Discussion Truth is Truth

[Alithis]

Is this person a believer baptised in the Holy Spirit ?this other this spender?
I have marital advice to offer Any couple who are in christ.. If you will allow it.it is too simple ,even child like and freeing.

Do not have faith IN your partner .
Love your partner.
But have FAITH in JESUS in your partner .for as he changed your way of seeing ,just so he will do for them.
Have faith in the Holy spirits ability in your partner .
Hope this helps many married couples.

 

[Farine]

Is this person a believer baptised in the Holy Spirit ?this other this spender?
I have marital advice to offer Any couple who are in christ.. If you will allow it.it is too simple ,even child like and freeing.

Do not have faith IN your partner .
Love your partner.
But have FAITH in JESUS in your partner .for as he changed your way of seeing ,just so he will do for them.
Have faith in the Holy spirits ability in your partner .
Hope this helps many married couples.

This advice helped me immensely. So, so timely. Let me ask these nosy questions, please. How long have you known this truth and what has it meant for you in your journey with as a couple?

 

[Alithis]

This advice helped me immensely. So, so timely. Let me ask these nosy questions, please. How long have you known this truth and what has it meant for you in your journey with as a couple?

In the holy spirit..he knows all.sometimes we suddenly realize what he already know haha.im a lil slow.
We have been over this past year wrangling with going to serve the lord in the harvest full time.the upheavals we faced caused many a heated discussion as each of us came to terms with the calling，but at different times and speeds.
One day after such contention.i walked praying，and i said lord if this is all of you and youve so turned my heart to follow you then you must be speaking to my wife also. So you will sway her for i know she loves you.
And i fell silent i did not reply to contentions but instead listened & loved (never been great at the listening part) and stopped trying to impose things “from me“ ..
And this happened.. 2 days later she had a dream and through it the lord brought us into harmony with his own will.
Since then in a number of different ways this has been occurring.
So .when contention arises..i pray lord what do i need to see to change and if not me but her..i trust her to you and i trust you In her. For you abide in her as you do in me.

Hence it is not long ago the lord realized this truth in me.
Also the astounding shocking realization that Jesus，by his spirit，is standing in front of me inside my wifes heart.Now..how do you think that makes me treat her? Yes..if i snap i am very very fast to apologize and be repentant..
Trust Jesus in your partner.. It also lifts a whole lot of weight from off us. Because HE..we CAN trust.

 

[Alithis]

Wrote this short reflection a few days ago.as we were packing ,readying for the sale of our house and possessions..


Cost.

A forgotten item moved from a high cupboard
A shelf dismantled exposing a scarred wall.
A picture taken down leaving its faded shadow on wall and mind.
Memories of times and fears
of joys and tears.
Unintangling from thorn and brier
Rips at the legs of our hearts .
There is a bleeding inside
A perpetual weeping in the corner of our eye
That leaks on bended knee.
The pains before the healing
The Labour before the birth

-they who go out weeping carrying seed to sow.
"Lord" we cry,"we want to be fruitful."

 

[Farine]

And this happened.. 2 days later she had a dream and through it the lord brought us into harmony with his own will.

Oh what a gift! Your whole post is quote-worthy. This one supernatural gift is particularly eloquent.

God knows.
If you ever wondered if GOd pays attention to the small details of our lives, here it is. Your thoughts and your intentions are answered in this event. There is biblical evidence of God paying attention to these matters. In the marriage of Saul's Daughter, Michel to King David, it's recorded that Michel despised David in her heart--and God noticed. Here's the opposite. Here's the upswing of a wife who loves Jesus and who is trying so very hard. Jesus meets her in her effort and lifts this whole thing into harmony.

God is able.
Yeah, yeah.. we like to quote it. We will tell others that. In the press of the crisis, it's hard to live it. What I love about your testimony especially in this instant is that you lived it. Amen Brother!

God is responsible.
We're sheep. He's the Shepherd. We hit the wall on our limitations on a fairly frequent basis. The assignment is overwhelming. Trust me on that. I'm overlooking the lay of the land on my side of the world. It's terrifying to be honest. It's not my job to figure all this out. That's the comfort. God is going to work out these matters in the right order with the right supply and with the right team. I just have to show up. My rating Winner approval is hereby written out longhand. To God be the GLORY for the harvest you both will participate in bringing into His Kingdom!

 

[Farine]

Unintangling from thorn and brier; Rips at the legs of our hearts; There is a bleeding inside; A perpetual weeping in the corner of our eye; That leaks on bended knee.

There is a cost. This painstakingly delicate separation from a place and all of its associated connections is happening here too. This summer we will likely move. If you can believe it, there is a cost before the cost as the effort to even stop calling some place 'home' hurts. Right now, there's the Santa Clarita 'house' and the Chatsworth 'house', and one very lonely soul which is very displaced.

God emphatically reminded me that Heaven is Home. I'm really passing through. Pilgrims on the way. That phrase and that mentality has been resisted my whole adult life. I've moved before. God knows I've moved. The illusion was always ahead of me that now THIS place would be the right place. THIS place would be different. I'd get to know more neighbors. I'd work on my lack of organization so it would be easier to entertain. This place would be home. The cost for me in this upcoming move is that there is no illusion.

Going back to to this quote in your reflection:

A shelf dismantled exposing a scarred wall.

Your honesty admits to some scars. The house has some. We have some. There's this question about what to do with the scars. Houses can be repaired. I feel like Jacob after the wrestling with Angel. Yes, I have a new name. I limp too from having something internal out of joint. Is that part of the cost too?

The pains before the healing; The Labour before the birth

There is this young man in my old neighborhood who has been healed. This young man is part of the harvest in this location. Ironically, he's moving to Indiana at the end of this month. I'm sure God has him traveling there to spread the Kingdom. God did amazing things in his life. The memento from his experience is that I know the story. I was there.

You have along with these costs, the stories. One of the first ones you told me was about the waitress who served you and your wife on vacation. She was suffering for a long time. JEsus healed her. How many other people who acknowledge the finished works of Jesus were present physically, but not positioned and equipped to help her. Now she's able to tell of God at work in her life. It's the cascading effect of one life touching another life that grows in exponential progression. The stories you keep.

 

[Alithis]

Our heavenly Father is truly amazing.
For me in the months leading up to going on the market one phrase kept ringing through my heart and it began to override and bring life over the many death shadows of fear and anxieties....
"Take no thought ...." (from mat 6).

 

[Farine]

Our heavenly Father is truly amazing.
For me in the months leading up to going on the market one phrase kept ringing through my heart and it began to override and bring life over the many death shadows of fear and anxieties....
"Take no thought ...." (from mat 6).

What makes complete reliance on God's direction possible is communication and a faith resume of past participation from God. In other words, God who is inaudible to human hearing, still speaks to our inner man. That one phrase ringing through your heart has the power to quiet 'death shadows of fear and anxieties' because it is God who is speaking. I can point out Bible verse after Bible verse that must mean God speaks... that authenticated, verifiable communication is part of the adoption as sons in Christ.

If anyone reading this is frustrated by the process of communication with God, particularly the part where one discerns what message is being sent back, let's talk about it.

 

[Gideons300]

In the holy spirit..he knows all.sometimes we suddenly realize what he already know haha.im a lil slow.
We have been over this past year wrangling with going to serve the lord in the harvest full time.the upheavals we faced caused many a heated discussion as each of us came to terms with the calling，but at different times and speeds.
One day after such contention.i walked praying，and i said lord if this is all of you and youve so turned my heart to follow you then you must be speaking to my wife also. So you will sway her for i know she loves you.
And i fell silent i did not reply to contentions but instead listened & loved (never been great at the listening part) and stopped trying to impose things “from me“ ..
And this happened.. 2 days later she had a dream and through it the lord brought us into harmony with his own will.
Since then in a number of different ways this has been occurring.
So .when contention arises..i pray lord what do i need to see to change and if not me but her..i trust her to you and i trust you In her. For you abide in her as you do in me.

Hence it is not long ago the lord realized this truth in me.
Also the astounding shocking realization that Jesus，by his spirit，is standing in front of me inside my wifes heart.Now..how do you think that makes me treat her? Yes..if i snap i am very very fast to apologize and be repentant..
Trust Jesus in your partner.. It also lifts a whole lot of weight from off us. Because HE..we CAN trust.

What an awesome revelation. That is of the Lord, my friend. You are blessed.

Gids

 

[Farine]

What an awesome revelation. That is of the Lord, my friend. You are blessed.

Gids

Welcome to the Discussion. Now you can see what I've been up to LOL! Looking forward to reading your replies....
Farine

 

[Farine]

The Double Bind.

This is a psychology term that needs some explanation. A double bind is a situation in which a person is confronted with two irreconcilable demands or a choice between two undesirable courses of action. Humanity attempts to place God in such constraints.

I will obey you, God, if You prove You love me.

If God exercises His Sovereign Power, we deny God loves us so as to withhold our repentance.
If God exercises His Mercy and Grace, we deny He has the power to enforce His Will.

Look Folks, Y'all don't want to sign up for a Jonah-type experience! Can we get an Amen! If you have a call of God on your life, stop messing around. If you know what God's desire is for your life, get on with it! Okay, okay.. let's back this up a moment and get some perspective.

What happens when a person (because this isn't possibly about you) excuses him or herself out of God's Direction?

There is a short period of silence after this action. If you are unwise, you will assume that brief intermission means the action wasn't contested and will go about your day free of concern. Behind the veil of human sight, this is what really happens.

God assigns you to an intercessor. Someone like me. It may be 4:00 am in the morning and I will be suddenly awake with the urgency that I am to pray for you in a powerful and sustained way. May I point out that I am not paid by people? There's no tip jar. The person being prayed for doesn't know me and might pass by me in church quite content to just shake my hand when I am holding that person's life in my hands.

To put all the cards on the table, I'm asking God for grace and mercy and wisdom for the decision that is being made. An adjustment must be made, and God is perfect. Oh yeah, this is about lessening the burden and lowering the cost. To God be the Glory because there are many potential crises that are averted at this stage.

Let's say, hypothetically, that this person isn't particularly excited about what God is planning and says 'no' again. At this point, the intercessor has checked the box for faithful service. There's no requirement to go back to God again. There's a whole school of thought that if someone is resistant that it is preferable to spend one's productive time on those who are more flexible. That leaves this individual potentially without a prayer covering. Let's discuss that.

So we started this day's thought about when people try to deny God's right to rule them no matter how God treats them. This is where that debate ends up: Brokenness. Oh yeah, God will apply pressure upon pressure until one breaks. It's not a long term problem to God because He made everyone. He can heal anything. So breaking something isn't ruining it as far as God is concerned especially if after breakage, He has the right to put together the pieces in the way He always wanted.

This morning at 4:00 am when God woke me up, all of those who are reading this Discussion Thread came up in my heart to pray for you. Are you listening? Do you understand that you are missing something God wants? I am going to do this whole intercession for you even though most of you have no idea what that means or how this directly impacts the flow of your day. Pay attention. What happens after I say 'Amen' is your concern.

 

[Gideons300]

The Double Bind.

This is a psychology term that needs some explanation. A double bind is a situation in which a person is confronted with two irreconcilable demands or a choice between two undesirable courses of action. Humanity attempts to place God in such constraints.

I will obey you, God, if You prove You love me.

If God exercises His Sovereign Power, we deny God loves us so as to withhold our repentance.
If God exercises His Mercy and Grace, we deny He has the power to enforce His Will.

Look Folks, Y'all don't want to sign up for a Jonah-type experience! Can we get an Amen! If you have a call of God on your life, stop messing around. If you know what God's desire is for your life, get on with it! Okay, okay.. let's back this up a moment and get some perspective.

What happens when a person (because this isn't possibly about you) excuses him or herself out of God's Direction?

There is a short period of silence after this action. If you are unwise, you will assume that brief intermission means the action wasn't contested and will go about your day free of concern. Behind the veil of human sight, this is what really happens.

God assigns you to an intercessor. Someone like me. It may be 4:00 am in the morning and I will be suddenly awake with the urgency that I am to pray for you in a powerful and sustained way. May I point out that I am not paid by people? There's no tip jar. The person being prayed for doesn't know me and might pass by me in church quite content to just shake my hand when I am holding that person's life in my hands.

To put all the cards on the table, I'm asking God for grace and mercy and wisdom for the decision that is being made. An adjustment must be made, and God is perfect. Oh yeah, this is about lessening the burden and lowering the cost. To God be the Glory because there are many potential crises that are averted at this stage.

Let's say, hypothetically, that this person isn't particularly excited about what God is planning and says 'no' again. At this point, the intercessor has checked the box for faithful service. There's no requirement to go back to God again. There's a whole school of thought that if someone is resistant that it is preferable to spend one's productive time on those who are more flexible. That leaves this individual potentially without a prayer covering. Let's discuss that.

So we started this day's thought about when people try to deny God's right to rule them no matter how God treats them. This is where that debate ends up: Brokenness. Oh yeah, God will apply pressure upon pressure until one breaks. It's not a long term problem to God because He made everyone. He can heal anything. So breaking something isn't ruining it as far as God is concerned especially if after breakage, He has the right to put together the pieces in the way He always wanted.

This morning at 4:00 am when God woke me up, all of those who are reading this Discussion Thread came up in my heart to pray for you. Are you listening? Do you understand that you are missing something God wants? I am going to do this whole intercession for you even though most of you have no idea what that means or how this directly impacts the flow of your day. Pay attention. What happens after I say 'Amen' is your concern.

Am I assuming it is no coincidence this specific topic comes into play the exact day after I join this discussion? LOL.

(as the chorus breaks out "You're so vain, you probly thought this post was about you")

I have struggled over the years with stepping out and full heartedly doing what God has asked me to do. Several times I have come close, flirting as it were with taking the plunge.

What holds me back? Well, for starters, with what God has shared with me and asked me to share with others, it is not a "tickle-your-ears" type ministry. The truth is, for people to accept what I am sharing, first, personal brokenness is a necessity, and secondly, one has to come to the point of admittng that much of what we have accepted as the "full" gospel is nothing of the sort.

There is more, mind-glowingly more, but to access that "more", we have to leave the "less", and partial or not, that "less" is a known quantity, and provides security, even if it is flawed and lacking.

Plus, to grab hold of reckoning ones old nature as truly dead and to put on the new man by faith alone, a man will almost certainly join my club- aloneness. Most of their friends will not join them in enthusiastic agreement, as the message, even though totally lining up with scripture, is one almost unheard of in mainstream church life. So, fear holds them back, well....just as it has held me back. Imagine that.
Everyone likes to be liked. I am no exception, despite the perceived tone of the posts I continue to share.

Add to that the fact that with me entering my "golden years" with no retirement plan and having adopted both Jack, my seven year old grandson, and now Gavin, my 8 month old great-grandson, the thought hounds me that if I pour myself into "full-time" ministry, how will I possibly provide for my family? Of course the answer is "O ye of little faith, God will provide". How easy it is to say it for someone else, LOL. I know fully well that God provides for the sparrows and I am, hopefully of more value than them, LOL, but getting what we know with our heads transformed into faith in our hearts is time consuming and ultimately the job of God..... and those He has interceding for them. And there is the tie-in.

So thank you for this particular post. I feel like I have had a good couch session with a psychiatrist, LOL.

May God continue to bless you in your calling. And pray for me that I might look past my fears and walk worthy of the calling He has given me. And by the way, you have made me feel much less alone. Good job! Thanks, Farine.

Blessings,

Gids

 

[Farine]

Am I assuming it is no coincidence this specific topic comes into play the exact day after I join this discussion? LOL.

Nope. I do think God meant for you to reply to it. It helps to see that even seasoned Saints.. even established Prophets like Jonah with a long relationship with God struggle to do what we are told to do.

I'm going to be honest about the move from the house I've been in for four years. I'm moving into the house my in laws had for twenty years. There are too many confirmations in my faith-walk to deny this move is what God wants. I'm struggling with my own life too. That being said, I am packing. I am moving. I'm doing my best to stay focused on the blessing that will come of moving whether or not I feel like it. (which I don't).

Thank you for the prayer for my calling. Right now those prayers are being used. My ministry is going even faster as the requirements stack up. The time frame moved up into weeks not months. I'm still doing ministry around the cardboard boxes.

About your calling, the children play a role in this. When people saw my daughters flourishing while knowing my life was deeply challenged, it caused them to ask the right questions. Kids are honest. They wear their emotions unguardedly on their sweet faces. Especially children under 3 years of age. Hang on. I get it about feeling the questions about the future. My husband feels the same pressure to secure the economic well being of our family. The math does not add up when you are in ministry. There was a post way, way back about Providence in this discussion. Providence could be a book, a very, very long book. Everyone has a story about God's divine care and guidance. Last point on that for now, Proverbs 8 in mentioning wisdom includes wealth. They are linked benefits.

There is more, mind-glowingly more, but to access that "more", we have to leave the "less", and partial or not, that "less" is a known quantity, and provides security, even if it is flawed and lacking.

I don't have permission from the individual that I know who is currently experiencing the 'more" to tell his story. Someone new has been caught up in the revival. I'm watching God restore a life in such a beautiful, precious way. Yeah, this is real.

Farine

 

[Gideons300]

Nope. I do think God meant for you to reply to it. It helps to see that even seasoned Saints.. even established Prophets like Jonah with a long relationship with God struggle to do what we are told to do.

I'm going to be honest about the move from the house I've been in for four years. I'm moving into the house my in laws had for twenty years. There are too many confirmations in my faith-walk to deny this move is what God wants. I'm struggling with my own life too. That being said, I am packing. I am moving. I'm doing my best to stay focused on the blessing that will come of moving whether or not I feel like it. (which I don't).

Thank you for the prayer for my calling. Right now those prayers are being used. My ministry is going even faster as the requirements stack up. The time frame moved up into weeks not months. I'm still doing ministry around the cardboard boxes.

About your calling, the children play a role in this. When people saw my daughters flourishing while knowing my life was deeply challenged, it caused them to ask the right questions. Kids are honest. They wear their emotions unguardedly on their sweet faces. Especially children under 3 years of age. Hang on. I get it about feeling the questions about the future. My husband feels the same pressure to secure the economic well being of our family. The math does not add up when you are in ministry. There was a post way, way back about Providence in this discussion. Providence could be a book, a very, very long book. Everyone has a story about God's divine care and guidance. Last point on that for now, Proverbs 8 in mentioning wisdom includes wealth. They are linked benefits.



I don't have permission from the individual that I know who is currently experiencing the 'more" to tell his story. Someone new has been caught up in the revival. I'm watching God restore a life in such a beautiful, precious way. Yeah, this is real.

Farine

My two new boys are a subject worthy of a post all in itself. You know, this is not the script I would have written for my golden years. By my calculations, if I do not die from exhaustion, LOL, I will be 85 when Gavin graduates high school.

When my wife and I agreed we needed to step in, as there was either us or the system, could there really be a choice? And now, as I can see a bit in my rear view mirror, how enriching they both are. Like little light bulbs. I am blessed. This is a perfect example of

"All rhings work together for good to them that love the Lord, to those who are called to HIS purposes."

I think that is where a lot of our Christianity has erred. We do not comprehend that our salvation is a trade- our life with its deserved punishment for His life with its unmerited rewards.

We are never our own. Never were. We are in bondage to Satan before we were saved. And when we get saved, we are destined to serve a worthy God with all of our hearts. And in doing so, we find that we LOVE doing Hos will, for it always I'd for our good.

Unfortunately, we often are like the prodigal. We come to God and still want to do our own thing, our own way. Finally, when we have done it our way and are exhausted, defeated and with our faces in the hog trough, we come back to God, telling Him that we are unworthy to be sons or daughters,and to just let us serve you.

Miracle of miracles, it is then that we finally share given full sonship, with our eyes opened to how wonderful His will for us is. We can be a stubborn lot, LOL.

Blessings, me

 

[Farine]

The Oh Noes!

An expression of alarm, concern or resentment about a problem or error.

Being deeply spiritual will not save you from having this sensation. It could be discussed that being in alignment with God's Will more often than that will cause more instances of it. God uses you in more situations which are high stakes, or difficult and suddenly one is brought up short. "OH NO!"

The last two days have blurred into one long expression of alarm and concern. I'll spare you the details. It's bad and it's not about me for once. I told God, "This is crazy." God's replied, "This is ministry." Here are some phrases to describe the last two days. High-stakes, spy movie, mountain top followed by the valley of the shadow of death, glorious intervention. If I ever endeavored to follow neatly in the steps of Jesus: yes, yes, yes and now, now, now.

What do you do right after you say, 'Oh no"?
Job worshiped his God, saying "Blessed is the Lord who gives and takes away." I'm not at that level of spiritual maturity yet. My prayers are grasping in the dark for the hand of God. It might be pointed out that understanding why something is happening does not necessarily improve one's mood. Perceiving that God is participating usually does brighten the outlook on life.

What do I do? In this case, I looked around real quick for other saints who might be in the vicinity. Wouldn't you know, I was it.
[Mini-rant]: I hate that when some really nasty bit of evil is going on, there is a shortage of believers who accept that they and God are an army.

Ok. Back to the topic.
Then I trudge, because I haven't grown enough in my faith to anticipate that my participation in this act of God's power and glory has benefits for me, trudge in reluctance into God's Presence.

"Um, Lord? This situation is terrible..... Oh, I forgot to enter into Your Presence with praise and thanksgiving. I'm sorry."
"Time is short. You have work to do."

And with the forgiveness for being rude for how I approach God, that starts a dialogue which has many parts. I also have to extend forgiveness for others who aren't...
**Paying attention
**Don't want to be bothered or who don't care
**Only see events through basic humanity's filter--not aware of how faith works, for example.

Speaking of this work which is to be done, there's money to be spent too. God will not be indebted to anyone. I've always had God pay me back promptly and with much more added on. That said, the sacrifice is never convenient. The amount always seems to ruin some other expenditure that I personally wanted. Do make the connection that 'Oh no" also is the sound of your wallet opening up.

What else? [thinks]
My teen daughters use the word 'Adulting'.. that's right. Being mature now is a verb. Here it is in a sentence.

I was adulting last night because I made my own dinner.​

When you are spiritually mature, well equipped in the Holy Spirit, God sends you on more missions for Him. Yes, there are some incredibly messy OH NOES. The last two days I was adulting in the LORD. God is awesome!

 

[Farine]

The Excitement.

The following are real texts which just were sent to me last night from someone who has become truly free in Christ. The bracketed words NEW MAN and ME will indicate who is speaking.

[NEW MAN]: Good Morning. Please keep me informed about what is going on and if I can help in any way.
[ME]: I am headed towards the bus to go back home.
[NEW MAN]: Fantastic. I will see you soon. I have some wonderful news.
[ME]: Don't go back even for a little bit to the house (where the abuse happened).
[NEW MAN]: Nope I am never going back there and I know that I would be in bad shape and reprimanded if I did. I love this ride I'm on too much to give it up for anyone and anything.
[ME]: Ok.
[NEW MAN]: Sandy and I are done at the recyclers and at the storage facility (moving belongings there), so would it be safe for me to come back with Segen (German Shepherd Service Dog) and stay there for a little while at your house?
[ME]: Yes.
[NEW MAN]: This day has been such an amazing inspiration for me, to better understand the desires I have and the quest that I'm on. This quest is to find all the ways possible to please God and worship Him. I'm reading lyrics of the praise songs I grew up with. I realize all the goosebumps, feelings of peace and feelings of overwhelming love that the Father, Son and Spirit have for me and all of mankind
[ME]: Praise GOD! I'm really happy with and for you.
[NEW MAN]: One of the songs that I grew up having a great love for, is titled "We are all enlisted" I asked (God in prayer) that you might better understand how I am currently feeling and the amount of energy and love I have for sharing, and being an example of a believer in Jesus Christ. I think it would be best for you to examine the lyrics of this song when you can. I clearly understand now the importance of having a companion while on a mission to serve God. I thank you so much for the love, guidance and protection you have given me over the past four years.
[ME]: You are welcome! My utmost pleasure to serve God and you.
[NEW MAN]: i'm learning so much here. God's timing is something so special I'm just beginning to learn how extremely precise it is.

What texts don't relate is the light in his eyes, for example. There's enough exuberance here to float a boat. Reading my responses back to him reveals a lower level of excitement. I'm happy.. just not THAT happy. I've had that amazing connection with God for quite a long time. Seeing it through his brand new perspective stirred my heart. The hope is that it will stir your heart too.

 

[Farine]

The Danger of a Little Yeast...

Mark 8:14-21 NIV:
The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. “Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.”
They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread.”
Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”
“Twelve,” they replied.
“And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”
They answered, “Seven.”
He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”

This is a passage of discourse from the Gospels that does not get much press. The account ends on this cliffhanger where Jesus doesn't handily resolve the matter for the disciples. The last line, "Do you still not understand?" is how it ends in the Bible. It may be that you reading this passage struggles to relate the metaphor of yeast to its deeper significance. Let's look at this together.

Knowing that Jesus frequently clashed with the group of the Pharisees helps somewhat. Yet of all the groups of Jewish theology, Jesus attached his teaching to that of the Pharisees and no other. The way the Pharisees lived out what they believed was really where Jesus contended. A clue to this deeper meaning is found in Jesus' rebuke.. "Are your hearts hardened?"

Jesus goes on to point out more signs that show lack of spiritual perception.... "have eyes but fail to see.. ears but fail to hear"? The inner sight and the inner hearing are not physical senses. You don't understand spiritual truths with your natural humanity. When Jesus asks about the baskets of scraps after the two different miracles, the point Jesus is making (among other deeper points) is that the number of baskets they picked up was spiritually significant. 12 and 7 are biblically significant numbers. Seven is the number of completeness and perfection in God's Kingdom, for example. The Biblical account does not record that these hints made a dent in the disciple's awareness at the time.

Are you getting your heavenly mail? Are the divine nudges penetrating your level of busy-ness? The danger of a little yeast is that you are only seeing the surface. If so, you are missing out on opportunities that God wants to give you and people that God wants you to connect with. Make the push to go deeper. If you want assistance in sorting out what signals God is sending you in your life, let us know. There are many places in this discussion where the invitation is given to talk one-on-one. Please. Don't stay surface in your interactions with God. May the Holy Spirit illuminate your life as you follow Jesus. Amen.

 

[Farine]

The idol of Comfort.

Matthew 8:18-22 [AMP]:

Now when Jesus saw a crowd around Him, He gave orders to cast off for the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Then [on His way to board the boat] a scribe [who was a respected and authoritative interpreter of the Law] came and said to Him, “Master, I will accompany You [as Your student] wherever You go.” Jesus replied to him, “Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” Another of the disciples said to Him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father (collect my inheritance).” But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me [believing in Me as Master and Teacher], and allow the [spiritually] dead to bury their own dead.”​

At some point, as a creative writing exercise, I will make a brochure about the cost of following Jesus. Just ticking off a few items that quickly come to mind, taking public transportation instead of driving a car, being passed up for promotions in my career, moving about every 3 years in the last 23 years, keeping my mouth shut around my critics, having eyes to see and ears to hear the great levels of need and injustice in our society. Yeah, that's a decent enough list for the moment. Of course, your list would be different.

Jesus told a respected member of society essentially, "Are you willing to be homeless to follow Me?" And it gets better. The next man hears that he should release his claim on his inheritance in order to follow Jesus. We know that Jesus' pubic ministry only lasted three and half years. If the man left to do the other thing, he would miss it.

Don't go. This isn't a theoretical piece. If your heart is consistently more attached to comfort, than seeking and obeying God, comfort has become an idol. This comfort-seeking takes many forms. Take the plight of the poor. Proverbs 19:7:

All the brothers of a poor man hate him; How much more do his friends abandon him! He pursues them with words, but they are gone.​

Why are the brothers of a poor man indignant? Because the needs of the poor brother require resources. Have not the angry brothers forgotten something? Proverbs 14:21 [AMP]:

He who despises his neighbor sins [against God and his fellow man], But happy [blessed and favored by God] is he who is gracious and merciful to the poor.​

God will bless and favor you if you extend yourself to the poor. Do you believe that? Or is it easier to pretend you don't see him. That she's not there. God knew you saw and that fact is tucked away in His Records. This is just one sub section of meeting the legitimate need for comfort in a sinful way. There is a better way to be comforted. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 [AMP]:
Blessed [gratefully praised and adored] be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, who comforts and encourages us in every trouble so that we will be able to comfort and encourage those who are in any kind of trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

Here the God of ALL comfort.. takes care of us rather than we seeking to take care of ourselves. Why would this distinction of who comforts us make such a big difference? Some of our discomfort is educational. We don't grow and have more to contribute when we are fixated on comfort. There are risks to following Jesus. In Matthew Chapter 8, Jesus outlines some of them for the specific people who asked. What risks are you facing following Jesus. The world is a much more uncertain place. The obstacles to following Jesus are higher in our generation. If you want to be comfortable, there comes a point of testing. May God grant you the wisdom to choose Jesus.

 

[Farine]

What Really Happens When You Have a Ministry....

Looking back, setting a date for when Biblical knowledge became applied is hard to do. The best guess would be 2010. Before that, I was more in need of receiving help than giving it. Something in 2010 turned the tide internally. That tipping point of when one becomes a supplier of support more often than not is the place to start this topic.

Something clicks.

On a day when one would rather not participate, someone needs encouragement or what it is that your gifts supply, and this sacrificial act becomes confirmed in your life. This is who you are.

Now comes the joy of understanding something deep and of great value to you. Within 24-48 hours of this joy comes opposition determined to unseat you. The enemy does not permit you to enjoy the moment a second longer than permitted. So block him off with faith in GOD and prayer and ask others for support--the last thing the enemy wants is another serving Servant of God.

Questions, questions, questions.

Some of these questions are yours. Some inquires are friends and family. Some are from the enemy. Your mind gets filled up with these pesky things. The issue with so many questions is distraction from perceiving God's Presence and Will. Like batting away a cloud of gnats, one trusts that God will supply answers in the order and priority needed.

Change is everywhere.

The consideration to leave this out was strong. No one likes change--not even positive change. Your life gets a make-over. Yup, say good bye to some things that have been there for years. God is busy like a mechanic under the hood of a car, adding new things and taking out stuff that is broken.

What does THAT mean?

Ah, the dialogue of Heaven. You'll learn to appreciate it. God's perfection certainly extends to how He communicates. Too little directions and you don't know enough to be successful in your ministry. Too much direction and there's no faith being used. You'll learn to recognize His voice in the ministry and communication of other servants. Maybe this section should be a future topic...

Just do it.

The hardest advice to provide and to personally follow! Honestly, that's what God-directed activity comes down to--obedience. Full of Faith is not your first move in a brand-new ministry (usually). A faith resume informs you that God will do His part, so obedience becomes more plausible. The confidence that you have heard God's instructions well grows. The insight of who else is involved in the process is more solid. In the end, it's still trust that God knows what He is doing.

Confirmation.

This is the finish line. This is where you see the manifestation of God's love, power and wisdom. This is where we get part of our reward. Lives are supplied and changed. People are encouraged. You have more in your spirit.

Be bold If you understand God's hold on reality, taking action is so much easier. God bless you in your day today!

 

[Farine]

Polarity: In this case, the definition is having a magnetic or electric field.

This is how it looks in science.

People who are aligned with God also develop Polarity.. In this case, it's about the cosmic conflict of Good vs. Evil. Godly people attract those who are also seekers after God and they get rejected often by those who aren't into God or the things of God.

Jeremiah mentioned this. [Jeremiah 15: 10-11 NIV]:

Alas, my mother, that you gave me birth, a man with whom the whole land strives and contends! I have neither lent nor borrowed, yet everyone curses me.
The Lord said, “Surely I will deliver you for a good purpose; surely I will make your enemies plead with you in times of disaster and times of distress.​

This repulsion was also predicted of Jesus before his public ministry ever got impacted by contention and controversy. [Isaiah 53:1-3 NIV]:

Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.​

It's appropriate to mention this polarity right after the post about realizing one has a ministry. There is going to be some backlash. The proverb is that no good deed goes unpunished.

But what about the attraction element to ministry? What about the communion of saints? Yes, it does exist. Kingdom fellowship is splendid and awesome. Holy Spirit inspired connections are truly praiseworthy to God. It's a hint of what we will have at rest from our labors in Heaven. People who are Seekers after God will also be attracted to someone who is aligned with God.

All the above was lead up to say this: In Ministry, we take attraction or repulsion personally when so often the person is reacting to the God who is with us....