Thoughts To Consider....

     There are a couple of thoughts that have been rattling around in my head for the last week or so, and I'd like to share the first of them today... If we have the ability to be honest with ourselves, how many times have we complained that the distractions of the world keep us from deepening our relationship with God? I know that I have written many times that I see how our jobs, our activities, our social life, the internet, etc. are all ways that rob us of our time to spend with the Father. In fact, I would be willing to say that all these can potentially be used by the Enemy to steal the growth and maturity of our faith life.
     So, what's our excuse now? Many of us across the globe are quarantined or sheltering in place. We have lots of time to spend in worship, or prayer, or reading the Word. It should now be obvious to us if we really have a heart to know our Lord.
     And how often have we quoted Psalm 46:10 ... "Be still and know that I am God?" Well, we're being forced to be still. Are we making the effort to know God? Are we being wise with this newfound time we have? Or are we wasting this opportunity to listen for the voice of God? I see this season in our history as such a great opportunity for the Body of Christ to transform itself; to abandon the ways of the world and enter into the destinies written for us on our scrolls in Heaven -- to truly seek the Mind of Christ.
     It will take wisdom to let go of what the world tells us is important. And that might mean the loss of jobs, aspects of our health and wealth, and yes, even letting go of the internet which has become even more of a robber of our time since the spread of COVID-19. Yes, it will take wisdom -- but not the wisdom the world offers. Rather, God's Wisdom; the Spirit of Wisdom which imparts God's thoughts and His Word in our hearts. If we have ears to hear, we can discern now, more than ever, that it is the time to take advantage of God's Word and His Wisdom. 
     Take a moment and read Proverbs 1:20-33, and see if you don't recognize the current state of our nation and the world:

20 Wisdom cries aloud in the street,
in the markets she raises her voice;
21 at the head of the noisy streets she cries out;
at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:
22 “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?
How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing
and fools hate knowledge?

23 Will you turn away at my reproof?

Behold, I will pour out my spirit to you;
I will make my words known to you.
24 Because I have called and you refused to listen,
have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded,
25 because you have ignored all my counsel
and would have none of my reproof,
26 I also will laugh at your calamity;
I will mock when terror strikes you,
27 when terror strikes you like a storm
and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,
when distress and anguish come upon you.
28 Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer;
they will seek me diligently but will not find me.
29 Because they hated knowledge
and did not choose the fear of the Lord,
30 would have none of my counsel
and despised all my reproof,
31 therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way,
and have their fill of their own devices.
32 For the simple are killed by their turning away,
and the complacency of fools destroys them;
33 but whoever listens to me will dwell secure
and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.”

     There is so much in this proverb that I see mirrored in our world ... the Spirit of God's Wisdom has tried crying out to us in the marketplace, but we've been too focused on our jobs and accumulating wealth. She cries out in the streets, but we are too interested in being offended and condemning others. The city gates are our seats of government, and we know she hasn't been heard there!
      And God asks how long will we be content with an absence of Godly wisdom and delight in mocking Him and glorifying our own simple wisdom? And He clearly warns ... because He has called to us and no one listened; and we ignored His counsel and did not heed His offer when He stretched out His hand, He will laugh at our calamity -- even when it escalates to a whirlwind and distress and anguish come upon us. Many are feeling that today!
      It's not as if there have not been prior warnings and danger signs. So much of our moral fabric and connection to God has disintegrated in my lifetime alone. And I believe it is because we dis-invited Him from our schools, our halls of justice, our centers of government, our marriages, and our public square. What did we expect? That we could hate His knowledge, reject the fear of the Lord, and refuse His counsel, and there would be no aftereffects?
      He tells us in this powerful proverb that we will "eat the fruit of our way and have our fill of our own devices". Our rebellion and rejection, coupled with our complacency has the potential to destroy us. BUT, remember ... Jesus has redeemed us ... IF we will turn from our ways and listen to God's Spirit of Wisdom.
      There is still time for the people on the earth to repent for the iniquity that we have plowed, which reaped so much injustice. We have stuffed ourselves on the fruit of our lies because we trusted in our own ways. Those are not my words, friends, but were spoken by the prophet Hosea 2700 years ago. Yet, they are just as true today.
      So, please, I pray that mankind will heed the Spirit of Wisdom who is speaking to us today, telling us that we are now in the midst of a season where it is actually possible to hear the voice of God calling to us. Our marketplaces and businesses have been shuttered and our noisy streets are quieted. The gates of our government are in perpetual turmoil, but we can become unified and rise above their scoffing and scorn. We can respond to the sound of our Father in Heaven, calling us to choose His ways. We can come out of our complacency and smug self-pride and believe in the promise that we can once again dwell securely, without fear of further disaster.
      Ecclesiastes tells us that there is a time to break down and a time to build up; a time to get and a time to lose; a time to keep and a time to cast away. We've all got a lot of time on our hands right now. It seems that things are breaking down all around us. But you were born for this time. What will you choose to build up, keep, cast away? This is a time for great reflection on the rest of your life.

Hosea 10:12    Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the Lord, that He may come and rain righteousness upon you.   

Is God's Inspired Revelation Limited To The Bible?

     I have no doubt that what I am going to say today will be found controversial, at best. It was generated by a conversation that Mark and I had during our morning study time. I was cross-referencing Scripture about the judgment by Christ at His Second Coming, when I came across the familiar passage in Jude 14-15, It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His holy ones, to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”
     Our conversation began with my understanding that the "these" Enoch is prophesying about are "the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling" that Jude mentions in verse 6. Remembering that Jude is the younger half-brother of Jesus, I could imagine the conversations and questions that he might have had growing up and listening to Jesus's teachings. And then that lead to my comment about verses 14-15 being a direct quotation from 1 Enoch 1:9, a passage from a section of the apocryphal Book of Enoch called The Book of the Watchers. And since the Book of Enoch is not included in the canon, this resulted in Mark's response: "I wonder if we have the Bible God intended us to have?"
     So let me be perfectly clear about my position on this before I go any further ... Both Mark and I believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God --- no matter how many translations and versions it has undergone. And there have been many! [I urge you to read a very informative article on the history of the Bible at greatsite.com.] I have come to the conclusion that even though our English Bible has survived the various interpretations and agendas of its human apologists, and it may not be perfect in representing God's original revelatory language, it is the Holy Spirit that is still able to convey the authentic and genuine divine disclosure that God intended for mankind. In other words, God still reveals what He desires us to know about Him in the book we call the Bible. It's up to us to pursue that relationship and be open to receiving the message, even if it is different than we've been taught. One of the most erstwhile pursuits a Christian can aim for is to develop your own theology based on serious time in the Bible.
     But I also understand that before the Bible appeared in its completed written form, there was a span of approximately 1500 years from the time Moses wrote Genesis in about 1400 BC, and the Book of Revelation was written around 90 AD. And in between there were only oral versions of what we know as Scripture. No one was writing down the Sermon on the Mount or the various parables Jesus spoke. Men memorized them and passed them down orally. We need to remember that the culture of ancient Israel was primarily hearing oriented and not written oriented. That's why Jesus is quoted so many times as saying, You have heard that it was said... He is repeating a teaching, or religious idea that was accepted as truth because it was passed down from generation to generation, and believed to contain God's message as disclosed in the ideas and narratives of the Old Testament.
     It is generally accepted that the four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were written down by eye-witnesses [or at least derived from the testimony of eye-witnesses to Jesus's teachings] and it happened over the next century after His death and resurrection. So you can see what a miracle it is that we have God's inspired Word to guide us.
     But I also want to state that I am a firm believer in Proverbs 25:2, It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out. And that brings me back to a consideration of this passage in Jude that is a direct quote from the Book of Enoch. How does that affect your opinion of whether we are to restrict our knowledge of God to Solo Scriptura (a theological doctrine held by some Protestant Christian denominations that the Bible [as we know it] is the sole infallible source of authority for Christian faith and practice)?
     The reason I ask is because of the first Book of Enoch, [or 1 Enoch as it is known -- to distinguish it from 2 Enoch and 3 Enoch, later versions plagued with manuscript variations and  Jewish mysticism or Kabbalah writings.] While there is no evidence that the Holy Spirit inspired men to include this book in the authoritative canon -- and I am not claiming that it should be considered canon -- is it possible that the Spirit included a section of it in the Book of Jude because it offers us the opportunity to study the history, and spiritual and doctrinal influence it had on the early Church?
     A website called bereanbiblechurch.org quotes 1 Enoch translator E. Isaac, who writes, "1 Enoch played a significant role in the early Church; it was used by the authors of the Epistle of Barnabas, the Apocalypse of Peter, and a number of apologetic works. Many Church Fathers, including Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Origen, and Clement of Alexandria, either knew 1 Enoch or were inspired by it. Among those who were familiar with 1 Enoch, Tertullian had an exceptionally high regard for it.... There is little doubt that 1 Enoch was influential in molding New Testament doctrines concerning the nature of the Messiah, the Son of Man, the messianic kingdom, demonology, the future, resurrection, final judgment, the whole eschatological theater, and symbolism. No wonder, therefore, that the book was highly regarded by many of the earliest apostolic and Church Fathers." " [E. Isaac, A New Translation and Introduction,in The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, vol. 1].
     Once again, I am not maintaining that 1 Enoch should be included in our Bible. But I also find it interesting that the Pre-Tribulation Rapture doctrine didn't exist in the American theological psyche until just 111 years ago when the Scofield Bible was printed; or that King James authorized a new translation of the Bible in 1611 for clear political motives, and he directed that the language was to reflect his ideas of church government; or that the NIV Bible, published in 1973 has gone through several revisions in which the Deity of Jesus is removed. An example of this is Acts 8:37, which reads, And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest [be baptized]. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. The NIV, New Living Translation and some of the latest versions of the Bible do not include this verse.
     So, why wouldn't the writings credited to the same Enoch who is revealed in the Bible in Genesis 5:21-24, Luke 3:37, Hebrews 11:5, and Jude 14-15 be given some authority in further understanding the beliefs of the Early Church? While 1 Enoch is only part of the Bible in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, it has been invaluable in shaping Christian doctrine since the writers of the Bible first began recording the inspired Word of God. And shouldn't it be taken into consideration that 1 Enoch is believed to have been written from 100-300 years prior to the Bible, yet portions of it are consistent with not only the ancient prophets, but the writers of the New Testament? Here are some examples:

     1 Enoch 1:6-7: The high mountains will be shaken, and the high hills brought low, melting like wax in the flame. 
     Micah 1:4, And the mountains will melt under him, and the valleys will split open, like wax before the fire, like waters poured down a steep place.
     2 Peter 3:10,12: But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies[b] will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed... waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!

     1 Enoch 91:16a, The first heaven shall pass away, and a new heaven shall appear. 
     2 Peter 3:13, But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
      
     1 Enoch 48:6–7a For this (reason) he was chosen and hidden in his presence, before the world was created and forever. And the wisdom of the Lord of Spirits has revealed him to the holy and the righteous; for he has preserved the lot of the righteous.
     1 Peter 1:20 He was destined before the foundation of the world, but was revealed at the end of the ages for your sake.

     1 Enoch 69:27 And he sat on the throne of his glory, and the whole judgment was given to the Son of Man, and he will make sinners vanish and perish from the face of the earth.
     1 Peter 4:5 But they will have to give an accounting to him who stands ready to judge the living and the dead.

     So I present all this to you, not in an effort to convince you that you should consider the Book of Enoch as equal to the Bible, or even that you should read it. But I do subscribe to the ideation of Mr. Isaacs, the translator of 1 Enoch, in that it bears similarities to Scripture, and might possibly "have been influential in molding New Testament doctrine."
     And in accordance with this thought, I do not find it heretical to read it (as I have been accused). Rather, I believe that God may have concealed more background information in this apocryphal book that might be beneficial in understanding Scripture. And I trust the Holy Spirit to reveal whether what is written there is divine truth or not. If God has concealed it, then my searching it out glorifies Him. If He had nothing to do with the writing of the Book of Enoch, then I trust the Holy Spirit to show me that, too, and I will consider it just an interesting read of apocryphal writing. And I trust and rely on my relationship with the Holy Spirit and Jesus enough that I do not fear being deceived.
     So, now you know a little bit about how my mind works and why I love to go deeper in trying to understand all I can about God and His Word. As I've said so many times to Christians [who look at me like I'm being blasphemous], "Everything in our Bible is about Jesus Christ and the Father... but everything about Jesus and God is not in the Bible". They cannot be contained in something as finite as a bound book of 1547 pages. They are supernatural, and multi-dimensional, and worth every second that I am searching them out. Holy Spirit, show me more!

Psalm 14:2   The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.


 
   

Our Two-Sided Commission: Family and Kingdom

     I have not been shy about expressing my frustration over not being able to rightly convey the Gospel of the Kingdom to my fellow Christians. And here's the thing ... once the Holy Spirit opens your spiritual eyes to "see" it, and you know how to "enter" it, you wonder how you missed it all those years during your walk with the Lord. And you wonder why others can't see it as easily as you do! But I believe that the Enemy throws every tactic of confusion and misconception into the arena of our communication, and we Believers end up misunderstanding each other.
     I recently listened to an excellent YouTube video by Dutch Sheets, the Executive Director of Christ for the Nations. The title of the video was The Power of Ecclesia, and it captured every emotion and frustration and disappointment Mark and I have encountered in trying to communicate with other Believers about the importance of understanding the Gospel of the Kingdom, and why it is important that we DO it. But the video showed me so much more. It caused me to humble myself before the Lord and realize that the problem is not just that people won't accept it, or try to understand it, or walk in it -- but that our message has been misinterpreted by the Church. Everything we have said about the Kingdom has been true to Scripture, but how we delivered the message was wrongly perceived by them, and we played a part in that delivery. Let me see if I can lay it out a little plainer....

     Jesus has given us a two-sided commission. The Body of Christ is to act as both an OIKOS, or House of God [think Family] and as an EKKLESIA [think judge and justice]. These two sides of our Commission are to act and work together to accomplish the Father's will "on earth as it is in Heaven". The problem is, the Body of Christ has been grossly out of balance, weighing heavily toward the Family side. We have largely represented Jesus as the Good Shepherd, the Groom, and our High Priest (this is the Family side of the scales}. And we have ignored His identity as King, Master, and Commander-in-Chief (the Kingdom side of the scales). Consider these few points in the equation (there are many more):

     • In the Family, we are part of Jesus's flock. In the Kingdom, we are Jesus's army
     • In the Family, we are sheep, and in the Kingdom, we are soldiers.
     • In the Family, our mission is to grow the family of God [Believers] until He comes. In the Kingdom, our mission is to grow and extend the Kingdom and its culture until He comes.
      • In the Family, we pray and petition. In the Kingdom, we war, decree, bind and loose.
      • In the Family, Jesus is our Friend. In the Kingdom, Jesus is our Commander-in-Chief.
      • In the Family, Jesus is Protector and Provider. In the Kingdom, He is our Victor and Sender.
      • In the Family, we need the anointing of the Holy Spirit. In the Kingdom, we need the keys of the Kingdom.
      • In the Family, we need the gifts of the Holy Spirit. In the Kingdom, we need the weapons of our warfare.
      • In the Family, we worship. In the Kingdom, we govern.
      • In the Family, we are healers. In the Kingdom, we are Destroyers; tearing down strongholds
      • In the Family, Jesus is the Son of Man. In the Kingdom, He is the Son of God.
      • In the Family, we need intimacy with God. In the Kingdom, we need knowledge of God and His ways.
      • In the Family, we need love and compassion. In the Kingdom, we need power and authority.
      • Family is the completion of the Genesis Mandate: to reproduce the family of God. Kingdom is the completion of God's restoration of His Kingdom on earth.

     By now, you should be getting the idea. It isn't either/or, and it's not one versus the other. It's not denying one in favor of the other. We are to reflect both Family and Kingdom. And to be honest, sometimes we lump it all under one category called Religion/Church. And for the most part, the Body of Christ has gotten real good at being the sheep, growing congregations, praying, seeing Jesus as our Friend, asking Him for protection and provision, seeking the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and worshiping Him. We've accomplished that assignment. But we haven't accepted our roles as soldiers in His army; or expanding His Kingdom; or warring/binding/loosing; seeing Him as our Commander-in-Chief, our Victor, or our Sender; asking for the keys of the Kingdom or the weapons of our warfare. And we most certainly have not learned how to govern upon the earth. 
     But here is the important point I want you to get. In our zeal to explain the importance of the Gospel of the Kingdom, and the need to expand it and extend it not only among the Church, but among the nations, we are not saying or asking that the Family side of our Commission is wrong or that it is to be abandoned. But that is how some of the people in the Church interpret the message! No! We do not abandon the Grace or Mercy or Worship or Salvation messages. Those are all important and the correct message about our Lord. What we are saying is that this is not the complete picture of who we are to be as Followers of Christ. Along with Grace, we need to be walking in Truth ... along with Mercy, we need Justice, and when necessary, Judgment ... along with Worship, we are to Govern ... and by receiving Salvation, we are to Rule and Reign. It is a two-sided commission.
     I want my fellow Believers to understand that when we promote Kingdom, we are not denying any of the components of Family. But if all we concentrate on is Family and a household, called the Church, then someone else will write the laws we live by. And we're seeing that in today's society! We can worship and praise Jesus all we want, but someone else will write the laws that govern us and the lack of Kingdom will be reflected in our culture.
     We have to know when it's time to love one another and worship and teach and equip -- and we have to know when it's time to govern and go to war. We hear lots of talk about the Seven Mountains of Influence: Religion, Family, Education, Government, Media, Arts & Entertainment, and Business. We cannot influence those mountains from the Family side of our commission. That doesn't make the Family side wrong or bad! We just need to recognize that we have to do Family AND Kingdom in order to achieve real transformation in all peoples, nations, and tongues. It's not enough to act like His sheep; we must also act like His soldiers.
     The bottom line is this: I have prayed to the Lord about why it's so difficult to be of "one mind" like the Church in the Book of Acts. I clearly heard that He cannot build His Ekklesia until we are of one mind about His Kingdom.  And He reveals His Kingdom in His Word, so the Book of Matthew is where to start in understanding Kingdom as Jesus taught it. I pray and war in the spirit that the Body will grasp their full identity as both Family and Kingdom Citizens. So I plead with you to diligently study Matthew and try to discern the difference between [and acceptance of both] the Biblical concepts of Family and Kingdom, and then ask yourselves if you are out of balance; where do you stand on your understanding of the Family of God and the Kingdom of God? We must come to a mutual understanding that both Family and Kingdom are essential to bringing Heaven's Kingdom to earth. Until then, the Body of Christ will be divided in their commission, in understanding His whole counsel, and in knowing their complete identity. Let's be all we are supposed to be!

2 Chronicles 30:12   Also the hand of God was on Judah to give them one heart to do that which the king and the officials had commanded by the word of the Lord.

 

Maintenance or Transformation?

     As Christians, we have decisions to make. What are we going to believe is probably the biggest one that will influence our faith walk. I don't mean to trivialize the gift of salvation or the Gospel message -- I am assuming that we are all in agreement that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, come in the flesh to sacrifice His life for ours and to fulfill God's desire to be reconciled with us for eternity. Anyone who calls themselves a Christian must believe in this doctrine.
     But as we [hopefully] mature in our faith, there are often times that we Christians find ourselves in disagreement over interpretation or revelation from the Bible. Ideally, I would hope that we could agree to disagree [in love] while still being willing to have an open dialogue and share in what we discern the Word and the Spirit are telling us.
     That is where determining what we believe is so important to our journey with Jesus in faith. We must always use the Bible as our "go to" source; it is the Word of God; it is a picture of His Nature. And we cannot discern Him by cherry-picking verses. Rather, we are better served by stepping back and getting the "big picture".
     There are so many ways that man has attempted to define God by his [man's] own standards. But, by seeking Him in His Word, it is indisputable that He is Spirit; He is Light; He is Love; and in both His love and judgment, He is a Consuming Fire. And if I am made in His image, then I should be desiring to become all those things, too.

     Speaking for myself, I spent too many years satisfied in accepting the tenets and doctrines of the denomination I belonged to. Not that they were wrong, or I have rejected them! I was just so limited in my understanding of who God was and His purpose for my life. I just didn't spend time in the Word, trying to meet God in what the inspired writers recorded. I was locked into "maintenance" mode, if you will, rather than pursuing God to reveal more of Himself and transform my life.
     Perhaps I didn't feel qualified to seek more since I had come to my faith late in life. But as I write this, I am struck with the thought that the Bible is just that .... the place that we meet God; where we are introduced to Him. But if I truly want to know Him, doesn't that require that I go a step or two further -- ask Him questions, seek more knowledge about Him, and develop a real relationship with Him? And the Bible is where we start to do that! It is where we gain insight about God and what He desires our relationship to be. It is where we get insight from men who shared their encounters with Him and their growth in relationship and knowledge. Remember, they didn't have a carefully constructed canon to base their faith upon; their knowledge came from experience with God! And it transformed their lives! I want the same thing! Is that wrong?
     I know there are Christians who fear straying too far from accepted [or strict] interpretations of the Bible. I respect that. I never want my human mind to determine God's "big picture". But I also don't want to diminish Him or confine Him to a box called "religion". I want to allow my spirit to receive knowledge and counsel from the Holy Spirit, since it is the Spirit that reveals God to us. I am reminded of what the Apostle Paul wrote in the Epistle to the Colossians. He wrote to them to put off the old self and put on the new; that they were to seek the things from above where Christ was, seated at the right hand of the Father. They were to set their minds on things from above, not on things of this earth. They were to put to death everything that had become their idol, and everything that separated them from God. They were to "put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator" (Colossians 3:10).
     But have some of us made idols of our religious doctrines? At the same time, I would also caution us not to be tempted by every new "prophet" or philosophy or teaching that makes sense to our rational minds. The Bible is to be discerned in the spirit; relying on the Holy Spirit to reveal the truths [that God wants imparted] to grow us into understanding and becoming more like Him.

     Peter encourages the followers of Christ with a request that "grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus, our Lord". He goes on to say, "His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence". And how are grace and peace to be multiplied? By the empowerment of the Holy Spirit! Paul confirms this when he writes to the Corinthians: " For we did not receive the spirit of this world system but the Spirit of God, so that we might come to understand and experience all that grace has lavished upon us. And we articulate these realities with the words imparted to us by the Spirit and not with the words taught by human wisdom. We join together Spirit-revealed truths with Spirit-revealed words. Someone living on an entirely human level rejects the revelations of God’s Spirit, for they make no sense to him. He can’t understand the revelations of the Spirit because they are only discovered by the illumination of the Spirit. Those who live in the Spirit are able to carefully evaluate all things, and they are subject to the scrutiny of no one but God. For who has ever intimately known the mind of the Lord Yahweh well enough to become His counselor? Christ has, and we possess Christ’s perceptions."

     Why is it so hard for some Christians to think that Believers today can also join together Spirit-revealed truths with the Spirit-revealed Word? I recognize that there are other Christians [whom I know have their hearts sealed with the Holy Spirit] who will not agree with me that there is more to God's Word than what is on the written page. I also recognize that they will judge me wrong for perceiving something different than what they have been taught. And please do not misunderstand me ... I do not hold myself more righteous or greater in the Kingdom of God. And I pray that the Holy Spirit will illuminate the pages of the Bible, granting them greater understanding of His supernatural purpose for their life. I would never force my understanding upon another Christian, respecting their journey and where they are with the Holy Spirit. But neither do I accept condemnation for moving forward in the Spirit's revelations to my spirit. When I read the Bible, I know I am reading a supernatural Book and I expect to receive supernatural revelations from the Holy Spirit.

     One of the gifts of the Spirit is Wisdom. This is the Holy Spirit acting upon our faculty of reasoning and our free will; instilling within us an attraction to the divine nature of God. But here's where our human nature comes in. We can choose to discern [from our spirit and heart, where the Holy Spirit resides] to respond to that attraction and calling, or we can fear being deceived; not trusting our spirit to discern the invitation of the Spirit to grow in understanding. That is a choice each one of us must make! And it saddens me that it can cause separation within the Body of Christ. 

     But the bottom line is this: Knowledge and understanding of God are a huge part of faith in Him. It is incumbent upon us to know who He is if we are to become like Him. To me, that means seeking counsel and wisdom and understanding from the Holy Spirit to reveal God's supernatural intention of His Word. Remember, we have access to the Logos Word, which is the constant, written word of God; the Bible. We learn about Him and His ways through strictly interpreting this written word. And then there is the Rhema Word, which I can best describe as God personally speaking to us through the Holy Spirit's revelation of the written word. We benefit from receiving the Rhema word in our hearts as a consequence of reading the written word with our minds. 

      Both are crucial to our Christian lives, and God's "living" word always corresponds to His written word. I believe the more time we spend reading and praying in the Logos word, our hearts will be opened and our spirits will be exercised in the Rhema Word. It is my prayer that all Christians would be open to the possibility that there is growth in understanding God and His Word. We may not always agree, but if we have the Holy Spirit in us there is nothing to fear. He will guide us and counsel us. And I believe He delights in seeing us pursue more intimate knowledge and understanding of God. If you decide that you are satisfied in your level of knowledge, then I will support you, just as I would hope you would encourage me to receive more Spirit-revealed truth, if I so choose. And I join Peter in praying that grace and peace would be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus, our Lord.

Philippians 1:9    And this I pray: that your love may abound yet more and more and extend to its fullest development in knowledge and all keen insight [that your love may display itself in greater depth of acquaintance and more comprehensive discernment] ...  
 

     

 
     
      
   

"The Love Of Most Will Grow Cold"...

     My soul has been in turmoil the last few days as I have witnessed a lack of kindness, tolerance and solicitude in the world. I say "in the world" because this insensitivity has ranged from my inner circle of friends to the public venue; across the secular internet and within the Body of Christ. It is truly as if people's hearts are "growing cold".
     But why should I be surprised? Jesus prophesies that this will happen in one of the most revealing chapters in the Bible, Matthew 24. After disclosing the general signs of the end of this age, and before He declares the sign of the "abomination that causes desolation", Jesus tells us that "You can expect to be persecuted, even killed; for you will be hated by all the nations because of your love for me. Then many will stop following me and fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one another. And many lying prophets will arise, deceiving multitudes and leading them away from the path of truth. There will be such an increase of sin and lawlessness that those whose hearts once burned with passion for God and others will grow cold.  But keep your hope to the end and you will experience life and deliverance" (Matthew 24:9-13).

      I believe that this is a passage that is both relevant to the Disciples at that moment, as well as being a prophetic revelation to us in the 21st Century. It is not hard to look around and see how we Christians treat people unlike us; let alone how judgmental and condemning we can be towards fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. With the prevalence of online blogs [this one included], videos, internet ministries, and Christian media conglomerates, it is no wonder that Jesus warned us of the possibility of "lying prophets". As I have urged from the beginning, anyone reading this blog must never take my word as God's Truth. I always encourage readers to take what I share and have a discerning spirit about how it lines up with the Truth of God's Word in the Bible. I am still growing and maturing in my faith, so what I share is what I believe God is revealing to me in my spirit and by His Word ... at this time in my journey. I know that I am in a process; am being grown into the image of Christ, so growth and development is a part of the path I'm on. I do not expect everyone to agree with me, but I would hope that we could honor each other as heirs of the covenant of salvation through Jesus Christ.
     But I will tell you that I have received my share of hateful comments from fellow Christians, and have witnessed anything but love from my fellow believers whenever I have written on a subject that does not align with denominational doctrine or accepted tenets of modern Christianity. Furthermore, over the last couple of years I have witnessed a level of ungraciousness, disrespect, and outright cruelty from media outlets who hold themselves up as the bastion of Christian beliefs -- and the incivility has been towards other Christians! You have internet sites that run the range from offering diversified Christian resources from a charismatic/Pentecostal belief system to internet sites that hold to the Second London Baptist Confession (1689) and are unabashedly orthodox in their belief system. Needless to say, while reading articles on these sites I have often felt as if I was in the middle of a Pharisees and Saduccees debate -- all Law and no Grace!
     Yet I also take note that Jesus tells us the reason hearts that once burned with passion for God and [love for] others have grown cold is that "there will be such an increase of sin and lawlessness". My spirit discerns that He is not just talking about sin and lawlessness among unbelievers, but this iniquity will also abound in believers, due to the deception of "lying prophets" who lead believers away from the path of truth. 
     It is so easy to see this happening in our culture today. We have prominent and influential Christian singers who don't know what the Bible says about homosexuality. We have young college athletes who are being castigated over insensitive tweets made as a teenager. And, yes, we even have Supreme Court Justices who are paraded before the public over spurious charges about behavior decades old. And if nothing else, the media frenzy that followed in the wake of these three incidents should tell us that anyone of us is vulnerable to public scrutiny; and whether we sin by not doing something we should have [such as failing to help someone when we have the ability, or the Holy Spirit nudges us], or we sin by doing something we shouldn't have [such as adultery, molestation, pornography], we can expect to be persecuted in the public square. 
     What happened to compassion and mercy? And how is that to intersect with Truth and the Fear of God? And I'm addressing that question to Christians as much as I am secularists! There are those who want to advocate for loving people who make mistakes, while understating and diminishing the Truth. There are still others who think the Truth should be presented explicitly and uncompromisingly without the appropriate attitude of love. Are either one of these a complete picture of the attitude taken by Jesus? How are we to approach this problem we have in our culture of going too far in one direction? 
    Aren't we called to love others while standing for God's Truth and Principles? Can't we show kindness and mercy while still upholding a moral and Godly belief system? We don't have to condemn and judge when someone strays from the path; yet, we don't have to condone every unholy and sinful position in the world, calling it "grace and mercy". Jesus actually tells us in Matthew 24 that people will stop following Him and fall away; betray one another and hate one another. That's Believers He's talking about! We MUST hold fast to our first love and His ways! And we must disciple those who come to faith in Him! We are His representatives in the world, and if we don't know how to defend God's Principles and do it in a loving manner, then our hearts will grow cold and we will be unable to exhibit our Hope before the world. It is in this Christmas season that we tell the world our Hope was born. Our hearts are warm with sentimentality and love and peace towards others. May we seek to always keep our hearts this dedicated to God; never wavering from His Truths, but always presenting them in love. Do not be swayed by popular culture, social media, or even Christian websites. Let God's Word shine a light upon the path you are to take, and the world will be a kinder, gentler place.

1 Peter 3:15    "But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as Holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect [reverance, fear]" 

Beware Of A Spiritual "Normalcy Bias"

     Way back in 2012, I wrote an article titled Our Nation's Achilles Heel, and at the time I was focused on how I viewed this world and what I could see going on "behind the curtain", so to speak. At the time, I was concerned about a particular mindset of Americans called "normalcy bias", and I identified it as this: a tendency (or preference) to view the world around you in its usual, customary state. And like I said, in 2012 I was focused on the geo-political state of the world, so someone's normalcy bias might manifest in a mindset that said, "America will always be a Super Power.  No one is going to take us down"; "I still have a job. Everything's going to be alright"; "I don't need to prepare.  If I just believe in God, He will take care of me." "Nothing's really changed in my life; I still do all the things I've always done. What's the big deal?"
     Perhaps God revealed that carnal aspect of man's make-up so that as He grew me in the path He had designed for me, I would be able to see the correlation of this concept to the spiritual world. By that, I mean that I see a tendency among Christians to retain a "status quo" when it comes to how they view the spiritual side of their lives. Just like the carnal world, when you decide to step outside of your spiritual comfort zone, it's less comfortable, for sure. But a spiritual normalcy bias also means you choose to look upon the spiritual realm(s) as you always have; you convince yourself that nothing's changed in how the Enemy operates, so you see what you want to see -- or ignore the things that don't coincide with your theology or doctrine.

     Let's take a look at these examples: from the time you've been a child, you were taught (and believe) that God is in control of everything ... All you have to do is pray and hope He will answer your prayers ... Suffering is often necessary for a Believer to come closer to God ... Once we're saved, we live out our lives as "good Christians" until the day we die, and then we go to heaven. Do any of these ideas sound familiar to you? I am not condemning anyone who believes these concepts. But I will say that I pray they receive greater revelation from God on these matters. Here's why...
     If the aforementioned concepts define one's belief system, then I wonder how one reconciles the Scripture that tells us to put on the armor of God to stand against the schemes of the devil; or to be sober-minded and watchful because the devil is looking for someone to devour. And then there is the Word that says whatever you bind on earth will be bound in Heaven, and whatever is loosed on earth will be loosed in Heaven. Have you ever asked yourself, "What would need to be bound? Or what would I loose?" I'm pretty sure there are Christians who think that Jesus accomplished the work [while here on earth] to defeat the devil, so what does that have to do with us? After all, they might say, weren't His last words "It is finished"?
     But if I am looking at this spiritual normalcy bias objectively, I would have to say that at the center of this belief system is Christian eschatology, which is concerned with death and the afterlife, Heaven and Hell, the Second Coming of Jesus, the resurrection of the dead, the Rapture, the Tribulation, Millennialism, the end of the world, the Last Judgment, and the New Heaven and New Earth in the world to come. --- in other words what happens to the Believer in the future.
      Here's the thing.... since most Christians see all this as in the future, they are hard-pressed to tell you what they know about any of those Biblical tenets. So they continue to walk in their normalcy bias -- none of this effects me, and I know I'm saved and going to Heaven. I just have to be good until I die. And if you happen to believe in the Pre-Tribulation Rapture, then you're even more convinced that none of these Biblical tenets apply to you.
     But I believe there's a danger in that kind of mindset. Just as those who thought life during Hurricane Florence would be normal, I fear there are Christians who view their spiritual surroundings from a "nothing's going to change" bias. In other words, the study of eschatology has moved the Church's focus to our final destiny, instead of educating and preparing us for what's happening in the spiritual realm(s) in the here and now.

     We must begin to sharpen our spiritual senses and see beyond the veil of this carnal world. Yes, we are co-heirs with Christ in the world to come, but we still have a lot of living to do in this world! And while we're waiting for Jesus to come back so we can go to Heaven, there is a war being waged against our culture, our bodies, our minds, and our spirits. Not only have we become lethargic about protecting our Godly institution of marriage, our gender identity, and family values -- but most of the Church is unfamiliar with just what "As it was in the days of Noah" implies for this generation or the next.
     Our normalcy bias causes us to not even consider that Fallen Angels could actually affect our current existence; whether it be through technology, DNA manipulation [as it was in the days of Noah], or setting up false religious, political and economic systems that will ultimately lead to the "Beast System" at the end of this Age. Our normalcy bias would tell us that we will escape any such destruction or deceit. But will we? What does the Bible say?
     I am not advocating that we see the devil or demons around every corner. But it would be wise to to let go of our normalcy bias and see with spiritual eyes.  The battle for mankind doesn't just come at Armageddon. There is a battle going on right now! We might not see it with carnal eyes, but that doesn't mean it isn't being waged in the spirit. Just remember this ... the people in Noah's time were living their lives as if nothing would change, oblivious to the coming Flood. We have been warned by Jesus in the Bible. Can we afford to ignore His warning?
     And let us not forget that the Bible tells us the Restrainer is keeping the lawlessness [that will mark the End Times] at bay. What does that look like? And are you spiritually prepared to endure it, should you be on the earth at that time? It is my prayer that all Christians walk in Spirit and Truth; that they rise above cultural religion and conformist attitudes about the spiritual reality in which we live. Just as a normalcy bias will render you a victim in this carnal world, so will it cause greater suffering in the spiritual. Let us not succumb to a spiritual life that is routine or "business as usual". Let us walk in spiritual awareness and insight, just as our Lord and Savior. Then we will walk as victors and not as victims.

Luke 21:34    Be careful that you never allow your hearts to grow cold. Remain passionate and free from anxiety and the worries of this life. Then you will not be caught off guard by what happens. Don’t let me come and find you drunk or careless in living like everyone else.

Fulfilling Our Mandate

     A very dear friend, who walks in obedience to the Lord, asked me an interesting question... Do you think "God's mandate" for your life can change based on your maturity, identity, or revelation in Him? That's a pretty loaded question! But it really made me think, so I'm going to try to unpack it and see where the Holy Spirit takes me.
     The first thought I had was that we need to define what a mandate is. According to the dictionary, "mandate" means "an official order or commission to do something". Another interesting definition in the dictionary is this one: "a written authority enabling someone to carry out transactions on another's bank account". I have heard an interesting parable by Bill Johnson in which he states that Jesus has left us a spiritual credit card; we have His authority to use His Name to accomplish signs and wonders for the Kingdom. In both instances, we have been given authority and a commission in which we can walk out the calling on our lives by our Creator.
     I believe there is both a mandate for all men, and a mandate for each individual, and they are intertwined. The former is the same for all, while the latter may differ depending on what God has purposed for your life. Genesis 1:28 clearly tells us the mandate God has given to all mankind: Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.  Being fruitful and multiplying is far more than just producing offspring to fill the earth, although God did intend for mankind to reproduce and take dominion and authority over His creation. 
          But if we look at what it means to be fruitful, on the most basic level, it is to produce fruit from a seed. God made each of us in His image and planted a seed within us that He expects to bear fruit. But He didn't make us all alike, so I'm thinking that each of our seeds may be different, but all are a divine aspect of the Person of God. Therefore, the fruit we produce is going to be different. These seeds are designed to grow within us due to our relationship with Him, and will result in the particular purpose He has designed for our life. 

     If we look carefully at the original mandate in Genesis, you will see it is full of verbs, which are "action words". We are to take action; we must participate and do something to effectuate the growing of the God-implanted seed! So, I don't think the original mandate on your life changes, but I do believe that your level of spiritual maturity plays an important part in knowing your identity in Christ, your ability to receive revelation, and if you will ever reach the full level [or execution/potential] of the mandate/authority/command on your life. Does that make sense?

     I'm thinking about Moses, for instance. It was God's promise that the Israelites [His chosen people] would be delivered from their bondage in Egypt to a Promised Land of milk and honey. And the Lord chose Moses to be the instrument of His deliverance; Moses was born with that seed inside him. But we can see that Moses did not always walk the shortest path to God's plan and purpose in his life. Yes, Moses guided his people through the Exodus; was entrusted with God's Law; foreshadowed the work of the Messiah, as Jesus attested to in John 13:14-15; was listed among the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11; and was so honored by God that the Father, Himself, buried him.
     Yet, we see that Moses often stalled his destiny and then missed the mark when he didn't fully honor God's holiness at the waters of Meribah. Moses failed to recognize the water-giving rock as the Living Water of Christ. He was to speak to the rock and it would bring forth the much-needed water. Moses made two mistakes... he spoke to the rock, but also struck the rock with his rod of iron, and he did not give the credit for the miracle to God, but absent-mindedly took credit for it himself and with Aaron [must we bring water for you out of this rock?]. God's holiness must never be compromised! And I know it broke God's heart to tell Moses, “Because you did not trust Me enough to demonstrate My holiness to the people of Israel, you will not lead them into the land I am giving them!”
     So, do I think God's mandate or direction for Moses' life changed? No. I do not believe God would ever change an original purpose for our life [which would yield only good for His Kingdom and for us] to a lesser promise or destiny because we missed the mark. It was Moses' lack of revelation [and perhaps a touch of frustration and pride] that God's purpose at Meribah was not fulfilled. 
     It is important that we know and understand our responsibility in being productive and producing fruit from the seed of the Lord that has been planted in each of us. After all, a seed is of little use until it starts yielding fruit. And God has given us the ability to know Him and to be fed and nourished so that we yield an abundant harvest for the Kingdom through the way we live our lives. The importance of fulfilling our mandate is pretty evident in Matthew 21:19, He noticed a lone fig tree by the side of the path and walked over to see if there was any fruit on it, but there was none—he found only leaves. So he spoke to the fig tree and said, "You will be barren and will never bear fruit again!” Instantly the fig tree shriveled up right in front of their eyes!" It was always Jesus's mandate for the tree to produce leaves. His mandate didn't change, but somehow the tree failed to produce. 
     So while God's mandate on our lives might not change, we can certainly stall it, interrupt it, delay it; even sabotage it due to lack of fruit in our spiritual lives; or not fully comprehending who we are in Christ; or by incorrectly interpreting His revelations or simply ignoring them. The beauty of our creation is that God gave us free will to make the right choices, which always glorify Him; but our free will can also be the stumbling block to God receiving the glory He deserves. As we become intent on becoming fruitful, we will grow spiritually, our identity in Christ will be unshakeable, and we will clearly hear Him as He directs our path. His mandate, which was planted in us from the start, will come to pass and we will accomplish what He had planned from the beginning. Nothing will make God more pleased than to see us fulfilling His plan for us.

Ephesians 2:10     We have become His poetry, a re-created people that will fulfill the destiny He has given each of us, for we are joined to Jesus, the Anointed One. Even before we were born, God planned in advance our destiny and the good works we would do to fulfill it!  
    
     
     

Receiving and Sharing Our Revelations From God

     I just love it when God's Word is played out for me, right before my eyes and in my everyday circumstances. Let me share how God is revealing what I need to know as I continue to grow in my service to His Kingdom.
     The Lord has been increasing the number of people coming to Mark and I for Inner Healing and deliverance from their bondage to Satan and this carnal world. He is also training us to minister at higher levels, as we encounter more difficult and complex spiritual issues. At times, I sense the Enemy trying to convince me that what I am discerning from the Holy Spirit is not "real" in this world. Nothing could be further from His Truth! And I am no longer deterred by my fellow Christians who are unable [or unwilling] to receive this same wisdom from God. I realize that I have spent too much time trying to convince Believers whose hearts are not prepared for these things. It's not that I do not think they deserve to receive them; it's that I now discern that the field of their heart has not been plowed to receive the divine seeds of spiritual knowledge.
     And guess what? Scripture confirms this understanding, and it is consistent with what I wrote concerning how our spirit and soul interact with our heart. Let's see if I can explain it so that all hear the wisdom of God.... It was while I was reading and studying 1 Corinthians, Chapter Two, that I felt God was showing me how His Word is being demonstrated in today's Christian experience.
     I knew exactly how Paul felt when he wrote that he often felt inadequate when sharing his revelations from God; actually trembling under the sense of the importance of his words -- not to try to sway others to his side of a theological argument, but hoping that he could adequately express the power of the Almighty God.
     When God reveals a Truth about Himself that you have never known, there is a profound responsibility to represent Him in Truth and Spirit -- meaning there is often a never-before-understood concept about Him that He wants this present age to know, understand, and effectuate; or put into force and operate in. Paul was clear in his explanation: these revelations had been hidden until then, but were revealed as part of God's secret plan to let them share in His glory. And nothing has changed! God is still working that same plan, and still revealing His secret agenda so that the sons and daughters of God can display His power in the earth.
     Scripture says in 2 Corinthians 2:9: Things never discovered or heard of before, things beyond our ability to imagine [things that have not entered the heart of man]—these are the many things God has in store for all his lovers [those who wait for Him]. But then Paul delivers one of the most powerful verses that reflects what is happening to those willing to receive it today: But God now unveils these profound realities to us by the Spirit. Alternate translations of the Greek render verse 10 like this: Yet we speak [or we know] what God has revealed to us by the Spirit.
     And here is where it gets difficult for those of us who KNOW we have received a piece of the puzzle of God's divine agenda for the ages. We know because our spirit receives it from the Holy Spirit, and it is lodged in our heart. We did not receive it through our soul -- our human mind, emotions, or free will. It was not filtered through our human faculties, but through the part of us most intimately connected to God, our spirit. This revelation from God then fortifies the belief system in our heart and we are able to explain spiritual realities to spirit-led people.
      Here is where Scripture speaks so profoundly to what we Christians who minister in Deliverance and Inner Healing so often encounter: Someone living on an entirely human level rejects the revelations of God’s Spirit, for they make no sense to him. He can’t understand the revelations of the Spirit because they are only discovered by the illumination of the Spirit (verse 14). Now, some translations describe this type of person as an "unbeliever", but I will tell you that I have found many Christians living at the "human level", which is their soul. 
     When trying to explain how to engage one's spirit to interact in the spirit realm with God, or to renounce the Enemy in the spirit realm, I am often met with comments like, "That kind of makes sense, but I guess I just don't logically see it". There's nothing "logical" about the supernatural way God communicates with us! Logic is reasoning according to strict principles of the human mind. And the human mind is part of our soul. Only those who live spirit-to-Holy Spirit are able to carefully evaluate the things from God, and they are subject to the scrutiny of no one but God.  

    Only Christ knows the mind of God. But because Christ dwells in our heart, we can possess the perceptions of Christ's mind; we can perceive His thoughts and beliefs about what God is revealing [to us] in these days.  
     And in these Last Days, God needs Christians who hear and see and act out of their spirits, rather than relying on their carnal souls to determine what God's will is. He needs us to separate our souls from our spirits, being unafraid to impart to the world what the Holy Spirit has revealed to us. For if our hearts are filled with the knowledge of who we are in the spirit [instead of clouded with human wisdom], then Jesus discerns the intentions of our hearts, [which is to reveal the power of God in our lives], and trusts us to reveal God's divine, supernatural, inscrutable, profound, and heretofore unfathomable ways. It is my prayer that more Christians will humble themselves to become teachable and vulnerable to the Holy Spirit; to respond to the Spirit's promptings -- even when they do not resemble the conventional understandings of this world. God has much to reveal to us, and we must be receptive and unafraid to speak His Truth.

Psalm 71:18     God, now that I’m old and gray, don’t walk away. Give me grace to demonstrate to the next generation all Your mighty miracles and Your excitement, to show them Your magnificent Power!

 

      

Keeping Our Mind(s) Focused On Christ

     In the last post, I introduced the concept that we actually have multiple minds. At first glance, that might not seem like such a good thing since the Bible clearly states that a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways (James 1:8). But what if I told you that we actually have three distinct minds because we are three-part beings? Furthermore, that this verse will make much more sense at the end of this post?

     We have to start with the truth that God designed us with three distinct parts: body, soul, and spirit. There are many verses in the Bible that establish this fact, but 1 Thessalonians 5:23 makes it irrefutable ... may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The body is obviously our flesh or physical structure; bones, marrow, and all our organs, including the most important one [from Jesus's standpoint], our heart. The soul is our mind, will and emotions; or put another way, our emotional and intellectual capacity coupled with our behavior. And of course, our spirit is made in the image of God, "according to His likeness" (Genesis 1:26); it is the actual breath of the Almighty in us and we have a spiritual personality with its own mind. In fact, our body has a mind, with which we are all quite familiar; and our soul has its own unique mind, too.   

     If all this is new and foreign-sounding to you, don't worry -- most Christians are unaware of this truth even though the Bible shows us that our soul, heart, and spirit have minds in addition to our physical mind. We are all aware that we have a conscious mind, which enables us to be aware of the world and our experiences in it. This conscious mind operates as an element of our soul (mind, will and emotions), working with our human brain (physical mind) to develop thoughts based on information we process. But can you see how that might cause us problems if these thoughts [from our soul] don't align with God's will for our lives? That's why Paul warns us not to operate out of our soul's mind in Romans 12:2, Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. When the worldly mind of our soul is renewed  -- focused anew on the mind and will of God -- then we can truly become transformed into His likeness, thinking from His mind's perspective.

     Now, let's consider the mind of our heart. Proverbs 4:23 tells us to guard our heart because "out of it flow the springs of life". The heart is of utmost importance to our Savior. He longs to occupy the throne of our heart, having complete dominion over it, sharing it with no one else. And He places the Holy Spirit in the "Holy of Holies" portion of our heart, where we cannot be defiled. BUT, if Jesus does not own our whole heart, it becomes a battleground. The Spirit of God feeds spiritual insight into the heart, and the soul feeds carnal information into the heart. Then the subconscious mind of our heart processes that information and determines our reality and our identity. Proverbs 23:7 says, "For as he thinks in his heart, so is he".  We are not even conscious of our heart's mind, but if we let those thoughts of our heart determine our behavior and assign who we are, that reality comes in direct conflict with Christ occupying all of your heart.
     Christ wants to dwell in our hearts by faith (Ephesians 3:17) so that we might comprehend the nature of God and His love. But if there is any part of our heart not surrendered to Him, then the subconscious mind of our heart can be influenced by deception, sin, and ideologies/theology that undermine the power and authority of God in our lives.
     Then there is the totally new concept that I am digesting and coming to understand ... the mind of the human spirit is independent and autonomous of the mind of our soul. Remember, when we are saved our spirit is seated together in Heaven with Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:6).  The ideal goal is to get our soul's mind to be continually aware of [and sensitive to] the mind of our spirit so that we can become more like Jesus. How does that work, you ask? Remember, that Jesus only acted out of His humanity while on earth. So when He was able to hear what the Father was telling Him, and see what the Father was doing, His soul's mind was in tune with His human spirit's mind. He was able to receive understanding of God's desires and Heaven's perspective. So can we!! That is what is called revelation. 
     Because our human spirit has a mind, it acts as a Super-conscious mind. It works from the Heavenly perspective, and it knows what our soul is thinking and what our heart is thinking. If we could find a way to be in touch with our spirit's mind, it would solve a lot of the problems that we struggle with, but have no reference point to understand. It would give us the answers to all the areas in which we are broken; all the different levels of how God designed us. 
    We only have to look to Scripture to see that we can be broken on so many levels: How long will you torment me and break me in pieces with words? (Job 19:2). The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit (Psalm 34:18). He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds [healing their pain and comforting their sorrow] (Psalm 147:3). Can you see the broken souls, hearts and spirits? And can you see the part that our conscious, subconscious, and super-conscious minds play in whether we are broken or whole? It is Christ who heals us and binds up our wounds and restores all the broken parts. But we must focus all of our minds on Him! If we can program our souls and hearts to be submissive to our spirit, we would be able to interface with Christ in Heaven and come into alignment with God's Kingdom and walk in wholeness, because in Him all things hold together. And isn't that what we all yearn for ... to be fully restored and complete in holiness and righteousness?

Thank you to the teachings of Daniel Duval of Bride Ministries, who pointed me to Scripture, which was illuminated by the Holy Spirit. I am grateful to God for expanding my knowledge and for the journey I am on to be and think and act more like Jesus. Give me more, Father!

1 Thessalonians 5:23     Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you through and through [that is, separate you from profane and vulgar things, make you pure and whole and undamaged—consecrated to Him—set apart for His purpose]; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept complete and [be found] blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.