There was a person who came into our church yesterday wearing a head wrap and I could not tell if it was a man or a woman from across the room, but I did finally figure out that it was for obvious medical reasons. But someone posted that there were churches on the "attack list" (the enemy has always been on the attack but it is getting more public these days) and I wondered if we would or could be one of them. I think all big churches should wonder that. Anyway, our speaker was talking about the Cross, and the Lord started weaving His conversation in with the speaker's message going on. First the Lord asked me, "What would you do if that was a terrorist and not just a needy person?"
After you are saved there is a God gift calling inside of you that wants to come out and manifest. It's not understood by many yet, but it is the energy that comes when you are born again. Being born again is when you choose to acknowledge the revelation of Jesus as God's Son and submit to Him as Lord of your life. You believe that God raised Him from the dead and that He will take your life into His Hands with loving care and eternal life. But obviously there is much more that we need to know than just the first baby steps! The first steps are great because there is a lot of peace that comes when we realize we have eternity in Heaven and will be able to see our loved ones again in a better place. That is worth a lot. But there is still much more!
I hold no human being as perfect. The only One who ever was is Jesus and it's a daily path walk to get to know Him! Therefore, I have to seek Him and align with Him as best I know how. People look for the best at this, and often put them up as stars - which sadly can sometimes get competitive and which totally defeats things. It's up to us to make the divide from the world to the Spirit. But I don't find that just real easy all the time and sometimes I see things others don't see and I am sure vice versa! So the navigation is really ours alone, but there are helps along the way.
The other day I was trying to tell a friend of mine about something that I was going through, one of those things that in the natural seemed to make little sense, but yet it was very real in the experience. I felt sensitive and raw and "hurt" and even vulnerable in some areas. As I tried to explain it, she (a very dear friend) only heard and sensed it as something that was "just a fear" and something I just needed to toughen up to and get over. Now I definitely was ready to "get over it" and even "toughen up," but I felt a wounding that was more than just "emotional." I knew the wounding was more than just emotional, because strength had left me in some ways, and I felt attacked in my spirit. My faith felt challenged. Then I realized that there are a number of types of wounding, and this is an area not really understood well or even discerned fully.
I grew up Methodist and learned that when John Wesley went throughout the colonies, he left people with a liturgy to help them understand God and the tenets of the faith better. It's why they were called Methodists - because there were methods in place to "jump start" the activity of the Spirit. It was to keep them on track and with a rounded education, similar to what we do in our schools. It is easy for people to like one part of the message or activity and lean on that. Some are really into the music, some could care less. Some really like teaching, some really like preaching, some like the prophetic and ministry gifts, and some really like the praying for people time.
I am in love with God and the local church. And I am in bondage to God, but I am not in bondage to the local church. I deeply love the local church because the people of God are in the local church, and I relate to them as best I can. But sometimes I can't always relate to them, especially if I feel there is not a real unity in the relationship. I will work to serve them as best I can, but sometimes that has its limitations. I don't want to step on their toes any more than I want them to step on mine. (Some have called me weak for saying that, but I am not.) And I have found that the same two feet that walked me into that church or fellowship gathering, are the same two feet that can walk me out. It's not about spite. It's about seeing and knowing Him and believing in that.
I think the majority of decent people who don't believe do so because they cannot "connect the dots." They believe in God but just can't imagine that He would speak to them and care about them in a personal way. They like and appreciate the hope that they stand a chance for Heaven and they don't want the drama and fear of doom all the time "to get them in." They don't want to be manipulated and can see through that a mile away. But MANY have never had anyone pray with...them in a personal way for a need, much less to give them the opportunity to have their own effective prayer life. You can't just say to a baby believer, "Here's the Bible, read it" and expect them to excel in spiritual things right away. It's not going to happen, except with a very few.
No righteousness happens in the earth without a Godly person's efforts somewhere. These are crucial times, but they are more crucial in the Spirit, than even in the natural. The natural will always play out what is happening in the Spiritual. Many people have decided or feel that it's revealed to them who should win the next election. And God is never taken by surprise on these things, but if He gave us some free choice in the matter, then how we are day to day is important and has an effect on the way things turn out!
Adam and Eve had a great life in the Garden. Not only did they enjoy the creative Presence of God, but there was no devil! If you have ever experienced that "zone" where no devils are around, it will ruin you for just "living in the world." I have experienced that zone a few times, where the atmosphere was truly free and clean with His Presence. It is a taste of Heaven and I know when I experienced it, that I gained a new discernment of what was God and what was not. Many people just put up with stuff!
Follow Up
