Category: Holy Spirit

Categories
Getting Help Holy Spirit Joy

Bootstrap as Holy Spirit

I have a friend, Debi Mealey Pitcairn Flory, http://www.monentswithnettie.com/, who just inspired me with a previously unknown Name for Holy Spirit.

Like some wounded people, I thought I was doing stuff by myself, for myself. I believed no one else was helping me.

She had pulled herself up by her bootstrap many times. As I have done, though I did not use the word “bootstrap”. We each thought we were doing things by ourselves, for ourselves, and were caught in the illusion that we had been alone, doing what needed to be done.

I have made a wonderful discovery. My friend pulled back the curtain on this issue for me. Opened the curtain to show what I had never noticed before.

When I had thought I was doing stuff for myself because I had to and no one else was there to help me, Bootstrap was already there – has always been here. Helping me – Bootstrap is a Helper, not a “Do it for you-er”. Bootstrap, Holy Spirit, was always already present and helping.

I have discovered I was never alone. Holy Spirit has always been here, helping, including helping me to do things – even when I thought I was alone.

Holy Spirit was always here, sent by Jesus – to help guide and comfort me. To help.

Father sent Jesus, and is with me and for me, cheering me on like any wonderful father, as I keep on trying. Certain that I can do all the wonderful things I am made to grow into and do. I can do it! I can do it! He is cheering me on, always. He knew from before the beginning and has always had excellent plans for me.

A big thanks to my friend, Debi Mealey Pitcairn Flory, http://www.monentswithnettie.com/, for uncovering this mystery. And to Bootstrap, who has helped make all this possible.

Categories
Healing Holy Spirit Joy Kingdom of God Pain

You Are Restored

A New Person — Tatiana Syrikova – Unsplash

Life has wounded you – too many times! You hurt inside, because we live in a broken world. A world full of many kinds of trouble.

Jesus has restored you. Completely. Will you take joy in this?

If you live in the Kingdom of God, this is already true for you: you have been and are completely restored. In fact, you’ve even been made better than you were before.

If you do not yet live in the Kingdom of God, begin now. It’s a simple thing once you hear it and when the truth of it resonates deeply in you.

Then you discover that Jesus has actually already restored you. A wonderful discovery for you to make.

This is just a fact. But, for you to experience this as fully and completely as you can, there is a condition:

You trust, rely and really depend on your Restoration more than you trust and depend on old injuries. You trust Jesus more than you trust the Adversary or in a horribly broken world. And more than you trust old injuries.

Will you do this? (You may have habits of trusting injuries and brokenness more than your Restoration to Wholeness and Joy.)

Want some hints on how to do this even better? I’m glad you asked. Here are some especially uncomplicated ways to accomplish this (life is easy when you are doing these things – hard when you do not). Try them one at a time and discover which you are best at, which is most easy and effective for you.

  • Follow or walk in line with Holy Spirit. You will experience Fruit of the Spirit, including love and joy. (See Galations 5:16-25.)
  • Be full of Holy Spirit. Ask for more and receive by faith.
  • Put the right standing with God and the Kingdom of God first. This will re-align all your values in the present moment, and you will be much more in tune with the Kingdom of God.
  • Love God with all your heart, soul and strength. Allow God’s love for you to spill over to others.
  • Trust God and resist evil. In fact, draw closer to God and resist evil: a simple two direction move that will give you freedom and joy!

When you are experiencing God – as Jesus, Holy Spirit, Father – or all of these Persons of the Trinity – and you realize that Jesus is near (that’s why one of his names is Immanuel – God with us), or realize that Holy Spirit actually already lives inside of you, or how much Father loves you and has had good plans for you before the beginning – when you realize and rejoice in the nearness of God or God’s life already in you — life is easier, joyful and you are whole.

Your New Person, created by God as you came into the Kingdom, is already whole and complete and fully restored. Experience this! It’s a glorious way to live.

It is your Old Self that has the wounds and injuries. (Not you.) This is who died when you were born again. Don’t you dare live out of your dead Old Self when you can live out of your resurrected New Person!

Your New Person has no wounds. Your New Person – the real and alive “you” already has Holy Spirit – your Comforter, Guide and your Advocate for when you are being accused.

You have been completely restored, and more. Rejoice! (It’s a choice. An outstanding choice! Don’t be tricked by habits or a broken world or by the devil into living out of injuries that aren’t even alive – aren’t even really yours any more.)

Rejoice! A most excellent way to be living!

Categories
Holy Spirit Intercession Ministry Miracles

A Secret to Powerful Ministry

There are a few secrets to powerful ministry. This is one.

I am surprised & delighted at how many powerful ministries do this.

When I remember to get this done, even a little, my ministry is stronger, better, more powerful. I am more gifted and smarter. The people I serve pull out the best in me so well they help me do my best – better than I knew I could do. I learn a lot through the people I am ministering to.

It’s simple. Prayer support. The more prayer support the better!

Here are some ideas about how to do this:

  • Jesus sent people in pairs to minister, and he gave us this standard. You minister with someone else; this is how you normally do ministry with the standard set by Jesus. So while one talks, the other prays – for the person ministering. That Holy Spirit inspires and helps.
  • When you go somewhere to minister, have your personal and ministry intercessor teams pray for you and your ministry. You and your family are more safe when prayed for. Ministry is more powerful, effective and inspired when you prayed for.
  • At a place of ministry, have intercessors. Always, always, always have a ministry prayer team. If no one else, have your ministry partner pray. Add people who are there already. Even non-believers. (Doing this plants powerful seeds in non-believers.)
  • When teaching in a local church or elsewhere, ask some to intercede for you. Ask everyone to pray for you also, that you minister with more inspiration, love and power.

Many of us expect that intercessors should pray for the person being ministered to. My experience and that of some I’ve learned from tells me it’s most effective that the power of prayer goes through you to the person being ministered to. Explore this and find out for yourself.

Categories
Healing Holy Spirit Jesus Preaching Journal Key Article Kingdom of God Ministry

The Gospel Process

There is a process to the Gospel of the Kingdom of God that Jesus teaches.

This process makes ministering with power, faith and love – easier. Knowing this process, you are more than clear about what to do next. Also, how to help someone take that next step.

I call this The Gospel Process.

The Gospel Process underlies the structure of how Jesus Ministered. He taught the Good News of the Kingdom of God. But preaching or teaching that Gospel is not the underlying process, although it uses that process. He often taught us to heal in that context. A context which changed the atmosphere, told an essential truth confirmed in listeners by Holy Spirit. Creating the atmosphere of the Anointed, his Anointing, and the Kingdom of Heaven.

If you want to minister more like Jesus, learn The Gospel Process and put it to work when you minister. When your ministry has been successful, you are probably already applying this process.

Like so much of what Jesus teaches & shows, this can work explicitly or implicitly. (You can look for and notice how he did this in Scriptures. You can learn a lot, especially if this is new to you and when you are ready to learn.)

Ministering healing and freeing people from unclean spirits is much more simple and easy when you understand The Gospel Process and allow it to work in and through your ministry.

The Gospel of the Kingdom of God taught in the shortest form in your bible is in Mark 1:15:

Now is the time, the Kingdom of God is at hand (within reach); repent (make a new and better God-oriented, Kingdom oriented decision) and believe (rely, trust, and depend upon the Kingdom of God – and our King).

This scripture reveals the process when you read and meditate on this description. The process looks something like this:

  • (Hear the Word of God, because faith comes by such hearing, with the help of Holy Spirit confirming that truth to our spirit: have faith!)
  • Now. The time has finally come, and the time is now. (No other time is available; only now.)
  • The time – a Kairos moment, a Divine Appointment, if you will accept it being said this way.
  • Make a new decision, turning from your old life and orienting totally around the King and the Kingdom (rule) of God.
  • Believe and trust in the King and his Kingdom.

Now…notice especially the actions, the inner actions of the person hearing and acting on this:

  • Hear God’s Word and choose faith.
  • Make a new decision that totally turns around your life. Turning away from how you’ve been to orienting completely towards your new and alternative way of living – towards the King and his Kingdom.
  • Trusts and believe in God and his Kingdom.

Put those inner actions together and you have a process.

The same process that underlies and is The Gospel Process:

  • Hear God’s word and choose to trust it, having faith. (Sometimes this is done implicitly, and that’s another article)
  • In healing, a person at some deep level decides to be healed, to accept healing. Like the hemorrhaging woman who was so determined to touch the hem of the garments of Jesus (his fringes, or tallis) and receive healing: bringing her faith into contact with his Anointing. Her determination was so single minded and great that it reminds me of the being single and not double minded as in James 1. She already had great faith and determination. (From an experiential point of view, it’s hard to tell any difference between great determination and faith.)
  • In exorcism, like the man who ran to the feet of Jesus before a legion of demons could overcome and prevent him, he ran to Jesus and fell at his feet. He already wanted to be freed! Jesus then used his authority and power (which he gave to his disciples and to us) to tell Legion to leave, and even how to leave.

In healing – with the help of Holy Spirit, faith, love, power and authority – already given by Jesus, we encourage and help someone decide to be healed (or decide to receive healing).

In exorcism, or freeing someone from one or more unclean spirits – with the help of Holy Spirit, faith, love, power and authority – already given by Jesus, we encourage and help someone decide to be freed healed (or decide to receive freedom).

So….

+In each case (healing or exorcism) we create an atmosphere of faith and the experience of the Presence of God (with Holy Spirit and by saying what God says so Holy Spirit can confirm this to the spirit of the person being helped) for God’s work to happen.

+We help or encourage them to make a new decision, orienting around God’s truth instead of orienting around their previous problems.

+To trust, rely on and believe in this new Kingdom of God reality. That is, to believe.

=This, put together, is The Gospel Process. It’s the same process that undergirds the Preaching or Teaching of the Good News of the Kingdom of God, and that works in creating a context for ministering healing or freedom.

I believe this is also true for cleansing lepers (a kind of healing, in my view) and for raising the dead – though I have not yet done these two things. I’m convinced that it’s the same Gospel Process at work.

Oh – and I did not yet mention that this same process undergirds the making of disciples. Again and again – from the first decision to follow Jesus and do what he said, to deciding to receive and act on every other moment of teaching.

The Gospel Process undergirds the entire (every step of) the Great Commission as in Matthew 28!

Now…review this. Follow the links and review what’s written on this page. And pray – talk with and listen to God. And meditate.

Get personal revelation about this through Holy Spirit. Write that revelation in your Journal. Whether it’s a Prayer Journal like mine, or any other journal for this. And if you do not have one, please start one.

And get your own personal revelation and insight on this. Then be a real disciple – apply what you are learning. And as you make other disciples or help disciple other disciples (or as you disciple each other) – share this and help them have their own revelation of this, too. And encourage them to apply what they are learning in their ministry.

Disciples perhaps for generations – and those healed or set free – will be glad for such powerful and effective ministry. Even if they do not know all the details of what happened and how you ministered with power, faith and with love.

Categories
Conversation with God Glory Hearing God Holy Spirit Presence of God

Hearing God Better – When, Where, Who, How?

A thing of huge value is to notice, learn, value and act on — is what helps you hear God better. And in helping you experience better his holy Presence. Who or what helps you better experience his Glory.

A close friend of mine does best with worship with music and dance. The more she worships, especially with music and dance – the better she is able to appreciate the Glory & Presence of God; and what God says to her.

I, on the other hand, prefer to worship in silence and awe. The more I am silent and attentive, the more Presence, and also the more Glory I experience. The more I hear from God.

Presence I notice more easily, like a lot of us, in a particular place. Just like the Presence of a person – or better yet, a Person!

I also especially do well in nature. Fields, woods, mountains, rivers, desert, it all speaks to me of God and I hear God more when in what I more easily notice as his Creation.

Music. Beauty of all kinds. Even dance!

I also love churches of all kinds. Where I can visit, enter, and spend time in prayer.

I have other friends who do exceptionally well when with other people. Especially worshiping people, or prophetically inclined people. When I am with such people, Holy Spirit just flows and flows….

Pay careful attention to and note what helps you experience more of God. You may be like me, and have several good ways that are inspiring and helpful for you.

The more ways that are good for you, the better. The more circumstances, places, & kinds of people can help you do better with experiencing God!

Utilize such places, circumstances and people – often!

You’ll be glad you did. So will God be. He’s waiting for you — now!

Categories
Conversation with God Discipleship Getting Help Hearing God Holy Spirit Journal Key Article Ministry Prayer

Get Guidance & Persist

Ask for Guidance. Best is to be full of Holy Spirit, first. Easier to notice and receive.

When you receive Guidance, make note of it. Best is to write it in your Prayer Journal or Conversation with God Journal, or Guidance Journal – best is with your own handwriting, but a computer will do.

Pray for your Guidance to succeed. That you will be faithful and follow through to see whatever is about is finished and complete.

Getting Guidance isn’t enough. We need to follow through. To complete what the Guidance is about. So praying for that is also a “best practice”.

Journal about your guidance. It’s an excellent way of supporting yourself, so you remember better and follow through.

An outstanding idea is to get support from people who want to encourage and support you and help you do what is valuable and important to you. Just because it is important and valuable to you.

If you do not have such support, go get some! You can even ask for Guidance how to best do this.

And – follow through. <warm grin>

Persist in following the Guidance gives you. The Guidance you receive is God telling you not only how to do something, but if you think about it or ask God – it’s also God telling you what to do. You have heard God’s “Voice” for this. It empowers you to do what God said to do. To do otherwise is to fail to do what God has asked you to do. Oops!

Persist. Until the doing of what you have asked for Guidance about – is complete and done. Finished!

Categories
Anointing Holy Spirit Kingdom of God

What is the Experience of the Anointing?

The human experience of the Anointing is of extraordinary value.

Jesus, in Luke 4, tells us what the Anointing is for. He quotes Isaiah 61 to do so; it’s that important. This is literally about the Good News (of the Kingdom of God, which Jesus preached).

Jesus was give the Holy Spirit for important purposes. Such as to bring the Good News (the Gospel). To heal the sick and free prisoners and captives. And much more. He was Anointed, he was Christ – which is a Greek transliteration for Anointed One.

See, the Anointing is the experience of Holy Spirit for a purpose. To set us free from the schemes of the devil, to minister with power and love. Go read Luke 4 or Isaiah 61.

The human experience of the Anointing is Holy Spirit given for Father’s purposes. For the purposes of the Mission of Jesus.

Good theology can clarify many other valuable things about the Anointing. What the human experience of the Anointing is, though, is Holy Spirit for a purpose.

You can ask for an Anointing for something any time. For any good purpose of God’s. God is good, generous, and wise. And loves to empower you to do what God wants. Always!

There is one Anointed, Jesus the Anointed. He has one Anointing, not several. There is one Anointing. So when you have the Anointing of Jesus, you have his holy and singular Anointing. You have it all.

And there are important implications that arise from this, despite well intended traditions made up by humans. We we will explore some of these later.

Categories
Conversation with God Discipleship Getting Help Hearing God Holy Spirit

Hearing God Better – What’s Most Important?

What is most important in hearing God well, and in having good conversations (prayer) with God?

Is it buying more books or going to more conferences to learn how to hear God? These can help. And yet, there is one thing that will make hearing from God and being able to have good conversations with God much, much easier. And this thing is easy to do. And it’s not the usual advice – this may at first come as a bit of a surprise – but then be obvious by hindsight:

It’s being more full of Holy Spirit.

When you are more full of Holy Spirit, being able to converse with God is not hard, and is not a problem at all.

Some people teach that a person who has not been born again and who does not thus have Holy Spirit in them cannot hear God. I do not agree. After all, how else is faith enough to be born again come to come to someone except by hearing God?

So we can all hear God – if we are ready. Whether born again or not.

God prepared me for years so that when I heard a certain evangelist sharing how to be born again, I heard confirmation from whom I now know to be Holy Spirit. Who confirmed to me that what this man was telling me was what God was saying to me. And I knew this was God confirming; which gave me necessary faith. And I had been hearing from Holy Spirit for years, without being clear about who I was hearing. I was kept safe many times…. Being born again led to amazing love – but that’s a story for another time.

Here’s the thing. If you want to hear more from God and to converse more effectively, there is one thing you can do. Ask for more of Holy Spirit for this purpose. You will be equipped and given exactly what you need. Just ask, and by faith, receive.

There may be no drama as you receive more of Holy Spirit for healing and communicating with God better. You may not even notice you are having an attitude adjustment if needed – or you might notice, if God wants you to notice. Either way, Holy Spirit will help and guide you into better conversation with God.

When you need to learn something new, your Teacher will guide you. When you need help, your Helper will help you. When you need comfort, your Comforter will help. When you need help with devilish thoughts or accusations, your Advocate will help. When you need help with Gifts of the Spirit or with Fruit of the Spirit – Holy Spirit delivers generously. Intimacy with Father – Holy Spirit helps. Want to live more and better out of your New Self – Holy Spirit is key. Minister more lovingly and powerfully – Holy Spirit for a Purpose helps. Conversations with Jesus – Holy Spirit especially loves to help. With whatever is needed.

Just ask with and receive by faith; and it only takes a teeny amount of faith – like a mustard seed, as Jesus has told us. So worry not about this, just do it.

Ask for more of Holy Spirit so you can converse better with God. And God, who is generous, will be wonderfully glad to help you, and will give you good gifts.

Categories
Conversation with God Discipleship Hearing God Holy Spirit Journal Prayer Prayer, Intercession, Angels,

Conversations with God – Fast & Slow

Some conversations with God are really fast. Only taking a moment. Like when you are reading scripture and a passage speaks to you more personally and more deeply. Or when Holy Spirit pulls you up short with a correction. And your answer is a wordless – or maybe with actual words, maybe something like, “Yes, Lord!”

Other conversations are slower and can go on for months or years. As when God brings us back to a particular scripture time and time again. These are usually topics of great learning and deep transformation over time. At other times, you may have a back and forth conversation with God where you are led and learn more gradually – over a longer period of time. There is a lot God has to say, and he speaks to you, one key notion at a time, over a long period of time. The conversation can cover many topics, even. Like a long walk in the rolling hills where the grass and trees are fresh and full of life.

Once I had asked to go west, to the western United States. I had asked strongly and repeatedly. I asked many, many times. Then I heard Still Small Voice say, translated into words, “Not yet!”. I had no idea Still Small Voice could be so loud and so definite.

God has taught me on particular subjects that go on for months, pointing out various things to me. Such as his teaching me about the Kingdom of God. We keep coming back to that, again and again. Sometimes there is no conversation on the subject for a while, at other times the subject is picked up again and he shows me new things, or he reminds me of previous lessons. A lot of my learning is this way.

I keep a Prayer Journal. A record of our conversations, often two way conversations. Reviewing these brings me valuable lessons back to mind again, it’s too easy to forget or lose track of key ideas. Writing also helps make the conversations more real and definite than when they are just “in my head”. I recommend learning about and doing this. Perhaps we’ll explore this in this blog. In the meantime, you can go to cwgministries.org and look for his book or video series about hearing from God, conversations with God; and especially, “4 Keys to Hearing God’s Voice”, as an eBook or as a video series – offered on the same page.

Mark Virkler teaches that when we do all four of these things at the same time:

  1. Stop and be still.
  2. Look with the eyes of our heart towards Jesus
  3. Listen to what God says to us or shows us, especially through flowing thoughts, and
  4. Write down what we experience

He guarantees that we will hear from God or get our money back. Quite an encouraging guarantee!

Any area of your life where you let God freely operate and rule is part of the Kingdom of God. The King rules his Kingdom. This is my favorite place from which to hear God. His Kingdom is at hand – within reach. Now. Always.

If you are having a good conversation with God, especially a longer one over a greater period of time, you are probably having such a conversation inside of the Kingdom of God. You know what that’s like, then!

St. John had such a conversation, an unveiling. A showing. A revelation; it’s called the Book of Revelation. This will take a lot of time to study and study well. This will be a longer conversation.

See, the Kingdom is not a matter of eating and drinking – no, not of things like that. The Kingdom is standing rightly before God, in peace and joy in Holy Spirit. (See, Romans 14:17.)

God has already been talking to you and with you for a long time. Are you ready to notice and realize how this is true? Can you recognize and remember some of those “conversations”? Appreciate them? Maybe even take notes. Begin or continue with a Prayer Journal or a Conversations with God Journal, if you like. I encourage you to write daily. When you do, your life and your faith will grow and transform. I promise you. So…do such as this, and be sure to give thanks and rejoice!

Categories
Healing Hearing God Holy Spirit Intercession Kingdom of God Ministry Prayer Prayer, Intercession, Angels, Presence of God

Interceding from Within the Kingdom of God

When you pray from within the Kingdom of God – the place God rules from – which is now always within reach – literally. You pray from a place of Love, Power and Holy Spirit Guidance.

The Presence of our Lord is powerful. Within reach, always. The Glory of our Lord emanates from his holy Presence. Some see this as light, other times, missed, other times a weight – being weighed down.

This is a magnificent way to pray.

A lot of us have not thought to pray from here; yet once you consider this, it may be obvious that this is an outstanding thing to explore and learn about. And to do.

This is what Jesus did; and his prayers and commands for healing were – successful! Powerful. Full of compassion.

You can be this way, too. And hear and do what Father shows you, through Holy Spirit. Ministering more like Jesus.

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Some additional thoughts, in response to a request for more on this:

The Kingdom of God is the love, power and Presence of God ruling in a situation or place. Where there is righteousness and joy in Holy Spirit. This is always at reach, at hand rather. All you have to do is reach out in your spirit, your heart. God and his Kingdom are within reach. This is the Good News of the Kingdom of God.

The King is in his Kingdom, this is where Jesus is. You can call on his name, or ask for the other Comforter he sent, Holy Spirit. You have already Holy Spirit in you.

You can always ask for more of Holy Spirit with sincerity – and receive by faith. Your experience may not be dramatic, but you receive more of Holy Spirit when you ask sincerely with faith, confidence and trust in God.

With more of Holy Spirit you can pray for others. You can ask how to pray and receive guidance for that.

Here’s an article about how to have such guidance for prayer, if you are interested and you can learn to minister more like Jesus — doing as Father says and shows. What a wonderful way to pray and minister!