When He rescues us from Lies

God is taking us into the fullness of the Truth.  God wants us to see the world accurately, and to know how He thinks of things.  What is the truth?  The truth is that Jesus died to save us.  The truth is that forgiveness always follows repentance.  The truth is that God is good, and that He is faithful to love us.

"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."  John 8:32

This is spiritual milk, but we need to crave it nonetheless (1 Peter 2:2).  If we really know the truth, God will take us unto spiritual maturity.  If we retain Him in our knowledge, He will be faithful to take us from strength to strength.

But some things aren't so clear cut.  Sometimes discerning the perfect will of God can be hard.  We need to be given more faith before we can see more of what He sees.  More faith is needed!  So if we need to be given revelation, God first gives us greater faith.

Faith allows us to see more of what He sees.  If I have great faith, I can see clearly, I can discern clearly, and I can prophecy clearly.  Not all things are spiritual milk, but we still need to know how these things appear to God.  Sometimes in struggling on spiritual meat, we will lose focus and forget the basics.  And sometimes we fall out of faith.

Discernment can be a hard thing.  Knowing His will can be very confusing, and can weaken our faith to the extent that we believe the truth to be a lie.

"Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter."  Isaiah 5:20

This is what satan does, and this is what his followers do.  This is what anyone, even a believer, can fall into when they lose faith.  This is a result of spiritual warfare, and we need to combat it with the armor of God.  We need to retain the shield of faith, and we need to look to God.  With His protection, we WILL withstand the schemes of the enemy.  We need a revelation from God to stay in the truth.  We need Him to make the word real to us.

A few days ago I was being taken through all these things.  Testing, testing testing...refinement, refinement, refinement.

"Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them."  Isaiah 30:20

So God is faithful to take us out of that pit, that doubt and confusion that the enemy brings in.  He is faithful to rescue.  He is greater than our hearts, and He knows all things.  Even if we are faithless, He is faithful (2 Timothy 2:13).  That's a beautiful thing.  God brought me to this passage of scripture, which I thought was so interesting.  He really is greater than our thoughts.  And our salvation truly is greater than our feelings.

Wherefore hear the word of Jehovah, ye scoffers, that rule this people that is in Jerusalem:

Because ye have said, "We have made a covenant with death, and with Sheol are we at agreement; 

when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us; for we have made lies our 

refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves": therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah, 

"Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner -stone of sure 

foundation:   he that believeth shall not be in haste.  And I will make justice the line, and righteousness 

the plummet; and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding-place.

And your covenant with death shall be annulled, and your agreement with Sheol shall not stand; 

when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it."

Isaiah 28:14-18

Even when we align our thoughts with the enemies', even when we mistake light for darkness, God will break through.  He is our strength, and He will be faithful to take us out of death.  Even if we claim to be fallen, He will prove to us the truth.  With the waters of His Spirit and with His truth, He will overcome the enemy.  He will sweep away our negative strongholds and give us a firm foundation.  He will annul our sin, our "covenant with death", and make our foundation stand firm in Jesus.  Glory to God!

Asking for His Details

I was asking God for a few things in prayer earlier today... and decided to play some worshipful music on my Kindle while getting some things done.  As I was getting the music set up, a YouTube add came up which said:  "Ask More, Get More".  This was quickened to me because it happened synchronistically with my prayer.

"Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son"  John 14:13

If we abide in Him, this will be obvious in our lives.  Because when we abide in Him, our will is replaced by His.  When we abide in Him, we are led to pray His Kingdom down, just as it is in Heaven (Matthew 6:10).  And if we ask in prayer for His Will and His Kingdom, He will surely give it!

But we need to ask.  Even more than that, we need to live in a hungering for His Will that results in our asking.  Smith Wigglesworth said that asking is receiving.  But this is only true if we are walking really close to God.  He is waiting for us to ask, and He is waiting for us to receive.  He is waiting for us to stop and consider the very BEST for our lives...and that requires searching for His perfect Will.  God wants to guide us continually (Isaiah 58:11).  Are we willing to surrender all and long for His desires?

Confirmed:  There was a new Rhema Word on the Quickened Word website today.  Here it is.  As I've gotten close to God, I've realized that He is really into the details.  He wants everything, even the little things..  He desires everything, because all things are His, and He will not turn down an opportunity to glorify Himself.  His name is majestic in all the earth (Psalms 8:1).  This article goes into that very well.

God wants to bless every aspect of our lives.  But He can only do that if we are living for Him.  He will only :guide us continually" if we are seeking His Will and praying into it.  The more we ask Him, the more we get direction.  And the more we can receive Holy direction, the more we can please Him and rise above this world.  But we need to seek Him intently and not for selfish reasons.

"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--His good, pleasing and perfect will."  Romans 12:2

If we are set apart from the world, we can receive downloads of God with clear filters.  God's Word has already been planted in our hearts, but it cannot mature unless we have been sanctified.  So we are sanctified, we pray His Will into manifestation, and we receive a mind in tune with the Spirit and the perfect Will of God.

Finding God's Will is an art more than a science.  We have to be equipped to test it.  We have to strive for His PERFECT Will.  God wants the best for us.  We need to do our best to follow Him.  It takes purpose and purity of heart to see what He wants.  We need to become more pure, in order to plunge deeper into spiritual things.  We should be able to discern God's thoughts on all areas of our lives.  Why not?  Our vision will take on His own if we abide in Him, if we are pure.

God delights in every detail of our lives (see Psalm 37:23 on that Quickened Word post).  Yes, every detail.  The problem is that many are still learning the basics of God over and over and over again.  So many need to stay confined to spiritual milk because they choose to live with minds fixated on this world.  Why not pay the price for spiritual meat? (See 1 Corinthians 3)

Our God is willing, our God is able, our God is mighty.  He is mighty to save and sanctify EVERY part of our lives.  He is not willing for any of our works to be burnt up.  But we can only please Him in everything if we deeply abide in Him.  If we abide in Him, we will find that salvation is a full experience.  Let's seek God for every aspect of His Will.

Let's ask Him for every single detail.  Let's choose the very best path, so that He can delight in us.  Do you know when God wants you to wake up tomorrow?  If not, what does He think about the way you dress?  Does He want you to pray for a particular neighbor?  Does He want you to live where you do?  Do not expect to discern these things if you are living in the world.  We can only see a larger part (see 1 Corinthians 13) if we have taken on His purity.  It takes a transformed mind and a walk in His Spirit to please Him in all.  Let's commit to this.

Remember, God want to guide you continually.  He wants you to enjoy favor in all things you do.  There is a price to pay, but it is worth it.  Entering the fullness of salvation is worthy of counting the cost.  Put Him first, and He will direct you.

Confirmed 12/15:  This post is a confirmation of the "asking" theme.  Like the post says, never be afraid to ask for directions!  Vanessa and I like to call them 'navigational commands'.  We need to ask if we want to receive fully.

Snapshot: Back to the Basics

In Church yesterday, The Lord brought to mind the phrase, "Back to the basics".  At the time I was deep into doubt, and He showed me the Way to surrender this.  Back to the basics--everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

We had communion next, and at that point the Lord gave me comfort.  I had become fearful of communion as a result of this warfare, so God met me where I was at.  Feeling led to do so, I did not take communion.  I sat in my seat, dwelling on His sureness, and being reassured by His Love.  Back to the basics.

I "happened" to prepare a coffee and milk mixture in a thermos for the service.  I remained seated as others went up for communion, sipping this milk mixture.  I was being nourished, knowing that neither traditions nor the opinions of others mattered.  God's faith was being expressed through His Love.  I was craving "pure spiritual milk", and He gave it (1 Peter 2:2).

Sometimes we need to remember the basics.  During the next part of our sermon, our pastor delivered a word, saying we needed to "get back to the basics".  I've said this many times before, but it can't be exaggerated--God is so faithful to confirm a message that is from Himself.

Say yes to God's Love.  Crave spiritual milk without shame...there is a time for strong meat, but often we just need to get back to the basics.