The Forming of Beliefs

How and why do we believe what we do? How do we come to believe anything, not just about God, but our opinions and beliefs about life in general? To answer this question, we need to first realize that we have a connection with the world around us--the physical earth and the people in it. We are not all islands unto ourselves—gods who create our own universes with their own rules and laws. This would never work. There would be destruction all over the place as our “truths” collided. (Maybe this was what brought the earth to the condition of chaos in the beginning when God spoke our current world into existence). There is such a thing as Truth and it has the power to rule.

So let’s look at how the mind works. We must hear something first before we can form an opinion, agreement, or belief about it.

How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? Romans 10:14

This process involves our ability to hear, understand, and then judge ideas and concepts according to Truth. Bear with me, I’ll explain.

When we hear words, the sound goes into our ears and is processed by our brain. (Or, if we read words, they are de-coded by the brain through the optic nerve of our eye.) However it happens, we somehow “hear” language and de-code it—through sight, sound, or touch. For example, when we hear the word “winter” we know what it means because we’ve heard it before, and we’ve associated the sounds with the thought. (Or, if reading, we’ve matched the written symbols to the thought).

To some degree, we move from de-coding the sights and sounds to understanding the thoughts, concepts, and ideas that the author/speaker is trying to get across. The level of understanding varies according to our ability to think, allowing us to judge the thought according to Truth.

If you hear “the dog is red” you can understand what each word means separately, but you group them together to get the thought—the image—the phrase is conveying and in your mind you see a red dog. Thoughts and concepts vary in complexity. “The red dog is barking at the cat while a screaming man is running towards them.” Gives you a more complex thought than just “the dog is red.” You could ‘read between the lines’ to examine motive and predict what might happen. More complex sentences bring you into ideas, thoughts, rationales, explanations, right and wrong, truths etc.

Some people don’t get past the basic de-coding. They’re happy to understand at a basic level, but not at a high enough level to judge whether the concept is true. It seems they are content to de-code and accept, but don’t spend the mental exertion necessary to fully understand what the person they are listening to is saying, in order to judge whether its true or not. This may be more than personal laziness; it may be because our current trends in education encourage mental laziness.

Educators, and sad to say sometimes parents, offer to do the hard thinking for their students. However, this is nothing more than indoctrination, and children don’t often know the harm in it and will take the easy path if offered.

It’s hard work to understand. It takes effort. I would say God makes it like that on purpose because He wants a people who know the value of Truth. Look at the effort He says to give in going after wisdom, understanding, and discernment:

…Make your ear attentive to wisdom, Incline your heart to understanding; 3 For if you cry for discernment, Lift your voice for understanding; 4 If you seek her as silver And search for her as for hidden treasures;… Proverbs 2:2-4, emphasis added.

It takes effort. Yet people often skip over words they don’t understand while reading, guessing their definition by the context of the sentence. This can lead a person to agree with, and believe in, concepts that aren’t really true, with devastating consequences. Putting effort into thorough understanding is worth it. It’s necessary.

So how does this lead us to belief? Once a person decodes and then understands the thoughts and concepts he hears, he is then faced with whether he agrees or disagrees with it. Does he believe it to be true? Once again, some people don’t face this question. They are content to bounce around from thought to thought and let others do the “hard things” like deciding what is true.

As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; Ephesians 4:14

It’s dangerous to let someone else tell you what Truth is because there are those who will intentionally deceive you for personal gain if allowed. They’re not motivated by love for you (like Truth is). We must not be one who doesn't want to think and search for Wisdom and Truth.

Wisdom shouts in the street,
She lifts her voice in the square;
At the head of the noisy streets she cries out;
At the entrance of the gates in the city she utters her sayings:
“How long, O naive ones, will you love being simple-minded?
And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing
And fools hate knowledge?
“Turn to my reproof,
Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you;
I will make my words known to you. Proverbs 1:20-23

(Of course, this passage of Scripture goes on to say the consequence of turning against wisdom, which is not pleasant. It’s worth reading the whole chapter).

So once again, when we arrive at the place where we understand a concept, we decide whether we agree with it or not. It’s important to note here that agreement is more than having heard it once before. Some confuse familiarity or recognition of a concept with agreement.

The first to plead his case seems right, until another comes and examines him. Proverbs 18:17

Just because you’ve heard something before does not mean it is true. When a person hears something once or twice and recognizes the thought as one he’s heard before, he might begin to repeat it and talk about it. Now it’s been given life. It’s been given space, and a rumor, or lie, is born.

Agreement is not just accepting something you’ve heard before as true. It’s taking a concept, comparing it to Truth, and making a choice about it. Some want you to think you don’t have a choice over what you agree with or believe in. They may express ideas in such a way that they prompt you to search your memory for a similar thought. If you find a familiar concept there, you begin to accept it. However, remembering is not agreeing. Knowing what something means, is not agreeing. The thought must be judged according to the Truth, which involves the person putting in effort to understand the thought, and then judging it appropriately. It is said if you hear a lie often enough, you’ll believe it. This does not have to be. This is a strategy our enemy uses against us. Yes, there is an enemy who wants to mess up your life.

…the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. 5 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, 2 Corinthians 10:4-5

Agreement, or belief, is a spiritual thing. It’s free will. It’s a choice. Its where you say, “I want to know and believe this Truth,” or at least “I want to want to.” Agreement is not something you have no power over. If someone asks you if you agree with something, you don’t need to search some hidden reservoir inside of you to try and find out if you agree. You don’t search your memory banks to base your agreement on simple familiarity or recognition. You judge what you are hearing with what you have discovered to be Truth, and if it agrees with the Truth then you agree with it.  

Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; 9 that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, 10 and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. 11 For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, 12 in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness. 2 Thessalonians 2:8-12, emphasis added.

Those who reject Truth and choose pleasure in wickedness over Truth, will be deceived and judged. It’s not about searching your memories or emotions to see if an idea sounds pleasant or acceptable to you. It’s not about collecting a wish-list of ideas to create a fantasy land. It’s about loving the Truth. Looking for it. Searching for it. Submitting to it. Even sacrificing for it, if needed.

Buy truth, and do not sell it, get wisdom and instruction and understanding. Proverbs 23:23

Truth might cost you something. Do you still want it? Yes, because sincere agreement with the Truth is the only thing that will give life, love, freedom, and all that is good because God is Truth and He is all those good things. Some may have trouble with the word “God” because of a misunderstanding of who He is and His nature. But God is Truth. He is life, light, and love. He is all that is good and right. 

We want to bring the thoughts and ideas that we hear into alignment with what is good and right--what is life and love. This is what we want to agree with. This is Truth, and God is the source of it.

Let’s look again at how we come to believe, or come into agreement with a thought or concept:   

De-code it for a basic, parroting-type of understanding

Put mental effort--thought--into understanding the concepts and ideas presented

Judge the thought according to Truth

Agree (believe) or disagree with it

God has enabled us to determine Truth, not just from the Bible, or nature, or the experiences of other people, but He has given us access to the Spirit of Truth. When we compare the written Word of God, the experiences of our life, the testimony of others we know, with the Spirit of Truth speaking to our spirit, this gives us a confirmation that this thought or idea is of God—it is Truth.

Every fact is to be confirmed by the testimony of two or three witnesses. 2 Corinthians 13:1 (See also Matthew 18:16, John 5:31-32, 1 John 5:8).

But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth… John 16:13

Truth is revealed to us, by God, in a variety of ways. The Bible is a tried and true way. In the Bible, truths were revealed to men by God. The Bible is a written account or record of what the authors experienced and what was revealed to them. Their testimony has become history.

The Bible is the most accurate record of Truth because it’s been proven over millennia. It’s been tried and proven to be true in the lives of billions of people. People have testified that in their experience, the truths of the Bible are in fact true. This is what it means to be His witness. (Acts 1:8).

Our own testimony, and the testimonies of others, are spoken or written accounts of experiences, which, when taken in their sum total of a person’s life, may be used as a record of truth. If studied, one might see the Word of God proven true in their life—whether the outcomes are good or bad. This person’s life, along with other non-biblical classics—books, art etc. don’t have the same degree of testing and proof as the Bible, but may still contain truths which will help those who read to understand them.

Deception occurs when a person believes what is not true. How? When a person believes something is true it means he has accepted it as an idea that can and will be enforced. So he adjusts his life accordingly and tells others to do the same. Once again:

We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, 2 Corinthians 10:5

We are in a war of knowledge, thoughts, concepts, and ideas. It’s political, yet spiritual. What you have heard, understood, and chosen to agree with is what you believe. If you’ve heard it, understood it and chosen to believe it, that’s where your faith is.

However, when you hear something familiar, that you’ve heard before, don’t mistake that recognition for faith. Don’t substitute the familiarity of a concept with belief or agreement with it. Understanding is necessary, only so we can properly judge a concept in accordance with Truth. If it doesn’t line up, don’t believe it. Don’t accept it. Others might, but you don’t have it. You have a choice. There’s thought involved. There’s free will involved. God made it that way.

You have a choice over what you believe in. You can’t change the truth by believing something contrary to it, but you can become deceived by choosing to believe something to be true when it isn’t. You have the ability to choose to disagree with the truth and not believe it, however, there will be consequence to that beyond your control. Truth, by definition, is something that has the power to enforce itself. We see this in laws of nature, like gravity. It’s true whether you believe it or not.

We have an enemy who wants people to think there is not one standard of Truth, there is no God, and there is no one to enforce Truth. This lie says that everyone can believe what they want. He uses the familiar to substitute for agreement because when a person agrees with the Truth, its powerful and our enemy doesn’t want that to happen.

This is why its important to read, hear, study, and meditate on the Word of God. To quietly hear from the Lord the concepts and thoughts He’s speaking to you in your inner closet, in your own still heart, where the Spirit of Truth speaks, to get an accurate understanding of truth.

The Word of God and the Holy Spirit within you, bear witness with each other to the Truth. And your own life becomes a testimony to it as well. Don’t just read and decode the Word, understand the concepts of it, according to what the Author means, then come into agreement with it. Judge according to truth, not familiarity.

This is why its so important to give kids the Truth at a young age.

like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, 1 Peter 2:2

We must not wait until our children are older thinking they can’t understand “big” concepts. Feed them pure Truth so they can grow. Feed them from the book of Proverbs, short concepts of Truth. The book of Job is an example of a book that needs to be read in its entirety to get the whole concept of it, but Proverbs is perfect for the young. Bite size nuggets of Truth that can be discussed, while they develop their “thinking” muscles.

Let these words sink into your ears; Luke 9:44

The Mission of the Church

I’m adding this section to the end of this (long) blog, because I feel it helps explain why developing relationships with other believers is important “and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:25).

It is very difficult for one person, by himself, to research and investigate every piece of information he comes across. Every news story, every trend, thought, idea, concept, argument, etc. He needs to be connected to a group that he can trust. Each member of this group will have their own set of experiences, knowledge they’ve gained, opinions, thoughts, interpretations, revelations and so on. Together, this tribe of believers can think and discuss concepts and trends of the day and come to conclusions regarding what is True and what is not.

…When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation… 1 Corinthians 14:26

It’s like the story of The Blind Men and theElephant. Each has their own viewpoint, which is true, but doesn’t give the whole picture of what an elephant really is.  

The job of the church is to bring the thoughts, concepts and ideologies of the day, of the current generations, into alignment (obedience) with the Truth. Through our discussions we destroy “speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” This means that we judge the current ideologies according to the Truth, teach our kids, and stand publicly with the Truth as needed.

We trust those who are in our tribe, yet we must always put God first. We don’t believe what’s popular, even within our own group, but seek the Truth first. Then, together we stand for Truth.

We are God’s “witnesses.” We testify of His goodness, His love, and all of His attributes, as if in court. We have a testimony—experiences we can share that validate who He is, that declares that His ways are the Truth. That our life has proven it to be so.

Each one in our tribe has personal experiences, lessons of life, revelations of truth, which becomes our testimony. We gather these things from:

·       Personal experiences (our testimony)

·       Personal revelation (from meditation, study, and prayer)

·       Biblical studies (our private time which brings revelation and interpretation)

·       Autobiographies, biographies (the stories of others)

·       Fictional stories and classics (the thoughts and concepts of others)

·       Lectures, teachings, and opinions of teachers (doctrines)

We form our opinions and beliefs based on these things.

And Jesus said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old. Matthew 13:52

We must teach our kids from our stories--what we’ve learned, what we’ve come to believe, and how. Pull the old treasures from your house to share with your kids and grandkids. But there is also the new. Allow them to share their fresh perspective, based on what they’ve seen and experienced so far. It may be in its infancy, but they still have seeds within them that will need to be nurtured and grown. Rather than pulling out every concept that doesn’t agree with you, teach them how to find Truth and then, how to compare their seedlings of thoughts with it.

The Southeastern Corridor

Lord, I pray you send some young, zealous preachers of the Gospel to move into the southeastern corridor of Waterford Township. Those who will occupy the land there, and bring a message of hope to the people. That by their presence, they open the heavens and bring your salvation to the neighborhoods. That they disciple the people in the ways of Jesus Christ, setting them free from the chains that have had them bound.

Bring readers and volunteers to Donelson Hills School to breathe a fresh breath of life and hope, laughter and joy to the students and staff. Bring the pastor of Lifepoint to the place he's meant to be in his mission. Let there be no frustration, but a fulfillment of his call, and a fresh joy in it. Let there rise up a man of God who is full of zeal and fresh hope. One with an anointing to break every yoke, and a true love of the people.

The Merging of Knowledge and Truth

Our ancestors ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Now we contain the ability to know what they knew. We can learn. We have learned from our ancestors and we study history to discover the knowledge mankind has gained throughout the ages. This knowledge has been passed on from generation to generation, and built upon.

But with this knowledge comes a responsibility. It's a heavy responsibility requiring us to consistently and accurately make choices towards good, not evil. For if we choose evil, just once, seeds are planted and tragic consequences are harvested at some point. Gaining knowledge brings a heavy responsibility which requires discernment, wisdom, understanding, and more knowledge. Throughout history man has made wrong choices and undesirable consequences have followed. Each of us personally, does the same.

Knowledge alone doesn't guarantee goodness or happiness or justice. Knowledge must be merged with truth. However, truth is not something we possess, it's something we observe. We don't control it or guide it, but we watch where it leads and follow its path. As we do follow its path, we see that truth leads to all things good. It leads to wisdom, life, and love.

However, try as we might, we don't have the ability within ourselves to create truth. We only contain the ability to recognize it. We've been given access to truth as a read-only version. We can't edit it. We can't change it. We can only read it, learn it, absorb it, and guide our life by it. Our inability to change it, even with all the knowledge of the world, reveals that there is a Force who is controlling it. This Force is Truth itself.

This Enforcer has the power to enforce Truth because He is Truth. He is Truth, Wisdom, Knowledge, Love, Life, and Goodness. Goodness and Truth are the same. Love and Truth are the same. Life and Truth are the same. Yet He also, of necessity, must protect Truth, and Love, and Goodness, and Life. How do we think we will fare if we try and infringe on the Author's rights to Truth, claim it as our own, and edit it to fit our purposes? The One who has Truth, who is Truth, also has the power to keep it.

So He shares. He shares Truth because He is Goodness and Love and wants people to know Truth. He wants them to have freedom to live, love, learn, and do good. But He also protects Truth because He is Goodness and Love. To allow anyone to change Truth according to their corrupted or incomplete knowledge is incomprehensible. It would be the ultimate tragedy, with harvests of suffering and torment being reaped in the lives of many people.

So in your quest for knowledge, seek Truth, knowing that it is not found within you, but is a separate living being. Seek Truth not for the purpose of changing Him, because He cannot be changed by us, nor would we want Him to change, since He is not only Truth, but Goodness, Life, and Love. He has a perspective far above ours and judges accurately. What you can seek, is His Spirit, which He freely gives to those who believe in His way of atonement from our evil intents, desires, and choices.

Seven Mountains in Me

Recently, I’ve been contemplating the seven mountains we refer to when we talk about the “Seven Mountain Mandate.” Rather than seeing myself called to one or two of these mountains, with a presence on those mountains, I’m looking at each of these seven mountains within my life, and my personal involvement in each of these mountains.

When I first considered this, I could see a mountain range—the seven mountains—that looked like a blank coloring picture. The mountains themselves were outlined and looked something like a thermometer, which was to be ‘colored in’ to show the level of involvement I had in all of these mountains. My mission was to find out the level of involvement I already had on each of these mountains, and to what extent I should increase or fine-tune my involvement on each one. I was to ask myself, “Is each mountain up to the level and accuracy of involvement I am meant to have?”

Here are some questions I began to ask myself as I considered this.

Family Mountain

All of us are born into a family or to some person(s) who cared for us and brought us into adulthood.

• Who are my family members?
• Who do I consider to be “close” family members and who are extended family members?
• How good (or bad) are my personal relationships with each one?
  Healthy or unhealthy relationships?
• How well do I know each one? Their interests, goals, involvements, and desires. Do I understand their call and purpose in life?
• What is my place in my family, and what kind of influence do I have over each of my family members?
  To have true positive input into their life, they must agree to it and accept our influence.
  Sometimes we are only able to pray for them and love them.
  A characteristic of millennials is they want relationship before lecture.
• Am I loving my family members? Am I praying for them? Am I peacemaker? A healer? Am I a mentor to anyone? Am I teaching them what is good and right?
• Which family members have influence/input over me? Which ones are “fathers and mothers” to me? Who am I receptive to?
•  To what extent, and in what ways, am I impacting other families?

Church Mountain

This is our spiritual family which begins in a relationship with the Lord and continues with the body. You find your place and position in the body of Christ and your mission in life becomes clearer. Like our physical family, our spiritual family can help us to see our strengths and weaknesses and help us to learn and grow.

• What level of relationship do I have with the Lord—the Head of the body?
  To what extent am I a disciple of Jesus? (John 8:31-32).
  Don’t be a “Dino” (Disciple in name only).
  How much do I study, pray, seek Him?
• To what extent am I aware of my position within the body of Christ?
  Do I have relationships with other believers?
  Who are those I’m in ‘tribal’ relationship with?
  Who are those outside of my tribe?
  What is my position within each tribe?
  What do I receive from them?
  What do I contribute to the group?
• Who do I consider to be my spiritual mentors?
• Do I have any spiritual children I am teaching or mentoring?
• To what extent do I display the kingdom?
  To what extent am I operating as an ambassador for Christ? The Ekklesia?
  To what extent am I the salt of the earth?
  To what extent am I the light of the world?
• Am I aware of the state of the church in my community?
  My state?
  My country?
  The world?
• Do I support any church or ministries financially? In prayer? Other type of support?
• Do I see the church from God’s perspective?

Education Mountain

Beyond our discipleship studies, we can grow in knowledge and understanding in a variety of subjects. Particularly as we come to understand our mission in life (or in this season of life).

• To what extent am I continuing my own education and personal growth?
• What is my base level of cultural knowledge?
• Who am I learning from?
• Am I learning, or being indoctrinated? (How to think vs. what to think)
• Am I studying, continuing to learn, both biblically and in other topics?
• Am I training anyone in a field I am knowledgeable in?
• Who specifically am I teaching or mentoring?
• To what extent am I aware of the education the young people in my family are receiving?
• What is my level of educational influence over my kids, grandkids, locak kids-the next generation?
• To what extent am I aware of what is going on in public education in my area?
  Private schools?
  Home schools?
• What kind of input am I giving towards education in my area
• To what extent am I supporting what is right and addressing what is not?
• Do I contribute financially to private schools, colleges, home-school co-ops, which are abiding by biblical and constitutional standards?

Arts & Science

As we discover our mission, and educate ourselves in it, the next step is to do some hands on exploring.

• What is my personal level of creativity?
•  What am I doing to nurture it?
• What do I dream about, imagine, or wonder ‘what if’?
• What am I currently creating, researching, inventing, or developing? 
• Who am I in relationship with in this field?
• To what extent do I use and/or appreciate the creations of others?
• What do I know about other creators/inventors?
  What do I know about their discoveries and inventions?
  What do I know about them personally—Newton, Edison, Beethoven, etc.
• What innovations do I use and support?
• To what extent do I influence, or encourage, others to be creative, dream or wonder?
• Am I exposing my kids and grandkids to art, science and creative thinking?
  Teaching how to think, not what to think
• If not, how can I?

Business Mountain

You may not own a business, but even just as a consumer, the business mountain is in you. Yet as you develop knowledge and skill in your life’s mission, you may enter the business world through that as well. And, if you work for a business, you have a certain level of involvement there too.

• To what extent is my involvement in the business world personally?
  As a consumer—what are my buying habits? Do I buy too much? Am I impulsive? Do I hoard? Do I waste? Do I give to others?
• How do I purchase? Do I go into debt?
• Who do I do business with? Is it just Amazon?
• Who am I helping to prosper?
• As a producer—What do I produce with my time, energy, money and skill?
  What is my contribution to my family, body of Christ, and community? 
• How am I affecting my community through my occupation?
• As a seller/distributor—what type of resources do I provide for others in my community?
• What products or services do I recommend to others?
• To what extent do I help others connect with good resources?

Media

We have access to others beyond our local reach through media.

• To what extent is my involvement with media, what types do I use, and what do I use it for?
  Develop Relationships?
  Preach my opinion?
  Criticize others?
  Entertainment?
  Education?
  News?
• What is “trending” that I am following?
• What kind of “news” stories do I read or take interest in?
• What is my response to things that have a strong impact on me?
• Who am I in communication with about current topics?
• What part of my media use is beneficial to me personally?
• What part of my media use is beneficial in developing good relationships with the ‘right’ people?
• How do I influence others in and through my media use?
• How am I influencing or setting an example to the next generation?
• What movies, books, and forms of recreation do I participate in?
• To what extent is my media use beneficial to others?
• How does my media use/disuse impact God’s purposes for me and through me? 

Government Mountain

In the U.S. we have a responsibility to govern our country and keep our leaders in check. This responsibility will vary depending on the country. Whatever our nation, the Bible tells us to pray for those in authority.

• To what extent am I aware of those who are in civil authority in my region?
  Do I know the positions?
  Do I know who holds the positions?
• To what extent do I relate to the civil authorities?
  Am I praying for them?
  Am I writing my congressmen and holding them accountable?
  Am I telling them when I agree with what they are doing?
• Do I have a personal relationship with any governmental persons—elected or non-elected? local, state, federal, police, courts etc.
• To what extent am I fulfilling my responsibilities as a citizen?
  Am I obeying the laws (if within God’s laws)?
  To what extent am I praying for those in authority, the land, the nation?
  To what extent am I informing myself on current issues and candidates, and how my elected officials are doing?
  Am I voting in every election?
  How often do I speak up on topics that arise with those I come across during the day?
  How often do I take action with petitions, protests etc? 
• To what extent have I sought out God’s opinion on a current topic?
• To what extent have I studied the Bible on a current topic?
• To what extent have I considered the opinions of others I consider to be my mentors/teachers on current topics?

Speaking Genesis, Exodus and Leviticus

Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus

Beginning November 1st of this year, I began a one-year through-the-Bible assignment of reading, speaking, and proclaiming the entire Bible over America. I've had an amazing time doing this. In addition to reading the Bible OUT LOUD and then praying and proclaiming over the land as the Lord leads, I've also written down summaries of the chapters and books I've read. I'm posting a summary of the summaries here. I would encourage you to do this at some point. The process of reading/speaking/writing the Word of God brings great insight into what you're reading, while being His mouthpiece in the earth. And His Word will not return to Him void when its spoken from His mouth. It will accomplish what He intends for it to.

Click here for the index

Genesis Summary
11-15-2019

• Follow the "pattern of weeks" that God established in the beginning. Plan, implement, and rest according to this pattern.
• Be a master over sin.
• Let the righteous fathers arise and bring God's favor to our nation.
• God loves the earth and made a covenant with it. Let the sons of God arise and care for the earth. 
• Take care of what God has entrusted to you. Both the land and your children. Prepare your children for the future with blessing and prophecy. Teach future generations the ways of the kingdom. 
• Value all brothers and sisters, honor the fathers, all will be restored.
• There is more value in a few who have purity of righteousness over a large number of lukewarm believers.
• Wholeheartedly serve the Lord in your personal life. Get rid of double mindedness. The whole nation will follow. One nation under God, indivisible.
• God made a seed-covenant with Israel. We bless Israel and take notice their example. We learn from them and honor God.
• We settle geographically and occupationally as the Lord has called us. We give Him a tenth of all.
• All cultures and bloodlines--turn to the blood of Jesus. 
• We speak the Word of God over the land and the people. 
• We will work hard and not get discouraged by tough times. 
• We maintain integrity and faithfulness in both good times and bad. Our dreams will come true and God's kingdom will be established.
• We will not be discouraged when God is silent. Time is being given for the nation to grow and flourish. The famines will drive us to look to the paths of our godly, founding fathers. We re-dig the wells. 
• We seek God and His favor & blessing over man's.
• We look to dwell in His house.

Exodus Summary
11-27-2019

• God told Moses the history of Israel. It was important for him to know if he was going to lead the people out of slavery. We will study the history of our nation.
• Rather than becoming angry when it looks like things are worse, we will trust the Lord. His deliverance will come. We won't compromise and settle for less.
• God can and will do miracles when necessary. The bondage will end. Let the people of God go!
• Remember the blood. God can deliver an entire nation. Apply the blood to you and your family. Obey God and you will remain healthy and provided for.
• The laws and statutes of God are to be the same as the nation's laws. Teach them to your children. Teach them to your leaders. Judge according to them. Worship God yourself, build an altar in your heart. Worship.
• The Israelites were given the laws before the land. Know His Word. Study them. Live by them. Teach them. 
• These are the foundations of a godly nation-- 12 tribes/families. 70 elders/community judges. The blood covenant, 40 days/nights of meeting with the Lord to establish laws, seeking His face for the pattern. Willingly contributing to the cost of establishing His place in our midst, taking night watches.
• As priests, don't take your consecration and anointing lightly. Wash your robes in the blood.
• Seek God's face above the face of leaders. Recognize your skill from the Lord, willingly offer yourself for His work, and mentor others in your skilled area.
• The government is to be in alignment with the laws of God.

Leviticus Summary
12-7-2019

• Sin must be dealt with according to God's specific standards. Blood must be shed as He instructs. 
• Don't hide your sin or it will spread. It will not go away by hiding it.
• Search your heart sincerely, deeply, for any way you are displeasing the Lord. Ask Him to show you sin you are unaware of.
• Plead the blood of Jesus. The ultimate, pure, sacrifice for our sin. Honor Him. Honor His blood.
• The Lord gave His commands and the people heard them through Moses. Then they implemented them. We must do more than hear His commands, or even teach them, we must do them. Then we will experience what He has said. We will learn how to obey Him more effectively. We will see consequences of obedience and disobedience. We will experience the fear, glory, and blessing of the Lord. Seek to know, understand, and experience His ways more.
• Don't touch what is unclean. Don't cover up sin. Expose it to the light.
• Be pure and clean in body and home. 
• Don't participate in sin and don't condone it in others.
• Honor God. 
• Treat others well, as He says. 
• Treat the land well. Rest.
• Follow His heart in taking care of your body, clothing, land, and each other.
• Keep His feasts, habits, traditions, and know why. Know His mind. Understand His ways.
• The foreigner and natives are to abide by the same laws. But only the natives could permanently own property. Buy property! Buy land! Except for the city homes, all property remains to the natives permanently.
• Obey God first above all things and all will be well. Fighting the enemy is not to be first. Obey God first and He will bring victory, prosperity, and peace to the land!

Acts 17: Part 3--Land

Once again, Acts 17:26-27 tells us:

²⁶ and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, ²⁷ that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; 

This verse speaks of three things—seasons (appointed times) which we looked at here, tribes (nations) which we looked at here, and land (boundaries of their habitation) which we'll look at in this blog. God has appointed times, boundaries, and seasons for all of mankind. He has appointed them for you and your family (tribe), as well as your community and nation.

After the flood, God made a covenant with the earth, not to destroy it because of man’s sin. He also established that seasons would remain as long as the earth did (Genesis 8:21-22).  God loves the earth—the land, the dirt and everything in it. Revelation 11:18 tells us that He will destroy those who destroy the earth. We're not to trash the earth. God loves it. He created it first and then put man here to take care of it. 

The Bible tells us that creation groans until the revealing of the sons of God (Romans 8:19-22). Why? What are the sons of God to do? Take care of the earth—the land—the nations—and rule according to God’s ways—which is good for the earth and the people in it. 

Care for your earth—your land--and take care of yourself—your body--which is made from the dirt. Align yourself spirit, soul, and body with God and His ways. As we take care of our own lives properly, we gain authority to expand beyond ourselves to our families, communities, and so on. Tend to your garden. Leave it better than when you came. 

The land (and water) is your provision. In the parable of money usage (Luke 19:11) the nobleman gave his slaves money and told each of them to do business with it until he returned. Some translations say, "Occupy until I come." They were to do business, occupy a certain place or space, until he returned. 

Where or what you occupy is your occupation. Your work, whether its a business on your own land or holding a position somewhere else, provides for you. You produce wealth from it. At least, that's the intention and purpose of your work. You have a position, or work, to do whether geographically or occupationally with your life--your time, talent, skill, energy etc.

When we look to the beginning, the first half of Genesis we gain insight into God’s plan for the land. 

• The Pattern of the Week.
  God gave us an example of work and rest-- to work six days and rest on the seventh--the Sabbath. This is a pattern to follow still today. The day of rest (Sabbath) is for the Lord. A reminder that we do not rely on our own strength. Determine in your heart to follow this pattern of the week.
• Noah's dove.
  
        The dove sought rest and returned to Noah. By doing so she brought a message of truth and hope. The raven just continued in its own strength out on its own which represents trying to maintain through our own strength, even our own "religious" works.
  Become a warrior dove of rest in your land.
•          Favor of the Righteous FathersRighteous fathers have brought God’s favor to the Earth—Noah and Abraham for example.The people learned through them both to obey God, as there were consequences for disobedience. Pray for righteous fathers to arise today and bring God’s favor to the earth.
•         Tower of BabelGod scattered the tribes/families into other lands. God’s intention was never a global government or culture. Remember how your tribe and culture honors the Lord, while respecting/admiring others too. (Not compromising your faith in Jesus Christ, but not trying to conform everyone to be like you).
•         Israel’s Covenant LandGod gave Israel a specific land with boundaries and laws on how to live in that land. God said He would bless those who bless Israel.Bless Israel and pray for them.
•        Ten Righteous could have saved a cityAbraham negotiated for Sodom and Gomorrah and was told that the city would not be destroyed if there were ten righteous in it. If there would have been, the entire city would have been spared. The depth of pure righteousness in a few will do more for a city than having many lukewarm “Christians" in it. Don’t be lukewarm. Unity in a nation comes from an undivided heart in God’s people. Wholeheartedly serve the Lord.
•         Seed CovenantAbraham was willing to sacrifice his son, so God gave His Son for the sin of mankind. Later, Isaac had to stay in the land, but bring a wife back home from his father’s people/blood. Jacob as well, took a wife from the same bloodline. Canaan and his descendants were cursed (because of Ham) and had to be removed from the land.Stay in the land you are called to, but maintain the ways of the Kingdom in it. Don’t give in to the sin around you.

Acts 17: Part 2--Tribes, and the 2020 Assignment

Everyone has a tribe. We're all born into a tribe--a family. Families are what God designed for babies to be born into. Ideally, when a baby grows and learns the ways of life, he has a family of those who care about him to nurture, teach, and guide him throughout his life. He will grow into an independent adult and find his place in the community, eventually expanding his tribe to include some people outside of his family. Individuals are placed in families, families in communities, and communities in regions and nations.

In Mark 2 we read the story of the paralyzed man whose four friends tried to get him to Jesus so he could be healed. They couldn't get through the crowd so they took him up on the roof, tore up the roof, and put the man down through the roof next to Jesus. Jesus was impressed with their faith. The man was forgiven of his sins and healed. He was free to find and fulfill his destiny.

This story shows the importance of being connected to a tribe who will help you get closer to Jesus so you can be healed of whatever is standing in the way of you fulfilling your destiny. His friends were not part of the crowd which was blocking the path to Jesus--where his destiny awaited him. No, they helped him get through whatever obstacles were in the way so he could fulfill his purpose in life. These are true friends.

Each family, group, or tribe will develop its own personality. Each of us have individual gifts and personality traits, but the groups we are a part of also have their own traits, or ethos. Merriam Webster defines ethos as "the distinguishing character, sentiment, moral nature, or guiding beliefs of a person, group, or institution." Together we have a certain character.

Of course, there are challenges in relationships. There always are. We are constantly sanding the rough edges off of each other. In 1 John we read that when we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. As each of us individually walk in the light of the Lord, we will be able to walk in fellowship, not only with the Lord, but with each other.

A corporation is usually made up of at least three people, yet it has its own purpose. Its own character. Its own bank account. Its its own entity. Jesus said where two or three gather in His name He is in the midst (Matthew 18:20). His presence is the ethos that manifests as we gather. The Holy Spirit can also be the ethos that manifests as we gather. And the purpose He gives us as a group contributes to this ethos. Just like a good bowl of chili is made up of individual ingredients which blend together and make a unique taste, so does a tribe of people develop a taste of their own through the individual people that make it up.

How is the Lord manifesting Himself in your group? How is He revealing Himself? As a teacher? A Healer? A prophet? A leader? Its not always about the good feeling 'goosebumps' where His presence is very thick and obvious and makes you want to melt into a peaceful blob. Sometimes there is work to do, and He wants us to roll up our sleeves and get going. Read. Pray. Study. Seek Him. Intercede. Fast. Do something. Your group is unique and He will reveal Himself to you, and lead you, according to your ethos--the corporate purpose and call of your group. Find the purpose of your tribe(s) and it will help you find your purpose in life.

The Lord showed me an assignment for 2020. Its to counter the toxic words--lies--which have been spoken over America, especially the last few years. Lies are overcome by truth. The Word of God and Spirit of God are truth. I am speaking the Word of God--the entire Bible--over America from November 1, 2019 until the end of October 2020. Join me! More information here.

In Isaiah 55 we read that the Word of God which goes out of His mouth will not return to Him without having accomplished what it was sent to do. Those who believe in Jesus are His body in the earth. His Words spoken out of our mouth are powerful, when we breathe them/speak them from a heart filled with the Holy Spirit. Like a seed that gets planted and produces a harvest, the Word of God does something when spoken. It does what God intends for them to do. Jesus told His disciples that they were clean through the word He'd spoken to them. The spoken Word of God cleanses people. (John 15:3). Join me in speaking His Word--the Bible--over the nation in the twelve months leading up to the 2020 presidential election.