When I was younger and exploring outside the box of the religion in which I was raised, God led me to a group of people that were accustomed to recognizing the life of God in other people and celebrating it. They were Christian, and had learned to love God and people without putting people in a higher position than God. They recognized God as the source of good.

As the Church, we are more in line with God's will if we are encouraging others in pursuing the expression of God's innate design of who they are, instead of creating a police state in which we block the flow of the life of God in other people.

What happens to the simplicity of the gospel? We get caught up on some system or "canned" teaching and then we mistake the map or outline for the true breadth of God's heart on a matter. Someone teaches us about healing, and even if they tell us it is not a formula, we or they make it into one, and then we are stuck trying to push buttons to achieve a desired outcome.

God is life and breath and living love. He is not a system, nor does he place all of His wisdom in one human being, group, congregation or ministry. Don't let a person deceive you into thinking that you must go to him to receive from God. People are important, but they must not take the place of God in your life, whether by deception or whether by us yielding power and honor to man which should be only given to God.

The issue of letting the traditions of men get in the way of what God really wants is not a new issue, and yet it is easy to allow confusion from tradition and people to obfuscate knowing who we are and what He wants us to do. 

Why are many in the church so preoccupied with power games and status? Why is there so much one-up-man-ship? Why the territorialism and attempts to posses and control others?

We need to acknowledge that the Church has one head, Jesus Christ, and that under that headship, it is a flat organization of equals, equally important individuals in community, not a military hierarchy with human top dogs and underdogs. We may be engaged in spiritual battle, but that battle is not with people. The church is not about man coming under the subjection and subjugation to man.

We need to stop our inordinate focus and preoccupation with named offices of individuals that traditions of men consider "special."  When we feature and highlight a class of people within the church, we delegitimize and devalue others. Christ never thought of you or anyone else as a less-than Christian, why should you?  We need to war against the thinking that we are below or above others.

We would do best to emphasize that every one in the body of Christ is of value, no person unimportant or marginal. All are necessary.  Let's give this more than lip service. It is death to put another person under you and think of them as less. It is death to see yourself as less value than others. It is life and health to see yourself as God sees you. Renew your mind in the word of God as to who you are. Renew your mind in the word of God as to who the body of Christ is, and that part of who you are invited to be is an important part of the body of Christ.

We need to be loving and living that way. It's not just empty words that you are of great value and just as important as anyone else in the body of Christ. Don't let the false church or false traditions allow you to feel less than or that any other person in the body of Christ is less than or greater than who you are. You are needed. You are necessary. What you have to give is important. Who you are is important. 

Eschew death-producing traditions. Embrace the reality of who the body of Christ really is, and the reasons for which we were created.

Why do we support organizations and people that produce death while claiming to have a corner on the knowledge of God's power? It is as if we become mesmerized by some carrot they hold out on a stick like a Las Vegas sign saying "You need me to get what you need from God."  We are warned of false Christs, those who claim to be Him or to represent Him, but are not what they say they are. Let's look at actions and words over time and not just believe claims and salesmanship, but see what fruit they produce.

You need God. He works through His body, but you are free to move amongst His body, giving and receiving as God leads.

You are not cattle to be corralled in someone's pen and branded and under the bondage of some vein of human tradition. 

It is fine to rest under the shade or feed from this pasture or that, or help to nourish others, but we are possessed only by the Son of God, not man. 

We are not human merchandise to be marked and branded by man as a possession of his territory or trophy of the productivity of a (false) church or ministry.

 Why are some so pressured to testify of healings that never happened?  You are free to give glory to God for healing that does happen, and you are not less-than if you have not yet been healed. But man made pressures can make you feel that something is wrong with you because you have not fed the ego of a false shepherd. 

It may be that a member of the body of Christ started out well, and began to build something healthy, but later became shipwrecked by the temptation to build a monument to himself.  It's happened before. We see many examples in scripture, Old Testament and New.

Beware those who teach or encourage loyalty to themselves or man-made hierarchy that sounds biblical, but is not of God. A healthy Christian does not demonstrate faithfulness to God by hanging on to a boat the skipper is determined to sink.  Even if it says it is a lifeboat, be awake to whether it is harming or damaging people. It is painful to realize you thought it was life-giving, but it wasn't. If "leadership" does not value your input and efforts to save them from producing death, and they won't listen to you - someone of great worth and value to God - it is not about your failure as a beliver. Jesus stood outside Jerusalem and longed to gather them like a mother hen gathers its chicks. But they would not have Him.

It is not health and life to remain part of that death-producing work, no matter what the claims and p.r. say. It is okay to swim to shore and plant yourself in solid ground. Be rooted and grounded in the love of God!

The next time a person claims you are one of his sheep, remember Who your Shepherd really is, and don't just say "Ba'a" because others around you do. Social influence is much stronger than we are aware. Sometimes all it takes is an environment where others cheerlead for us to become convinced something is good. We are God's beloved. He is our Good Shepherd. We belong to Him.  True shepherds give their lives for others, they don't spend a lot of time talking about it and trying to convince you to buy in to the picture of how they want you to see them.

Recognize the imposters and those who make merchandise of believers and the gospel. Let's withdraw our support when we see those who step over others to assert their postured authority. Instead, let's join in agreement with those who lift others up without needing to be doormats.


In Him we live, move and have our being.  Let's stop being people of eye-service, and start being people who express the love of God in every facet of our existence, looking to Him, who is the author and finisher of our faith.

It is woe for many when some usurp God's role and dictate to others what they should and should not be doing for Him. 

Have you been under the oppression of people or groups who claimed to love you and encourage you, but instead tried to control or stop you from walking in a genuine expression of who God made you to be? Are there those who, by guilt or innuendo, push buttons that keep you from being able to be free to do as God leads?

Be released from the bondage of being made to feel bad or wrong for who you are! 

Rest in the love of God, and that He finds pleasure in you, His creation. Bless what God is doing in others, and allow yourself to be encouraged and blessed in going forward with what God shows you is your work, your calling, your life. 

Who are we to judge another's servant?

Love, discern, share insight and wisdom, maybe, but say no to accusation, put-downs, and fear-inducing activities that shut down the light, life and love flowing out of others.

Let's, instead, become a blessing to our fellow members in the body of Christ.

Let's support, encourage, uplift, educate (in a good way), help, and foster the love and hope of God in them as they pursue the things of God that make their heart sing and, at the same time, give praise and honor to our King!

Christians are supposed to be known by their love, and yet sometimes there is the double bind.  Of course, anyone can blame the news media, or others for issues, but being a Christian has become a politicized "hot issue." these days. Because there are some errant groups, and some radical groups, many believers are pressed to answer for the bad behavior of others. Believers in Jesus Christ are also pressured to take sides on a host of peripheral issues. The truth is that people who call themselves Christians have a lot more breadth and depth to their thoughts and beliefs on these peripheral issues, but like other groups they are made out to be caricatures in how they are presented and talked about. How people are presented in media, television, newspapers, websites, facebook and newsfeeds is not an accurate map of those people as individuals, much less a group as a whole. This is not just true of Christians, but others as well. There is a growing pressure to polarize groups into opposites.

For example, whether you voted democrat or republican or for a particular candidate has become so hot a polarized issue that if you name or state what you did, an opinion is already formed about you, but no "side" is willing to really hear out and listen to the other side because they have pronounced judgment on the other. We have friends and family on both sides of the current (2016-2017) political spectrum. I listen to both and understand a good deal of both sides concerns, but what is so heartbreaking is seeing that some will never talk to or listen to each other. It is the tearing apart of the fabric of human connection by the means of polarization.

There is a lynch mob mentality being generated in our culture by this polarization, and it is the language of "hate" being justified by perceived hate or offense. People who don't hate are being made to look like mindless haters, and thereby justifying feelings of hate against them. This is not good for anyone. 

The real enemy here is polarization and black and white thinking and people forcing a polarized view. When only part of a story is told or people are reduced to caricatures of who they really are, and others are pressed to form a quick opinion with limited information, it creates conflict in an information vacuum.

It does appear that this viewpoint is to the advantage of media that want to grab your reaction to a perceived wrong, often making someone look more wrong than they are just to get you to read the content.  There are some non negotiables for individual Christians, like the necessity of Jesus Christ. But other issues like republican or democrat are not deal breakers. I recently attended a conference where the people in the conference, unrelated to church, could not stop talking about a recent national decision. The conference centered on one aspect of abuse, but the intolerance and abusive attitude toward the people who voted differently was constant, and they had no clue because they felt so strongly that they were right, they felt their outrage was justified. Those who shared a different viewpoint are perhaps equally intolerant. It does not make for dialogue. There was a time when people knew how to disagree but still remain agreeable. I believe in many cases we can take the time to agree to disagree and still have common ground.

How do we do this? We listen to people and try to step into their shoes and understand where they come from. Recognize that media, TV, friends, family, work associates, people we connect with often want to move us to action to join their cause and share their viewpoint. It helps to sort through what we believe, and still be open to dialog.  When you became a Christian, you may have been pressured to take sides on political and ethical issues.

If you believe God heals, you may be perceived as someone who is against medical care, even though you regularly obtain medical care yourself and recommend people see their doctor for medical issues.  If you are concerned about thimerisol and reactions to vaccinations, you may be presumed to be some horrific monster who would prevent children from getting the health care they need.  Similar polarization occurs on many other issues that are heated and controversial. If we take time to listen to the other side, those issues have validity and are worth a hearing. We can hear that people are concerned children are well cared for, and people are also concerned about iatrogenic illness.  I am not promoting a position, but promoting dialogue and understanding. Otherwise there is just inflamed oppositional controversy, with a rift growing larger and larger.

It is a manipulation tactic to force sides and call question on an issue. The Bible talks about answering a matter before hearing it. Many people, Christians and non-Christians alike, are treated like they have just walked into a room with two other people, and one will live and one will die,  and then they are told that they have to decide who lives and who dies.  I was once on a bike ride with a non believer in a local bike club. She assumed since she knew I was a believer and that I believed God healed today that I took a certain position regarding a type of medical care, and that was not my belief at all. In face, I purposely did not state my belief, which was much more on the liberal side, because I wanted to hear her out.  I responded with thoughts from both sides of the issue, but there would be no hearing of scientific facts from both sides, only the ones that supported an opinion already formed.

I'm not sure where the quote comes from, but there is the saying that, "a man convinced against his will is of the same opinon still."  People are often engaged in conversations only to justify the opinion they have already formed.  Also however much "evidence based" those opinions are claimed to be, it is often faith in the people or group from which they heard the opinion or study.

In our work with helping people deal with abuse, it is paramount that we can have open dialoge. A Christian recovering from marital and religious abuse in a church context often has to contend with people who want to "help" them that make quick diagnoses about what is destructive and constructive in their past church background. Practices and issues that are part of the person's faith are seen by outsiders as part of the abuse. We need sensitivity and care in understanding a person's unique beliefs and what comprised those beliefs.

God gave people of faith a brain, and often it is with much care that Christians make decisions on what could be perceived as peripheral issues, though they are sometimes labeled mindless followers. The encouragement is to be people of faith who are open to thinking critically and having dialogue. What is true won't be changed if we listen.

Not everything is blind undue influence.  Yet often people are lead to think that people of faith don't think just because they may hold opinions that differ from the popular view.

So how do we help? Let's work to not feed the polarization.

Let's stop forcing the issue and judging people based on what "side" we perceive them to be on.

Let's hear a matter before we decide someone is off the wall. Both sides of these polarized issues would do well to stop ridiculing and scorning people who do not agree. What good does that do?

We have heated and polarized topics that basically serve to inflame and insight outrage. We need to recognize that there are economic interests vying for attention (for advertising) which benefit from getting us all riled up about something, because we will then be encouraged to remain at that source (website, news byte, rss feed...etc) to find out more.  But it is not healthy to be pressed to black and white thinking and a quick taking of sides, where there did not have to be two separate and isolated camps. Many of us have way more breadth of thought and understanding than "Did you choose door #1 or door #2 this election?"  What goes into our decisions is much more complicated and well thought out. Most of us have to sort through facts and our best understanding and study and many sets of values in order to come to the best conclusions. Many of us can remain open to ongoing decision making in these areas. Beware the people and institutions and media outlets that force you to take sides and group you together and peg you as a certain "type" of person or believer or non-believer. Note that sometimes it is not whether black or white is good or bad, but it is the source forcing the questions "Whose side are you on?" that can be the problem, especially when you are not on a "side" or where no side existed before.

The only thing accomplished by this kind of journalism and thinking is to confuse understanding and halt real communication.  Some may have that as their objective, but I think we don't have to live that way if we take care to not get caught up in it.  

An exception to "hearing matters out" comes when people take advantage of this. Those who would manipulate and use us will take elements of our faith and goodwill to hold us captive for their own gain. To add to this discussion, sometimes  you have heard something out and facts and truth is known. There are times when the information gathering is diminishing returns, and you do need to stand and act, such in the case of known child abuse and other types of abuse.

There is real right and wrong, so the balance to hearing matters out is to know when we have heard enough and need to take action in loving care of others. It also may mean taking action when others repeatedly violate us or our family. So the balance to hearing matters out, is also to know when enough is enough.

Take time to listen and understand, no matter what your opinion. But also be confident in discerning when nothing more is to be gained from giving a hearing to someone whose aim is to abuse or manipulate.

Understand how your opions and beliefs have formed, and take time to understand others.

This is part of really hearing a matter out, and it is part of love.

Recognize the role of polarization and how it attemps to get you to take sides on issues where you don't necessarily sit on one "side" or the other. 

It is okay to know who you are and what you agree with and disagree with. This is called letting your yes be yes and your no be no. But you don't have to adhere to someone else forcing you to say yes or no on something you have not sorted out and decided or looked into. Take a look at whether you are being pressured to a polarized viewpoint, and resist the pressure to have some group's opinion be your own just because of the pressure. We can also educate those around us that just because we have a firm faith in Jesus Christ, that we are not parrots or lemmings of the public perception of our beliefs on other issues.

There is no evil in well thought out decisions and opinions formed out of experience, study and time, even if they are strong opinions where others do not agree, but in resisting unneccessary polarization, we can dialogue in an environment of understanding and love where possible. 

It takes at least two willing, cooperative people to do this, even if in the end they agree to disagree.

"In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.  He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.  (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)  Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet.  Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee?  Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?  So there was a division among the people because of him.  And some of them would have taken him; but no man laid hands on him."
John 7:37-44 

There's a difference between truth dividing people, and people who "bring division" but religion gets them confused. Anytime someone speaks the truth in a situation where there is occultism or error, those who wish to hold on to the false illusion of distorted truth and/or deceive others are at odds with those who agree with the truth.  This is why when something is so, even though it should not be, you have people step in to silence the truth. The spouse who is being abused "should not be so" in the body of Christ, but it is so. Often the victim is blamed, slandered, silenced in order to preserve the image that this family or this church, or that person of influence, to look is if things are as they should be.

There is a television show called "Keeping Up Appearances" where a woman is obsessed with her status and the idols which she sees as symbols of her legitimate upper class status. A tremendous amount of resources goes into making her husband grab the golden rings of appearing to fit that status image. She looks at every person and situation with an eye to achieving that.  We have that, unfortunately, going on in the body of Christ. What happens to us when we are more image conscious than willing to face and address the truth?

People feel justified in slandering others to make themselves appear godly or superior. People in a position to help the fatherless, widows and those damaged by others decide to turn the other way because they want to be connected to other people who give them strength. People tell other people not to talk or associate with others and practice an informal shunning or rejection. God knows them that are His. When we knowingly participate or passively allow others to be mistreated or treated wrongly due to the image preservation of a predator or selfish or fearful person in the body of Christ, we share in the actual guilt for that activity. Looking the other way is not sinless forgiveness, it is condoning sin. It is sin.  If we are in an advantageous people group, a group whom others give a hearing, a position of influence, then we had better be using it for good, and that is inclusive of not allowing people to be sacrificed for the sake of preserving a non-truthful image of another in the body of Christ. Where this is most common, is when sin is abounding and other believers hear or know of the repeated sinful efforts of another. There are false prophets and people only giving lip service. We do have modern day Phariseeism, and on the last day, it will be the truth and what you know that matters, and what you did with the knowledge you were given. 

If your brothers and sisters are being thrown under the bus by people with a "look good" image conscious focus who blame their victims and discredit and dishonor them, and you now about it, how do you really think Jesus would deal with you?  You can pretend to look the other way, but where's the conscience God gave you? Or maybe Jesus won't deal with you, and it will be a white throne issue, and Our Dad, Himself, will speak to you about it.  It's a strong message, but perhaps those who heed it may be pulled out of the fire. It does cost something to live a Christian life. Take a stand for truth. All the famous people who ever give you legitimacy by your association with them, that is hay and stubble. Be like Jesus, and stand for truth.

Jesus was bringing life in His message, and some recognized the truth and the anointing and Jesus' genuine office, given by God. Others went quickly for a way to try to make him less legitimate because it challenged their partial knowledge, and instead of searching the scriptures and giving Jesus a hearing, they argued and caused the division. Often those who accuse others of division are the very ones doing the dividing. Let's examine our hearts, that we stand for truth, even if it costs us. 

A few years ago we did a teaching on intellectual idolatry, and recently I've been led to think about how that is one end of the spectrum of error we can get into, where we so idolize cultural markers of intelligence or mistake surface legitimacy for authenticity and truth. But there is another area where we can go into error as well, and that is shutting down thinking or denying people the ability to question and think critically. 

Deliverance ministry is challenging in that way, because we are dealing not just with soul (intellect, feelings, volition) but with spirit. We know that emotions and thinking can be influenced by the spiritual, and yet often what our "gut" tells us and our "mind" thinks has validity, even if that does not fall into spiritual peace. So care and attention needs to be made in ministry that we don't go into the error of thinking everything is spiritual and therefore we start ignoring wholesale large areas of thinking and feeling.

Words and phrases that stop our thoughts and get us to abandon our true feelings about something will not help us spiritually.

Sometimes that "icky" feeling you get about someone, or about something you see, is right on.  Not everything can be explained by the spiritual. And just because it is a feeling of "something's not right here," it does not mean that you are "in divination,"  or "in accusation." Something may actually be "not right," and your thinking and feelings may be trying to get your attention.

God gave you a brain and it is okay to use it. In fact, you are licensed and ordained to think and to feel, and you don't have to discount your thinking just because someone else does not agree. In fact, no matter how many people agree that something wrong is right, it still does not make that thing right.  As you explore and learn ministry, don't let anyone rob you or deceive you in telling you that their thinking is superior to yours.

There is freedom when addressing spiritual issues, but the far side of error is going into denial of reality. God wants us to see things as they are, but also with the hope of what He can do. 

​At the same time, we do live a life which has spiritual substance as well as logical thought and emotion, and it would be unwise to invalidate anything God gave us or to ignore or shut down useful facilities that help us to make wise choices. 

Obedience to God means we do not set our hearts on having a following ourselves. We set our hearts on God and His kingdom. The excellency is in Him. The glory is due Him.

The Pharisees in Jesus' day were threatened by Jesus' God given authority. The Pharisees had some legitimate authority, but authority was postured, and they utilized traditions and manipulation of "the law" to get people to fall in line to achieve ends that would establish the Pharisee power base for the benefit of the Pharisee advantage, to the detriment of the Spirit of God and what God was trying to accomplish.

Along came Jesus, obedient to the Father unto death, and filled with the LOVE of God, and submitted to God. He was seen as a usurper, as an occultist, as a troublemaker and a division maker. Yet it was His obedience that was to make peace between God and man. 

We need to be seeing dynamics of what we think of as modern "church." What spirit is operating in us? Are we trying to build kingdoms for ourselves? Are we inwardly ravening wolves, trying to establish the status quo for our own comfort? Are we men or women who are wanting groupies? Or do we want to get under our brothers and sisters and build them up in their godly calling?

There are people who excel at salesmanship, and can pull the wool over our eyes.  The nature of this is while we are "sold" on the noble ideals, we only see the good fruit or the hopes we have, but not how things are functionally working and what the long term fruit of the behavior is.  Many are building a following, and are marking a territory, and this is actually causing war and division among believers, which is not where the war is supposed to be.  People are not your enemy, but pride is. People are not the problem, but fear and insecurity is. People are not the problem, but unloving is... not giving others a hearing is... not being as open to correction as you are to "being right" is. 

Ultimately we all stand before God, so establishing our own righteousness by human commerce is not going to stand. But when the love of God and the Spirit of God moves us to right action, and we are continually teachable by Him, we will be growing in the right direction. That direction will include being as interested in building others up in their gifts and callings as we are in our own calling.  What does it mean to prefer another before oneself? What does it mean when Jesus took on the nature of being a servant as showing the way to be a leader?

God is building the Church, and we can either get with His plan or go off and try to build our own thing (or put another's thing down in order to feel superior in our insecurity).  In the end, the words we speak, and the salesmanship we do, and the false placebo fruit we manufacture - getting people to respond to us like the king in the "emporer's new clothes" - will not matter. We stand naked before God. He sees our heart.

​Prayer for today:

Oh Father God, Help us to be builders of Your Kingdom, not our own
Help us to be aligned with your program of building up the body of Christ
As we all grow together in the knowledge of Jesus
Remove from us the Pharisee spirit, the fear of man, the desire to please man, the greed of gain,
pride and everything you hate.
Build in us the righteousness that comes by faith,
Only through the gift of Your Son Jesus
Help us to love you and love each other,
And to truly worship You, Father God,  in spirit and in truth

One of the most important thing we can do as ministers -- yes that means you -- is listen to people.  There are people who talk at length most of the time, and so I'm not talking about being a depository for uncontrollable excess verbiage that continues to consume and has no end in sight, but I'm talking about giving ear to really hear another person out. Allowing them to express themselves, and listening with an ear to their heart and an ear to the Spirit of God, is the gift of you building up another person in love and in who they are in God.  As God leads, you can respond to them or validate what they have said or what they are thinking out loud with you. 

There is an ebb and flow in in conversations, friendships and in ministry. Two are coming together in the Name of Jesus Christ. Time is a valuable gift that God has given each of us (or loaned us) to steward with love in mind. Sometimes time is sacrificial, as we know that it will help the heart of the person we are listening to ... for him or her to be able to share what happened or what God said or to fully be heard. Perhaps they are on the journey of trusting that God hears, and they are reaching for someone with "skin" on. I have watched this ebb and flow often in my close friendships.

God put something unique into you that only you are able to give and share, to encourage others... and put something in me to do the same. 

When we come together, it's best when we both recognize that gift and value.

Good friendships will have ups and downs in individual conversations and interactions but there will be much mutual give and receive over time. With one friend who calls, there seems to be a flow that is about even over time. Sometimes she will call and there is a lot going on in her life and so 2/3rds to 3/4ths of the conversation is sharing her day or what went well or what the challenges were or how she needs God in this area.  On another day, though trying to keep it even, I may be bursting with good news or something to share, and she listens. If this mostly one sided kind of flow happened all the time it would not be the blessing God intended. Now that may be different in a formal ministry situation where there is instruction or prayer or sharing stories or lessons.

I have another friend that calls only when needy, but when I begin to talk about something meaningful, he finds some excuse to go. He communicates by his actions that he considers himself more valuable, in that he has no compunction about capitalizing another's time or resources, but he does not have time for you. That's his inner world. His outward world involves the pursuit of fame and famous people. Sad, because if he would listen and hear, we could explore his insecure base is finding value and worth externally. Everyone to him is on some continuum of more or less valuable, and so he is on endless pursuit of those he considers more valuable to validate him. Have we not all been there at some stage?  God does not want us looking to man for our identity, worth or belonging. Our culture dictates this, but those who commerce in this way of relating with each other in the church do a disservice. 

There's another friend I have who makes it a point to wholly focus on only one person at a time. When he is listening or talking with you, anyone who wants to interrupt has to wait until the flow of the conversation opens. Contrast that with the person whose attention is on you and seven other things and people with lots of interruptions. I've been on both sides of his conversations, waiting while he cares for another, but then firmly attended to while we are exchanging conversation.

We can learn a lot from those who have listened to us, and give that gift back to others. God is listening to you, right now, the thoughts and intents of your heart. Sometimes we take it for granted. He is the accessible one to whom we may come boldly for grace and mercy and help. You are never alone, even when no human being is there to hear you out. And yet we are a gift to each other when we are there for each other. 

There is so much potential in each person in the body of Christ, we have no business -- it is a sin -- to make others illegitimate or less legitimate.

Our gift is not who we know in terms of fame or human notoriety but that we are known of God and that we know God, and then start walking in who He created us to be.  Part of our treasuring and valuing others in the body of Christ and those who hopefully will believe and know what Jesus did for them... part of that is giving people time and listening to them.

But I can also find myself at difficult times talking it out with another. In a multitude of counselors is safety ..

There's a difference between using people and seeking counsel. There is a mutual richness and blessing in godly counsel. There is "using" a person but not giving life back. Think of listening as a form of giving life. When someone gives you of their time when you are in pain or crisis, remember how precious that gift is. Of the hours they have in life, they are giving some to you.

Many believers have not been encouraged in their ministry or calling.  They don't (yet) know what to do. You can begin with the ministry of listening. It is a way of building up those who do not feel valued or worthwhile.  Give that gift not to the arrogant, narcissistic or self-aggrandizing, but to those whose spirits (spiritual heart) is enlarged in a good way, by your care, and love and presence... just because you value them with your time and attentive listening.

Remember it next time you pick up the phone or are blessed with someone hearing you and tuning in with your heart. 

You will live a completely different life if your faith is in God, not God AND Something else.

When our faith is in God and something else, our attention is divided and we can't love Him with our whole heart. We are trying to serve two masters, and we become mastered by our divided attentions and affections. In healing and healing ministry, many are serving the "god" of getting well. If push comes to shove, some of the honest ones will admit that given a choice between getting well or having relationship with God, they would abandon the latter for a season for the pursuit of health and healing. But the Kingdom keys are that we seek Him and His Kingdom first, and the healing comes through Him. Peace, provision, all of it are found in Him, but we are offered (tempted) with shortcuts. We are also sold the negative PR that the Kingdom is some kind of drudgery and we are giving up some real benefits to be God's kids. Nothing is further from the truth, Beloved. Love and Life are found in Him.

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.  Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength."
Isaiah 26:3-4 

" No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon."
Matthew 6:24 
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Today, we're just sharing a slice of the fruit of the love of God in our lives. How about a meal for your heart, your human spirit? There's a recipe for having a song in our hearts, and we thought we'd connect and share a bit of our day, yesterday, with you.  It includes a tablespoon of the spice of life and a cup or two of what we did on Thanksgiving, and a pinch of artistry and a few ounces of just plain sharing, with a bit of scripture for your soul to feast upon, but the main ingredient is God and His Love.  Every day can be a "thanksgiving" day. It's your choice. Why not?

Praise and thanksgiving are not a one day event or a religious activity or an obligation, but a way of life, a way of joy. Also today is not "black" as the commercials say, as if you are supposed to go out and shop till you drop on cue, but it IS a day where God's mercy is new this morning for you. You get to enjoy His blessing no matter what else is going on in the world or around you. It's a matter of choosing Him, and choosing who or what to look at, and what you are going to pay attention to...

That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works. 
Psalm 26:7 

As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. 
Colossians 2:6-7 

Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High:  And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. 
Psalm 50:14-15  

Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation: for a law shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the people.  My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth, and mine arms shall judge the people; the isles shall wait upon me, and on mine arm shall they trust.  Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.  Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings.  For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool: but my righteousness shall be for ever, and my salvation from generation to generation. 
Isaiah 51:4-8  

I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. This also shall please the LORD better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs.  The humble shall see this, and be glad: and your heart shall live that seek God. 
Psalm 69:30-32

O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.  Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.  For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.  In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also.  The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.  O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.  For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice, 
Psalm 95:1-7    

I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the LORD. 
Psalm 116:17 

Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.  Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.  Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.  Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations. 
Psalm 100:1-5 

He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.  He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names.  Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.  The LORD lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to the ground.  Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God:  Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains. 
Psalm 147:3-8   

Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!  And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing. 
Psalm 107:21-22 

Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.  Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.  Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.  Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you. 
Philippians 4:4-9 

Why only one day of the year?
 
Grateful, truly grateful. We have health, life, breath, and this wonderful adventure of getting to know God, Our Father, and our LORD Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, and to learn to understand how God is One God. It is certainly more exciting than "Black Friday" Who named it black anyway? Yes it is good that businesses are succeeding, but there is so much MORE to today, don't you think?

Did you ever notice that bad words are now good, and good words are now bad in society's definition. There's a phone named "envy" and chocolate (which is good) advertised as "sinful." Even the word "temptation" has a spin on it. We roam Netflix and there is all this dark, gray, sinister, negative and depressing "war game" kind of media which tries to divert your attention from the goodness of God, the blessings of God, the life to be found in Him. I don't want to call evil good or good evil. Let's just see things as God sees them. He is good. He is worthy. He is wonderful. He is Almighty God! He is our Ever-Lasting Father. We are his children, the sheep of His pasture.

Grateful. Grateful. Grateful. Those words were not just the commercialism of turkey feasts and tradition, but the echoes of our heart as we moved throughout the day from activity to activity. Everything good comes from Him. He loves us with an everlasting love. Awake, alive and wonderful.

Nature reminds us of God. We don't worship the creation, but just as a great work of art would reflect the heart, skill and talent of the artist, so can what beauty we observe cause us to give praise and honor to our Creator. It is like the hearts of people we meet - their kindness, hard work, gentleness, insight, gifts, encouragement: these all reflect the glory of God. They glorify Him.
 
The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly.  Mercy and truth preserve the king: and his throne is upholden by mercy. 
Proverbs 20:27-28

The spirit of you and I is the candle of the LORD. Shouldn't we let our light shine and recognize that light God has placed in each human being?
 
I know a lot of you are dealing with problems, maybe fruit of trauma or struggles or difficult situations. Perhaps people you care about deeply have misunderstood you or betrayed you or they have their own issues going on and you suffer the negative consequences of them not yet having overcome those difficulties. Maybe what you are thinking someone else is thinking isn't really what they are thinking at all? Maybe what God thinks matters more? Every day can be one in which you are a thanks giver. Every day can be thanksgiving for you.

This season called "Holiday" is not easy for everyone, and sometimes the very families you visit are part of the challenge. In it all, remember Who is HOLY. Yes, God, who loves you, who created you, and who cares for you is Holy. He knows what you are walking through. He "gets" you.  You can call on Him, and He will answer you. Give Him praise and glory and honor. Put your trust and hope in Him.

There are many news reports, private challenges, issues with your children or parents or relatives, but how about just taking a moment over the next few days to back up from the focus on the challenges which face you, to see all of God's beauty and goodness and provision and to put your mind and heart on that? 

It is the best gift you could give this season... that of the perspective of the All Mighty-ness of God. All powerful (Omnipotent). Omniscient. Omnipresent. Not only that... He loves YOU!

In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks.  Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in.  Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.  Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength: 
Isaiah 26:1-4 

Easier said than done, but don't stress. Cast your cares on HIM. You do not need to carry everything alone. You have God. You have the body of Christ to encourage you. You are not alone. You are not orphaned or abandoned. God understands you, and you can talk and listen to Him anytime. Tell Him about your concerns, then turn from carrying everything yourself and .... praise Him. Give thanks! Get grateful.

One thing we do when people come to us for ministry, and we do it ourselves when we are being challenged or tempted, is to get out a notebook, and for a season of time like a month or a few months,  write down five things for which we are grateful each morning (and each evening before bed). It's not a formula, but it is a structure that you can follow for a season when you have gotten into the habit of focusing on all that is wrong, all that is not working or all that is yet unsolved. Praise and thanksgiving not only honor God, but it changes your insides so that the thief is not robbing your todays with regrets about the past or worry about tomorrow.

It's okay to give up self pity and a habitually negative, fearful viewpoint. There is hope to be found in God, and it is evidenced in all He provides and is doing for us. We just need to sometimes take our eyes OFF the problems, and out of the pit, and look up to see what God is doing already. Then we can continue in the confidence that what He has begun in us, He is faithfully in the process of completing.

Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.  Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:  Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. 
1 Peter 5:5-7 

I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,  Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,  For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;  Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.
Philippians 1:3-6    

Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.  Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.  Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.  Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. 
Philippians 4:4-8 

We're glad to connect with you as part of our extended family, and we pray that each one of you has healing, deliverance, blessing and provision in every area of who you are: as a person, as a child of God, as a family member, as a friend, as a parent, as a son or daughter, in your finances, in your homes, in your work, in your ministry and in every way. 

Blessings to you in your spirit, soul and body in the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth and in accordance with His Love!

Did that person really mean you harm?  When you read that e-mail, do you really know the intention and meaning and heart of the person who put it in writing? Do you know that e-mail often carries the emotions, thoughts and conclusions of the reader, and that can be totally different than what the writer/sender meant?  For example, someone mentions part of a conversation that the two of you had trying to honor what you shared, on a bad day you might take it as jealousy or competition, not because the person had that inside them, but because you have it inside you. Romans 2:1 talks about those who accuse others and are doing the things they accuse.

You have to remember that we have thief (John 10:10). When you wratchet down your perceptions against others, believing they mean you harm, but you don't really check out the facts, and give time to hear a matter out, you leave a history of relationship destructions in your path. Unfortunately, those who do this are unaware that the negativity and paranoia and fearful projects are coming from inside them. They want to place the cause of the pain squarely on the outside, rather than deal with what is inside. 

So if every time you have a negative interaction, your choice is to avoid, shut down, not check it out, then you won't know the truth, and the shape of what you believe to be true... will actually be what you make come true for you. 

The opposite of this can be true, too, when you assume false responsibility for all the negative dynamics in your relating. In fact, the thief will use two believers to cause division and destruction if one blames the other and the other takes false responsibility for the accusatory, condemning and judgmental behavior of the one doing the blaming. Speaking the truth in love is part of our maturity and growing in love. Conversations with people that matter involve not only listening, but hearing each other out. 

Listen to your own heart, what have you accused people of doing lately? Perhaps they are doing or intending nothing of the sort, but you are projecting -- from within -- the things that come out and defile others?  Maybe not, but do you value your relationships and friendships enough to be patient and willing to explore that possibility?

Over the past month I've been teaching on the subject of recovering from abuse and trauma. This incredible capability of neuroplasticity and learning gives people the capability to literally "change their mind," and the way it sorts and organizes memory. But what about spiritual plasticity?  You see when some smell or sound or something in another's behavior triggers inordinate fear in the present, a person can feel stuck in a pattern that was once survival related, but is now disabling. Overcoming trauma and abuse includes recognizing where those stuck points are, what the triggers are, and it involves learning the creation of new pathways so that we become less like a button that can be pushed any time someone brushes against a trigger point. God provides these avenues through spirit, mind and brain, but they involve choice, as does overcoming religious stuck places and trigger points. 

What about the body of Christ? Do we have spiritual plasticity in terms of being free to live according to love and the Spirit of God, instead of trying to make each other into the image of our idea of the "letter of the law."   Who defines what churches and ministries and teachers are okay for us? Do we experience our faith through looking to man, or is there a time we shift gears and go to God as our primary source? That human point of reference puts us in a lot of Jeremiah 17:5-8. We can error by shutting down or shutting out the information and help that would free us to be responsive to God instead of stuck pleasing people and going into works and performance for a sense of safety.

When a person is triggered into fear or panic, they go into old survival techniques and defense mechanisms to shut it down or flee or freeze the suspected source of danger.

I find that we have an opportunity to move beyond habits and patterns of what church is and should be. The Pharisees were in this place of trying to perform themselves right while also policing everyone around them. It caused a whole bunch of other problems, like feeling superior and eventually getting envious, jealous, even murderous to claim, guard and preserve their perceived territory. The really sad thing is that they totally missed Christ. 

If Jesus' Israelite contemporaries, the established normative mainstream religionists of the day, could miss the vital, loving, living God standing right in front of them, don't you think it is possible that we, in our sense of self righteousness, could miss the boat, too, if we stay stuck in our sets of rules and regulations that give us a false sense of spiritual safety?

The Spirit of God would tell you that the excellency is in Christ, not in man. The ownership of all there is, is God's. When you think about it, people fighting over church territory or ministry superiority or gender dominance or biblical property are truly being led down the dissipation path by the other kingdom.

There must be a willingness to recognize where we are shut down or glued to a set of thoughts and behaviors that we try to hold other people to because they seem religiously right.  We are falling into a works trap, when we do. Even worse, we are playing out an old song and dance which is attempting the occult mastery of other individuals, and this is steering us away from our purpose.

Build the church, don't tear other people down.

Most of us can think of places where religiously, our thinking feels right, but it truly violates love, and therefore we lack the spiritual plasticity in that moment to respond to God, and we are stuck in our religious ways. I pray that God release His spiritual flexibility to respond to Him, and appropriate spiritual plasticity that allows us to be truly part of the body of Christ, building each other up in love. I fall out of agreement with phariseeism, respect of persons, people lording it over others, delegitimizing other believers and their ministries or false pretense of being mediators between God and man. I release the blessings of a fully functioning, loving and encouraging body of Christ and the freedom to relate with God in spirit and in truth, not in bondage to traditions of men, no matter how "biblical" they sound.