"Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy." 1 Corinthians 14:1
If you haven't been confused by all of the various teaching on prophesy, you've done well. I've heard it taught from almost every angle. One group teaches that prophets are today's representatives from God and other groups teach that there are no more prophets. One group teaches that only a prophet from the Bible can prophesy and others teach that anyone can prophesy. The problem is, not just any interpretation is true.
This word prophesy is from the Greek word, propheteuo, (prof-ate-yoo-o). It simply means to speak under divine inspiration or to tell forth. To tell forth and to foretell are two very different ways of perceiving prophesy. To foretell, (which is the most popular definition of prophesying) means that someone gets a message from God prior to an event and then tells others about that event. Of course all of the prophets in the Bible that did prophesy were correct or what they prophesied has not come to pass yet, but will. But then there are those who have claimed to prophesy, but they actually predicted an event and many have been right and many have been wrong.
To tell forth is to tell what you have received (via inspiration) and it may or may not be about a future event. It can be about something already past or in the now or in the future, but unlike foretelling, telling forth is not some magical formula only available to a select few highly trained candidates. Prophesy is for anyone who has been born again. It is a work of God in the inner most part of the believer where God speaks a word to them and they in turn tell others what they heard. True prophesy is when a believer has prayer/conversation with God. God speaks to them about past, present or future and that person tells forth what they heard.
Anyone can prophesy, but not everything that is said under the auspices of prophesy is prophesy. The key is God. God delivers all spiritual messages via the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit always delivers right words, in a timely manner without fault, but we don't always say or do what the Holy Spirit speaks to us. Herein lies the dilemma.
Most importantly, the source or the prophesy (anyone calling themself a prophet) that you are adhering to should not hold as high a place in your mind as: The Word of God, personal understanding through prayer, or a tried and true voice of an elder that has proven themselves through decades of service to God.
Sunday, June 7, 2015
Saturday, June 6, 2015
Daily Devotional June 6 - Where Is Your Hope?
"But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more." Psalm 71:14
The writer of this Psalm has been through a great deal in His life. That's where I'm at too. I have seen a great deal; injustice, unfaithfulness, terrorism, depression, fear and anxiety; people working jobs they hate, living with people they don't love, raising children without proper preparation, trying to be something they are not to impress people. This world is a mixed up place, yet I have hope.
My hope is in what God will do with all this mixed up mess. My hope is in what God is going to do with me while I'm here. My hope is in how God transforms lives by His grace. My hope is in the work that the Holy Spirit does in people's hearts. My hope is in God.
I praise God for the hope I have. I praise Him more and more. Even though from one point of view it seems that mankind has continually gotten worse and worse and it is apparent that the end times are getting closer and closer, I still praise God for what He is doing, even in this difficult time. Can you praise God in your situation? Can you see that God has already gone ahead and worked it out so that you can have hope in your future? Do you give God praise through your trials and tribulations?
Just like bigger gardens require harder work than little gardens, so do bigger problems require more praise than little problems. God doesn't want you begging Him to get you out of it, God wants you prasing Him through it.
The writer of this Psalm has been through a great deal in His life. That's where I'm at too. I have seen a great deal; injustice, unfaithfulness, terrorism, depression, fear and anxiety; people working jobs they hate, living with people they don't love, raising children without proper preparation, trying to be something they are not to impress people. This world is a mixed up place, yet I have hope.
My hope is in what God will do with all this mixed up mess. My hope is in what God is going to do with me while I'm here. My hope is in how God transforms lives by His grace. My hope is in the work that the Holy Spirit does in people's hearts. My hope is in God.
I praise God for the hope I have. I praise Him more and more. Even though from one point of view it seems that mankind has continually gotten worse and worse and it is apparent that the end times are getting closer and closer, I still praise God for what He is doing, even in this difficult time. Can you praise God in your situation? Can you see that God has already gone ahead and worked it out so that you can have hope in your future? Do you give God praise through your trials and tribulations?
Just like bigger gardens require harder work than little gardens, so do bigger problems require more praise than little problems. God doesn't want you begging Him to get you out of it, God wants you prasing Him through it.
Friday, June 5, 2015
Daily Devotional June 5 - Can You Hear The Voice Of The Lord?
"I have yet many things to say unto you, but you cannot bear them now. Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will show you things to come." John 16:12-13
The spoken Word of God contained in the Bible is the (Logos) the voice of God written on pages, full of power, unchanging and infallible. Every word in the Bible is the spoken Word of God penned by chosen vessels.
The spoken Word of God spoken into your heart is the (Rhema) Word of God, not written on paper, but written on the tablets of the heart, written in your mind and in you soul.
There are many Christians today that only rely on the written Word of God for their nourishment and inspiration and even though it is true that the scriptures contain all that is necessary for becoming alive in the Spirit and saved from your sins, it was never meant that the Word of God would prevent you from seeking and hearing what God has to say to you personally from and by the Holy Spirit.
The spoken Word of God, written (Logos ) was written for the purpose of guiding you to receive the spoken Word of God (Rhema) the voice of God speaking to you in your heart. There was never meant to be a separation from hearing the Word of God, the Bible, and hearing the Word of God as spoken to you by the Holy Spirit. The Word of God is God speaking to you.
If those who were with Jesus were not ready to hear certain things it would make sense that neither are we. Yet, after Jesus went away, He sent the Holy Spirit to continue the conversation between God and man. That is the work of the Holy Spirit today, i. e., to continue the conversation between God and man. If you have any fear at all about conversing with the Holy Spirit, (maybe because of the way you have been taught), you have been unjustly held back from your rights in Christ. The Holy Spirit was sent to continue the work and dialogue that Jesus was doing when He was here. The Holy Spirit is to be embraced and not shunned.
Today, this day, this moment, the Holy Spirit has a word for you. What could possibly keep you from wanting to hear the voice of God? The answer would take volumes to share, but there are two distinct and easily agreed upon reasons why people don't listen to the Holy Spirit. Before I get into that, at least agree that Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to guide you into truth and show you things to come.
The first reason people don't listen to or have conversation with the Holy Spirit is; they don't believe in it. You cannot activate dialogue with God unless you believe you can. Many people have been taught that the Holy Spirit is the power of God or that the Holy Spirit is only for charismatics or other silly teachings, but the truth is: the Holy Spirit is God and God lives in you if you are born again and the God that is in you that is the Holy Spirit speaks to you and guides you and show you the way. If it were not true, then why would Jesus say it is true?
The second reason that people don't listen to or have conversation with the Holy Spirit is: they don't want to. That's right many people have heard from the Holy Spirit and they don't like what they heard. They are still swayed by a carnal mind. They have been born again, but when the Holy Spirit speaks to them about what they are doing or where they are headed, they don't like it. The Holy Spirit only speaks truth and you know how much the truth can hurt sometimes, especially if you are involved in something that is sinful or against the ways of God. You can't hide from the Holy Spirit like you can your spouse, children or co-workers.
You might want the blessings of God, as long as they come upon request without any labor or responsibility on your part. But when God speaks to you of those things that you need to break away from or that are hurting you or hurting others, you don't like that part. Many people could be talking to God every day but choose not to because they really don't want to hear what God has to say to them.
All of us have been there, but to stay there is not going to benefit you. Hiding from your true purpose and denying your own self your rightful place in the work of the kingdom only wastes time. Do you really have time to waste? When all that God has to say to you is freely given and all day long, every day, and all is for your benefit and the benefit of others, and every Word from God is true and every understood Word of God helps to correct your path, what could be more important than hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit?
The spoken Word of God contained in the Bible is the (Logos) the voice of God written on pages, full of power, unchanging and infallible. Every word in the Bible is the spoken Word of God penned by chosen vessels.
The spoken Word of God spoken into your heart is the (Rhema) Word of God, not written on paper, but written on the tablets of the heart, written in your mind and in you soul.
There are many Christians today that only rely on the written Word of God for their nourishment and inspiration and even though it is true that the scriptures contain all that is necessary for becoming alive in the Spirit and saved from your sins, it was never meant that the Word of God would prevent you from seeking and hearing what God has to say to you personally from and by the Holy Spirit.
The spoken Word of God, written (Logos ) was written for the purpose of guiding you to receive the spoken Word of God (Rhema) the voice of God speaking to you in your heart. There was never meant to be a separation from hearing the Word of God, the Bible, and hearing the Word of God as spoken to you by the Holy Spirit. The Word of God is God speaking to you.
If those who were with Jesus were not ready to hear certain things it would make sense that neither are we. Yet, after Jesus went away, He sent the Holy Spirit to continue the conversation between God and man. That is the work of the Holy Spirit today, i. e., to continue the conversation between God and man. If you have any fear at all about conversing with the Holy Spirit, (maybe because of the way you have been taught), you have been unjustly held back from your rights in Christ. The Holy Spirit was sent to continue the work and dialogue that Jesus was doing when He was here. The Holy Spirit is to be embraced and not shunned.
Today, this day, this moment, the Holy Spirit has a word for you. What could possibly keep you from wanting to hear the voice of God? The answer would take volumes to share, but there are two distinct and easily agreed upon reasons why people don't listen to the Holy Spirit. Before I get into that, at least agree that Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to guide you into truth and show you things to come.
The first reason people don't listen to or have conversation with the Holy Spirit is; they don't believe in it. You cannot activate dialogue with God unless you believe you can. Many people have been taught that the Holy Spirit is the power of God or that the Holy Spirit is only for charismatics or other silly teachings, but the truth is: the Holy Spirit is God and God lives in you if you are born again and the God that is in you that is the Holy Spirit speaks to you and guides you and show you the way. If it were not true, then why would Jesus say it is true?
The second reason that people don't listen to or have conversation with the Holy Spirit is: they don't want to. That's right many people have heard from the Holy Spirit and they don't like what they heard. They are still swayed by a carnal mind. They have been born again, but when the Holy Spirit speaks to them about what they are doing or where they are headed, they don't like it. The Holy Spirit only speaks truth and you know how much the truth can hurt sometimes, especially if you are involved in something that is sinful or against the ways of God. You can't hide from the Holy Spirit like you can your spouse, children or co-workers.
You might want the blessings of God, as long as they come upon request without any labor or responsibility on your part. But when God speaks to you of those things that you need to break away from or that are hurting you or hurting others, you don't like that part. Many people could be talking to God every day but choose not to because they really don't want to hear what God has to say to them.
All of us have been there, but to stay there is not going to benefit you. Hiding from your true purpose and denying your own self your rightful place in the work of the kingdom only wastes time. Do you really have time to waste? When all that God has to say to you is freely given and all day long, every day, and all is for your benefit and the benefit of others, and every Word from God is true and every understood Word of God helps to correct your path, what could be more important than hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit?
Thursday, June 4, 2015
Daily Devotional June 4 - Believest Thou This?
"Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die. Believest thou this?" John 11:25-26
There is no news better than this news. This is the good news. This is the gospel.
The point I want to make has to do with the last statement, "believest thou this?" In a way it doesn't matter what Jesus did or didn't do, who He is or isn't, where or when He lived, or whether or not He performed miracles, if you don't believe it.
That's the power of the gospel. In the belief of the truth of who Christ is and what He did is the power of eternal life. It's that simple. All the blessings, gifts and promises of God are given to those who simply believe this simple truth.
If you are thinking, what if I don't believe and why should I believe; what difference could it make if I believe a 'story' or not? Then the second part of the process has not taken place in your life. It is the confirmation of the living Holy Spirit. When you read the words in scripture, they are true and they are living and they contain within them the answers and the power that mankind seeks, but reading the words does not take faith. If you apply faith to the reading of the words you then have the opportunity for the words that already have power to be released into your life by having them activated by the Holy Spirit.
When you recognize the gospel as the truth from God that it was intended to be, the Holy Spirit confirms in your soul that it is true. The Holy Spirit denies no one access to God. But the Holy Spirit only confirms the truth of the gospel by invitation. When you believe a truth the Holy Spirit confirms in your spirit its validity. Each truth, truth upon truth, as you read the scripture is confirmed as you apply your faith to believe it. That's right. You could come to believe the whole Bible if when you read the Bible you were to apply faith to the reading. The Holy Spirit confirms in your soul each truth, thus you are empowered to use each truth that has been activated by the Holy Spirit.
You may have been a Christian for twenty or more years and not had this kind of "read the word, have it confirmed and wield the power of it" experience. Just because you haven't had it doesn't mean it does not exist. God is willing to wait for those in each generation to break through whatever is holding them back and does not hold that against them.
It's different for each of us. For some you might need to break away from a stale or dry spiritual experience, one that is not meeting your personal spiritual growth. For others you might need a little less excitement and more down to earth Bible study. But for all of us, you should break away from whatever is keeping you from believing, because believing each truth of the scripture unlocks each truth's power. God wants you to have that power and the only thing keeping you from it is believing in it. That's why Jesus says, "believest thou this?"
There is no news better than this news. This is the good news. This is the gospel.
The point I want to make has to do with the last statement, "believest thou this?" In a way it doesn't matter what Jesus did or didn't do, who He is or isn't, where or when He lived, or whether or not He performed miracles, if you don't believe it.
That's the power of the gospel. In the belief of the truth of who Christ is and what He did is the power of eternal life. It's that simple. All the blessings, gifts and promises of God are given to those who simply believe this simple truth.
If you are thinking, what if I don't believe and why should I believe; what difference could it make if I believe a 'story' or not? Then the second part of the process has not taken place in your life. It is the confirmation of the living Holy Spirit. When you read the words in scripture, they are true and they are living and they contain within them the answers and the power that mankind seeks, but reading the words does not take faith. If you apply faith to the reading of the words you then have the opportunity for the words that already have power to be released into your life by having them activated by the Holy Spirit.
When you recognize the gospel as the truth from God that it was intended to be, the Holy Spirit confirms in your soul that it is true. The Holy Spirit denies no one access to God. But the Holy Spirit only confirms the truth of the gospel by invitation. When you believe a truth the Holy Spirit confirms in your spirit its validity. Each truth, truth upon truth, as you read the scripture is confirmed as you apply your faith to believe it. That's right. You could come to believe the whole Bible if when you read the Bible you were to apply faith to the reading. The Holy Spirit confirms in your soul each truth, thus you are empowered to use each truth that has been activated by the Holy Spirit.
You may have been a Christian for twenty or more years and not had this kind of "read the word, have it confirmed and wield the power of it" experience. Just because you haven't had it doesn't mean it does not exist. God is willing to wait for those in each generation to break through whatever is holding them back and does not hold that against them.
It's different for each of us. For some you might need to break away from a stale or dry spiritual experience, one that is not meeting your personal spiritual growth. For others you might need a little less excitement and more down to earth Bible study. But for all of us, you should break away from whatever is keeping you from believing, because believing each truth of the scripture unlocks each truth's power. God wants you to have that power and the only thing keeping you from it is believing in it. That's why Jesus says, "believest thou this?"
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
Daily Devotional June 3 - You Can Do It
"Commit thy works unto the Lord and thy thoughts shall be established." Proverbs 16:3
What do you have on your mind that you want God to bring to pass. Ah! You were thinking that if you worked hard enough and you were smart enough you could bring it to pass on your own.
There are many things you can accomplish without acknowledging God in your endeavors, but is that the best way to take something in its inception all the way to fruition? Of course not.
Commit your works means to work toward your goal, think hard and make wise decisions. When you do you give God something to work with. Would you really like it if God did everything for you? Do you really think you would enjoy being a clone and not having the ability to make mistakes as well as accomplish great things?
We are not clones and God does not do everything for you, but what God does do you cannot do. This is so profound. God gives you the wherewithal to do a great many things, but anything that brings blessing to others and assist the growth of the Kingdom of God, anything spiritual requires God's intervention. That's because you are not spiritual on your own.
Apart from God living within you, your spiritual life is of no consequence, no eternal benefits and no spiritual power. That's why so many alternate religious systems, worldly religions, have religion, tenets of faith, dogma and rhetoric, but the only power is what they can wield with their tongue, a sword or a weapon. Their battle is carnal and doesn't end well. Only that which God ordains lives in eternity with God.
If there is no spiritual foundation then there can be no spiritual growth. And there is no spiritual foundation other than that of Christ. "Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established."
What do you have on your mind that you want God to bring to pass. Ah! You were thinking that if you worked hard enough and you were smart enough you could bring it to pass on your own.
There are many things you can accomplish without acknowledging God in your endeavors, but is that the best way to take something in its inception all the way to fruition? Of course not.
Commit your works means to work toward your goal, think hard and make wise decisions. When you do you give God something to work with. Would you really like it if God did everything for you? Do you really think you would enjoy being a clone and not having the ability to make mistakes as well as accomplish great things?
We are not clones and God does not do everything for you, but what God does do you cannot do. This is so profound. God gives you the wherewithal to do a great many things, but anything that brings blessing to others and assist the growth of the Kingdom of God, anything spiritual requires God's intervention. That's because you are not spiritual on your own.
Apart from God living within you, your spiritual life is of no consequence, no eternal benefits and no spiritual power. That's why so many alternate religious systems, worldly religions, have religion, tenets of faith, dogma and rhetoric, but the only power is what they can wield with their tongue, a sword or a weapon. Their battle is carnal and doesn't end well. Only that which God ordains lives in eternity with God.
If there is no spiritual foundation then there can be no spiritual growth. And there is no spiritual foundation other than that of Christ. "Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established."
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
Daily Devotional June 2 - You Are Able
"Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever." Jude 24-25
This is why it is so important to keep your eyes on the ball. Only with God is there any hope that your future will be bright and full of good things. Even some of the things that seem unmanageable to the world can be understood and appreciated as a follower of Jesus Christ.
The reason: God is able. I remember the first time I realized how important this is. I was putting together the names of God/Jesus and one of the first on the list was able. "God is Love." "God is a consuming fire." God is omnipotent. God is omniscient. God is immutable. God is able. Because God is able you don't have to fear life like the world does, nor do you have to fear your enemy like the world does. Because God is able, you are able.
You are able. Do you believe it?
This is why it is so important to keep your eyes on the ball. Only with God is there any hope that your future will be bright and full of good things. Even some of the things that seem unmanageable to the world can be understood and appreciated as a follower of Jesus Christ.
The reason: God is able. I remember the first time I realized how important this is. I was putting together the names of God/Jesus and one of the first on the list was able. "God is Love." "God is a consuming fire." God is omnipotent. God is omniscient. God is immutable. God is able. Because God is able you don't have to fear life like the world does, nor do you have to fear your enemy like the world does. Because God is able, you are able.
- You are able to do much more than you have in mind.
- You are able to transcend the indiscretions of the past.
- You are able to take back territory from those who stole from you.
- You are able to finish your education and move forward with your plan to teach.
- You are able to, at your age, to write a story or a poem that moves the hearts of many.
- You are able to buy that business. Talk to God and go make a deal.
- You are able to get up and go to church each week. Your pastor deserves to see you there.
- You are able to win that tennis match against a higher ranked player. Get up earlier and practice with intent.
- You are able to get through technical school and get a better job. Hang in there when your body wants to quit. You can and will do it.
- You are able as a doctor to apply your faith while serving the public. Quit hiding the importance of performing your God given, life saving skills, with applied faith.
- You are able to win that next case on behalf of the underdog. Dig deeper and find the gems that will make the difference for your client. Even if you have to do it on your own time.
- You are able because God is able. Think about living like you are the express image of the living God. You will find power and confidence and strength and wisdom, because it is given freely to those who ask. Quit thinking that God wants you to stay down. It is not God purporting that kind of nonsense. God has already gone before you and made a way.
You are able. Do you believe it?
Monday, June 1, 2015
Daily Devotional June 1 - Are You Holding Back?
"For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God." Galatians 2:19
Dead to the law means that the law no longer has a hold on you. You have been freed to serve God without the hindrance of following the letter of the law. Freedom from the law is not license to sin nor is it an excuse from the responsibilities of following after Christ with your whole heart.
Living unto God is made possible by the sacrifice that Jesus made for us on the cross. Living unto God is possible now because we have been adopted into the beloved by God. You are a child of God, therefore you can serve God without reservation. Those who have not been born again cannot serve God without reservation. First they don't believe they can and secondly they do not have the indwelling Holy Spirit in their life. Without the indwelling Holy Spirit we are all doomed to frequent bad choices and unchecked propensities that are not godly. But with the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit within we have been enabled to serve God at any level, at any capacity, without boundaries or obstacles.
We have this potential, but that does not mean that we automatically always do the right things or make the right choices. Sometimes we might even make a choice that is contrary to the leading of the Holy Spirit. But if you are willing to yield your will to His will, you are empowered to overcome in every situation.
We hear much about how you can't even go a whole day and not sin; everybody sins; after all we are all human. The main reason that there is so much emphasis on this is that people don't want to slow down enough to think before they act. Hours of prayer prior to making decisions is all but dead in modernity. Thinking about and carefully considering all the consequences of our actions is not trendy, nor will it win your friends attention. Thinking about each decision and asking God's approval before jumping ahead is not the way of the modern world.
Much can be done to improve your walk with God and most of it requires that you think on godly things, thus God-thinking. It's not just thinking on godly things that keeps us going forward in growing closer to God, but in the abandonment of and discontinuation of those things that are not godly as well.
There is much thought today among Christians about mixing it up; a little church and christian-eze and a little worldliness, a little faithful and a little unfaithful, a little sold out and a little kept back in reserve. The mindset is that this is balance. This is the kind of balance that wins no souls and gets no victory. Just maintaining a minimal relationship with God in order to make sure you enter into heaven is shallow at best and may not be Christianity at all.
Dead to the law means that the law no longer has a hold on you. You have been freed to serve God without the hindrance of following the letter of the law. Freedom from the law is not license to sin nor is it an excuse from the responsibilities of following after Christ with your whole heart.
Living unto God is made possible by the sacrifice that Jesus made for us on the cross. Living unto God is possible now because we have been adopted into the beloved by God. You are a child of God, therefore you can serve God without reservation. Those who have not been born again cannot serve God without reservation. First they don't believe they can and secondly they do not have the indwelling Holy Spirit in their life. Without the indwelling Holy Spirit we are all doomed to frequent bad choices and unchecked propensities that are not godly. But with the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit within we have been enabled to serve God at any level, at any capacity, without boundaries or obstacles.
We have this potential, but that does not mean that we automatically always do the right things or make the right choices. Sometimes we might even make a choice that is contrary to the leading of the Holy Spirit. But if you are willing to yield your will to His will, you are empowered to overcome in every situation.
We hear much about how you can't even go a whole day and not sin; everybody sins; after all we are all human. The main reason that there is so much emphasis on this is that people don't want to slow down enough to think before they act. Hours of prayer prior to making decisions is all but dead in modernity. Thinking about and carefully considering all the consequences of our actions is not trendy, nor will it win your friends attention. Thinking about each decision and asking God's approval before jumping ahead is not the way of the modern world.
Much can be done to improve your walk with God and most of it requires that you think on godly things, thus God-thinking. It's not just thinking on godly things that keeps us going forward in growing closer to God, but in the abandonment of and discontinuation of those things that are not godly as well.
There is much thought today among Christians about mixing it up; a little church and christian-eze and a little worldliness, a little faithful and a little unfaithful, a little sold out and a little kept back in reserve. The mindset is that this is balance. This is the kind of balance that wins no souls and gets no victory. Just maintaining a minimal relationship with God in order to make sure you enter into heaven is shallow at best and may not be Christianity at all.
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