Recently I've been thinking about how God pre destined our lives according to His purposes. (I've blogged a lot about this; just search the posts for "time" or "Ancient Paths" to find similar posts). My walk with God has been getting renewed recently. I'm learning that our faith requires a lot to be maintained. Spiritually, we're either getting better or getting worse. And I want to get better!
I've also been getting a lot of deja-vu recently. I feel God's heart behind the actions I take throughout my day, and I'm aware of His presence guiding me through this simulation phase we have to carry out here on earth. I can feel by the Spirit that my whole life is being guided towards sharing His Glory, in a way that He designated in the beginning! Glory to God! Some things only He can teach, and He will teach the truth of all things as we receive and abide in His anointing (1 John 2:27).
Yesterday I was reading a Bible handbook with notes on the whole of the scripture. The Lord guided me via random reading to a specific subtitle called, "Received Chronology".
And this was quickened to me, that we each receive an ideal life layout from God. We each receive that which is beautiful for our lives--we each are given a blueprint that is designed to bring God Glory. And we all have God offering to take us "from glory to glory" (2 Corinthians 3:18), if we just give our shortsighted ideas of optimal to Him first.
In other words, God gives all believers a "Received Chronology". He gives us all His best. He gives us life to the fullest, a life where we realize our position with Christ was established before the beginning of time. God wants to show us that He is guiding us in a plan that He ordained from the beginning. and while on this plan, He wants to give us confirmations that we are right on schedule. The closer I get to God, the more I have deja-vu. And God has ways to speak to all of us. There is truth in the saying, "there is nothing new under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 1:9). The closer I get to those Ancient Paths, the more I realize that timeless perspective.
Showing posts with label Synchronicity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Synchronicity. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Saturday, November 22, 2014
Synchronicity: The Ancient Paths
In the last post on synchronicity, I described how God pre-arranges our lives to meet His conditions. This can be observed by the occurrence of deja-vu that I believe is used by God as a confirmation. For me, deja-vu occurs when I am set up into God's will, and current situations trigger a pre-ordained memory. This happens because, in God's eyes, I am in the right place at the right time, traveling through the joy set before me (Hebrews 12:2).
Let's yield to the pathway that God has set out for us. Let's familiarize ourselves with how it feels to please Him, so that we know when His presence truly goes before us. Let's have no schedule or priorities outside of the things God approves. Let's worship The Lord our God, "and serve Him only" (Matthew 4:10).
"This is what the LORD says: 'Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, 'We will not walk in it.'" Jeremiah 6:16
There comes a time when we need to pause, see our lives through discerning eyes, and seek God for distinctive direction. The verse implies that, if we ask for the good way, we will be directed to it. If we ask, God will show us where to walk. Rest follows as we go along this ancient path, even though it leads us into new territory. Our path is an ancient one, because it was formed by the Creator before time began.
When on the ancient path, you experience a knowing God. You experience a oneness with Him that allows you to realize that He knew you from the beginning. You discover that from the start, He has pre-arranged the fullness of your walk with Him. His Word becomes ancient yet a new thing, and His everlasting life becomes apparent.
Walking humbly with God along this path is a thing He greatly desires; the goodness of which was revealed in the beginning (Micah 6:8). You experience peace and blessed assurance. And you will never forget all His benefits (Psalm 103:2)...one of which is plenty of synchronous confirmations of His love!
Let's yield to the pathway that God has set out for us. Let's familiarize ourselves with how it feels to please Him, so that we know when His presence truly goes before us. Let's have no schedule or priorities outside of the things God approves. Let's worship The Lord our God, "and serve Him only" (Matthew 4:10).
"This is what the LORD says: 'Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, 'We will not walk in it.'" Jeremiah 6:16
There comes a time when we need to pause, see our lives through discerning eyes, and seek God for distinctive direction. The verse implies that, if we ask for the good way, we will be directed to it. If we ask, God will show us where to walk. Rest follows as we go along this ancient path, even though it leads us into new territory. Our path is an ancient one, because it was formed by the Creator before time began.
When on the ancient path, you experience a knowing God. You experience a oneness with Him that allows you to realize that He knew you from the beginning. You discover that from the start, He has pre-arranged the fullness of your walk with Him. His Word becomes ancient yet a new thing, and His everlasting life becomes apparent.
Walking humbly with God along this path is a thing He greatly desires; the goodness of which was revealed in the beginning (Micah 6:8). You experience peace and blessed assurance. And you will never forget all His benefits (Psalm 103:2)...one of which is plenty of synchronous confirmations of His love!
Thursday, November 20, 2014
Synchronicity: Deja-vu
Another post on synchronicity, this time with mostly real life examples. Often God aligns our current perception of things with memories or dreams from our past. He does this with precision, which is possible because He's outside of time. When our current position in time revisits the qualities of an older version of events, deja-vu results. I think deja-vu is usually caused when present circumstances trigger a similar thing from our past to be strongly remembered. In short, my opinion is that deja-vu is the result of a sudden remembrance of formerly forgotten moments, in particular forgotten dreams.
If we are saved by God, it is because He pre-ordained it from the beginning. He had a mission for us since before our creation, and He divulged snippets of this calling to us in these present days. Dreams are a major way that God inspires us for our future. Many old testament prophets had powerful visions or dreams at the onset of their prophetic calling.
For me personally, I take deja-vu as quickly good sign. I feel it's from God's heart of love and designed to comfort, and I believe it's a part of being raised up [above time and circumstances] and set "in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:6). If we are set irrespective of time with Him, then it's likely He has given us distinctive times in this life when He has also set us high and provided an anchor of remembrance. These moments of deja-vu often have been produced by prior forgotten dreams.
When Vanessa and I are doing street ministry, we sometimes meet people who swore that they've seen us before. For some reason, this occurrence was especially pronounced in Springfield, MO this summer. We would be walking around, and multiple groups of people would say, "Didn't we just see you?" or even, "Weren't you just downtown?" In reality, we had never seen these people, nor had we been downtown yet. This happened most on the first day that Vanessa and I went downtown together, before we had arrived down there yet. I believe these people were experiencing something similar to deja-vu, and I believe they probably had dreamed about this situation prior to experiencing its physical manifestations in this present world. Either that, or God planted triggers in their subconscious minds that made them react strongly to seeing the two of us. Either way, we felt taken aback by this. God had aligned us with others and caused a pre-ordained re-awakening to happen in them as means of confirming Himself to us. As we thought about this, we felt blessed!
"Have you not heard? Long ago I did it, from ancient times I planned it. Now I have brought it to pass..." Isaiah 37:26
So God plans things well in advance, from the "what was". Now, in the "what is", He brings things to pass. And He gives us a measure of understanding that allows us to secure certain moments in time, and identify them as having eternal origins. Deja-vu comes in, being brought about by a synchronous merging of present time and dreams, which are often outside of time. I believe that God uses deja-vu as a marker to reveal to us the security we have walking along His path. As we walk in His will, deja-vu is one of many devices He can use to bring pre-ordained events to remembrance.
"Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them." Psalm 139:16
We obviously don't have all the insight into God's book for us, but as we "see in part", God can through deja-vu show us that His purposes and His story here on the earth has eternal sureness. Through the remembrance, by the Holy Spirit, of previously forgotten dreams, we can know that "The Lord is God" and realize what it means to have been created and narrated by Him.
"I knew you before I formed you in the womb; I set you apart for me..." Jeremiah 1:5
If we are saved by God, it is because He pre-ordained it from the beginning. He had a mission for us since before our creation, and He divulged snippets of this calling to us in these present days. Dreams are a major way that God inspires us for our future. Many old testament prophets had powerful visions or dreams at the onset of their prophetic calling.
For me personally, I take deja-vu as quickly good sign. I feel it's from God's heart of love and designed to comfort, and I believe it's a part of being raised up [above time and circumstances] and set "in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:6). If we are set irrespective of time with Him, then it's likely He has given us distinctive times in this life when He has also set us high and provided an anchor of remembrance. These moments of deja-vu often have been produced by prior forgotten dreams.
When Vanessa and I are doing street ministry, we sometimes meet people who swore that they've seen us before. For some reason, this occurrence was especially pronounced in Springfield, MO this summer. We would be walking around, and multiple groups of people would say, "Didn't we just see you?" or even, "Weren't you just downtown?" In reality, we had never seen these people, nor had we been downtown yet. This happened most on the first day that Vanessa and I went downtown together, before we had arrived down there yet. I believe these people were experiencing something similar to deja-vu, and I believe they probably had dreamed about this situation prior to experiencing its physical manifestations in this present world. Either that, or God planted triggers in their subconscious minds that made them react strongly to seeing the two of us. Either way, we felt taken aback by this. God had aligned us with others and caused a pre-ordained re-awakening to happen in them as means of confirming Himself to us. As we thought about this, we felt blessed!
"Have you not heard? Long ago I did it, from ancient times I planned it. Now I have brought it to pass..." Isaiah 37:26
So God plans things well in advance, from the "what was". Now, in the "what is", He brings things to pass. And He gives us a measure of understanding that allows us to secure certain moments in time, and identify them as having eternal origins. Deja-vu comes in, being brought about by a synchronous merging of present time and dreams, which are often outside of time. I believe that God uses deja-vu as a marker to reveal to us the security we have walking along His path. As we walk in His will, deja-vu is one of many devices He can use to bring pre-ordained events to remembrance.
"Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them." Psalm 139:16
We obviously don't have all the insight into God's book for us, but as we "see in part", God can through deja-vu show us that His purposes and His story here on the earth has eternal sureness. Through the remembrance, by the Holy Spirit, of previously forgotten dreams, we can know that "The Lord is God" and realize what it means to have been created and narrated by Him.
"I knew you before I formed you in the womb; I set you apart for me..." Jeremiah 1:5
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Synchronicity: How to Read The Word
God gave us His Word for many reasons. The Word is our hope and our encouragement, our "ever-present hope in times of trouble." We cannot forget or underestimate the Word. It is alive and active, and by the Holy Spirit it is made real to us.
The Bible gives us commands to keep us pure in the eyes of God, and it also gives us moment by moment direction. There are a few names for the Word's present-time guidance. I like to call this kind of direction "rhema" or "navigational commands". These things come from the Word as we read it led by the Holy Spirit.
So, how to get specific commands from the bible? There are certainly times when it's good to read long passages of scripture at once, but the Lord has given us faster ways to discern His answers to specific questions. When we are led by the Spirit and operating out of a place of faith, random bible reading is often miraculously on topic. Try randomly opening a bible up and you'll see what I mean. As long as we precede this by trust and reliance on God, He gives specific direction through the Word, in ways that are sometimes totally unrelated to the context of that scripture section.
For example, last night I had a warning-type dream. It related to discipline that was painful. I felt it was from God, and this dream really helped me understand His might in disciplining those He loves. His discipline, and His commands to stay blameless, are designed for our protection, "lest some worse thing happen". After asking for His help, I open up the Word to Proverbs 19:18:
"Chasten your son while there is hope, and do not set your heart on his destruction."
So this verse synchronously confirmed the topic and message of last night's dream. God is always faithful to His Word. The Bible is unlike any other book, and because of that, it is reliable to direct us when opened at random. So, often, I open my Bible at random and the first thing my eyes see totally relates to the day's events. Sometimes the first passage I read relates to things that happened just minutes ago. These synchronistic happenings are not just coincidences! No, those who are near God need to acknowledge His power (Isaiah 33:13).
In the last month or so, the Holy Spirit has been teaching me how to get specific instruction from God on behalf of others. I don't mean prophecy here, but more so selecting timely bible verses, that often have a prophetic meaning. It all starts by hearing God's voice. The further you go along with God, the less and less you can do things, even spiritual things, according to your own will.
This new method is very efficient, but like I said, it must be strongly guided by God. So, most mornings I seek God on behalf of my wife. I acknowledge His ability, and His power, and then open my Bible at random. I may have my eyes closed, and point to a spot on the page, before opening my eyes and reading the selected verse. Or, I might just "know" that I'm meant to keep my eyes open, and immediately look on near the top left corner of the page. Direction such as this is a benefit of "keeping in step" with the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:25).
Once again, distinct guidance is critical here! The Lord directs me when I do these random, finger-pointing readings...it is He that gives me protection and wisdom. Often He speaks with that "still, small voice" and tells me where to point my finger, which side of the page to gaze at, or where in the Word I should first open. When I do read as directed, God always gives me a passage whose message couldn't be a bit better. This is my one of my favorite ways to get specific direction from God.
"Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path." Psalm 119:105
The Word is a light for the feet, not a spotlight into the distant future. So many people miss this! The Word guides us step by step. If we could do more than just "see in part" (1 Corinthians 13:9), we would not need to fully rely on God, nor have faith in the unseen! The synchronistic things God directs to us often fall around our feet, as He turns our "darkness into light" and guides us moment by moment. God's Spirit aligns us with converging events, through the Word, that guide our path. Glory to God! He really is so creative. Synchronicity through the word keep us "in step" better than almost anything. Reading the Bible at random is such a faith builder. Like I said, though, we must begin reading in faith that "the Lord is God, shining upon us". Or else, we are in serious danger of our faith being hurt even more:
"...Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them." Matthew 13:12
So, let's read the word with faith to receive, and faith to believe the rhema word that God wants to speak. Let's desire clear and specific instruction, so that we can walk on His path for us, and not resort to lighting our own fires. Let's acknowledge God's power to move through synchronistic events, and give Him the Glory for it!
"For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen." Romans 11:36
The Bible gives us commands to keep us pure in the eyes of God, and it also gives us moment by moment direction. There are a few names for the Word's present-time guidance. I like to call this kind of direction "rhema" or "navigational commands". These things come from the Word as we read it led by the Holy Spirit.
So, how to get specific commands from the bible? There are certainly times when it's good to read long passages of scripture at once, but the Lord has given us faster ways to discern His answers to specific questions. When we are led by the Spirit and operating out of a place of faith, random bible reading is often miraculously on topic. Try randomly opening a bible up and you'll see what I mean. As long as we precede this by trust and reliance on God, He gives specific direction through the Word, in ways that are sometimes totally unrelated to the context of that scripture section.
For example, last night I had a warning-type dream. It related to discipline that was painful. I felt it was from God, and this dream really helped me understand His might in disciplining those He loves. His discipline, and His commands to stay blameless, are designed for our protection, "lest some worse thing happen". After asking for His help, I open up the Word to Proverbs 19:18:
"Chasten your son while there is hope, and do not set your heart on his destruction."
So this verse synchronously confirmed the topic and message of last night's dream. God is always faithful to His Word. The Bible is unlike any other book, and because of that, it is reliable to direct us when opened at random. So, often, I open my Bible at random and the first thing my eyes see totally relates to the day's events. Sometimes the first passage I read relates to things that happened just minutes ago. These synchronistic happenings are not just coincidences! No, those who are near God need to acknowledge His power (Isaiah 33:13).
In the last month or so, the Holy Spirit has been teaching me how to get specific instruction from God on behalf of others. I don't mean prophecy here, but more so selecting timely bible verses, that often have a prophetic meaning. It all starts by hearing God's voice. The further you go along with God, the less and less you can do things, even spiritual things, according to your own will.
This new method is very efficient, but like I said, it must be strongly guided by God. So, most mornings I seek God on behalf of my wife. I acknowledge His ability, and His power, and then open my Bible at random. I may have my eyes closed, and point to a spot on the page, before opening my eyes and reading the selected verse. Or, I might just "know" that I'm meant to keep my eyes open, and immediately look on near the top left corner of the page. Direction such as this is a benefit of "keeping in step" with the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:25).
Once again, distinct guidance is critical here! The Lord directs me when I do these random, finger-pointing readings...it is He that gives me protection and wisdom. Often He speaks with that "still, small voice" and tells me where to point my finger, which side of the page to gaze at, or where in the Word I should first open. When I do read as directed, God always gives me a passage whose message couldn't be a bit better. This is my one of my favorite ways to get specific direction from God.
"Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path." Psalm 119:105
The Word is a light for the feet, not a spotlight into the distant future. So many people miss this! The Word guides us step by step. If we could do more than just "see in part" (1 Corinthians 13:9), we would not need to fully rely on God, nor have faith in the unseen! The synchronistic things God directs to us often fall around our feet, as He turns our "darkness into light" and guides us moment by moment. God's Spirit aligns us with converging events, through the Word, that guide our path. Glory to God! He really is so creative. Synchronicity through the word keep us "in step" better than almost anything. Reading the Bible at random is such a faith builder. Like I said, though, we must begin reading in faith that "the Lord is God, shining upon us". Or else, we are in serious danger of our faith being hurt even more:
"...Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them." Matthew 13:12
So, let's read the word with faith to receive, and faith to believe the rhema word that God wants to speak. Let's desire clear and specific instruction, so that we can walk on His path for us, and not resort to lighting our own fires. Let's acknowledge God's power to move through synchronistic events, and give Him the Glory for it!
"For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen." Romans 11:36
Friday, November 7, 2014
Synchronicity: Prophecy Confirmed
As I said in prior posts, God can and does use synchronicity to confirm Himself. By bringing together an array of events, He can develop for us a new message, or confirm an older one. God's timing is perfect, and if we walk in His will, He can manufacture our future and bring to us aligning circumstances that show us the way.
Synchronicity in Group Prophecy
God uses synchronicity both to produce and confirm the prophetic Word. He validates Himself through bringing together the same messages to different people. When prophesying over someone in a group setting, God often brings to mind similar things to those doing the prophesying.
"...Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses." 2 Corinthians 13:1
While prophesying in a group setting, you will find that God always establishes a common theme. He gives a vision of a tree to one person, while giving the phrase, "oaks of righteousness" to another. He brings these things together in a synchronistic way. One person gets one puzzle peace, another gets a glimpse of the final project.
"For we know in part and we prophecy in part". 1 Corinthians 13:9
We also prophesy in accordance with the measure of faith God's given us. By demonstrating a recurring theme through synchronistic downloads into many people, God builds collective faith of the group. The body then can build off of itself and release deeper and more accurate words. This is because it takes faith to prophecy! Then comes a blessing from the Lord as "each matter is established". This blessing is of faith, and this faith permits the flow of convicting prophecies.
For example, many times in our prophetic group back in North Carolina, two people will receive the same vision, at the same time, and for the same person. God is so faithful to create, confirm, and carry out His Word.
"So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it." Isaiah 55:11
Synchronicity to confirm a Personal Prophecy
Even after a prophetic word is given, the person who receives it has to remain faithful to God and the implanted Word. It is the Holy Spirit who brings things to remembrance, and God will bring synchronous confirmations to us so that we can have hope for the future. God waters the Word in us, and feeds into the Holy Spirit, to give us faith and "the assurance of the things we hope for". Glory to God! Confirmational messages can be so fun.
For example, one day the Lord spoke to me about my wife. He said that today she would "always be right, no matter what". As it turns out, that day she introduced to me a controversial topic that I otherwise would've probably rejected. But God softened my heart, and renewed my mind, by bringing several confirmations of her opinion to my awareness. Because I was walking in His will, "the Word because flesh" and dwelt with me. God had His Hand in so many synchronous events that day..wherever I went--even if only to the grocery store--I received another sign that confirmed both His direction that morning and my wife's opinion.
"Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, 'This is the way you should go,' whether to the right or to the left." Isaiah 30:21
God's Spirit will only highlight synchronistic events if they bear witness with the Word. In other words, signs should confirm the bible, personal prophecies, or both! If they do not, we need to realize that we may be acting out of fear. Synchronicity cannot trump the Word of God. That being said, we serve an all-powerful God who enjoys directing all events towards His will. A series of unlikely events may just be God's way to give us hope in a past Word, as means of giving us hope in the future.
Synchronicity in Group Prophecy
God uses synchronicity both to produce and confirm the prophetic Word. He validates Himself through bringing together the same messages to different people. When prophesying over someone in a group setting, God often brings to mind similar things to those doing the prophesying.
"...Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses." 2 Corinthians 13:1
While prophesying in a group setting, you will find that God always establishes a common theme. He gives a vision of a tree to one person, while giving the phrase, "oaks of righteousness" to another. He brings these things together in a synchronistic way. One person gets one puzzle peace, another gets a glimpse of the final project.
"For we know in part and we prophecy in part". 1 Corinthians 13:9
We also prophesy in accordance with the measure of faith God's given us. By demonstrating a recurring theme through synchronistic downloads into many people, God builds collective faith of the group. The body then can build off of itself and release deeper and more accurate words. This is because it takes faith to prophecy! Then comes a blessing from the Lord as "each matter is established". This blessing is of faith, and this faith permits the flow of convicting prophecies.
For example, many times in our prophetic group back in North Carolina, two people will receive the same vision, at the same time, and for the same person. God is so faithful to create, confirm, and carry out His Word.
"So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it." Isaiah 55:11
Synchronicity to confirm a Personal Prophecy
Even after a prophetic word is given, the person who receives it has to remain faithful to God and the implanted Word. It is the Holy Spirit who brings things to remembrance, and God will bring synchronous confirmations to us so that we can have hope for the future. God waters the Word in us, and feeds into the Holy Spirit, to give us faith and "the assurance of the things we hope for". Glory to God! Confirmational messages can be so fun.
For example, one day the Lord spoke to me about my wife. He said that today she would "always be right, no matter what". As it turns out, that day she introduced to me a controversial topic that I otherwise would've probably rejected. But God softened my heart, and renewed my mind, by bringing several confirmations of her opinion to my awareness. Because I was walking in His will, "the Word because flesh" and dwelt with me. God had His Hand in so many synchronous events that day..wherever I went--even if only to the grocery store--I received another sign that confirmed both His direction that morning and my wife's opinion.
"Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, 'This is the way you should go,' whether to the right or to the left." Isaiah 30:21
God's Spirit will only highlight synchronistic events if they bear witness with the Word. In other words, signs should confirm the bible, personal prophecies, or both! If they do not, we need to realize that we may be acting out of fear. Synchronicity cannot trump the Word of God. That being said, we serve an all-powerful God who enjoys directing all events towards His will. A series of unlikely events may just be God's way to give us hope in a past Word, as means of giving us hope in the future.
Thursday, November 6, 2014
Synchronicity: Prayer Confirmed
As I've mentioned in previous posts, God often uses synchronicity, a series of alike yet independent events, to confirm His message. He uses it to speak to an individual, to aid in prophecy, and also to guide and confirm prayer. This post will look at synchronicity in prayer.
Sometimes the Lord gives me mental images or visions when praying. He gives me these to instruct my prayer. Often I don't know how to pray according to God's will, so the Holy Spirit demonstrates it to me in a way I can understand. These promptings are usually confirmed by synchronistic events. Everything is intended for His glory. If God created our conceptualization of time , who do you think He intended its usage for? His sons and daughters! Even events aligned in time should glorify God. Prayer becomes tangible as synchronicity confirms the responses of God on our behalf.
"Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities; for we know not what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
And He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because He maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God." Romans 8:26-27
The Spirit intercedes for us with wordless groans. I believe this is refers to tongues, as well as other things. I would consider visions a groaning of the Spirit. Why not? The Holy Spirit searches the mind of God, then reveals it to those entrusted, however He may please.
"For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding." 1 Corinthians 14:15-15
Visions give understanding and a "knowing" that aligns with God. What better way to keep mind and spirit fruitful. Visions can edify the person seeing them and other people, too. Our minds can stay fruitful as God in His Grace works with our prayers and shows us hidden things.
For example, before dinner I was praying with my wife and saw us wrapped up in a giant, pure garment. It wrapped itself around us slowly, from our feet up. I had a "knowing" that the garment was the loving-kindness of God, (to us a King James bible term) so my prayer was changed and I said, "God, thank you for wrapping yourself around us..." But I knew I needed to say more, so I continued, "...for wrapping us in your loving-kindness".
That prayer struck Vanessa and she told me that this morning that had prayed, "God, please wrap me in your love today". As a result she'd been joyful all day, even as God spoke through me to confirm her prayers. What a confirmation! God hears the prayers of those who have been made pure. He synchronized my words with what Vanessa had prayed many hours earlier. "And the Lord will give you a sign". He's so creative in manipulating believers who can be used as vessels. He is so faithful to grant prayers, even manipulating time to work "all for the good", so we can know He has heard us. Praise God!
Sometimes the Lord gives me mental images or visions when praying. He gives me these to instruct my prayer. Often I don't know how to pray according to God's will, so the Holy Spirit demonstrates it to me in a way I can understand. These promptings are usually confirmed by synchronistic events. Everything is intended for His glory. If God created our conceptualization of time , who do you think He intended its usage for? His sons and daughters! Even events aligned in time should glorify God. Prayer becomes tangible as synchronicity confirms the responses of God on our behalf.
"Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities; for we know not what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
And He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because He maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God." Romans 8:26-27
The Spirit intercedes for us with wordless groans. I believe this is refers to tongues, as well as other things. I would consider visions a groaning of the Spirit. Why not? The Holy Spirit searches the mind of God, then reveals it to those entrusted, however He may please.
"For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding." 1 Corinthians 14:15-15
Visions give understanding and a "knowing" that aligns with God. What better way to keep mind and spirit fruitful. Visions can edify the person seeing them and other people, too. Our minds can stay fruitful as God in His Grace works with our prayers and shows us hidden things.
For example, before dinner I was praying with my wife and saw us wrapped up in a giant, pure garment. It wrapped itself around us slowly, from our feet up. I had a "knowing" that the garment was the loving-kindness of God, (to us a King James bible term) so my prayer was changed and I said, "God, thank you for wrapping yourself around us..." But I knew I needed to say more, so I continued, "...for wrapping us in your loving-kindness".
That prayer struck Vanessa and she told me that this morning that had prayed, "God, please wrap me in your love today". As a result she'd been joyful all day, even as God spoke through me to confirm her prayers. What a confirmation! God hears the prayers of those who have been made pure. He synchronized my words with what Vanessa had prayed many hours earlier. "And the Lord will give you a sign". He's so creative in manipulating believers who can be used as vessels. He is so faithful to grant prayers, even manipulating time to work "all for the good", so we can know He has heard us. Praise God!
Synchronicity: God's Voice Confirmed
Often God speaks through synchronistic events. What is synchronicity? I'll define it as two or more "random" events that happen in close sequence and produce a tangible meaning. The Lord is outside of time, and often brings events together in the same moment in order to tell us something. These "coincidences" happen for a reason, in order to direct our thoughts or actions towards our God. In this post, I'll discuss two areas where synchronistic events can help us.
Synchronicity as a Personal Sign
"The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength." Isaiah 58:11
As we walk in God's will, He places events onto our path so that we can know and stay in the truth. Sometimes He provides so many confirmations that it gets overwhelming. Being wrapped up in God's faithful care is a good problem to have! God often moves these things into place just after they've been on our mind. How often have you been thinking and praying about something, only for God to answer with a series of uncanny events just after? These events are not random, nor just coincidence. They are the act of an all-powerful God who is Lord of both big things and small. They are navigational commands designed for us personally, by the One who created us. God cares about all aspects of us, no matter how insignificant they may seem to others.
In the Word we are instructed to not worry about "...what you will eat or drink". Instead of worrying, we ought to seek God! The command to "not worry" implies that God has a better way. The antidote for worry is trust and insight. Personally, God has instructed me through big things and small. I say this not to brag, but to show the intimacy and Love of God. He gives us clear instructions to erase our worldly burdens, not add to them. He's given me clear direction in so many areas, including the following:
-How to pray
-When to talk, and when not to
-How long I should sleep
-What to eat
-When to say, "yes" to an opportunity, and when not to. For example, what Church to attend
...And many more. And these navigational commands are usually synchronistic. For example, if I've been asking God about prayer, He'll direct me to the Lord's prayer in scripture, I'll talk to a member of Church group about the connection between faith and prayer, and I'll get a devotional email about the importance of prayer in a believer's life. If God's been speaking to me about the importance of worshiping through music, I'll hear my favorite Godly song, then get on Facebook and see an athletic add called, "Singing all the way to Victory". Prophetic Words are very often confirmed by future synchronistic events. I've taken to calling these events confirmations or signs, because they confirm God's Word or His promptings.
"Therefore the Lord Himself will give you the sign..." Isaiah 7:14
Synchronicity Through Others
When in community with other believers, God aligns hearts and minds to bring up similar topics. He uses synchronicity to uplift the body of believers. He brings the thoughts of many together to highlight a particular message. The early Christians worshiped God with "...one mind together..." They shared all these things, even their simple gratitude for food, by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is just the same today if we can stay in step with what God's doing.
I'll give an example of this, too. This kind of synchronicity usually involves bringing the same thoughts to remembrance, amid different individuals, at the same time. These thoughts can be spiritual or mundane, but their repetition is often by God's design. Today I was thinking about the humbling experiences the Lord has brought me through. He's taught me meekness and humility in ways that haven't always been pleasant. For one, I realized that for my whole life, I've had a strong dislike for people reading things I write. I've enjoyed writing, but the thought of others reading it used to leave me embarrassed and uneasy. I have not had much interest in getting attention for the things I write.
So I realized God has allowed this, so that my motives now, with this blog, can stay pure. After all, I can't afford to write this blog for myself. I want to please God with this, and I don't want my rewards to be burnt up. So I can see that God intended for me to have this attitude towards public writing, so that I wouldn't become prideful through it in the future. Anyways, I was thinking about this while doing some yardwork today..and pondered the pride that some Christians develop through their use by God. Afterwards, I was talking with my wife and she said that she was thinking about my humility yesterday morning. She knew that God had done the internal work for this, and recognized the harm that pride would do to our relationships with God and with each other.
I've seen more impressive synchronistic events happen via aligned thoughts, but this instance is one of the more recent ones I could think of. More on synchronicity to come in future posts.
"...then make my joy complete by being like minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and one of mind." Phillippians 2:2
Synchronicity as a Personal Sign
"The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength." Isaiah 58:11
As we walk in God's will, He places events onto our path so that we can know and stay in the truth. Sometimes He provides so many confirmations that it gets overwhelming. Being wrapped up in God's faithful care is a good problem to have! God often moves these things into place just after they've been on our mind. How often have you been thinking and praying about something, only for God to answer with a series of uncanny events just after? These events are not random, nor just coincidence. They are the act of an all-powerful God who is Lord of both big things and small. They are navigational commands designed for us personally, by the One who created us. God cares about all aspects of us, no matter how insignificant they may seem to others.
In the Word we are instructed to not worry about "...what you will eat or drink". Instead of worrying, we ought to seek God! The command to "not worry" implies that God has a better way. The antidote for worry is trust and insight. Personally, God has instructed me through big things and small. I say this not to brag, but to show the intimacy and Love of God. He gives us clear instructions to erase our worldly burdens, not add to them. He's given me clear direction in so many areas, including the following:
-How to pray
-When to talk, and when not to
-How long I should sleep
-What to eat
-When to say, "yes" to an opportunity, and when not to. For example, what Church to attend
...And many more. And these navigational commands are usually synchronistic. For example, if I've been asking God about prayer, He'll direct me to the Lord's prayer in scripture, I'll talk to a member of Church group about the connection between faith and prayer, and I'll get a devotional email about the importance of prayer in a believer's life. If God's been speaking to me about the importance of worshiping through music, I'll hear my favorite Godly song, then get on Facebook and see an athletic add called, "Singing all the way to Victory". Prophetic Words are very often confirmed by future synchronistic events. I've taken to calling these events confirmations or signs, because they confirm God's Word or His promptings.
"Therefore the Lord Himself will give you the sign..." Isaiah 7:14
Synchronicity Through Others
When in community with other believers, God aligns hearts and minds to bring up similar topics. He uses synchronicity to uplift the body of believers. He brings the thoughts of many together to highlight a particular message. The early Christians worshiped God with "...one mind together..." They shared all these things, even their simple gratitude for food, by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is just the same today if we can stay in step with what God's doing.
I'll give an example of this, too. This kind of synchronicity usually involves bringing the same thoughts to remembrance, amid different individuals, at the same time. These thoughts can be spiritual or mundane, but their repetition is often by God's design. Today I was thinking about the humbling experiences the Lord has brought me through. He's taught me meekness and humility in ways that haven't always been pleasant. For one, I realized that for my whole life, I've had a strong dislike for people reading things I write. I've enjoyed writing, but the thought of others reading it used to leave me embarrassed and uneasy. I have not had much interest in getting attention for the things I write.
So I realized God has allowed this, so that my motives now, with this blog, can stay pure. After all, I can't afford to write this blog for myself. I want to please God with this, and I don't want my rewards to be burnt up. So I can see that God intended for me to have this attitude towards public writing, so that I wouldn't become prideful through it in the future. Anyways, I was thinking about this while doing some yardwork today..and pondered the pride that some Christians develop through their use by God. Afterwards, I was talking with my wife and she said that she was thinking about my humility yesterday morning. She knew that God had done the internal work for this, and recognized the harm that pride would do to our relationships with God and with each other.
I've seen more impressive synchronistic events happen via aligned thoughts, but this instance is one of the more recent ones I could think of. More on synchronicity to come in future posts.
"...then make my joy complete by being like minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and one of mind." Phillippians 2:2
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