s a whole lot different than seeing what God is doing, or seeing the situation - really seeing it! - in its completed state, and then telling reality to line up with that vision.

This is a hard one to ‘fess up to. But we kind of have to separate our desires from his, separate soul from spirit, as it were, in order to walk how Jesus walked.

I’m so thankful that we’re growing up into Him. We’re going to change the world. In him.

Appreciating Beauty

I’ve been posting pictures online recently, just because they’re beautiful. No, that’s not right. I choose the picture that I post just because it’s beautiful, but I post it as an act of war.

You may have noticed a spirit of fear in the air, and especially in social media. It’s come out of hiding recently.

I rather hate that spirit; I hate what it does to the victims it affects, I hate the lies it tells, I hate how much it opposes the goodness of my Father and his kingdom. It’s a deadly enemy.

On the other hand, I’ve observed a couple of effective weapons against fear. One of them is beauty.

• When people appreciate beauty, they are less fearful, at least for a time. It’s true that fear makes it more difficult to appreciate beauty, so multiple doses may be required.

• Social media has become something of a steady stream of fear recently. So when beauty interrupts that stream, it loosens fear’s hold for a moment.

• One of my mentors is teaching me about where to put my attention. He wrote, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” [Philippians 4:8]

First, he’s really smart, and that’s enough reason to do what he says.

But I’ve noticed that there are good reasons for putting our attention on admirable and praiseworthy things: it’s good for us. We’re better people when our attention is on pure and lovely things.

On top of that, we’re better friends, we’re more able to help hurting people, when our attention is  on true and noble things. And oh boy, aren’t there a whole lot of hurting folks right now.

So yeah. I like posting beauty. I like looking for beauty. I like appreciating beauty.

And I like the fact that every moment that I enjoy beauty is a moment that the spirit of fear becomes irrelevant to me. I like that a lot.

And if you want to power this weapon up to the next level, check this out: “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.” [Hebrews 12:2a].

Gaze on him for a bit. Remember what he’s done. Think about what he’s done for you, for your friends. Heck, watch the Chosen show. Heck, just meditate on that passage, Hebrews 12. That’ll kick the spirit of fear right in the teeth.

Victory. Overwhelming Victory.

This has been on my mind for a while.

Where our Owners’ Manual speaks of the battle (in Ephesians 6), it’s very specific: the victor is defined as the one still standing when the dust settles.

“Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore.”

So if you’re battered and bloody and discouraged and weary when the fighting stops, that’s normal. If you’re still standing, you’re the victor.

We tend to think “victory” means that we’re still humming a happy tune, the birds are still singing and our armor is still shiny.

Bah! Shiny armor means you haven’t been in a real battle yet. And the birds will sing again when it’s time. And you can always choose what kind of tune you want to hum.

Someone will bring up Romans 8: “In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” True that. We are more than conquerors. Isn’t that talking about the happy Hollywood ending where the hero (you) rides off into the sunset with his heart’s desire next to him?

Not so much. What it means is that you’re still standing.

How do you conquer except that you do battle? Real battle. War. Blood. Guts. Demons flapping. Curses flying. Tongues wagging. Naysayers naying. Enemies screaming.

Look at our own example of “more than a conqueror.” He wore the crown of thorns and not a scrap of cloth as he dangled bloody, groaning “It is finished.” That’s our example. That’s our Forerunner. That’s our King.

Have you fallen and you’re not getting up? That’s not winning. I don’t care who’s fault it is. Lying there, staying there, with your face in the mud and blood is not victory.

Having face-planted, and then struggled to your feet as the angels mopped up the battle, even if you need three others to help you to your feet, that’s victory. That’s more than a conqueror.

Do not let the devil tell you you’ve lost if you’re still on your feet, if you’re still fighting, if you’re weary to the bone. If you’re upright, you’re the victor.

‘Nuff said.

Waging War With Your Prophetic Words

It was a heartbreaking season in my life.

I’d been given some prophetic promises about an area of my life. God had declared some beautiful things: unity and power and intimacy and victory. Yeah, it was a lot of “the usual stuff,” but it came in a declaration from God. Actually, it came in two or three declarations; this wasn’t just a warm and fuzzy thought from one person.

We’ll pause here for a definition. When I talk about a “declaration from God,” that might be a prophetic word; those are the best, and I give them the most weight: when someone with a known gift of prophecy says, “This is what God says,” and the community judges it to be true (1 Corinthians 14:29), that’s the gold standard of prophetic revelation in my view.

But the idea of a declaration from God includes what I hear God whispering to me, and it includes those times that something from the pages of Scripture leap alive and demand my attention. They include when friends tell me what they hear God saying about me, and when the promises of scripture actually, contextually apply to me.

As I said, I had two or three of these, including both the prophetic words and the whisper of my Father. There was a good bit of unity among the declarations. I trusted them.

And then things began to go to hell. I wish I spoke metaphorically. Without putting too fine a point on it I’ll say that just when I expected the promises to begin to manifest, to show up, just when I expected to see things turn toward unity and power and intimacy and victory, they turned the opposite direction.

It was a heartbreaking season in my life. You see, this was an area that was really quite important to me. This was no cute little bonus.

I ran through the demonic logic tests: Can God be trusted? Is he really a good God? You know that list. They came at me hard and fast, and I threw them back in his face just as hard, declaring God’s goodness, his trustworthiness, and my confidence in Him. I went further and rebuked every demon I could think of from every aspect of this promise. I felt victorious!

I thought, There. That will do it. And the promises down-shifted for better acceleration into oblivion.

My heart was crushed, but still I held on. I began to ask better, more honest questions: Did I assume God had promised this, when in fact he had not? No, he’d been quite clear.

Were the promises for right now, or was I rushing him? That one was tougher, as he’d never actually given a date, but if this trend continued, then there was no chance of fulfilling them later.

Was I imposing my own definition of what these fulfilled promises needed to look like? Maybe the fulfillment was so different than my expectations that I didn’t recognize it. I searched my heart long and hard on this, and I examined the circumstances. No, the failure was real. This wasn’t just my misinterpreting it.

My life was pretty much over. I nearly gave up.

And then something whispered in the back of my mind. It was a quiet little whisper, easy to miss. “I want you to give thanks for my promises as if you were already walking in the fullness of their fulfillment, as if everything I said has already happened, even though you’ve seen nothing yet.”

It took rather a lot to take the voice seriously, and it took even more to do what he said. But I did.

In those days, I took my lunch hours in a remote meadow. I parked my truck, and since I pray best when I walk, I’d worn a trail into the grasses and shrubberies of the meadow.

I began to pace my trail, questioning my sanity, and mumbling thanks for these hallucinations, these promises. I recognized the failure of my prayer, so I began to pray out loud. That was better, but I could tell I wasn’t to the point of actually engaging my faith yet.

So I began to shout. It was hard, and it took me days to get there, but before long, I fairly flew into that meadow, locked up my parking brake, and before the truck had fully stopped, I was on that trail, roaring my thanks for these promises, for the glory of having been my experience, for the power that had been unleashed. I screamed my gratitude for a victory I had not yet seen, and I wept in thanksgiving for the intimacy that I still only imagined.

Over the next days and weeks, I watched several changes. The first were in my heart. Eventually, my empty declarations of faith began to actually fill with faith, and I began to understand that I was waging war with these promises (1 Timothy 1:18). Not long after, I realized that the things that I was declaring that had not yet happened, they were going to happen. I began to expect, not fearlessly, not solidly, but I began to expect to see things change.

My prayers expanded. I spent my spare time thinking of what that will look like when these promises are fulfilled, and I prayed every answer to that. By now, I was thankful that my meadow was remote, and occasionally, I checked the trees near the meadow, to make sure I hadn’t roared their bark off.

And still I prayed. I walked and prayed and shouted and demanded and wept and gave thanks like there was no tomorrow.

And then things did begin to change. It was like lighting a match to the tinder of a well-set fire: the change was so very small and fragile, and the slightest breath would extinguish it. I said nothing of this to anyone, so as to not blow out my precious flame, but I gave myself to serving that tiny, flickering flame, nurturing it the best I could.

But gradually, over months and years, it did turn, and today I can say I’ve been walking in the fullness of many of those promises for many years.

I’ve also noticed a change in me. I’m quicker to give thanks than I ever used to be. I think I like that.

Kindness Leads to Repentance

In Matthew chapter 6, Jesus is describing some of the ways that his family is to be different than how the world does things. In the middle of that lecture, he drops this bomb: “Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”

There’s one command in this, and one reason for the command. Don’t be like those people because unlike their father, your Father knows what you need, even before you tell him.

I’d like to share a testimony, if I may.

I was helping someone with a legal issue. This someone important to me, someone who calls me “dad.” And the legal issue was pretty bad. It wasn’t that he had done anything illegal, but he’d gotten involved with a World Class Pain-In-The-Hindquarters. 

The World Class Pain was making his life miserable, threatening lawsuits, threatening huge expenses, and was completely flouting the law on the matter. He was Too Important To Be Bothered with things like that (he is a legitimate millionaire, for all the good it does him), and he does know powerful people who owe him favors.

So we’d talked together about the options open to us. At its most intense point, my spiritual son called me in terror and confusion about the latest round of threats, so I called the Millionaire Pain and explained things firmly to him. I think he’ll be able to use that ear again in a few days. I did not submit to his campaign of terror. I wasn’t rude, but I didn’t let him push me around.

But I pissed him off, so he jacked up the intimidation and threats, and neither my son nor I slept much for a couple of nights.

I wanted to ask for prayer, but I didn’t feel that freedom.

A day later, I realized that when I got in his face, I misquoted some facts to him, so I called him back, and (as expected) he sent my call to voicemail, so I left him a long message. I apologized for my errant facts, explained the situation from my son’s perspective, acknowledged what we understood of his own needs in the situation, and proposed a sit-down meeting where we could resolve the disagreement.

He ignored me, of course. His intimidation continued, but it did not escalate again.

Again, I wanted to post a prayer request, but I still didn’t feel the freedom.

One night it really got to me. I should have been asleep. Instead, I was ranting, my intestines were growling, and my sheets were soaked with sweat. I had acknowledged that we’d probably need to take the Pain to court, but as I rolled it around in my mind, I realized that we couldn’t lose the case. We had him cold! We had documentation of a couple of things that would make this an open and shut case! I didn’t want to go to court (nobody in their right mind does), but if we needed to, we would win.

And then I realized that The Pain wasn’t doing any of this to hurt my son or to hurt me, and he wasn’t doing this to win a court case. He just needed to stay in power in his interactions with other people. He needed to feel powerful, and this whole drama was how he met that need. I honestly began to feel sorry for him. That was actually confusing; he was the reason I was still awake at 3:00 in the morning!

And then Father reminded me of Romans 2:4b: “God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance.” We wanted him to change his mind about the hell he was wreaking; we wanted him to repent. Here, God’s showing me the key to The Pain's repentance: my kindness. Nice.

So I prayed quite a bit; I prayed blessing on this man, on his business, on his real estate holdings. But wait, there's more!

I’d been studying angels in the Bible, recently. My new favorite book of the Bible talked about them: “Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” (Hebrews 1:14).

So I invited some angels to go visit him and minister the things of the Kingdom to him. We’re supposed to DO the stuff we’re learning, right? And I gave him a new name. No longer The Pain, now he was The Millionaire.

Suddenly, I was tired and I slept.

The next morning, the Millionaire surprised us all. He messaged my son with a remarkably reasonable response. He outlined some things he needed from us (reasonable ones!), and offered some concessions we hadn’t even asked for. Then he recused himself from the final negotiations and he invited us to work with his more reasonable partner. (What? Who IS this guy?)

I wonder if there’s a connection?

I shared the good news with Mrs P, and she admitted that she had been praying blessing on him as well (before she dropped off to a sound sleep several hours before I did!).

I never did ask others for prayer. Our amazing Father really does know what we need, even before we tell him. He’d been answering that prayer long before we got around to praying it.

Then I heard Holy Spirit whisper to me, “I’m serious. It’s kindness that brings repentance. Not power, not strength of will, not even being right. It’s kindness.”

It's kindness that leads to repentance. It really is. 

Christian Judgment

I confess that I’m haunted by Psalm 122. You know, the one that begins with,

“I was glad when they said to me,

‘Let us go into the house of the LORD.’“

I get it when the Psalmist gets excited about going to hang out with God! What a delight! But a couple of verses later, in the middle of his rejoicing, he explains,

“For thrones are set there for judgment,

The thrones of the house of David.”

One of the reasons he’s excited about going to hang out with God is because he looks forward to the judgment there.

What?

That tells me that among other things, I don’t have a good handle on what judgment is supposed to be. I can tell when it is used wrong, and that appears to be a lot, but we already knew that. Let’s be honest: Christians have earned the judgmental, condemning reputation we’ve picked up. (Sure, hell has reinforced the reputation, but as a community, we earned it.)

Today, I’m struck by this: if judgment is part of the work of the saints, then it’s subject to the same restrictions as the rest of the work of the saints. Judgment is to be an act of love. It’s to be for people, not against them. It’s to be something that builds people up, not tears them down, something that draws them in, not what pushes them away.

I don’t see much of that sort of judgment yet. Not among saints, not anywhere.

But it’s coming.

 

The Fighter’s Regrets

Have you ever woken up with a song floating through the fog in your mind? Sometimes I think that’s just an echo of a dream or a memory, particularly if it’s a song I’ve heard or sung recently.

How about a song from your ancient history in your mind as you woke? I actually pay more attention to these; there’s less chance that it’s just my subconscious expressing itself.

I’d like to share one of these with you. You may find the process interesting, but I believe the lesson might apply to several of us.

Recently, I woke up with a song from my youth playing in my mind, and trust me, that’s from a long time ago. The song had nothing to do with the dream as far as I could tell, and I could only remember snippets of it – really only one phrase.

But that phrase kept replaying in my mind: that caught my attention. And as it replayed, my memory of the lyrics grew. This also suggested to me that this might be from God. So I spoke with Father about it, acknowledging that I thought he might be up to something; I asked for insight, and I paid attention as the memory of the song replayed and expanded in my mind.

Some themes began to stand out in the lyrics that kept playing in my memory. One of them definitely seemed to have the fragrance of my Father about it, so I meditated on that one. That is, I thought about it; I let it roll around in my mind to see what might come from it.

When my mind began to warm up (you know, I really appreciate the fact that God invented coffee!), I fired up Google and looked into it a bit more. And I realized that even after my memory had been playing it back for an hour or two, I had remembered only one verse out of five; the rest hadn’t come back to me, though those verses had actually been more important to me when the song was new.

Here’s the song: https://youtu.be/MYPJOCxSUFc. It’s called The Boxer, by Simon & Garfunkel. It was the last verse alone that spoke to me through the morning fog:

In the clearing stands a boxer

And a fighter by his trade

And he carries the reminders

Of every glove that laid him down

And cut him till he cried out

In his anger and his shame

“I am leaving, I am leaving”

But the fighter still remains*

This verse had literally never made sense to me, but suddenly, there was a message in it for me.

It speaks to me, but I’d like to share it with you, because I suspect it might speak to other, too, and maybe that includes you.

I confess: I’m a man of fairly strong conviction. I stand up for those convictions, and it’s not inappropriate to say that I fight to maintain them. If I believe something to be true, I’ll fight to defend it.

Father gently pointed out that I, too, carry reminders of those fights, reminders, I suppose, every glove that laid me down or cut me till I cried out. I’ve paid a price to defend my convictions. Like the fighter in the song, the price has been paid in several areas of my life: in my memories, in my body carrying the stress, in the solitude that comes from having lost relationships.

Then he drew my attention to the fighter’s vow, and that I’ve made vows like that as well: “I am leaving, I am leaving” but I don’t leave. I remain. I still defend my beliefs, my convictions, and I’m still laid down and cut up sometimes. I’m still wounded from the fights that I am convinced are right and good. And they still bring the fruits of “anger and shame” into my life, just like they did in his.

(Didn’t someone say “You shall know them by their fruit”?  Hmmm....)

This is something that’s come partly from my character (I believe that standing up for “what is true” is important), partly from my youth (I was taught that truth is important and should be stood up for).

But this fight may have been fanned into the biggest flame from my years in Bible-believing churches. “This is what I believe to be true, so I must defend it at all costs.” We teach that, we believe that, in many evangelical churches, and while we defend different truths in denominational churches, we still defend them vigorously.

Think about how Christians respond when a movie comes that we don’t like out (remember Russell Crowe’s Noah?). Consider how Christians respond to “The Homosexual Agenda” or to political candidates, or to the abortion issue.

We’re taught to fight. And we do fight. Vigorously.

And let’s be honest. We don’t win these fights. Hollywood’s marketing now counts on “Christian outrage” as a publicity tool for their controversial movies, and they’re always right. Christians have not affected “The Homosexual Agenda” that we’ve stood against, abortion is still a very big business, and we’ve never once had an Evangelical believer in the Whitehouse, despite our fights on those issues.

The world knows: Christians are fighters. They don’t win, but they sure will fight. Behold how much they fight.

Father hasn’t been talking to me at this time about the issues in themselves. He’s only been using them to illustrate the fight, to illustrate the blows and the cuts that so many of us have taken in the fights.

Then he drew my attention to the refrain:

“Lie-la-lie. Lie-la-lie-lie-lie-lie-lie, Lie-la-lie

Lie-la-lie-lie-lie-lie-lie, lie-lie-lie-lie-lie.”*

Oh my. It’s right there. I’ve sung this haunting refrain with Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, and I never saw it: there’s a lie here, and the refrain rubs my nose in it. That’s a lie, lie lie!

There’s perhaps some room for discussing what the lie is. The song itself identifies one:

“He cried out

In his anger and his shame

“I am leaving, I am leaving”

But the fighter still remains.”*

And I’ve done that. I’ve declared that I’m quitting this fight. But I haven’t really done it. I’ve lied. I’ve gotten tired of being beaten up, tired of the anger, tired of the shame, and I’ve tried to quit the fight. And I’ve failed.

As Father comforted me in this, I realized that for a fighter, the fight is a choice. It’s an option, but only one of several options. I don’t actually need to fight.

As he held me and murmured his love for me, I realized that these are not fights that have helped me, or have helped the Kingdom, not even a little bit.

I occasionally have “won” a fight, but what was the result? Maybe I could say I won, that I defeated someone who believed differently. So what? Now they’ve been defeated, now they’re wounded, too. And now they resent me, and worse they resent my message, and they resent the truth that I fought for.

You know, I don’t think anybody’s ever been bullied into receiving the truth, have they? Oh, sure, we’ve bullied people into acting like they know the truth, but that’s just equipping them for hypocrisy. That’s not a win, not really, not for anybody.

For myself, I’m going to reflect on this for a while. I’m wondering if I might actually defend my beliefs better by walking them out than I would by fighting for them. I don’t know. I’ll think about it.

I may not need to be a fighter, alone in the clearing. I may not need to be laid down, cut open. I may not need to subject myself to the anger and shame.

The Kingdom is not about any of this, is it?

Lie la lie….

----

* From "The Boxer," by the American music duo Simon & Garfunkel from their fifth studio album, Bridge over Troubled Water (1970) ©1969