Dreams from Him, 2009-10

Posted on February 12, 2012 by A Whisper, Screamed

May 2009
This one is my favorite because I see it come into focus in this reality:

I stood before a brick building with a dull metal door. The odd thing about the door is that it had no doorknob, just a rounded tab where it would be. I said, “Why would someone make a door without a doorknob?”

A firm hand took hold of my right shoulder and I was spirited inside the building.

There, church was being held, some standing with hands palms-up. Before I had time to process more, the grip spun me around to face the door once again.

Metal scaffolding as high and wide as the door supported a huge bolt about the size of my arm where the knob should have been. A large nut held the bolt in place.

A male voice said, “They have locked everyone out. How are people supposed to get in? How am I supposed to get in?”

Startled awake, I went over it with my spouse. The only thing I could grasp at the time was how His Spirit was not welcome at those “family country club” type assemblies in our area. Now, I understand it as man’s wisdom locking out any one who does not fall in line with whatever doctrine that church practices [the traditions of men (Isaiah 29:13, Matthew 15:9, Mark 7:8, Colossians 2:22)]. No witnessing, no prophecy, no being in the Spirit, partial biblical truth, no gifts, no questions, etc. IOW, a spiritual dead tomb instead of a living part of the Ecclesia.

Remember 1 Peter 4:17:

For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

The lukewarm have not truly invited Him into their midst:

Revelation 3:14-22 And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write: “These things said the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;

“I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot: I would you were cold or hot. So then because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of My mouth.

“Because you say, ‘I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing.’ And know not that you are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel you to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that you may be rich; and white raiment, that you may be clothed, and that the shame of your nakedness do not appear; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me. To him that overcomes will I grant to sit with Me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne. He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit said to the churches.”

Mid-June 2010
Close to 2 in the AM Tuesday, I had nodded off to sleep when Nathan Leal’s (online prophet) voice speaking in tongues penetrated my chest instead of my ears. Freaked out, I snapped awake and told my spouse about it. I had requested to join Nathan’s forum over a week prior and had emailed him the day before asking why it was taking so long to be approved. I got approved the next day when he released a prophecy about a heavily-populated city being destroyed.

July 2010
I saw this in a quick dream. I was on Godlike Production and this sentence came up: Those who strive to follow Me should not use My Name to garner attention. *blue angry face*

I pray this isn’t me, Jesus. Please forgive me if it is!

August 2010
It was a beautiful, warm, nearly cloudless day. With the sun high above casting no shadow, I trudged up a dirt peak on a hill or mountain. I peered over the cliff and saw a destroyed city as far as the eye could see. I awoke immediately and told the spouse. I had never had an apocalyptic dream before.

September 2010
I was at my computer, typing out something, when a male voice began to speak to me. The only thing I remember was the last sentence: “…you are part of the remnant.” I woke up and told my spouse.

December 2010
During a long fast, I had a disjointed, apocalyptic dream about the future: people working together, garden plots, caravans, animal bones patching up wagons, etc. At some point, I became the old woman with rotting teeth dispensing wisdom and making remedies from insects (I hate bugs and spiders). I somehow ended up back where I currently live and was giving a speech on my way to the bathroom in my bedroom. I can only recall the last line: “This is the end of the Bible for me.”

I have no idea what that statement means. Impending death (physical or spiritual)? That I will become a doer of the Word instead of a student?

On the thirty-first day of the same fast, I made a stupid mistake. I decide to try oil rinsing with extra virgin coconut oil, although I am allergic to coconuts. The vitamin D drops I use contained fractionated coconut oil and I had no problem with the product. Also, the oil had been recommended for cleansing teeth and gums due to the palmitic acid in it (palm oil as well). No reaction occurred until the next morning, when my mouth tissue felt a little off. Later that day, my tummy began to hurt and it would not let up. I broke the fast with some crackers to see if my stomach lining was starting to break down. The bland crackers actually highlighted the taste of blood in my mouth: my gums were bleeding!

In a dream, I saw myself in the bathroom mirror brushing with peroxide instead of as a mouthwash. I believe it was from the Holy Spirit, so I did just that. One night, I felt “liquid energy” flow into my head and through my gums—the familiar sensation of the Spirit going directly to work on me. The bleed, which had slowed, stopped completely right then. A few weeks of extra dental care and obedience led to getting rid of the allergy-induced gingivitis.

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Excise “Church”

Posted on February 11, 2012 by A Whisper, Screamed

Ecclesia (or Ekklesia)

Called-out ones

Assembly

Congregation

Gathering

Flock

Body

These are the words used in Scripture to define the meeting of believers. Why did the translators use the word church? Where did it come from? After years of searching, I have found the best, most-concise article on the subject:

THE MYSTERIOUS WORD “CHURCH”

The word “church” in our Bibles has alarming roots. Why did the translators use it?

There are two main approaches to producing an English version of the Bible from the original languages, which, in the case of the New Testament, was Greek. The most common approach is translation and the other is transliteration.

Transliteration is the practice of replacing the Greek letters of a word with English letters to form a new word with a distinctive meaning. This approach was used in select places with the word baptize. The English letters of the original Greek word baptizo, means “to dip or sink.” When Jesus dipped a morsel of bread and gave it to Judas in John 13:26, this is the word baptizo. The scholars chose to transliterate this word, rather than translate, to avoid conflict with those branches of Christianity having unique approaches to baptism.

Translating, the practice of replacing Greek words with English words of similar meaning or intent is the most common practice. Our interest is in the English word for church, which replaces the Greek word ekklesia. In Acts 19:25-41, we have an example of the real meaning of ekklesia; the people of Ephesus gathered to deal with Paul’s alleged preaching against their god, Artemis of the Ephesians.

So then, some were shouting one thing and some another, for the assembly was in confusion and the majority did not know for what reason they had come together.

But if you want anything beyond this, it shall be settled in the lawful assembly.

After saying this he dismissed the assembly. Acts 19:32, 39, 41(NASB)

In each of these cases, ekklesia is correctly translated “assembly” since it means “citizens called to be a governing assembly.” In Acts 7:38 and Hebrews 2:12, ekklesia is translated as congregation, also a good interpretation. The rest of the one hundred fourteen times that ekklesia is used in the NT, it has been replaced with “church” or “churches”—replaced, because the word “church” is neither a translation nor a transliteration of the original word. Someone chose to use “church” rather than the meaning of the Greek word or its letters.

Here begins the mystery.

OLD ENGLISH BIBLES

John Wyclife, of Yorkshire, England, translated the first Bible into English in 1382, not from the original languages, but from the Latin. Therein, John translated the Latin word ecclesiam into chirche (in old English spelling):

And Y seie to thee, that thou art Petre, and on this stoon Y schal bilde my chirche, and the yatis of helle schulen not haue miyt ayens it. (Matthew 16:18 Wyclife, c1382)

The Latin word is similar to the Greek, but because he did not know Greek, he may have used what was commonly called a religious gathering in his day. More on this later.

Other English translations that followed were:

* Tyndale’s Bible (1526) – used “congregation”:

And I saye also vnto the that thou arte Peter: and apon this rocke I wyll bylde my congregacion. And the gates of hell shall not prevayle ageynst it. (Matthew 16:18 Tyndale, c1526)

* Coverdale Bible (1535) – used “congregation”

* Matthew Bible (1537) – used “congregation”

* The Great Bible (1539) – used “congregation”

* Geneva Bible (1560) – used “church”

And I say also vnto thee, that thou art Peter, and vpon this rocke I will builde my Church: and ye gates of hell shall not ouercome it.” (Matthew 16:18 Geneva Bible, c1560)

* Bishop’s Bible (1568) – used “congregation”:

And I say also vnto thee, that thou art Peter, and vponn this rocke I wyll buylde my congregation: And the gates of hell shall not preuayle agaynst it.” (Matthew 16:18 Bishop Bible, c1568)

The word “congregation,” in place of ekklesia, is a good translation since “congregation” means “to gather a flock” and refers to people, not places or institutions.

GOING IN CIRCLES

Wyclife’s word chirche, or as we spell it today, “church”, has some interesting twists to its meaning. According to modern dictionaries, such as the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, the word “church” is derived from a Greek word meaning house of the Lord:

[Middle English chirche, from Old English cirice, ultimately from Medieval Greek kurikon, from Late Greek kuriakon (doma), the Lord’s (house), from Greek kuriakos, of the lord, from kurios, lord.]1

This in itself is a poor derivative since it refers to a place (a house) rather than to people, as Jesus intended. Many older sources on etymology doubt this Greek connection.

In Smith’s Bible Dictionary from 1884, page 452, we read:

“the derivation of the word ‘church’ is uncertain. It is found in the Teutonic and Slavonic languages and answers to the derivatives of ekklesia, which are naturally found in the romance languages and by foreign importation elsewhere. The word is generally said to be derived from the Greek kyriakos, meaning the lord’s house. But the derivation has been too hastily assumed. It is probably associated with the Scottish kirk, the Latin circus/circulous, the Greek klukos, because the congregations were gathered in circles.”

Lidellan’s Scott’s Greek English Lexicon also tells us that the origin of our word “church” is uncertain. On defining the word klukos, from which church allegedly came, it says:

“Of or for a lord or master (speaking of a secular lord). Assumed to be original of the Teutonic kirk, kirche, or church, but how this Greek name came to be adopted by the northern nations rather than the Roman name or Greek name ekklesia has not been satisfactorily explained.”

Regarding the word church, Ebenezer Cobham Brewers Dictionary of Phrase and Fable of 1898 reads:

“The etymology of this word is generally assumed to be from the Greek, Kuriou oikos (house of God); but this is most improbable, as the word existed in all the Celtic dialects long before the introduction of Greek. No doubt the word means “a circle.” The places of worship among the German and Celtic nations were always circular. (Welsh, cyrch, French, cirque; Scotch, kirk; Greek, kirk-os, etc.) Compare Anglo-Saxon circe, a church, with circol, a circle.” (emphasis mine)

If church is derived from the word “circle,” how then did the original Greek word ekklesia become “church” or “circle?”

Throughout England, pagan religious gatherings were always held at a circle. The Druids with their Stonehenge, the Celts, and Saxons also met at stone circles, to worship their gods. Many of these stone circles still exist throughout England and about twenty eight are found in the Wyclife’s Yorkshire area. Many of the first English Christian buildings for worship were located on these circle sites or were built using stones from these circles. Through this association, the people of Wyclife’s day continued to call these buildings a kirk (Scottish), a cirice (Old English), or chirche (Wyclife’s version), each variation meaning “circle” and describing a place-occult-and not the people.

Although we can see Wyclife’s rationale for using the word “church” or “circle” as common to his day, it was not suitable then or now, since it does not meet the meaning or intent of the original word—a reference to people. Because “church” or “circle” describes a place, the real meaning of ekklesia is lost. The better translation, “congregation”, was used by most other translations after Wyclife, except the Geneva Bible and the one authorized by King James—the later being the foundation of our modern versions.

THE KING JAMES VERSION

The story gets interesting when King James I of England decided to authorize his own translation of the Bible in 1611. The other versions fell to his disfavor because their footnotes failed to honor the King. To correct this, he gathered fifty-four scholars and gave them fifteen edicts to follow as they translated and published the King James Version. The first edict was that they use the Bishop’s Bible (which used “congregation”) with as few changes as possible. The third edict specified that, in select places, they were to use the word “church,” and not “congregation,” in place of ekklesia. His fourteenth edict stated that they could use the Tyndale, Matthew, Coverdale, the Great Bible (also called the Whitchurch, Cranmer, and Cromwell Bible), and the Geneva versions of the Bible wherever they were closer to their accessible manuscripts. The King’s influence is also seen where the names of the apostle and brother for Jesus were translated as “James” rather than Jacob (Iakobos)

Why would the King be so adamant about using a word, church, that he knew to mean circle rather than using the correct translation? What do we know about this King?

One detail of his life that history books do not often discuss occurred before he became King James I of England-while he was James VI, King of Scotland.

“On the west wall of the lodgehall used by Lodge Scoon and Perth No. 3 in Perth, Scotland, can be found a mural depicting James VI kneeling at their altar at his initiation. The oldest existing record of the Lodge, called The Mutual Agreement” of 24 December, 1658, records that James was “entered Freemasonry as a Fellowcraft of the Lodge of Scoon” on 15 April, 1601.”2

On April 15, 1601, King James entered the secretive society of the Freemasons. In fact, Masons credit him as being the originator of the worldwide system of lodges within Freemasonry.

His version of the Bible became, and still is, their favored version.

One of the most important symbols in Freemasonry is a circle with a dot in the center—part of their motif-the shape that is drawn by the compass.3

SYMBOLS OF NOTE

Throughout Europe and England, the circle was a significant occult symbol and remains so today. It connotes inclusion or influence, as does that of being surrounded. Many good symbols such as the five-pointed star and the six-pointed Star of David become the occult pentagram, pentacles, and the hexagram when encircled, and each is used with prominence in Freemasonry and Witchcraft. Does a circle surrounding these and other symbols place them under the influence of occult powers?

Adherents of the occult believe symbols have power and influence, and especially so when those carrying or connected to the symbol are not aware of it. Would the expression “Ignorance of the law is no excuse” apply to spiritual concerns too? Does ignorance of the law of gravity excuse us of its influence?

Recently, I had occasion to pray with an individual whom Jesus was calling out of a high position within the occult. During our prayers, she asked if we could use a word other than “church” as we prayed. That startled me and when I asked, her reason was that what we refer to as occult covens are referred to as churches by those within occult circles. She wanted to be clear that her prayers referred to the Body of Christ and not to occult churches/covens/circles.

Why do occult organizations such as the Church of Illumination, Church of Scientology, Church of Wicca, Church of Satan, and others embrace the word “church” in their identity? Do they better understand its true meaning and significance? Could it be that we are naive?

TRUTH SETS FREE

Since the word “church” has no foundation in truth, we would be wise to move away from its use in our Bibles, writings, and speech, replacing it with terms such as “those people I call”, “governing assembly”, “congregation”, or similarly suitable translations, more directly referring to God’s people rather than to a place. Even our meeting places would do well with a change away from meeting in “the circle” to our “gathering place”, “place of assembly”, or “worship center.”

Compare Jesus’ words in the verses that follow, and see the richness of the real meaning:

I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. (Matt 16:18 NASB)

In Jesus’ day, walls encircled cities and access was by way of the gates. Was Jesus thinking of Samson? In their plan to capture and then take Samson’s life the Philistines locked him in the city of Gaza4 but he tore the gates from its hinges and carrying them to the top of a nearby hill.

When Jesus calls the citizens of his kingdom to a governing assembly, the confines of the realm of the evil spirits (Hades) that encircle us will not be able to hold us when we determine to break free of its bondage.

I will edify the people I’ve called to assemble; and the gates of the realm of the evil spirits will not be strong enough to keep them confined. (Matt 16:18 my rendition).

This has a richer, more personal meaning than does the use and understanding of the word “church” today. Are we like Samson when Jesus edifies and empowers us?

Building a “church” or rather “the people called to assemble” is Jesus’ work; ours is to promote the kingdom, God’s kingdom, not our little local versions.

It’s about people, not institutions!

BREAK FREE

Jesus called out or assembled twelve ordinary people and spent three years teaching them about the kingdom of God. Then they turned the known world upside down in 300 years—teaching and being witnesses of Jesus, with signs and wonders.

Looking back to the Pentecostal, Charismatic, Vineyard, Salvation Army, Methodist, and other movements, why did their initial revival, renewal, and uniqueness dissolve into the same basic powerless style and function as that of the mainline churches? By ineffective style and function, I refer to the process wherein people, participating for even thirty or forty years, are ill—equipped to share the joy and privileges of the gospel message with their neighbors, or to exhibit the qualities of Jesus’ life.

When we unknowingly identify ourselves with the occult symbol of the circle, through our association with the word “church,” do we also place ourselves under the rule and authority of occult principalities and powers as mentioned in Ephesians 6?

Are these principalities and powers responsible to see that we remain ineffective by pressing or subjugating us into a common and powerless style and function?

Are the words we use important? In the following verse, Jesus suggests they are important.

But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned. (Matt 12:36-37 NASB)

George Barna writes, “The church seems afraid to invest in new modes of being the church, breaking free from antiquated models and irrelevant traditions toward living the gospel in a twenty-first-century context.”5

Is it fear, as he suggests, or is it a bondage to the confines of the circle? I will leave you to answer that question.

CONCLUSIONS

The word “church” has no foundation in scripture, being a transferred word and not an interpretation or transliteration. We should consider that there might be negative spiritual ramifications resulting from our identification with this word.

Aside from that, the Gospel is not places, buildings, or circles; rather, it is about unique, individual, and precious people. The Samaritan woman at the well changed the course of her discussion with Jesus to places of worship. Jesus turned that discussion toward people who would worship in spirit and in truth.6

Jesus pointed out that people are important, not places, when he spoke to her:

Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. (John 4:21-24)

Jesus demonstrated an interest in the people, his sheep. He led them, taught them, healed them, and then sent them out to do the same. He was not interested in larger stalls or larger flocks but that they would be equipped to go out to do as he did, and so to every nation.

Ekklesia is about calling out and equipping people, not institutions!

Since this word “church” is so very entrenched in Christianity, the simple solution is to redeem and set this word apart for our use as Israel did of vessels for the temple. Pray this with me:

Our Father, the Most High God, redeem the word “church” from every occult connection and association with the word and symbol called “circle,” Remove everything ungodly and everything having unrighteous intent from past, present, and future use and association with the word “church” as it is used as a replacement for the Greek word ekklesia, and its meaning-those people called by Jesus Christ to assemble. We command a blessing on this word “church” as it is used to describe the various local congregations of people redeemed by the blood sacrifice of the Lamb of God, Jesus of Nazareth, in whose name we assemble. We also ask that the use of the word “church” by those in the occult would work to draw them to Jesus, because we bless this word for the exclusive use as describing the assembly of Christians. In all this, may you be glorified. Amen

Footnotes
1. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition copyright© 1992 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Electronic version licensed from InfoSoft International, Inc. All rights reserved.
2. D. Crawford Smith and William James Hughan, History of the Ancient Masonic Lodge of Scoon and Perth (Number 3, The Lodge of Scone) Perth: Cowan and Company, Limited, 1898. (http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/biography/james_vi/james_vi.html)
3. Christopher Knight and Robert Lomas, The Hiram Key, Arrow Books, London, England, pg. 426
4. Judges 16
5. George Barna, editor, Leaders on Leadership (Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 1997), page 29.
6. John 4:19-24

©2009, Steve Bydeley.
All Rights Reserved

All publishing rights reserved. Permission is granted to reprint this article for personal use; however, no commercial re-publishing of the material in this article is permitted without prior written consent.

Dr. Steve Bydeley is the author of Fathered by God and with his wife Dianne, co-author of Dream Dreams and Dreams the Heal and Counsel. He has been a guest on the Miracle Channel, Trinity Television, and Crossroads Communication, and have taught internationally on various topics.

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Fiery Pit in the OT?

Posted on February 10, 2012 by A Whisper, Screamed

I think I was searching around for a detail article about Jesus’ anger and frustration. After discovering a good one here, I perused other parts of the site. As always, I find leaven polluting a whole lot of truth, which is why I trust nothing from man, no matter how godly s/he may be. I skimmed over his article about hell not being literal and remarked to myself the upswing of the Universal Salvation idea lately. The main argument used is the fact that hell is not mentioned in the OT. I did a quick “Lord, what is up with that?” and moved on to something else.

While pondering and praying about Him and the Kingdom in bed (yes, prayer in bed is in Bible; see Psalms), I decided to grab my Book and see if He had a word in it for me. Upon opening, my eyes hit Isaiah 66. I read some of it and thought about reading the chapter prior, but chose to finish it. The last verse of the chapter was also the last one of that book:

And they shall go forth, and look on the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring to all flesh.

O…K.  Then I noticed that the verse number, 24; the digits added up to 6. 666…LOL! The following day, I just had to look up verse 6:

A voice of noise from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of the LORD that renders recompense to his enemies.

then verse 15:

For, behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.

Very funny, Abba… I love His sense of humor. Be warned: if you hold any superstitions or symbols precious, He will use them against you to shatter their grip on you. A great example of this is Ehud, the left-handed hero in Judges 3:12-30, mocking the ancient belief that using the left hand was evil.

As always, take everything to the Lord in prayer.

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Now!

Posted on February 9, 2012 by A Whisper, Screamed

Is the Lord Yeshua alive?
Act like it!

Is He Lord over your life?
Think like it!

Are you confident in the Gospel?
Talk like it!

Do you love His Spirit within you?
Shout like it!

Does sin chase after you?
Flee from it!

Does His Bread make you hungry?
Eat like it!

Do you want His guidance?
Pray like it!

Do you mortify your flesh?
Fast like it!

Do you take His correction?
Praise like it!

Embrace it!
Just do it!

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Whistling Past the Graveyard

Posted on February 8, 2012 by A Whisper, Screamed

This is sad. Many very important topics baby believers need to digest are mostly ignored. Why is this? The first things that comes to mind are money and power. For others, they believe we should stay under a man’s leadership until the day we die (stay on spiritual milk, little solid food), which promotes shoehorning the Evangel into our lives (instead of the other way around) and doctrine that is not in the Bible, or twists it. This is why judgment always comes to the Body first (Jeremiah 25:29, Jeremiah 49:12, Amos 3:2, 1 Peter 4:17).

Here is an example: the most popular topics on Sermon Audio contain over 500 sermons. The ones that should be touched on often are mostly ignored. I managed to dredge up a few by its search engine:

Self-esteem (the problem of) – 18 files

Spiritual Adultery – 13 files

Sacrifice Self – 7files

Self Sacrifice – 18 files

Death to Self – 5 files

Self Death – 4 files

Dying Daily – 2 files

Dying to Self – 5 files

Die to Self – 5 files

Self Die – 1 file

Die Daily – 2 files

Death Flesh – 5 files

Flesh Death – 3 files

Take up – 76 files

Take up Your Cross – 21 files

Taking up the Cross – 10 files

Deny Self – 32 files

Self Deny – 6 files

Denying Self – 65 files

Maturity – 257 files

Mature – 132 files

Mature Believers – 13 files

Refine – 42 files

Refining – 15 files

Knowledge and Wisdom – 5 files

Gifts of the Spirit – 118 files

Word of the Lord – 70 files

Kingdom of God – 491 files

Apostles Today – 5 files

Gift of Prophecy – 27 files

Fidelity – 22 files (more than half about spiritual fidelity)

Loyalty – 70 files

Priesthood – 231 files

Priest unto – 4 files (Preist – 3 files…LOL!)

Bind Strong Man – 9 files

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The Distraction Called Expectation

Posted on February 7, 2012 by A Whisper, Screamed

Years ago, I was involved in a discussion about human behavior. I had mentioned that I had no expectation for anyone’s actions and preferred to be pleasantly surprised at positive outcomes. A good friend there told me that was no way to live, unhealthy in fact.

Huh?

I replied, “How can it be unhealthy? If I have no expectations, I have less heartache and drama. Life is hard enough.”

A bud of uncomfortable silence had sprung up, but someone else quickly countered it. Come to find out much later it was what Jesus did and expected us to follow that example. Good grief, things like that make me feel like I am from another planet or reading a different Bible. We are called to be peculiar (holy or set apart) to the world (Exodus 19:5-6, Deuteronomy 7:6, Deuteronomy 14:2, Deuteronomy 26:18, Malachi 3:17, Titus 2:14, 1 Peter 2:9), so it comes with the territory.

To be honest, the only expectation I have is God working on, around, and through me for refinement, the positive and negative. My husband could keel over dead or lose his mind; others will come and go out of my life; society at large could have a major paradigm shift; I could end up crippled or gravely ill; a intense thunderstorm or fire might destroy everything I own…in an instant, life changes. Change is the only constant in life. To not worry about or rely on things or people in this existence is such a relief.

Does this make for an emotion-free drone? Hardly…I get to feel more His joy and pain for His creation. My mind keeps flowing during stressful situations. My trust in Him increases and He reveals more of Himself and His will for me. The joy and freedom of serving the Lord ends up being the result of letting go of what this world conditions us to focus on, good or bad.

Galatians 5:1 Stand therefore in that liberty with which The Messiah has set us free, and do not be yoked again in a yoke of bondage.

2 Peter 2:19 They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.

2 Corinthians 3:17-18 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

James 1:25 But whoever looks into the perfect law of liberty, and continues in it, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

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Finally, a Good Prophecy I Pray Comes to Pass

Posted on February 6, 2012 by A Whisper, Screamed

God’s Purpose for Islam

At a point in the near future, a group of Christians are going to stop about twenty miles outside of Mecca. They are going to ask for a meeting with the leaders there out in the desert. There will be a contest like the one on Mount Carmel except on a much larger scale, where the leaders of Islam will pray, then the Christians will pray. A large number of those on Hajj (approximately 300,000) will come out to see the contest. The Lord will display His power and the entire population of Mecca will accept Jesus as Lord.

The Gospel of John will be read from the Minarets in Mecca. Muslims all over the world will shortly thereafter turn to Christianity, and Islam will disappear in a day. The Lord allowed Islam to spread for the sole purpose of displaying His power. The fervent Muslims will become the most fervent Christian evangelists that the world has ever seen, and it will be those who complete the great commission. The thousand and a half years the enemy spent planning will all be undone in a day. The Lord allowed it to go on to show that He is God. And He used the enemy to spread people throughout the world that the Lord will use to be the most effective evangelists that the world has ever seen. ~Jeffrey Stewart

Oh Father, please let this be true! Let this be true! Oh, the glory and honor to You displayed will amaze the entire world. Please, let this be true!

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Possible Altar Symbolism?

Posted on February 5, 2012 by A Whisper, Screamed

I think I got it!

The altar = the earth, the tangible

The wood = the trees of life and the knowledge of good and evil

The fire = The Holy Spirit, the Word of God, His power

The sacrificed animal = the old self

The burning of the carcass = total destruction of the old self, the influence of the flesh

Pouring of the blood around the back of the altar = the old life, the world’s influence

The removal and burning of the “fat” off the innards = destruction of the soul’s influence, the hopes, wishes, dreams, knowledge, human logic, etc.

The salt = the fear of the Lord = faith in Who He is = His Will/obedience = lose the savor (flavor), and it (faith) is worthless

I want to expand upon this, but I need to know whether I am on the right path or not.

Lord, I wonder, did the sprinkling of blood on the mercy seat quiet the cries of innocent animal blood shed for Your people’s sake? Or, perhaps the continuous fire did?

There were twelve different sacrifice, twelve being the number of God’s Government.

They kept the fire on the altar burning day and night = this is a continuous process

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Puzzling Passages Made Plain: Tossed to the Depraved

Posted on February 4, 2012 by A Whisper, Screamed

Genesis 19:8 and Judges 19:23-28 explained by Jim Brown:He also explains the importance of the threshold and “step on the crack, you break your mother’s back.”

These two passages always had my head tipping sideways going “What? Why, Lord?” Of course, the surface answer is culture, but the spiritual one does not compute other than woman, in biblical symbolism, represents a group of worshipers or a religious order.

Could Lot’s daughters represent physical (seed of Abraham) and spiritual (seed of Jesus) Israel? If so, then the concubine represents physical Israel’s predicament while the young woman still inside shows the protection currently over spiritual Israel?

Now that spiritual Israel is larger than the physical one, could the tale of Oholah and Oholibah (Ezekiel 23:2-49) foreshadow the judgment (or refinement) of each one during the end of the age?

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Thought Splatters (Duck!)

Posted on February 4, 2012 by A Whisper, Screamed

I don’t think the so-called Protestant Revolution went far enough. Jesus came to encourage us to go directly to Our Father and set the example, but I see man’s knowledge and beliefs getting in the way.

There is no perfect translation of the Bible into English, some better than others. Studying the original Greek text and the history of the times is a must. Where am I going to find an assembly that does this?

Although the adversary cannot read our minds, he can read our habits and hear our spoken prayers. His attacks increase as we grow closer to Our Father, another tool for our refinement.

Maybe the focus should be on whether we are on the narrow path with the Holy Spirit as our Guide. I am not worried about losing salvation; I am trying to get my spirit purified, a daily fight.

Every time the ones who speak the truth receives criticizes, the criticism assists in purifying them. This is yet another reason to take everything to the Father.

For a pastor to call himself the head is in fact not scriptural at all. At most they are caretakers of their fellow sheep (think sheep dogs) but for some reason what Jesus taught about the greatest among us being the servant of all, seems to have slipped by for the worldly wisdom and reward of the greatest being the most obeyed and honored.

People need to understand the difference between setting one’s self apart from the world and self-righteousness. People need to hand over their sensitivity to words to His Spirit or they will not endure the trouble creeping upon the world.

Jesus is my rest from this crazy world. In Him, I give up all desires for this place, for it is not my home. Thank you for breaking the chains that anchored me to the illusions of dirt.

Images are a distraction, made important in corporal men’s minds. All experience of our senses is dirt and dust, easily erased in an eye blink. The only image we should worry about is the spiritual one Jesus painted for us. Nothing has changed.

I have heard too many stories about people, who have contributed to their churches faithfully for years, being turned down for a little financial help. Maybe these institutions need to break up into small, more manageable groups to spread the Evangel. I cannot wait for Jesus to break apart this system so His children turn solely to Him and Him alone.

The problem is not with heavenly-minded people, but the religious-minded ones. One group wants to do the will of Our Father and stay in contact with Him in order to do it. The other, focuses on church, morality, and the appearance of godliness—the physical stuff alone—in the belief that is what Our Father wants.

OK, so the ultimate goal of out lives: to do the job we were created to do before we go home while being spiritually refined. If that is the case, then why is there so much focus on the here-and-now?

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