NeWine

A child of God with a wounded spirit can get off track and into the weeds in kingdom relationships. This article describes how that can impact spiritual gatherings where we are needing to come together in unity and prayer.  However, a broken or wounded spirit can get us stuck in a rut that could last for years running out the clock on the things He has called us to do. Awareness of the warfare we are facing to get out of bad behaviors is the key. Carefully, and prayerfully, read the article for yourself or others you may know, there is a prayer for deliverance in the end. 

A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city: and their contentions are like the bars of a castle. Proverbs 18:19.

A while back I had a dream hours before a morning prayer conference call, that came to pass in astounding detail during that call.  In the dream, I began to identify the first three digits of a number that had no name with it. As far as I know this was a first-time caller. I asked for their first name just to know who else was joining us that morning. I wanted everyone to engage in praying for one another, as well as together. I kept glancing over to the number on my console, in the dream, that had no name, and I had never seen it before. I felt compelled to greet the caller, but they would not answer me. I’ve had many people simply explain that they just wanted to call in and listen without participating, (and that would be fine) it has never been a problem before.  But this particular caller in the dream just wouldn’t answer at first, even though I called out a few digits of their phone number, and that sort of set off a red flag.  The pulsating digits might as well have been a neon sign blinking S.O.S. at me by then. In the scene not only did it hold my attention, but I felt the number seemed to swell out like a boil, and asking the person to engage with us was like compressing it.  I felt to pursue a response. Well, that scenario played out on our prayer call exactly how it did in the dream, hours later that morning. While it was probably an uncomfortable encounter for the person on the other end of the line, that I parked there and wasn’t going to move on until there was a response, the Lord sometimes allows occurrences that are uncomfortable (like this one) to get us out of our haze, that we don’t realize we are in. He’ll wink at these things for a season, but He will also step in and put His gaze upon us when we are about to go too far, and really wreck ourselves and others with toxic behavior. If we get rattled out of our funk it’s a good thing, but usually we need more convincing that the fortress of protection and the controls we put around ourselves are actually working against what God wants to do in our lives.  

We may not even realize it until we are in a new environment, where people are not present that know our rules of engagement, or participation, that those closest to us may have learned to comply to.

No one likes stepping into a hole in the lawn but if we know the yard well enough, we learn how to avoid the hole, and thereafter have an uneventful day. Until someone new steps into our space.  A child of God can be in a condition like this and yet still develop in the knowledge of God’s word, and their giftings and even be well admired in their environment. But will display unhealthy vibes outside of their comfort zone where others have not been preconditioned to roll with disfunction that has gone on too long. Sadly, the operating system that keeps us isolated works the hardest against us when we encounter members of the Body of Christ, that has what it takes to bring healing and deliverance to us. This is where that disfunction is most likely to manifest itself, because it is a demonic oppression that creates a cycle or pattern of circumstances using our controlling behavior, to keep us from the growth we so desperately need. Fueling awkward encounters, and misunderstandings, causing missed opportunities to connect because we ourselves are not being free in Christ and trusting in Him in those moments. We are making ourselves untouchable by body language and by controlling behavior.  We need to be whole people and we can be if we will trust the Lord and seek His healing to take us beyond ourselves in these matters. There are those that isolate because of their wounds who will never leave familiarity, and rarely will they chance new opportunities, to join believers in new places.  The more transparent we are asked to become the more painful it will be if we have allowed years to go by in our wounded condition. This is something that can plague one or many in one place. A person or an entire fellowship.

Strongholds and Fortresses

Exquisite and complex as they may be, as intellectually crafted they can become, fortresses of offense crumble in the power and presence of Jesus Christ when we encounter his Head and Body operating as one, in its proper functionalities. In other word’s things do not go our messed-up way, when we encounter the living God in gatherings absolutely yielded to Him. Which is a blessing because that means that what has been stealing from us for so long is put in check; and those wolves in sheep clothing, supposing that they can get away with it, will encounter the governance of God among His saints. While we may end up in spiritual surgery getting rid of malignancies in our own life, the Lord Himself is the surgeon. Who booked our encounter with Him. While we can begin to deeply examine ourselves even now under His ex-ray vision and do some self-deliverance, acting on revelation we may even see in this article, for example, complete healing will manifest when we can get back into the place that we can trust Him wherever He is present. Having this knowledge clears the path, knowing what to look at helps us identify ourselves in these scenarios. The bottom line is having peace and rest wherever He is, not fear, not turmoil, not controlling behaviors. Perfect love casteth out all fear. Love believes all things … Believe His love for you will help navigate you through uncharted waters, when you find yourself in an appointment that takes you into His Holy currents, where your feet no longer touch the ground- the activation of your faith comes when you still’

yourself in Him and just trust. You’ve prayed, you’ve fasted, you’ve waited on Him, your willingness to launch out in faith is all there is left to do.

Spiritual gifts help us navigate through layers of the heart.

 In several years of online meetings, I’ve had 3 dreams and many prophetic impressions where God revealed special circumstances that would call in, I’ve had this happen in other types of ministry where the Holy Spirit would reveal an unusual case we were about to encounter and prepare us for it. Or expose a wicked scheme or plot. I’ve never seen the Lord not do that. I just haven’t. We may have to suffer the consequences of another person’s evil thought, or stance, but the Lord exposes these things even when we have to walk it out knowing un-sanctified motives or betrayal is brewing.  These prophetic warnings are allowed for prayer to change the outcome of what the enemy was desiring to do by exploiting a heart issue, on how one chooses to handle aught. The accuser’s ultimate agenda is to spoil a work keeping people from having pivotal encounters in their life. I’ve seen beautiful momentum’s getting derailed by careless chatter, jealousy, and selfish ambition. People not fully equipped for their assignment, disengaging because of pride, dissensions, or gossip. Or never engaging at all for the same reason, a sent one is sent and words defile the field they were sent to plow, and the yield is far less than what it could have been because of an evil messenger, sent as a forerunner to defile the work. That is why prayer makes all the difference in the world.  But here we have this conundrum in the church: Preaching and teaching and equipping the saints on how to avoid the pitfalls of the enemy is not being taught in many of our gatherings, but rather that which is watered down milk not providing reserve oil for the long haul, it is not preparing God’s people to see or overcome the snares of the enemy. Nor is Kingdom Governance operating how it should in order to bring the mind of Christ in all our circumstances. Memes have replaced solid contextual instruction in the word of God and spiritual experiences are valued more than one’s personal relationship with Christ.  Teaching on how to properly deal with offences is absolutely needed in this age because we were warned that hearts would grow cold because of them in the last days. 

When our wounds become infected. 

 A wounded spirit that works hand in hand with the fear of rejection, to marginalize the individual under its power is an operating system that wasn’t created overnight. When it becomes a malignancy is when it takes on a life of its own and the person actually begins adopting behaviors that cause cycles and patterns of rejection because it has created a toxicity in their life, that they will need deliverance from, because evil spirits familiar with their profile influence their circumstances. One who would never dabble in witchcraft is practicing it unwittingly by operating in works of the flesh in the manipulation and control of their environment to be at ease. Love is not easily offended, so when love is the driving force in our lives, fear of rejection has no power. Because perfect love casts out fear. When the easily offended or fearful are under the control of that spirit they get stuck. Submitting ourselves to healing processes which include teaching ministry to help us navigate through these things is the way we get unstuck. For the entrance of God’s word brings light and sets us free. Being unteachable and prideful will lock us into a cycle of failure in every aspect of our growth until we are ready to lay it all down and learn of the Lord. However, there is a condition of hard pan soil (they call it out west) where water rolls off the top layer and never soaks into the ground. It just finds a gully to wash into and does nothing for the ground beneath it.  Our hearts can become like that hard pan dirt. We hear and hear until we are bored with it all, but it never truly soaks in. We never apply it to ourselves. We are ever hearing but never coming to the truth of the matter when it comes to our own soul, especially when we dismiss something we have heard before yet have never really taken that light of the word into ourselves, letting it examine us. 

When I first came to Christ, He sat me in a company of prophets for four years and I was surrounded by anointed teaching ministry for years after that. Everyone was older than I was, and I was the youngest of all my fellowship. Thank God I didn’t seek out a Christian peer group for myself to be entertained in that many young Christian believers are funneled into. He sets the single in families, is what the scripture says, not singles groups. In fact, many young people who have been a part of amazing youth camps and movements go on to college only to lose their faith and motivation later, because of the lack of root teaching and ministry that makes them unmovable in their resolve when storms come, and the leaves of hype are blown away. Where the youth leader is no longer in their lives, and they are surrounded by indifference in a world not responsive to Christ.  Being in a company of elders fulfilling the great commission surrounded by the five-fold ministry, I was privileged at a young age in being equipped to do what I had seen and heard with my own eyes. I saw the depth of deception we can deceive ourselves with, in the various healing encounters people experienced that included deliverance, before that in 1980 I went through deliverance myself two years after I was saved, and several weeks after receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  Spirit filled teaching ministry of various individuals and prophet teachers, was a wealth of treasure that would equip me to go through the things I would later experience in my life.  Without that firm foundation I know I would not have endured this long in my calling.  I recognized and pulled from the anointings God put in my life.

Not all assemblies have anointed teachers where the Holy Spirit reveals the hearts of the people and instructs them in knowledge on how to walk out their faith, and overcome the deep seeded issues that people have. Or gatherings for prayer and ministry that will address those issues.  

Life challenges and disappointments don’t stop when we get saved, if anything life becomes more amplified in circumstances because our enemy (the enemies of Christ) hate us. So, learning skills to overcome these challenges will keep us growing in the Lord.  The longer our faith has been developed in the wild, away from the anointings that He has set in the Body of Christ, the more likely we will have abrupt encounters designed to shore up other mindsets or thought patterns gone too far for too long. We will either allow His anointing in those areas to reset us, or we will end up cycling through some hard places in our attitude or error in order to prepare us for another encounter, with a merciful savior that doesn’t give up on us.  However, TODAY IS THE DAY FOR SALVATION time will eventually fail us, Jesus said. “He that has ears hear what the Spirit says to the Churches”. In the bible we hear this phrase: “They were cut to the heart by the things they heard”.  Often rebellion in areas of our own lives can cause words to cut us to the heart, where we need a ‘circumcision of the heart’ to go on. When we allow God’s word to reach in and touch the untouchable thing, that is the beginning of healing. I remember in early stages of ministry years ago that I received an article from a well-known teacher of the gospel that taught on unforgiveness. I was really not that interested in this teacher, and I was well aware of how serious holding aught against others were, and thought I was clear of it. I distinctly remembered thinking, that I knew all about un forgiveness and thought it would just be hashing through something I have taught others on myself.  Yet, the Holy Spirit kept bringing it up in front of me, and I finally read the article. Well, that article in this ministry magazine put me on my face before the Lord, and I have yet to be moved by a teaching on forgiveness as I was that day, thinking I already had what I needed. The likelihood that I would still be in the race with the joy I have now, after all these years had I not had that encounter with God and that article is absolute zero.

A one trick pony.

A lot of assemblies have one calling in their arsenal they have a great preacher who preaches on the good news of Jesus Christ. Truth be told in a lot of assemblies the top minister is really an evangelist.  Who preaches sermon after sermon on our need for salvation a hundred different ways a thousand times. That is not teaching ministry. It’s the gospel message that needs to go out from behind the pulpit, for that is where it needs heard the most, and if it is contained indoors then let there be a congregation full of Phillips that will learn it well enough to take it to the world! The great commission is to go into all the world and preach the gospel, that is where that message belongs. The good news of Jesus Christ. As for the church God has set some in it to be apostles, prophets, pastors, evangelists, and teachers, for the equipping of the saints, for the work of the ministry to learn Christ and His ministries. In another place in order of importance, teachers are in third place, 1 Corinthians 12:28. Most apostles and prophets have a teacher’s anointing upon them. Teachers can be prophetic and apostolic meaning they are sent in their teaching ministry to newly established apostolic works, coming in after the foundational anointings have established government, yet they are not necessarily apostles or prophets. Their deep dive into God’s word is used to anchor us in our faith and is instrumental in bringing stability and unity into the Body of Christ in newfound works.  The Holy Spirit is our teacher and confirms Christ manifested in human vessels that minister to us.

So back to the dream and the online meeting. 

Like I said I had the dream, but now I’m really having this call, they spoke to me after an awkward silence, realizing I was waiting for an answer and not moving on. I was let known (in no uncertain terms) that they were going to remain anonymous, and I was instructed to call them of a pseudo name, because they were not going to identify themselves, all I wanted was a first name anyway or user handle, I was given a category to call them, and said that God told them to come on the call and not participate, and their manner about the whole thing was quite militant and controlling. I was also instructed on how I should give them a word, if I were to have one for them. And it all struck me as odd. But what really got me was that this scene was playing out exactly like the dream I had the night before. You see that dream had in it a word of knowledge and a word of wisdom on how to handle the call, and information to discern what I was dealing with. Closing in on 7 years we’ve been doing this, we’ve had lovely people cycle through and I was amazed when I recently looked at the meeting records and saw the list of people we’ve had over the years in these relatively small meetings, people with great need for prayer support, in those specific times in their lives, healing requests that were so dire that the positive outcomes were nothing short of miraculous, when God stepped in and turned things around. We’ve had deliverances, healings, and many answered prayers online, at the same time we prayed through weeks if not months of all of us just having to believe God and wait on Him for answers, for different challenges in our lives. Not to mention our continuous prayer for this nation, and Christians all over the world. Providentially, this outreach was up and ready to go at the onslaught of the pandemic, where we prayed for many in the community of Christ in life and death struggles, from covid and other complications following the pandemic.

In the dream the Lord revealed to me that I was speaking to someone who had (at one time in their life) hopes and dreams that were dashed by the indifference, dominance, and cruelty, of a religious political spirit. 

This evil operation has hollowed out many faithful and dedicated servants of the Lord, in times past. Especially, those that have a gift and calling of God on their life. It has caused a lot of people to raise up a wall of protection, to keep themselves safe. Because as Joseph, it was that coat of many colors that caused an unusual amount of push back, and rejection, for the caller and those alike. This, over the years, has caused many to become sore, wounded, and weary, causing many to carry a spirit of the fear of rejection on them, into situations that are an opportunity not a threat, this is something no one is immune to, and everyone needs the tools to manage. It is sometimes lack of teaching on how to operate in our giftings that can put us in situations that cause hurt, because every gift has a learning curve that the body of Christ should be in the position to demonstrate to new generation believers, but often does not. Regardless, a wounded individual creates a defense mechanism that may cause them to become controlling over circumstances in order not to be a victim again.  In so much that when they do venture out into the unknown, they feel like they need to lay down the law, and control every aspect of those engagements, even when they are Holy Ghost encounters. To the point that God Himself and the power of His Holy Spirit is kept at bay and consequently limited on how He wants to work their life, even to bring deliverance. God wants us to have faith. He wants us to come out and stand back up, in the liberty where with He has made us free and entangle ourselves not again in the yolk of bondage! The Lord wants us to know He never sanctioned His beloved to be in a place that caused so much harm. But we see our brothers and sisters in Christ, in rigid legalistic meetings, so we naturally believe that it is somewhere we should be also.

Many became convinced that what they see is how it’s all supposed to be done, and want so much to be accepted by the church, in order to be worthy to be used by God through venues they have to offer, but instead find out, soon enough, try as they might, they are not let in. 

A religious political spirit never qualifies anything that exposes its existence. Therefore, pure giftings from a pure source that keeps itself out of church politics and doesn’t jump through all the hoops it takes to be seen and heard is actually feared by an operating system that has the people under its control. Those often marginalized in that setting are usually the ones sent there with a word from Jesus Christ, in regard to their lamp stands, these know there is a price to obey, and they understand that comes with the call of God on their life. Being seasoned in the gifts of the Holy Spirit is something every elder (who is truly an elder) should be able to demonstrate. God’s instrument will joyfully endure rejection being honored to suffer for the gospel’s sake and will shake the dust off their feet so that they will not carry any residue of that rejection into the next place they are called to go. To freely love and give again. Proper equipping endures these afflictions with patience and love. Knowing there is nothing we can do to keep others from misjudging us or opposing us if they are so inclined to do so.  But what is left of those churches that still belong to the Lord is a revolving door of fleeced and battered sheep that eventually cannot stomach one more service if they truly have a heart for liberty in Christ.  It is much like the Pharisees of Christ’s time on this earth. They persecuted Jesus to the point that they handed Him over to the Romans to be crucified. That same spirit of betrayal is in the world today! The anti -Christ spirit is against, and wants to be in the  stead of” Christ, to His followers. Jesus said that spirit was present then and is in the world even now. He warned us of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is a spreading ingredient that is like a cancer in the body of Christ that is “against the anointed one” or wants to be in His place, and that can mean His ‘anointing’ in us as well, being that we are His followers. Sadly, this has happened to those who were looking for Him only to become entangled by a religious counterfeit. I’ve heard the Lord (many times) say to those receiving healing in this area, “I’m sorry, that wasn’t me that did that to you.” Many times, things are suffered not because of God, but because of man, Jesus warned us to beware of it in Mathew 23. Because we have a tendency to put too much on the outward appearance of what we think Christianity should look like, we forget to garment ourselves with humility, and put more value on the inward man.

What Then Shall We Do? 

Regardless, as to why we submit ourselves to works born of the flesh, towering in the sky in what looks like ecclesiastical success, we should remember the biblical words speaking prophetically, a messianic line, “I was wounded in the House of my Friends.” Many people have been wounded deeply and have found it almost impossible to step out in faith and trust again. Sometimes those wounds are self-inflicted by our own ambitions, or an unsanctified quest to excel, in places where we decide to compete, rather than just sit and learn in our season of learning. No matter how we got our wounds, the father wants an army that is able to live again, love again, and be again, ALIVE! To lie down and rest in Him, and find our pasture, and freely graze among the flock.

So, rise up, be brave, and do the works you did at first. Go back to your first love. Go find your family in Christ and sit at the Lord’s table, break bread, drink the cup of communion! Minister to the Lord. Meet new people. We cannot do that until we really let him get into our pain, heal the wounds, and remove the soulish prickly armor we wrap ourselves in to keep safe.

“For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound mind.”  2 Tim 1:7

Soulish armor is not the Armor of God. Ephesians 6:10-18 Righteousness, Truth, Salvation, Faith, Peace, and the Word of God, is what we are armed with in the light of His glory.  This enables us to run into the battle with fearlessness. To be loving, engaging, and open. Let the ministry of Jesus Christ wash out your wounds and heal those scars. To be renewed in Him! This new life enables us to fear no more and freely love, because we understand that Jesus Christ has not rejected His Church but has chosen Her! He suffered at the hands of His own people, that were supposed to receive Him. He was received by those that had no power to protect Him, that could do nothing for Him. But He brought salvation, healing, and deliverance, to all who would accept Him. We need to go back to what it means to be followers of Christ and join with the beloved. Come back bolder full of grace- love and fearless resolve, to endure to the end. Of course, we need to be always wearing our armor, but that is designed to make us more brave, more engaging, free-er. It’s not like soulish armor.

Fences, Fortresses and Facades.

Soulish armor, we hide behind. People that operate behind a wall of defense are just like the offended one in proverbs. Who use soulish armor as a wall between them and the family of God He’s trying to connect them with. Rather than stepping out from behind our walls and having an open and loving demeanor, that is confident in the Lord’s protection, the individual not perfected in love will be cautious and timid and will let everybody know over and over again (mostly by their body language) that they are not going to engage. In the case of this dream that unfolded in a real-life encounter the child of God cloaked their fear and apprehension to join the rest by making the excuse that God told them to be aloof and unfriendly and to put everyone on notice in regard to the terms of engagement with them.  Of course, these were not their exact words, but they were the result of what this one was trying to accomplish in that group. This kind of disengaging and isolating behavior that always seems to be enabling aloofness or meted-out interactions with others, is often attributed to the leading of the Holy Spirit, by those who are misusing His protective nature. This is something that is not that rare of an occurrence, it actually seems to be an operating system which is common in the spirit filled camp of believers. Yes, the Holy Spirit is our closest friend, but He will not lie for us. When He has had enough of words being put in His mouth, He will call out this disfunction before it becomes a door for spirits of falsehood to take control of an individual’s life and defile them. You see this thing is common, I’ve seen it many times. There is always someone in a large enough meeting that is very rigid, but yet gifted, and makes sure the room knows that they will not participate until they hear from God, so they disengage until they have the floor on their terms. The Holy Spirit leading is something we all need to have in our life, but we also need to understand how to participate as a unit, where self-awareness concedes to the Spirit of the Lord and we yield to Christ’s Headship, that will use us collectively- as one. Stepping into the gathering rather than one who prefers to stand alone. Using the Holy Spirit as an excuse to isolate in a gathering like that is contrary to His nature who desires to bring unity. It’s better to just say that you are not ready to engage in the meeting.  Never use the Holy Spirit as an excuse for your disfunction. Just be honest. It’s better to explain that you’re trying to hear from the Lord and may need more instruction to learn how to participate. “Can I just watch and listen since I am new?”

Jesus said if you are asked to walk a mile, walk with them two. If the body of Christ is engaging with you, truly seek Him with an open heart, treat His people as you would treat Him! Because He said if we reject our brothers and sisters, we are rejecting Him.

Often, the case is that the person hiding behind walls of defense usually has profound giftings, a robust prayer life, and spiritual insight that is admired. However, there has been a wound and it usually has been because of being rejected over the gift and the call of God on that person.  Possibly experiencing much rejection and years of spiritual battery from an anti-Christ spirit or stronghold that rules as the prince of the power of the air in their region. This means that the individual could have been vexed by this spirit day and night by people around them, who know not what they do. Usually, it is something that they have experienced a few times too many. It depends on that person’s sphere of influence and position that reveals their battle. If one would like to understand the degree of warfare, they are dealing with, one would only need to understand their scope and burden of prayer. To that level, to that degree, we are often buffeted by the enemy. Because an individual in that situation knows that it’s not anything that they have done that has warranted that kind of push back, and because they walk in a level of holiness; however, it is still because of lack of knowledge or the availability of Godly counsel that forces them to develop a coping mechanism that becomes toxic. No one can judge another’s battle because our own battles can be a cake walk to some of these suffering in their fox hole. 

When an individual who has influence has allowed their wounded spirit and the spirit of rejection to employ an operating system of its own, that is designed to keep them confined in their own corner, away from ministry that would bring them freedom, they have then become willing participants of their own coping mechanism they have sanctioned, because it protects them.

The less they move about the less they encounter new opportunities to be rejected. When they do brave a gathering of new people their controlling behaviors manifest. Unfortunately, when we involve Holy Spirit in a falsehood such as this that could negatively impact those around us using Him as an excuse to be unfriendly, disengaging, aloof, and unloving, then we have gone too far in our anointing the wrong way, and there in is where the push back becomes more and more predominate, more and more public; if we do not see the error in our behavior that is actually a manifestation of pridefulness and is indulgent. Elaborately gifted and broadly admired individuals have made themselves untouchable, in this way. The Lord will protect the integrity of His Holy Spirit. While it is entirely acceptable to tell people that you are uncomfortable, or you’re trying to test the waters and would like to just observe, it is dishonest to interject the Holy Spirit in that scenario as His leading because that is not His character. He is at home with the saints of God, whether we are or not. It is perfectly natural for anyone to be shy and unsure when meeting new people or being in a new environment. Attributing disengagement and disunity to the leading of the Holy Spirit, is dishonest in that case. God is on the throne, and in the rare occurrence that we are to withdraw, or not to assemble, He is faithful to let us know when and why. It is the exception not the rule. While we feel it projects an air of spirituality to say He is giving us these instructions to disengage and be aloof, my question is why would the Lord promote disfunction in the assembly like that? Because that is what that does.

See the dove? See the dove loosed from her cage? Be like the dove fly, be free!

 Stand fast therefore in the liberty where with Christ has made you free and entangle yourself not again in the yoke of bondage! When we are perfected in love, fear has no power over us. Perfect love casts out fear, that in exchange gives room to the loving and gracious manifestations of the Holy Spirit. We can love while being very much unloved. Unliked, and unappreciated. When we know we are the apple of our Father’s eye, other people’s conflict with us can be worked out, not hidden from. If that is even the case. A lot of how we see things have to do with what lens we are looking at the world with. We need healing in order to live again and not see the world as if we ourselves are a victim. Then misunderstandings are not pocketed away and left unspoken, we can be open hearted seeking to understand things we don’t, by asking honest questions without being afraid, know the truth is spoken in love!  

The spiritual gift of discernment’s misuse!

Discernment, and the gift of discernment, is an extra layer of protection and I will tell you what it is not. First of all, the bearer of that enablement of God has no fear of anything unlovely bad or ugly that may pull up on its monitors. When I see someone disengaging and closing themselves off with the explanations that they are discerning a bad spirit, or they are discerning spirits. I say that I don’t see the fruit of the Holy Spirit in that response. Unless the person with this gift of discernment is very immature and needs to grow in the Lord, otherwise I would say you are very intuitive, and picking things up in your human spirit, that you don’t know what to do with. And that’s alright it’s a coping mechanism, it is a thing that was developed out of trauma, to keep you from being wounded again, but if it is not sanctified, it can be the devil’s tool to isolate you in your life and keep you from others in the body of Christ, or only those you are comfortable with. When it is announced as the God given gift of discernment, then that is unfortunate. Because, people can be led astray by soulish superpowers, not given over to God. We’ve got to lay down these heavy coats of fear, and pride. Die to our self once and for all. Put on Joy, put on peace, put on love. Put off fear, superstition, and suspicion. Trust Jesus when He said, if they hated me, they would hate you also! You can’t take it personal it comes with the territory.

Be reachable and teachable. Love again, live again, be again, Alive!

In the late 90’s after a life altering set of circumstances changed everything in our family’s world there was a subtle shift that took place in me that took me a while to notice, while I was in a new state (headlong into a new career that required lengthy hours and a greater level of responsibility) I used that as an excuse to step back and reboot spiritually in my life, but in doing so, I neglected to notice the effort a new found sister in the Lord was making in order to fellowship with me. Turning down several invitations to join her prayer group, and special meetings she had in her home. Until, one day after making another attempt to reach out to me, and me again saying no, she teared up and said, “I’m just trying to find a way to establish a friendship with you, I’m sorry, I won’t ask again.” When I reflected on that conversation that evening and the days after, I spoke to my husband about it and deeply regretted the many times we both had turned down invitations in that season in our life to meet with others and get to know people in our new town. We decided to always say yes to hospitality. To never again turn down a reasonable invitation to get to know people, that were trying to get to know us. We had always been the ones to invite others to our home, even live with us over the years, opening our homes to prayer meetings, youth meetings, bible studies, gatherings of various types. But, now that things had changed for us so abruptly and we were in a different place in our lives, we needed to be just as open the other way around. Not everything is going to be in our court in life. Sometimes we have to trust the motives and care of others who make room in their busy lives to invite us in. Or, who makes an effort to send us an invitation. I often wonder to this day what it would have been like for me had I accepted this new sister’s invitation to join her house meetings. Who would I have met, what would life had been for us had we let more into our lives at that time? We will never know, I’m glad we made the conscious effort to change that. We were immediately tested on our resolve to except invitations when they came, but I’m glad it broke the desire to ‘isolate’ off of us. You see, when we are the recipient of an invitation, especially from the family of God, it is no different than a blood relation reaching out to us to spend time with them. The difference is that the Holy Spirit is seeking unity among the Body of Christ, and His doing so has a purpose and plan in it that connects us to greater opportunities and growth in our life. See The Connector Anointing.

Philippians 3:13-21

Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus!

A man who isolates himself seeks his own desires and rages against sound wisdom. Proverbs 18:1

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I see myself in many parts of this article and I want to get out of the weeds of living with a wounded spirit. I release to you all the pain of my past and all the misunderstandings, and spiritual abuse, that I have been subjected to, along with the persecution and pushback from broken people that have not understood my walk in you. Holy Spirit come in and wash out all the encounters that were rude, demeaning, and unloving, that I have suffered; the rejections and the betrayals that have marked me in my life in ways I may not even know. I do now bring to you those that come to mind that I need to forgive, and I do so as an act of obedience because I want to please you. I let go and cling to you and your leading in my life. I put my trust in you, to live again, love again, and be again- alive! Renew an upright spirit with in me. I repent of ever using you as the reason to disengage with others when that was not the case.  I ask you to shed your love abroad in my heart that I would love past my own fears, and lay down spiritual pride, because the prideful and cowardly cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. I renounce all evil spirits that have had a foothold in my life because of these things. Spirits of rejection that influence behaviors that invite rejection I renounce, familiar spirits I cast out working with the spirit of rejection and all demonic influences, go! I am a child of God. Wounded spirit come out, by His stripes I am healed. I decree according to His word He bore my griefs and sorrows, he was wounded by my transgressions, bruised by my iniquities, the chastisement of my peace was upon Him, and by his stripes I am healed, according to Isaiah 53. Thank you, Lord, for hearing my prayer. May the angels that minister to the heirs of salvation enforce the commands I have commanded this day, that all demonic influences regarding these matters are forever removed from me, in Jesus’ name. Amen

Cycling Root Systems, Stop!