Overcoming Evil by Marietjie Chase

During the past six or so weeks I've been delving into the study of evil. Not because I have some macabre sense of curiosity but because I'm in a battle that is so clandestine and slippery that I get confused at times. When I was still in Africa, I remember the times we met with demon possessed people and how we dealt with that. Back then I read everything I could find on the subject in order to prepare for it. I feel once again that we are facing demonics. Only this time it is a slippery battle.

One of the almost dozen books I went through is M. Scott Peck's People of The Lie. He said that 'live' spelled backwards is 'evil' and that everything that is against life is evil. All that stifle, inhibit and stamp out life is evil. Now this reminded me that Jesus said in John 10: " I have come that you may have life and have it more abundantly." And somewhere else the Bible says that " in Him was life, and the life was the light of men." Mr. Peck also said that truly evil people like to "keep up appearances". Like the mother in "A Child Called It" who perpetrated amazing horrors against her son, yet wanted to look like a righteous good person. For this reason they like to hide in church.

Traditional church with it's sterile service on Sunday morning and fellowship with the back of some one's head is perfect. It looks good. Giving tithe and offerings and wearing the right - fake-smile and clothing, completes the act. Now all they do it snuggle up to the pastor with thick layers of flattery and the occasional "special" donation to the pastor and we have evil in the very fiber of the church. No wonder Paul writes to the Galatians about being "bewitched".

Listen to me. Listen to me. This is why most people resist the relational style of church. You cannot hide in it. It is pure and genuine. Every religious spirit, every evil spirit will be found out.

When we return to our roots, when we once again become the church of Jesus Christ instead of the edifices of men and demons, when we again put the Holy Spirit in His rightfull place, we will see the evil run from us like in the book of Acts. It is time to turn our back on all that is not born of God and embrace only the genuine article.

Let the church arise! Let the true Church Arise!!

Preparing for the Eminent Hurricane !

I am convinced that if we do not put action to what we believe, that we are deceiving ourselves. I have been asking God lately, what I need to do to prepare for the Great Outpouring of His Holy Spirit that is eminent. And then I received this week's

Visionary Advancement Strategies Articles

Lee Grady was one of the speakers of a small Women In Ministry training I attended in the fall of 2005. He has some substance.

Please, read this article and consider what you have to DO to prepare for the Floodgates of Heaven. We asked for it, now let's get ready to receive.

Marietjie


Preparing For a Spiritual Hurricane

by Lee Grady www.themordecaiproject.org
The winds of revival are coming. But don’t be surprised if a visitation of God redefines the church as we know it.

In Florida where I live, June 1st is a red-letter day. It signals the onset of the six-month hurricane season. I used to ignore those annoying storms because they normally don’t affect central Florida. But in 2004 we endured not one, not two, but three hurricanes. Charley, Frances and Jeanne roared through Orlando over a period of six weeks, and I gained a much healthier respect for 80-mile-an-hour winds—especially when they snap off 12-foot sections of trees and hurl them at my house.
People from New Orleans share that respect, I am sure. When Hurricane Katrina shattered the City of Jazz in August 2005, the disaster triggered the most massive human migration in American history. About half the city’s residents have since moved away, almost half the area’s health care facilities are shut down and 70 schools remain closed.

“You can’t have Acts 2 without Acts 5. The exciting fire of Pentecost is also the fearful fire of holiness.”

One big storm redefined an entire city. The faint smell of garbage still lingers in the humid air, months and months after crews worked nonstop to haul away 22 million tons of abandoned cars, ruined refrigerators, tree limbs, roof shingles, moldy sheet rock, rancid food, mud-soaked clothes and toxic chemicals. If you drive by the old Faith Church facility near downtown today, you’ll learn that relief ministries use the damaged building to supply food to Katrina victims. The congregation, now much smaller because of displaced members, meets in a shopping mall several miles away.

Katrina redefined ministry for Faith Church and many other churches in New Orleans. Priorities have changed. Life will never be the same.

When I ponder Katrina’s sobering aftermath I can’t help but draw some unsettling spiritual implications for all of us. I am by no means a doomsday prophet, but I believe a strong storm is headed our way. It will redefine church as we know it.

When the Ted Haggard scandal made headlines last year I had a sense that this was only the first domino to fall. Many respected voices in the Christian community have warned us since then to prepare for an imminent spiritual wake-up call. They’ve challenged our leaders to deal with sin in their own lives and to get rid of the arrogance, greed and shallow carnality that characterize so much of American Christianity. They’ve told us that God is so serious about holiness that He will expose religious corruption.

When God visits us to bring His winds of revival, those winds will also destroy man-made religious structures. It’s time for all of us to find shelter. Here’s how I believe we must prepare:

1. Reinforce our foundations. I fear that some of us have veered from the basics of faith to follow the latest spiritual fads. We charismatics tend to chase after anything trendy. In some churches today people are delving into exotic teachings and coining new terms including “spiritual fathering,” “apostolic alignment,” “armor bearers” and “heave offerings.” Any new believer who wanders into our meetings will need a translator to understand this spooky vocabulary.

There’s a place for such things (and a biblical basis for some of them) yet it’s possible that the trendy can overshadow the important. If the devil cannot deceive us outright, he will tempt us to get out of balance so that we lose our primary passion for Jesus. Let’s keep the main thing the main thing.

2. Get rid of the junk. The smelly garbage in the church today is going to fly when the winds of God hit us broadside. We must remember that revival is not just about the impact of church growth and new converts; it is also about gut-wrenching repentance and judgment. You can’t have Acts 2 without Acts 5. The exciting fire of Pentecost is also the fearful fire of holiness.

An alarm has sounded. Those in ministry who have not heeded the warning have little time left. I am pleading with you: Get your house in order. Destroy your materialistic idols. Stop all sexual compromise. Stop defrauding people and misusing God’s money.

3. Hide in God. I love the new worship bands on the scene today, but recently I’ve been having some unusual times of intimacy with God while singing from an old Baptist hymnal I owned as a child. Today when I open that book and begin to sing the words to “Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross,” “Jesus Paid It All” or “’Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus,” I get choked up and can’t finish.

I can’t explain my reaction, but it’s not due to religious nostalgia. I suspect my heart is aching for something of substance in an age of cheap imitations. Those lyrics, although they are old-fashioned, are still charged with power because they anchor us to the bedrock of simple devotion to Christ. As this storm approaches, I plan to cling to what matters most.

Principled Living or Relational Living...You choose! by Marietjie Chase



You can either live by principle or by the moving and leading of the Holy Spirit. If you choose principle you will receive the reward of living by principle and also if you choose to live by the Spirit you will receive the fruit of that. He that lives by principle has to remember all the principles and has occasion for boasting, if he succeed to stay within these principles. It is a box. If you choose to live by the Spirit your focus will be on forming and entering into a deeper more intimate relationship.



Principle living engenders independence from the source much like parents try to instill principles into their children in the hope that it becomes a lifelong habit so that they may be safe and prosper. We would like for our kids to be able to stand on their own two feet and not be needy.



In order to walk in the Spirit the opposite is needed. The closer I am and the deeper my relationship with Him, the more I need Him. I seek more dependence upon the Holy Spirit and not independence. Romans 8 says those who are led by the Spirit are the sons (mature sons) of God. This may mean that those who still live by principle are immature in that area. Galatians teaches that the law, principles comes to train us for something better. We cannot be truly free until we have come to maturity in every area of our lives. We shall know(gain knowledge of; similar to learning) the truth and the truth shall set us free. John 8:32. Ephesians 4: 13-16 speaks of the whole Body growing up into a new man; the Dwelling place of God.



Is principles important then..? By all means! Paul says in the book of Romans: I would not have known sin, other than the law pointing it out to me. We will not know and understand God if we do not study and submit to being taught. Yet, if we stay at this, we will be only a little bit better of than any other dead religion since the life, the eternal life is in the relationship.



Jesus did not abolish the law by annulling it, but by fulfilling it. The law and principles are still there and those who would like to live by it can do that but, Paul says, then Christ and His righteousness becomes superfluous. Living by principles affords one his own righteousness out of his own right doing and therefore the " right" to condescend and judge those who has lesser measure of success.



Principles do not need a heart full of faith and love. Cold hard facts is all the lawyer needs. The father embraces the son who acted like a fool and squandered half a livelihood. Principles, law says: that's not fair. If you cannot live in love, faith and grace, living by principles is better than nothing. It is better to obey from a motive of principle than to disobey. But the best motive is love.



Tithing, first fruits, offerings and taking care of the poor are all Old Testament principles. In the New Testament living by love, grace and faith says that as Jesus gave His all, so I give my all. So out of love, grace and faith, I pour out of what I am entrusted with, am a steward off, as He wills. My life is now full of faith that includes risk. The only sure thing is God.



Most modern day believers runs back and forth between living by principle and living by the Spirit. From the view of a principled person - living by the Spirit is to risky and open to danger. From the view of a Spirit- led person - principled living is dry, cold and stuck in a rut.



What does God want?

By the Spirit, put to death your members that is bound to the earthly principles of touch not, taste not etc. Romans 6. Galatians: God wants us to grow up in all things into Him, so that our lives would be hidden with Christ in God and the life that we now live in the flesh, in the dust, would be lived by faith in Him. Col 1:28, Rom 8:14. The rebuke of Galatians three still stands: " Who has bewitched you, that beginning in the Spirit, you now try to complete it in the flesh...?



Principles is just another word for law or works. Faith or grace or Spirit means that I seek to know Him and the power of His resurrection, being conformed to His image - even unto death - as a partaker of His divine nature.

How do we Personally Prepare the Way for Revival?(Adapted from Andrew Murray)

“A revival of holiness is what we need. And how is it to be found? It will cost much in prayer. It will cost more than that - much sacrifice of self and of the world. It will need a surrender to Christ Jesus to follow Him as closely as God is able to lead us. We must learn to look upon a life like Christ’s, having the very same mind that was in Him, as the supreme object of daily life.” Andrew Murray

· Become thoroughly dissatisfied with yourself - Be sensitive to God's conviction. “Press on toward the goal (Phil. 3:14)."

· Set yourself like flint toward a sweeping transformation of your life - Throw your whole soul into the desire for God.

· Prepare yourself in the way of blessing - Pray with all your heart, and ask God to enlarge your prayer and worship life. Make time for God, and practice fasting.

· Do a thorough job of repentance - Don’t tolerate sin in your own life. Let godly sorrow over your sin touch you deeply.

· Make restitution when possible - Make the crooked ways straight in your relationships and life.

· Practice living the Sermon on the Mount - This is the description of holy living.

· Be serious about personal revival - Pray instead of watching TV, and don’t get caught up in the ways of the world. Lay aside the crooked roads.

· Deliberately narrow your interests - If you narrow your interests, God will enlarge your heart. “Jesus only” is the way into a world that is infinitely wider and richer than anything else.

· Begin to witness - Make a new commitment to reach out to the lost. Ask God for opportunities, and He will help you.

· Have faith in God - Begin to expect God to move. All heaven is on your side.

Revival begins with us. It is each one of us getting our lives straight and turning from the crooked paths. Take seriously the need for personal revival. Take seriously the need for prayer. God is dealing with His church. The following is the testimony of Charles Finney during a revival in a small village in New York.

"I should say a few word regarding the spirit of prayer which prevailed at Rome during this time. Indeed the whole town was full of prayer. Go where you would, you heard the voice of prayer. If you were walking down the street, and if two or three Christians happened to be there, they were praying. Whenever they met, they prayed. Whenever there was a sinner unconverted, especially if he showed any opposition, you would find some two or three brethren or sisters agreeing to make him a special subject of prayer. No one could come into the village without feeling awestricken with the impression that God was there in a peculiar and wonderful way."

Divine Intention by Marietjie Chase

What was the Divine Intention with the creation of mankind? To have fellowship, to be one, to have open relationship. This is the mystery: God's desire to have mankind be part of Him. This now, finally, is the purpose of the church. Eph.3:12 Jesus Christ our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access in confidence through His faith. This is not even our faith but His faith. He is the One believing in and through us.

The mystery that Paul keeps writing about in Col1:27 - Christ in you the hope of glory. Eph.3:3-4 etc. Mysteries has to be revealed. It cannot be known by mental study. Braininess does not help in a mystery. Eph.3:6 The gospel(the good news)is that all , all nations, all people, has now become partakers - sharers, joint-heirs and part of the receiving end - of all the promises in Christ Jesus. In this mystery revealed, Jesus Christ opens the Godhead to include all that dare to believe in Him.

The prayer Paul prays for the Ephesian Church is that they may be filled with all the fullness of God. In order for this to happen we have to, by the power(dunamis - Divine enablement) of His Spirit become mighty and filled with strength in the inside. So that through faith we can be a habitation; a place where He can settle and be at home. And if God can empower us with strength to grasp ( kata lambano - to lay hold of so as to make one's own) together with all the saints - no room for exclusion - what the dimensions of this indwelling Christ is. On top of all that; that we may know( experience and in full knowledge) the love, agape, of Christ which surpasses(transcends, more excellent, superior) knowledge(general, intelligent, understanding). This fullness of God, according to Col1:19, is embodied in Jesus Christ (not historically, after the flesh, but now).

If all this seems an impossibility listen to verse 20: Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that we ask or think.... God is able to accomplish all this according to His power(dunamis- Divine enablement) that is working in us. Then He will be glorified in the church in Jesus Christ.

God's Love....

So many times God's logic is our illogical. Abraham sacrifice your only son , so that I can give you many sons. Death is the way to life and humility the way to victory. Submission is the way to authority and nothing the substance of something. In human terms - this makes no sense; but to Him who sees all and knows all and made all, it is common sense.

Think. God so love the whole world.... John 3:16. Romans says that while we were His enemies He showed His love to us in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Point. God loves sinners and saints the same and so must I. There is no room for separatism. I must embrace what He embrace and love what He loves...

God loves people. God loves humanity enough to offer His only begotten Son as ransom for all - eternity past and eternity future.

Number one deception of religion and religious hypocrisy is that God hate sinners and love saints. Number two deception is that some sins are worse than others and some even without forgiveness and then it gets really cloudy and convoluted.

God is not afraid of sin. He made provision for it's removal by grace through faith - And even grace and faith are His gifts. How about that?!?

Symptoms of Deception - Am I deceived?

by Marietjie Chase


Medical websites helps even the most ignorant of us, to discern what is going on in our bodies. I can find the symptoms and if most of them match my experience, I have some idea of what is going on in my body. The Bible says in Galatians 6:3 that a person who has an insane estimation of himself/herself is self-deceived. Deception is a way of thinking.

Here are some symptoms of deception:


1. If you think in terms of "us" and "them" you are in the flesh. Galatians 5 clearly states that those who have a party spirit or schisms attitude are in the flesh. If you think that you are walking in the Spirit and have this "apartheid" attitude.... you may just be deceived.


2. If you think that you and those who believe just like you are the only ones who have it right and that it's your mission to set every one else straight..... you may be deceived. Obadiah 3, Gal 6:3, Eph 5:21


3. If you find it easy to talk about(negative), malign, slander and accuse some member of the Body of Christ... If you have no problem with gossipping - Yes, we all know when you are doing it, it is "discussing the issues"...... you may be deceived. Jms 1 :26, Jms 3


4. If you think that hearing the teachings and knowing about it in a mental sort of way and yet have never put what you believe into action.., I f you think knowing is having it.... you may be deceived. Jms1:22, Heb 4, Heb 5:14, I John2:3-5


5. If you blindly accept every supernatural manifestation or thing as from God and do not try the spirits according to ! John 4:4, by their fruit or result it produces.... you may be deceived. 2 Cor 11:4 &14, Acts 16:16-19, 2Thess 2:10


6. If you think that serving God, preaching the gospel or "living by faith" is a way to get rich or a way to get you needs met without labor....you may be deceived. Mark 4:19, 1 Cor 4:12 2Thess 3:12 1 Thess 4:11,1 Peter 2:16


7. If your relationship and believe in God rests completely on what God did, or is doing..., When you do not seek Him as a person and being but relate solely on the basis of His actions; you are at the very least immature and at the most... you may be deceived. John 17:3, Phil 3:10-11, 1 John 2:3-6, Numbers 12:6-8


8. If there are no new births, if your relationship with Him does not fill you with what His heart is full off ( John 3:16, 1Tim 2:4), if you have no passion for the hurting, lost and dying, if as His body and His bride we do not make His business our business....you may be deceived. John 1:13, Luke 4:18, 1 John 3:8


We haven not touched on sin and making excuses for sin or discerning sin, since I believe that most honest and sincere believers can do this with the help of the Holy Spirit the word and submitting to the Body of Christ. Heb 3:13, 1John 1:8-9

This is also not a list to run around and tag or mark other people with. Some of what we see may just be immaturity. 2Tim 2:14 Matt 7:1-5, 1Cor 11:31-32

The purpose for this is for self examination or discernment. How is my thinking skewed? Am I deceived in my mind? The battle is in the field of the thinking for as a man thinks, so he is.

I hope this helps to lift the fog.


Other resources:

They Shall Expel Demon by Derek Prince ;

Toxic Faith by Stephen Arternburn.

The Way of Deception by Marietjie Chase





Our principle of our Elementary school gave the parents a speech at the beginning of the year. Part, was a recipe for making a child into a communist (the threat at the time; we could easily substitute terrorist). She said, all you had to do was to criticise the police, the pastor and the teacher in the child's hearing. There is also a recipe for deception and the three main ingredients are as follows:





1. First. Abolish, change, pervert or otherwise substitute the written word of God.


All scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 2Tim 3: 16
This deals with the written word. The translations have flaws and we have to study to show ourselves approved, as good stewards, dividing the word correctly. When we replace the centrality of the written word or make our own version of it; we have just taken the first step on the road to deception. The Bible has the last say on matters. Some has even made their knowledge of the Bible an idol and have become carnal or unsaved theologians. And some in their fear of legalism has thrown the baby out with the bathwater. Keeping the Bible in it's rightful place will keep you from deception and ignorance of the written word will make you a much easier target for deception.





2. Second. Minimize, abandon or pervert prayer.


Prayer has so many facets: I Tim 2:1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, [and] giving of thanks, be made for all men;
If we want to define it we could write books. The best definition of prayer, in general, can be found in I Samuel 2 when Hannah said that she has been pouring her heart out before God. Some have tried to change this by limiting prayer to only this or that. The human heart needs emptying and if we do not do it before God, we will do it before people. At least God can do something about it.





3. Third. Don't submit to the rest of the Body of Christ and separate yourself. This means that you think that only you and those agreeing with you are worthy of your time and energy.





I Peter 5:5 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.
Some, in arrogance, even goes so far as to label people as demonic for not being in agreement with them. If ever there was a tragedy in the church; it is our schisms, sectarianism, denominations and little fractions. We have little groups of "eyes" and "ears" sitting on little hills where they are doing no-body any good.
Stay in the fire. Don't shrink back. As iron sharpens iron so will we shape one another. This cannot and will not happen if we run. Our modern, prosperous, lifestyles became a curse in this area. Let us humble ourselves and submit to one another, preferring one another above ourselves.



Deception's root is in the garden of Eden, when Eve acted on the word of the snake instead of the word of God. Jesus said: My words are spirit and life. Who's words are we acting on?



For further study see: http://www.tscpulpitseries.org/english/1990s/ts911007.html
Also: Rick Renner's book - Merchandizing the Anointing.

It's All About Heart 
by Marietjie Chase

King David was about heart. God called him a man after My own heart. He was the best King Israel ever had, aside from Jehovah Himself. In David we see the great commandment fulfilled: Love God and Love your Neighbour like yourselves.

David made mistakes. As king he made mistakes, as husband and father he made mistakes.Yet, looking at the overall picture one can easily conclude that he had heart.

David loved God. As a matter of fact, he was so consumed with his love for God, that his own self; his own importance; faded into the background. It was when Goliath defied the God of Israel when David stepped into battle. He wrote: (Ps 57:7) My heart is steadfast, O God. God was obviously the love of his life. Even when running from His enemy; Saul; and presented with the opportunity to rid himself of this problem, he chose to honor God. David's heart relationship with God produced the fruit of humility without humility ever becoming the issue. He trusted Jehovah and left his life and the kingdom in His hands even to the end.

Secondly, David loved the people. Some of his failings as a father comes clearly out of a heart full of love. In his dealings with Absalom this heart cracks wide open as he weeps: O, Absalom! My son, My son, had it been me who died instead of you. O, that God would give us leaders in the kingdom, the church, the body of Christ with a heart like David's. Those who will mourn for the wayward and weep for those who turn against them.

Out of the heart flows the issues of life, a wise man once said. Through the ages people have only responded, once the heart was touched. No wonder Jesus lumped all the law into this: Love God and Love your Neighbour.

Matt22:36-40, Mark 12 : 29 - 34, Luke 10:26 & 27

The Chases at a Butterfly Consevatorium on 2/19/2007.

Discernment : not optional by Marietjie Chase

There was a time in the mid eighties in South Africa when thousands of people lost millions of rands in a scheme that involved rotting milk. The basic concept was that people bought a culture and recipe from a company, which then bought back the envelopes of dried product. (in essence just dried rotten milk) The story was that they were using the product in the manufacture of cosmetics. When it turned out that it was only an elaborate scam and the so-called product were stinking up warehouses some laughed and some wept.

We are warned by Jesus and almost every book in the New Testament that false teachers, lying spirits and false Jesus's exist. We all think we cannot be deceived and perhaps that is at the root of deception. Our pride and arrogance leads us into deception. "Be careful you that think that you stand..." Humble yourself. God won't do this for you.

Another root issue is ignorance. Immaturity is only cute in babies because of their innocence. Immature adults are disgusting. Ignorance is also not a mark of some super spirituality. Desire the unpolluted word of God like newborns desire milk, so that you can grow by it.

What is this thing that the study of the Bible is no longer being esteemed as necessary? Do we really think that all our subjective experiences can replace scripture? This smells like rotten milk to me.

Understanding or hearing something does not equal obedience. Just because we understand that we are to obey the speed limit does not mean that we are doing it. We can only mature spiritually by obedience. You will stay an eternal infant in the Body and Kingdom of Jesus Christ unless you study the Bible and obey it.

There are no shortcuts. There are no quick fixes. You cannot escape the disciplines of Christianity. If you do, you will end up with something other than the real thing.

The mature are those who have their spiritual senses exercised, trial and error, to discern both good and evil. Let's not make the mistake to embrace every soft woolly thing we encounter. We may be hugging a wolf.

Focus on the pursuit of God. Read and study the Bible. Pray. Listen to more mature believers and go and assemble with the church - not to 'set them straight' but to learn.

Don't be foolish beloved. We have a real enemy that really truly hates us. We cannot afford to be undiscerning.

Spiritual Childhood. by Marietjie Chase March 10, 2007

One of my high school Teachers, Mr Bothma, gave me some of life's best advice: Live every stage of your life to the fullest. If you don't, you will always revert back to it.

We have celebrated children as a gift from God, as can be attested by the fact that we have 5 children and helped to raise five more. One of the speeches my children would tell you their Mom gives a lot is: Enjoy being a child. It does not last. You will be an adult forever. Once you grow up there is no going back to being a child.

A while ago I had a dream of a man with greying hair surrounded by children. He was somehow causing the hair of the children to turn grey in streaks. In the dream I felt like this was just wrong and pled the blood of Jesus. As I did this, the man faded and disappeared and the grey streaks in the children's hair disappeared as well. This was only part of the dream and I wrote it down and moved on. While praying last night, the Spirit of the Lord started giving me insight into some stuff.

Children, spiritual children, are not living as children. Their childhood is robbed by some entity that causes them to grow old before their time. We have a plague of immaturity in the Body of Christ because of this. Since they never were aloud to be "just kids", they are constantly acting childish. (For those who do not know what I'm talking about: bickering, clique-ing, getting offended about nothing, ignorant arrogance, lack of commitment and responsibility....etc. )

What does it mean to be "just kids"? In the natural it means that there is a parent involved. I firmly believe in: Children left to themselves bring shame to their mother. Being a parent means to love, guide, provide, supervise, be responsible for, protect and discipline. And I'm sure the list goes on. It is a nurturing relationship. One where the parent understands that there is a responsibility before God to do right by the child. Sadly, most people do not even have a positive parenting experience in the natural, so how would they understand or care for a 'spiritual" parenting experience. Read Ezekiel 34, John 10, Heb 13:20, I Peter 2:25 and I Peter 5:1-5

Paul wrote that when I was a child I spake as a child, understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man I put away childish things. He also said that we should as new born babes, desire the milk of the word. One of the saddest things of our society is , children having children. That ought not to be so. Spiritual children ought to be in a relationship,(fellowship, oikos, konania, covenant) where they are aloud to be zealous without knowledge-with supervision, ask and receive help, being carried in prayer and fed a balanced diet. They are to learn the spiritual disciplines so that they may mature into true sons(generic) of God who knows how to rightly divide the word. They need to learn, in this environment of love and acceptance; to discern - since it comes by experience.

This explains why there are so many people running around in the Church at large, with "Ministries" yet without effect. There is a lot of "growing up" to be done. Our "worship" of individualism and prosperity in our society afford us the "right" to never grow up, like Peter Pan.

Incidentally: the second part of the dream was of a small airport, where there was a small airplane with no wings, taxy-ing around the other planes. When I pled the blood of Jesus this little wingless plane faded and disappeared.

While praying about this, the Lord guided me to pray that these little wingless planes would be rooted out and the seed destroyed. The direction for prayer about the man was that it, the entity, be exposed. As soon as the children see that it is gone, they will go on to be "just kids".

A Complete Redemption

Isaiah 53:5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.

There is a fourfold suffering in this verse for a fourfold result. Jesus did not leave some of redemption undone. There is no longer any other sacrifice needed. He did it all. The redemption is complete.

1. Transgressions are acts of rebellion and apostasy. It is the willful deviation from the path of righteousness, pre-meditatively crossing the line. It is the times when knowing right we do wrong. He was profaned and defiled. He was violated, subjecting Himself to violence, for the redemption of those who live by violence. He was desecrated for the filth and defilement of the lowest of humankind. He bore the penalty. There is no sin; how violent, putrid or gross, that He did not pay for this.

2.But He was also crushed. He was humbled and humiliated, afflicted. oppressed and broken in pieces just as we humans are. I often wondered at the mockery of the soldiers... It was for our iniquities, our depravity, for the perverseness of our crookedness on the inside. It was for our sinful twistedness, our misery, our faults. He paid the price. He was crushed, mocked, humiliated so that we can say "no" to shame and guilt. Jesus took that shame and guilt so that you can be free.

3. He was punished, chastised and bound. Disciplined... and in it all, did not break out but obeyed even unto death. Jesus submitted Himself to the will of God and obeyed. His obedience bought our peace. So much more than absence of strife. It is well being, wholeness, friendship; to live in security, tranquility and welfare. It means to be successful and blessed.

4. He was beaten, bruised, black-and-blued and hurt with so many stripes - without number-, for our healing and wholeness. He endured the Roman 'cat' for our healing. Now this healing is not only a privilege, a gift but also a responsibility. He suffered so that we may be healed. What does it say of our value of this suffering if we refuse this healing.

It is clear that Jesus Christ paid the complete price for a complete salvation: body, soul and spirit. There is no part of the human experience that is not covered. We have a responsibility to walk in this complete redemption. Be the best you can be. Do the best you can do. Find the will of God and obey it.

Every question humanity has, has been answered in Jesus Christ.

This is my body and my blood...

I have been looking at the bread and the wine for a few weeks now. Daily there is some new insights.

The bread in I Cor 11 has also something to do with I Cor 10, Math 18 and Matt 5. I 've come to realize that the blood is our vertical relationship with God and all we are in Him and through Him and few has a problem with this.

The bread signifies our relationship with one another.

John 6. Jesus spoke of himself as bread from heaven that came down for us. He also said in John 12? that the grain of wheat have to fall in the ground and die... or be alone. Alone one grain of wheat means little. Together, crushed and made into a loaf of bread, we have significance. The sum of the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. We cannot be the Body or Temple of God all by our lonesome. We need to become part of the greater Body of Christ to be this.

The bread part of communion, the eucharist, is where we slip up. Reading through 1 Cor 11 we can see that it is the "one another" part of it that Paul was most concerned about. The new covenant is a huge part, but without the "Body" part we are being deceived.

I looked up the portions of Ephesians that dealt with our behavior as relating to one another. It was about 50% of that letter. There were also 5 very important "one another" 's in there.

We can no longer relate to God as hermits, islands and logs pulled out of the fire. It is time to recognise the importance of "one another"

For those who'd like to study this:

Concider, Gideon's loaf, threshing floors, bread and body.
and
covenants, blood, sacrifices, testament and new wine.

KNOWING GOD ...

In my study of David I came across the portion where David wants to return the ark of covenant to Jerusalem by using the Philistines(flesh) method. The dire consequences off course is that Uzza lost his life, David got scared and send the ark to Obed-Edom's for a period of three months during which God/Jehovah just bless this home.

David as king of Israel were required by the law to hand write himself a copy of the law, the first 5 books of our Bible. It included Leviticus and Numbers where Jehovah gave clear instruction about the care and transport of the ark of covenant. Let me just insert here- He cares a great deal about the details if it is His details. This piece of holy furniture represented the presence of God.

Did David forget about this ordinances or did he think that his familiarity with God excluded him from it. What was he thinking? He must have either forgot the law or disregarded it. Why else would he follow the Philistines (flesh) in handling the presense of God?

Did David know God or did he know Him by His actions? Knowing God by His actions leave a lot to guess work and subjective surmising. How do we get to know God? Can we know Him by His actions alone ? That would not be possible because our minute understanding of this vast, gigantic God is so pea-brain limited. God cannot be fully known by our experience of Him alone.

We have to study the word. Paul said to Timothy: Study to show yourself approved... There is some alone time in study and Berean time in group study neccesary to know God. He has ordained it that we, together with other believers, should know Him. Know God. Knowing just His actions is open to unbelievers, heathen and atheists as well. Know God by what He declares Himself to be, then measure your experience by that.

David later corrected this error and maybe that is part of what made him such a great King; his willingness to be corrected.

For further study try J.I.Packer - Knowing God or J.B. Philips - Your God is too Small.

Honor God...

As I read through I Samuel 24 [ It's the story where David, hiding in the back of a cave, has the opportunity to kill Saul but instead; cut Sauls mantle and repents afterward.] I noticed that the reason David could not kill Saul and repented for cutting his clothing had nothing to do with Saul or even the explosive relationship between David and Saul. Instead, David is lead by his relationship with God, Jehovah.

"I cannot touch the anointed of Jehovah", he said.

Have you ever experienced someone who has become your enemy by no fault of yours, yet is a bother or sister? Or even someone who's personallity grades on you like sandpaper, yet is obviously called and anointed of God? What do we do in these situations? The most popular solution the church in the West had till now, is to avoid such a person and move on. This must be one of the causes of the epidemic of church hopping in America. Being in the Kingdom of God; it is required that we deal with this. Our own rigidity and heartness of heart require that we be right but if we want to see the purposes of the Kingdom of God advange we need to take another look.

What did David do? He honored what was of God in the person. If all you can do is to love, respect and honor what you see is of God, then do that. I may think the person is a horses patutti but because he happens to be the President of the United States of America, I pay him due respect. It should not be that far fetched to respect and love someone who is part of the Kingdom of God because I love and honor and pursue God.

We used to sing a song in the early seventies: " I love you with the love of the Lord..., for see in you the Glory of the Lord.."

May we follow in King David's example and fear to disrespect God's anointed just because we are in relationship with such an awesome wonderful Father.

Isn't God just deeeeliscious.

What happened in Africa?
Many have asked: What happened...? From what Steve said this is what happened:
There was a conference scheduled in Tanzania during the first week of the trip(Oct 1-5). Literally 1000's of believers came. Some at great sacrifice to themselves. The area was near the Livingston-Stanley monument, near lake Tangenika close to the border of Burundi. There was some incredible breakthroughs in that area against the religious spirit. Islam is very active and agressive there.
Travel in this part of Tanzania is restricted to daylight only and some parts even then, under police escort. The team, consisting of Margaret(USA), Steve(USA), Joseck(Nairobi Kenya) and Job(Nairobi Kenya) with their driver a born again brother from Nairobi named George, left early to try and make it back to Nairobi by Sunday, two days later.
At about 9:30 am(2:30 am USA eastern standard) they hit a spot in the road, more like a dirt path, with some loose gravel. The vehicle, a brand new four wheel drive van, went out of control and hit a dirt pile next to the road. It flipped tails over head, three times and then came to a stop on it's wheels.
Steve, Joseck, Job and George were in their seats, but Margaret was out of the vehicle. Job found Margaret who was knocked unconscious, her face, mouth and nose full of dirt and blood. They cleaned her face during witch she came to; screaming from the pain. They rebuked the spirit of death over her and later over Joseck as well. He took a heavy blow to the head and chest. Steve broke his collar bone and cruched a vertebrae which made him feel like he had a spinal block.
The locals started coming out of the bushes. Joseck, knowing the possibility of being robbed and assaulted, hollered in Swahili: We are preachers! Please, help us. Someone with a cell phone made a call and shortly after a UN vehicle, there because of the Burundi refugee's, came and picked all of them and their luggage up and took them to a refugee camp nearby where there was a first aid station/clinic.
Ann, an American social worker from Chicago who works with the UN, came and called the embassy who put them in contact with Pat Patton's "Flying Medical Service" who flew them to Nairobi. They were taken to Nairobi Hospital.
The outpour of love, prayer and support of the body of Christ were amazing during all this. In Kenya, our friends Jesse and Diane Grey came down from Eldorett, a 5 hour drive, to be there for them in the hospital. Diane stayed untill Margaret's daughter arrived. Steve and Helen was housed by Angel, a born again travel agent in Nairobi, after his release from the hospital.
We are still counting all the blessings that came out of this.
Miss. Margaret is still in the Hospital in DeSoto, Mississippi. She might be operated on again. But even in this we know that God will work it out for good.

Communication... Can we Hear and understand?!?

During the recent accident in Kenya we had an interesting experience in communication. Most Kenyans have Cell phones, but those are at best a racket. The service is patchy, connections poor and with a few seconds of delays. Then there is also an accent problem and although we are both speaking English, it was obviously not the same English. Beside all this seemingly obvious problems there were also the information handed down from person to person with each adding his or her own flavor to it, that changed the original message. Getting any information to start with was hard enough and then wading through all this left you with sketchy information at best.

Looking back over this experience as a whole, I realize that we are like that in our spiritual lives as well. Not to many of us want to even engage in the process to hear from God. The distractions, bad connections and over all information system is not up to what it should be. Mostly simply because we did not take the time, resources and energy to establish a good communication system to begin with. Anyone that reckon that we can just toodle about, slap happy with no spiritual discipline and have a clear ear to hear God, obviously do not have a clue.

Then, if we even hear what is said, we do not always understand what He is saying. We do not want to go back and make sure that we understood what He meant by what He said. We run with half truths and misinformation and have to continuously adjust since we did not understood to begin with. This makes us seem wishy washy and flaky.

Then we hear information from God that is handed down from broken human to broken human, each coloring his or her own flavor into it, so that by the tail end of it, it does not even resemble the original message.
No wonder we have two hundred and eleven different doctrines around the same issue floating around in the church.

And since I am by nature a problem solver, how do we fix this? First lets work on the desire to hear Him. Having divine feedback is probably one of the most amazing wonderful things in the world. To those who do not believe that God still speaks to His people I'll be so bold as to suggest that they stop wasting their time pretending to be Christians. Without a living, communicating involved God there is no Christian.

Second; Lets work on the communication channels. Time spend in God's presence, getting to know Him and not just by petitions or in public. Every one who wants to Hear Him ought to have a private, intimate time with God. This is a discipline. Each also ought to know the scriptures, a working knowledge. We also need to experience prayers and answers to prayer, which cannot happen if you never bother to pray.

Third: Take the time, invest in it to really understand what is being said. Don't go of cocky and half-cocked. Listen and hear and learn to discern. Go back and ask again. Slow down. Take time to understand the orders before you march out.

Last: Go to the source. When another person, how well recommended or respected tell you something, check it with the source. See what the Bible says. Pray over it and see if the information is correct.

Let's end this sad frustrating communication breakdown.