While in prayer one day, the Lord shared with me a parable, and I’d like to pass it on to you. He showed me a bamboo rake and then explained how it applied to our Christian life.

The rake handle is a lot like when God speaks a particular purpose into us, and we run with that promise as our single-minded focus. It becomes where we apply most of our effort. But a rake’s usefulness is not exclusive to the handle. In fact, how much can one handle do, all by itself? The actual value is in how the whole rake works together, from the handle on down to the multiple tines at the end of it.

It is easy to get so fixated on doing that one big thing the Lord spoke to us about that we don’t see all the other ways He wants us to serve Him. Think of that purpose He spoke about as the rake handle. Narrowly focusing on this “one thing” is common to many of us, but if we let it overly obsess us, we lose our contentment, think we aren’t very productive, and feel a gnawing dissatisfaction inside. It’s as though we put all our energies into getting somewhere, don’t notice the beautiful moments we could have enjoyed along the way, and after all that, when we arrive, the destination doesn’t look like we envisioned it anyway.

The truth is, God’s plan for us is made up of a variety of ways we are meant to serve Him — just like the rake tines fan out in an arc. But, did you notice how all the tines are banded together? They don’t really act separately from one another. They each do their individual job, but they also work as a group to get the complete job done.

I was caught in the one-focus trap quite a few years ago. I was putting all my energies into that one thing God had shown me. At the same time, however, I was experiencing frequent dreams at night where I was forever getting interrupted and delayed from fulfilling my “call” by people who needed me in the moment, especially elderly people. I was so frustrated with those dreams! But that’s exactly what happened.

Random people wanted my assistance in small ways, and I helped them however I could. Sometimes it was by providing encouragement when they were down, stopping in the middle of something else to pray for them, or simply listening. Sometimes it was physical aid they needed.

For several years, it literally became serving the elderly. My mom needed increasingly more care. When she eventually moved into a nursing home, I visited her there several times a week and got to know most of the other residents in her wing. I don’t exactly know how it happened, but I ended up encouraging them too, praying with them for healing, and even sharing with them how they could know Jesus. A caregiver told me I had a gift for connecting with older people. She even asked for my help in reaching out to a new resident.

It became a huge blessing to me to serve the very people whom I had seen in my dreams as interruptions to where I was going. Eventually, I recognized how important in God’s mind these small acts of kindness really were. They, too, were part of His plan for my life.

What’s the point of the parable?

Don’t limit yourself to that one calling the Lord may have spoken to you about. He has other purposes for you as well. They may be extensions of your main calling, such as leading people to Jesus wherever you are while you’re waiting until you can go to the mission field. (Hint: You already have a mission field in your present circumstances.)

Has God spoken to you about being a teacher of His Word, but you have school-age children at home who need your attention right now? You can begin fulfilling that calling to teach by instructing your young ones in knowing Jesus and His Word. (In fact, raising your children to be lovers of God may turn out to be the most important part of fulfilling your teaching ministry.)

Some of the things God gives you to do might seem at first glance to be entirely unrelated to your overall purpose. Yet God sees how they all fit together perfectly. Don’t allow yourself to be so focused on the big thing He spoke about that you miss His voice on other matters. It could be that the small ways you serve Him are the most important of all.

I’d like to leave you with a thought from Matthew 10:42 (BSB): Jesus said, “And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is My disciple, truly I tell you, he will never lose his reward.” 

Let’s make it a habit to keep our spiritual eyes and ears open to catch what the Spirit is asking us to do moment by moment. In doing so, we will be abundantly fruitful for Him.
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Character Building for Families

(For moms and dads who want to teach their children how to follow Jesus)

River Life: Entering into the Character of Jesus

(For individual or group study for adults or older teens)

The Dream Book: A Practical Guide to Christian Dream Interpretation

In our previous two posts, I covered whether prophecies can be conditional, are ever revoked by God, whether prophecy under the Old and New Covenants are handled the same, and how to stay safe (and smart) with prophetic messages people give to you. I’ll wrap up this series with a few final thoughts.

Are the gifts of the Spirit irrevocable, even if the ministers demonstrating them are living in sin?

Much of the confusion on this point comes from misapplication of Romans 11:29: “For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.” (Some translations say, “are irrevocable.”) This verse is commonly misused in apostolic/prophetic circles to say that even if people are living in deep sin, their anointing to teach, preach, or operate in spiritual gifts of prophecy, healing, word of knowledge, etc. are not taken away. It is used as an excuse to let them continue their ministry or to restore them back into it in spite of bad stuff they are doing.

The problem is, the context of that Romans 11 passage is about God’s sovereign call upon Israel as His chosen people and His plan to restore them back to Himself in the last days. It’s got nothing to do with people losing or not losing their ability to move in spiritual gifts.

So, do they, or don’t they, lose their gifts (or their “anointing”)? I have seen it work both ways. I’ve noticed certain leaders’ ability to minister in power suddenly fall flat, only to find out shortly thereafter that they had been living in hidden sin. Others came as a total surprise to me.

Think about Ravi Zacharias, who preached the gospel powerfully, even while carrying on immorally. Or healing evangelists who lay hands on people and they really get healed, even though the evangelists’ private lives are filled with gross darkness. Or prophets who continue to deliver accurate futuristic prophecies, in spite of living unholy lives.

Why does this happen? 1 Timothy 5:24 (NIV) tells us, “The sins of some are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them.” There are probably several reasons for this. One might be God’s patience in waiting for the sinful minister to come to repentance. He gives space for conviction to do its work. He alone knows when the point of no return has come in a person’s heart and it’s time to pull the plug on their power connection to the Spirit.

Another reason might be because God desires to meet people’s needs. I have watched worship leaders who were more concerned about their own glory than God’s, yet the Lord’s presence still manifested greatly during their worship sets. Why? In two different settings, I asked the Lord about this. He responded that He was not willing to disappoint the congregation’s hunger for Him. So, He came powerfully for the people, not because the worship leader had His approval.

It’s the same with healing. God is compassionate toward people who are sick. He heals them simply because they come to Him and because it is His nature to heal, not as a stamp of approval on the guy who laid hands on the sick folk and prayed.

How about preaching the good news? The apostle Paul said he rejoiced just because the gospel was being preached, even when the people preaching had wrong motives for doing so (Philippians 1:15-18). God has a history in the Bible, and since then, of sometimes using evil people to accomplish His pure purposes.

That does not mean, when we know something is wrong with a minister, that we should blithely ignore it and let them lay hands on us anyway. If you know they are in sin, avoid them. Don’t listen to their prophecies, accurate or not. Don’t absorb their teaching. Find someone of good character to pray for you for healing. God doesn’t have to use celebrities to do His work.

Indeed, some of these wicked ministers keep going in what can look real for a time, but it isn’t anymore. They’ve switched over into faking the gifts through trickery or have even given themselves over to the demonic realm to keep having power. This seems to be especially true with the gifts of knowledge and prophecy, so if you know someone is ungodly, or you feel uncomfortable with them speaking into your life, avoid them. Reject their words.

It is most unfortunate that we have come to revere supposed “anointing” more than character. This was never Jesus’ way. Consider His warning in Matthew 7:15-20:

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits.

Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so, every good tree brings forth good fruit, but a corrupt tree brings forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit; neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

Every tree that does not bring forth good fruit is cut down and cast into the fire. Therefore, by their fruits you will know them. 

Jesus expects us to use the discernment the Holy Spirit has given us, especially as we see the criteria for integrity in ministry so often mentioned in the Bible. Blindly accepting or following somebody just because we like their teaching, prophecies, or the chills and thrills of their supernatural demonstrations only leads us down dangerous paths.

I hope this series on prophecy has been helpful to you. If you have any questions or thoughts you would like to share, please leave a comment!

Part 1

Part 2
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The Dream Book: A Practical Guide to Christian Dream Interpretation

The Intercessor’s Companion: Bible Ammo to Win Your Battle

Last time, we talked about whether prophecies can be conditional and whether a true prophetic word can ever be revoked by God. Let’s continue with a few more questions:

Does New Testament prophecy follow the same “rules” as Old Testament prophecy?

No. Under the Old Covenant (before Jesus died and rose again), the prophets of God were expected to speak infallibly for Him. Their words often became part of the Bible, which is without error. Furthermore, the common man did not have the Holy Spirit inside to discern whether a prophecy was true.

Since the Holy Spirit has now been given to all believers, and we can all hear Him speak, prophecy is now handled somewhat differently. We can all prophesy (see 1 Corinthians 14:1, 31, 39), and we should desire to do so. He expects us as a corporate church body to test prophecy by His Word, to judge and discern it, to correct those who prophesy inaccurately, and, if possible, help them to grow in doing better.

We must also remember that when someone prophesies nowadays, what they say does not carry the same weight as Scripture. If a prophet today insinuates that his or her revelation is on a par with the Bible, they are in grave error. Yes, we still expect prophets today to be accurate and to have a real message from the Lord. But if they get things wrong several times, we’d better stop listening to them. We don’t stone them, but we do turn away from giving their utterances credence.

Did true prophets ever “miss it” in the Old Testament?

Some modern-day prophets teach that they did. They twist Scripture in order to justify inaccurate prophetic words today, but I don’t see any real examples of that in the Bible. If true prophets failed in prophecy, it is not recorded there.

Nathan presumptuously gave counsel to David to go ahead and build a temple. However, he did not present what he said as prophecy; it was his personal judgment. God quickly corrected him and sent Nathan with a prophetic word commanding David not to build the temple and promising that his son would legitimately do so.

In Part 1 of this series, I mentioned that Isaiah, Elijah, and Jonah gave prophetic words which God then rescinded or delayed, but these were not cases of them getting the prophecies wrong. Rather, God decided after the prophecy was spoken, due to people’s repentance and/or intercession, not to follow through on those words — and He clearly said so. In fact, that was the reason He gave those prophecies in the first place: to provoke to repentance and/or intercession.

Must I blindly trust and act on prophetic words I have been given by someone else?

You had better not! It is your responsibility to discern those words. They must line up with the Bible. They need to witness to your heart. Part of that witness is that you have a sense of peace inside that they are true words from God. Usually, they will confirm something you are already hearing or sensing from Him. If they involve a major change or decision in your life, they should not only witness to you, but they should be confirmed by other people, including through wise counsel.

May I add that in most cases, they should also line up with common sense? On rare occasions, God may call you to take a crazy step of faith that seems to not fit with common sense, but He will also give you unusual confirmation if that happens.

Don’t let someone browbeat you into, “I prophesied this to you, so if you don’t follow through, you are disobeying God.” Under the Old Covenant, when the prophets were the infallible mouthpiece of the Lord, that was the case, but it is not anymore.

But, what if they tell me an angel came and gave them this word for me?

2 Corinthians 11:14 warns us that Satan can pretend to be an angel of light. If someone pressures you to believe they had an angelic visitation on your behalf, don’t buy it. Putting the squeeze on you like that is a tactic of the devil. If God wanted to guide you via an angel, don’t you think He would do that directly, instead of through another person having the angelic encounter? Why wouldn’t He?

In 1 Kings 13, we have such a scenario. A young prophet from Judah had specific instructions from the Lord. He was supposed to go to Israel and release a prophecy. He was then to return home by a different road without eating or drinking along the way.

But an older prophet came to him and claimed to have new instructions for the young man which superseded the original directions God had given him. The older man said, “I am also a prophet, as you are. An angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord that you are to come home with me and eat with me.”

Although he appears to have been a prophet of the Lord, he was lying.

Unfortunately, the young prophet fell for it and ended up dead as a result. Why the older prophet chose to do this is a mystery, but we can learn a huge lesson from the story:
Listen to what God has told you, and don’t trust someone else’s contrary word over your own revelation.

Next time, I’ll wrap up this series by answering a few more questions you may have.
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The Spirit-Filled Guide to Personal Prophecy

The Intercessor’s Companion

Because of the mountain of abuse and exposure in apostolic/prophetic circles in the last couple of years, much confusion has arisen over the prophetic gifts. Some people have thrown out all prophecy because they have been so disillusioned.

Should we do that, to keep ourselves safe? No, the apostle Paul said, “Desire spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy,” and, “Desire to prophesy” (1 Corinthians 14:1, 39). We shouldn’t be afraid of prophecy. It is a gift from God to His Church. However, there are some things we need to know to stay safe.

Can the fulfillment of prophecy be conditional?

Yes and no. In the Bible, most prophecies either have already been fulfilled to the last iota or they will be. However, occasionally, God revoked a prophetic word due to intercession. He granted Hezekiah another fifteen years after Isaiah had said he was going to die very soon (Isaiah 38:1-5). Amos interceded and reversed two prophetic judgment words (Amos 7:1-6).

Sometimes, God delays judgment when people repent. Jonah prophesied that Nineveh would be destroyed in forty days, but because the city repented, the destruction came approximately 150 years later instead. Jonah did not “miss it” on the timing; God simply had compassion because the people repented. He delayed the fulfillment to a future generation.

After Naboth was murdered by Jezebel and Ahab so they could confiscate his vineyard, Elijah prophesied to Ahab that the dogs would lick his blood where they had licked Naboth’s. But when Ahab humbled himself (temporarily) before God, the Lord told Elijah that He would delay that judgment until Ahab’s son’s reign (1 Kings 21:17-29).

In the Bible and in modern times, God sometimes says, “If you will do this, then I will do that” — obviously a conditional word. But even without a clear “if/then” clause, a prophecy may not happen if you blow your life beyond repair. Let’s say someone prophesies that God plans to give you a career as a professional athlete. But before it happens, you go out, get uproariously drunk, have a car accident, and seriously wreck your body. End of your potential career as an athlete — but it is the result of your poor choice, not a faulty prophetic word.

However, if someone gives you a personal word such as, “I see a marvelous singing career ahead of you,” but you can’t carry a tune in a bucket, that “prophet” can’t get off with, “Well, he just didn’t go after it hard enough.” That’s not a conditional word: it’s a ridiculous one.

If you prophesy, “The Lord says this next election will be a landslide for [a particular candidate or party],” and it doesn’t happen, don’t hit the body of Christ over the head with, “You just didn’t pray enough for my word to be fulfilled.”

The “conditional nature” of prophecy has been used as a huge excuse for getting things wrong. Some words are conditional, but many are just plain bogus in the first place.

Does God ever revoke a prophecy?

Yes, but it is rare. God will revoke a prophecy about your destiny if you disqualify yourself.

Example: In 1 Samuel 2:12-36, we have the story of Eli, the high priest, and his wicked sons. The young men were dishonoring God and ripping off the people who came to the tabernacle to sacrifice by taking the best portions of the sacrifices for themselves. They were also being immoral with the women. Eli scolded his sons a bit, but did not remove them from being priests.

A prophet then spoke a dire word about the consequences of Eli’s inaction to him. He reminded Eli of the privilege and promises he and his family had enjoyed by being part of the priestly line. Then he outlined God’s grievance with Eli’s family for not fulfilling their duties in a holy way.

Verse 30 intrigues me: “Therefore, the LORD God of Israel says, ‘I said indeed that your house, and the house of your father, would walk before Me forever.’ But now the LORD says, ‘Be it far from Me: for those who honor Me, I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.'” He went on to detail the awful judgment that would come upon Eli’s sons and descendants. He said Eli’s sons would be cut off from the priesthood by both dying on the same day.

Notice those words in verse 30: “I said indeed that … but now ….” Eli’s family had gone too far, and what God had spoken as a forever word was revoked. The same can happen to us — but as I said, it is the rare exception.

In our day, what if God promised someone they were going to pastor a church, or be a prophet, or otherwise serve in ministry? But somewhere along the line they chose to be a spiritual or sexual abuser of people under their care? Do you think it would be unjust for God to revoke His promise to that person?

If I have messed up, can I still receive the fulfillment of a prophecy I veered from long ago?

Yes. Many prophecies can still happen, although most likely in a different way than you originally thought and after a delayed period of time. God will build your character while you wait.

When you think about it, since He sits outside of time and knows the entirety of how our life wlll go, including all the sinful choices we will make, there never really was a Plan B. It’s all mind-boggling to us!

So, pick up the pieces, put your hand in His, and carry on, trusting that He will still fulfill His plan for you and through you.

Next time, I’ll try to answer a few more questions about how prophecy works.
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The Spirit-Filled Guide to Personal Prophecy

The Dream Book: A Practical Guide to Christian Dream Interpretation

We tend to let things creep into our lives which crowd the Lord out. Distractions are a huge problem for most of us, especially in this digital age, when our phones are dinging constantly. Social and news media beckon to us with more information than ever before, more interesting people to follow, and hundreds of opinions to investigate, agree or disagree with, and comment on. Our personal hobbies contribute to the chaos as well. Some of us are consumed with other types of busyness — even church busyness.

Little by little, the Lord’s throne in our heart gets pushed more and more off-center to make room for it all. And if we’re not vigilant, before we know it, Jesus’ throne is not only no longer the central feature inside of us; it has been relegated to a shadowed corner.

You know, not everything belongs in a throne room. It is meant to be a place of reverence, the place where the King is seated, where we come to honor Him or make our petitions to Him, where no one and nothing else gets the attention. A throne room is never used as an overflow storage closet, either. Messy clutter? Not there.

Each of us must frequently take stock of our heart, Jesus’ throne room. Has His throne been edged a bit to the side? We need to immediately move it back into its rightful position. Are we junking up the room with distractions or glitzy trappings He never wanted to be there? Are we neglecting to show up for our daily appointments to meet with the King? Is something or someone else seated on the throne which is meant to be exclusively Christ’s chair? Are we maybe even casually sitting there ourselves? These are questions we need to honestly examine.

Perhaps it is time to clean it all up. King Hezekiah made it his priority to do exactly that with the temple in Jerusalem many centuries ago. In 2 Chronicles 29, we are told that in the first year of his reign, in the first month (v. 3), he commanded the Levites to clean out the neglected temple and sanctify it to the Lord once again. Verse 17 tells us that he did this on the first day of the first month. The temple was so filled with idols and other refuse that it took them eight days to clean from the inside of it to the outer porch, and another eight days to completely purify it (v. 17).

We see that Hezekiah lost no time, once he became king, in purifying the Lord’s temple. He made the Lord his number one priority. This was because “He trusted in the LORD God of Israel…. For he clung tightly to the LORD…” (2 Kings 18:5, 6).

It’s time to examine the state of God’s throne room — our heart — once again. Make Him the first priority, clean out the clutter of distractions and personal idols. And then be constantly vigilant to keep it clean and in good repair. He is worthy of whatever it takes.
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Before Whom We Stand:
The Everyman’s Guide to the Nature of God

River Life: Entering into the Character of Jesus

About twenty-five years ago, our then-pastor gave a sermon which mystified my husband and me. He said the Church and Jesus’ bride were two distinct things. The bride was going to be caught up to Him (raptured). The other? Not necessarily so. We didn’t get it. Our mindset was that the Church and the bride are the same (and they are, if we mean the true Church).

I understand now that our pastor was talking about the visible church (those who appear to be faithful followers, but many of whom may not really know the Lord at all) versus the real Church (those who truly love their Master, who know and obey His voice). 

In our day, we see new exposures almost daily of beloved, prominent leaders who have been secretly leading lives of grievous sin, while we all thought they were men and women of impeccable character. They taught, prophesied to, and healed multitudes, all the while being hireling shepherds (or even wolves!) in disguise. Furthermore, they protected each other’s heinous secrets to keep their organizations thriving, the money flowing, and their tightly-held power growing.

Many believers were fooled because they wowed us with their seeming spiritual gifts, but we neglected to heed Jesus’ admonishment, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. You will know them by their fruits…. (Matthew 7:15, 16). “Fruits” are Christlike character lived out in both public and private life. Too often, we were unaware of their secret lack of character, but it’s all coming out now. 

Well did Jesus say, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of My Father Who is in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name? And in Your name have we not cast out demons? And in Your name done many marvelous works?’

“Then I will profess to them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from Me, you workers of iniquity.'”
— Matthew 7:21-23.

Jesus also said, “I am the door” (John 10:7) and, “Enter in at the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad the way that leads to destruction, and many go in by it: because narrow is the gate and narrowly constricted the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:13, 14).

I recently had a couple of mini-visions during a prayer gathering in our home. I think it was in response to the overwhelm some of our intercessors were expressing about how out of control our world seems to be, both in the secular realm and in the Church.

I saw a small, green grassy area, enclosed by a white fence. I took this to mean that God has a protective enclosure for those of us who are truly His. We can trust Him to keep us safe. I was reminded of an old song with the words, “Jesus, be a fence all around me every day.” I believe it was a small area because Jesus said there would be few who would find their way there. This is Jesus’ sheepfold.

Next, I saw Jesus the Shepherd. His sheep were lined up in single file, and as they passed under His hand, He tapped each one lightly on the head. He seemed to be accounting for each one, making sure they were all His, making sure they were all there.

As I prayed about it, 2 Timothy 2:19 (KJV) came to mind: “…The Lord knows them that are His.” 

I think the picture of the sheep lined up in single file to pass under Jesus’ hand fits well with entering in by the narrow gate, or through “the door,” which is Jesus. Nobody gets to slip into the sheepfold unnoticed just because they look, sound, act, and smell like all the other sheep around them. Jesus knows each one individually, and He isn’t fooled. We are either His or we aren’t. He either knows us by name or He doesn’t know us at all.

If you know and love Jesus with all of your heart, you can count on Him to make sure you are among the number who make up His bride. You will be caught up to “meet the Lord in the air, and so shall you forever be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:17). Impressing Him with how much you have done for Him or your adeptness in the gifts of the Spirit is out of the question, because deeds and gifts mean nothing without your devotion. And if you are devoted to Him, you will quite naturally produce good fruit.

If you are not sure where you stand with Jesus, get it settled now with Him. Make sure He is not only in your life, but that He is your life. Make sure you don’t just fit in with the church crowd; be part of the real Church, the bride that Jesus is coming for. The time left may be shorter than you anticipate. May you be among the number whom Jesus knows by name as His own.
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River Life: Entering into the Character of Jesus

A Bible study for adults who want to grow in Christlike character

The Intercessor’s Companion

Bible ammo to win your battles

In Part 1 of this series, we talked about not “drinking the Kool-Aid” of false practices which are prevalent in Charismatic Christianity. We covered interactions with the dead and the need to discern dreams, visions, or “words from the Lord” by whether they are in alignment with the Bible. Just because a “prophet” says he saw or heard it does not mean it was genuinely from God. Let’s look at more things to be aware of.

Watch out for “Christian” fortune tellers.

Yes, we have them. If anyone insinuates or flat-out claims that you must go to them or another prophet to know God’s will for your life, that is false. Rather than encouraging you to hear God for yourself, they want you to come to them for the word of the Lord. It is a control tactic to exalt themselves and to gain power over others.

Most of the time, when you are given a personal prophetic word, if it is from God, it will confirm something He is already putting in your heart. There are exceptions, so if a word prophesied to you seems right, but it is a complete surprise to you, write it down in your prayer journal, pray about it, and wait to see if it really happens. But don’t set your heart upon it or make major decisions based on it.

Charging for the gifts of the Spirit

Does a prophet require money before they will give you a prophetic word or dream interpretation? This is called simony, which we get from the story in Acts 8:9-24, where Simon the sorcerer offered Peter and John money if they would give him the power (could we say “anointing”?) to lay hands on people so they would receive the baptism in the Spirit. Peter had some harsh words for Simon, didn’t he.

Some of them ask you to pay upfront at their website, or when they speak at conferences, before they will cough up a word of knowledge, prophecy, or dream interpretation. Some will give you these gifts only if you are part of their VIP membership (meaning, you give a minimum amount of money as a one-time or monthly gift to their ministry). While a free-will donation is a wonderful way to show appreciation when you are helped by someone in ministry, it should never be required. 

Angel worship

Do not let anyone who delights in … the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual minds. They have lost connection with the head [Jesus]… (Colossians 2:18, 19 [NIV]). 

How do Charismatics enter into the worship of angels? Usually, it isn’t an outright thing. It is an overemphasis on angels instead of Jesus, the head of the body of Christ. Do people talk about angels a lot instead of giving God glory for doing the work? Do they get more excited about visions of angels than they do about interaction with Jesus?

I remember unusual times of God’s intense presence in the church sanctuary while we worshiped. We referred to it as the “glory cloud” of God. Sometimes, an actual cloud or mist could be seen in the room by some, while others simply felt His presence. It wasn’t fog machines, because not everyone saw it the same way.

However, after a while, I heard certain prophets saying it wasn’t really God’s presence we were seeing or sensing; it was the activity of angels in the room. Since then, I have even heard some say the glory cloud is really the “cloud of witnesses” mentioned in Hebrews 12:1. They have claimed to see faces of departed believers in this cloud. (More on the cloud of witnesses in a bit.) This is all a perverse, highly disrespectful detraction from fixing our attention on God alone!

Every time in the Bible when believers tried to bow down before angels, the angels immediately rebuked them and told them to worship God instead. We need to get our focus back on our Head, Jesus Christ.

The Cloud of Witnesses

Hebrews 12:1 starts out, “Therefore, seeing we also are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses….” In some prophetic circles, a whole doctrine is evolving around the cloud of witnesses (departed believers). Some claim they enter our corporate gatherings to worship with us. Some say they have seen them looking over a railing in heaven to see what we’re doing on earth, so they can pray for us or cheer us on. But the Bible seems to be silent on the detailed activities of the heavenly saints.

So, what does Hebrews 12:1 mean? Chapters and verses were added to the Scriptures long after they were written. And sometimes those chapter separations lead us into chopping up the continuous flow of what God is really saying.

Read Hebrews 11, shut your eyes to the new chapter division for Hebrews 12, and it becomes fairly obvious that the “great cloud of witnesses” is referring to the people mentioned in Chapter 11, who overcame adverse circumstances through believing God. We are surrounded by their victorious testimony of triumphing as they stood by faith in the Lord. That’s the simple meaning.

The fanciful ideas currently going around about the cloud of witnesses cannot be supported biblically. Where the Bible is silent about the afterlife, we should not teach otherwise. Instead, perhaps we should focus more on Hebrews 12:2: “Fixing our gaze upon Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith….”

“New” Revelation

If prophetic revelation is put on a par with, or exalted above, the Bible, we will always be on shaky ground.  If someone tells you they have received a revelation from the Scriptures which has been hidden from the Church for the last 2,000 years (but is now being released by this prophet or apostle for the first time), avoid that person and that teaching.

Yes, as history marches on, we understand more of what God has already spoken concerning the end times, particularly when we see events falling into place in Israel and the Middle East. That understanding is good and right. But I am talking about a different type of new revelation claimed by some, where they lift various verses out of context, mix them with visions or experiences of their own, and then tell us God gave this new information to them, which the Church knew nothing about up to this point. This is delusional and self-aggrandizing, and many are falling for it.

In Conclusion

I implore my fellow believers to check everything by the Bible — not just a verse lifted out of context by some famous teacher. Many of them are deceived, and they’re deceiving others. It’s sad.

Avoid having an inordinate appetite for supernatural experiences. Instead, hunger for Jesus as He reveals Himself in His Word. Having your focus off-kilter will get you into trouble every time. Pursue Jesus, the living bread of heaven, the living water, rather than running after the next great supernatural experience. He satisfies.
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The Spirit-Filled Guide to Personal Prophecy

The Intercessor Manual

Please be careful. Some Charismatic Christians are so thirsty for supernatural experiences that they will gulp down anything and everything — including stuff forbidden in the Bible.

Those of you who are older will remember the Jonestown mass-suicide/massacre that took place in the 70s. Jim Jones, a Pentecostal minister who had been heavily influenced by William Branham, became the leader of a cult. He eventually moved his followers from the U. S. to a compound in Guyana and named it Jonestown after himself. He finally deceived his 900+ followers into drinking a red beverage laced with cyanide. Those who refused were forcibly injected with cyanide. It’s a tragic story, from which we get the phrase, “Don’t drink the Kool-Aid,” meaning, “Don’t let someone bamboozle you into swallowing deception.”

So, here are some things we absolutely must not believe or take part in, if we don’t want to be deceived:

Interacting with departed believers:

First of all, trying to contact or otherwise interact with the dead is forbidden in the Bible. Deuteronomy 18:10-12 gives a list of various types of witchcraft which the Lord calls abominations. Among the list is necromancy — communicating with the dead.

The most obvious way this has been practiced by deceived Christians through the ages is by asking departed saints or loved ones to pray for them or guide them. We are encouraged often in Scripture to pray for one another here on earth, but never to go beyond that. 1 Timothy 2:5 tells us there is only “one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” 

As part of their grieving process, some Christians go to the gravesides of departed loved ones to talk with them. I don’t think this is appropriate, but nevertheless, it is common. If we better understood that the real person is not in that grave, merely the body they left behind, I doubt if we would be so quick to do this. Where it gets even more inappropriate is when we ask that departed loved one for guidance. Out-and-out necromancy. This did not go well for King Saul, did it. We can ask for counsel from living people, but ultimately, we should receive our guidance from the Holy Spirit.

Increasingly, we see prophetic people claiming to have received heavenly messages from a Christian who has died. Some say they’ve been caught up into heaven and talked with the person there. Or they’ve had a dream or vision where they were given a prophetic word by them.

There have been several reports of deceased believers showing up at conferences, sitting on the platform or in attendance in the audience. An article appeared in a Pentecostal magazine years ago, where the author said he had been the speaker at a large gathering to honor the widow of a much-loved missionary. He claimed he saw the departed minister hovering over the sanctuary. He heard the dead man say, “Tell [my wife] that the Lord says this for you….” He then gave a supposed prophetic word from the dead husband for her and her ministry. The crowd went wild. I am sorry, but this is gross error. Either it was his imagination or, worse yet, a deceiving spirit.

A few years ago, “grave soaking” (also called “grave sucking”) became a thing. This involves visiting the graves of famous evangelists or healers of the past. The idea is that you can “soak up” their “anointing” from their graves and then carry that power in your own person to do the kinds of signs and wonders they once did.

While there is evidence in the Bible that living people can lay hands on us and impart spiritual gifts to us (see 1 Timothy 4:14 and 2 Timothy 1:6), there is no encouragement in the Bible that we can receive impartation from dead bodies. Do you want anointing? Get it from the Lord firsthand by spending time with Him.

Not discerning or measuring revelation by Scripture

Many are accepting every vision or dream as coming from the Lord. This is how we ended up with Mormonism, which is not Christian. Just because Prophet So-and-So says he or she was taken up into heaven and saw something does not mean it is so. Check the prophet’s, apostle’s, or teacher’s doctrine on their website. There will often be a clue there that things are off-kilter. Check whether what they claim to have seen or heard in heaven agrees with the Bible.

Some of the people saying “The Lord told me,” or “An angel appeared to me and said…,” or “I saw in a vision…” are real believers who love the Lord. Yet, because they value supernatural experience on the same level as the Bible, they are not discerning their own revelation. Because they saw or heard it, they think it must be truth. They forget the apostle Paul’s warning in 2 Corinthians 11:14, “… for Satan himself takes the disguise of an angel of light.”

In 2 Peter 1:16-21, Peter mentions being an eye witness to Jesus’ glorification when He was transfigured on the mount. However, after describing this wonderful experience, he comments in verses 19-21, “We also have a more sure word of prophecy which you would do well to heed … knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is from any [prophet’s] private interpretation. For prophecy did not come in olden times by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” In other words, Peter regarded what the Old Testament prophets had said as being more certain than his own experience (even though his experience was genuine), because he knew the Scriptures those prophets had written were God-breathed.

We need to discern who (and what) is genuine — or not genuine. We must learn to test all prophetic claims, and the Bible is our gold standard for doing that.

We’ll continue with more in the next post.

Part 2
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The Spirit-Filled Guide to Personal Prophecy

The Intercessor Manual

Have you ever participated in a worship gathering where you felt the Lord’s presence get thicker and stronger as everyone sincerely praised the Lord together? That’s an example of how worship changes the atmosphere around us. It’s one reason it is so important to meet together regularly with other believers. There is nothing quite like the combined praise and worship of an assembly of God’s people. 

2 Chronicles 5:13, 14 gives us an example of this tangible glory-presence of the Lord during the dedication of the temple in Solomon’s day:

It came to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were united in making one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets, cymbals, and instruments of music, praising the LORD and saying, “For He is good, for His mercy endures forever,” that the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God.

That was in Old Testament times. But does it happen today? Yes! I have been (many times) in gatherings of worshipers where the Lord’s presence among us intensified to where the air felt electric, or an immense sense of peace flooded the room, or even the “fear of the Lord” became almost tangible. People wept or laughed joyously, depending on what God was stirring in their hearts. Sometimes it seemed as if we could see a mist or feel a wind blowing through. Occasionally, the sweet smell of roses, or orange or apple blossoms could be detected by many of us at the same time. 

This can happen in either large or small groups when everyone is focused on adoring the Lord. One of the most memorable times for me was in a simple living room setting, where about a dozen of us had gathered with one guitar and a hand drum, just to give Him honor. The atmosphere around us was inexpressibly sweet. 

When the heart attitude of the worshipers is right, it doesn’t matter if there is a full choir and band or no instruments at all. In fact, you can have the most skilled singers and instrumentalists, but if the motivation is fleshly or entertainment-centered, instead of focusing on the Lord alone, all the musical perfection in the world will not usher in the glory-presence of the King. Jesus made this clear when He said, “…True worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeks such [people] to worship Him. God is a Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth” (John  4:23, 24).

Can we experience the glory of God and the atmosphere shifting around us when we worship the Lord all by ourselves? Yes. In fact, giving Him praise and heartfelt worship when we feel anxious, irritated, or depressed is a powerful way to dispel those clouds of darkness. The despair and gloom we feel weighing heavily upon us can be inexplicably transformed into joy, peace, and lightness of heart as we make the effort to worship.

It isn’t easy to turn our hearts to worship when situations are bad and our emotions are in the dungeon, but we can if we choose to. It’s hard because because the oppression we are experiencing is spiritual warfare coming against us. The devil and his minions do their best to keep us from worshiping the Lord. But pressing through and doing it when we don’t feel like it brings light to the darkness. Perhaps that is why Hebrews 13:15 exhorts us to give God “the sacrifice of praise continually.”

David understood the power of worship to change his personal atmosphere. Remember the story in 1 Samuel 30:1-6 of when the Amalekites had sacked Ziklag, where David, his men, and their families lived? He and his warriors came home to find their city had been burned, and all the women and children were gone. Can you imagine the trauma of losing everything, especially your whole family? “And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the souls of all the people were grieved, every man for his sons and daughters. But David encouraged himself in the LORD his God” (v.6). 

He reminded himself of God’s goodness, worshiped Him in spite of the dire circumstances, and gathered fresh courage and strength from the Lord to go after their enemies. Their families and possessions were all restored, as well as additional loot from defeating the Amalekites. I rather doubt it would have turned out that well without David turning to the Lord in the midst of the trial. 

Do you want to experience God’s presence in both your personal life and in the corporate setting? Determine to worship from your heart, “in spirit and in truth.” Expect God to meet you there, and to change the atmosphere around you. 

And don’t forget the other ways we talked about in this series to change the spiritual atmosphere around you — through intercession and bringing encouragement, hope, and peace in what you say or do. It’s all about letting the light of Jesus shine through us, changing the “Valley of Baca,” (the sad, desert place) into a place of refreshing springs (Psalm 84:5-7 from Part 1 of this series).
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The Intercessor Manual

The Spirit-Filled Guide to Personal Prophecy

We can be God’s instruments to change the atmosphere through our part in conversations. Let’s take a look at how that works.

With nonbelievers

Like it or not, we are called to be “in the world but not of it” (John 17:14-16). We bring salt and light into dark places as we interact in conversation with people who aren’t Christians (or who claim to be, but don’t hold a biblical perspective). Sometimes this involves “speaking the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15), always making sure our words are kind and guided by the Holy Spirit. Colossians 4:5, 6 says, “Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside [of the body of Christ], redeeming the time. Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you might know how you ought to answer every man.” 

How do we carry that out? It might mean we politely disagree by pointing out what is right. Most of us have missed opportunities to socially share God’s viewpoint with those who don’t yet know Him. They might not seem to receive what we say at the time, but the Holy Spirit can still use our words. My husband shared the gospel with a loved one over lunch. When the man gave his life to Jesus a decade later, he said he had never been able to forget what Paul had said to him all those years before. What had been an uncomfortable conversation at the time bore fruit long after the fact.

Because we are in a spiritual battle for the atmosphere of wherever we happen to be, we must guard against blending in with it. If we use bad language, laugh at filthy jokes, or run people down just like those around us are doing, we give ground to Satan. Sometimes it’s not even that we take on the ways of those we are with; we give place to the devil simply by being silent when we should speak up. Whether actively participating or passively remaining silent, we feed the darkness when we try to win man’s approval, rather than God’s. 

Among Christians

 Have you ever noticed when believers share testimonies of wonderful things God has done for them, prayer answers, words He has spoken to them, or new insights about His nature, that it feels like a little bit of heaven has descended in the room? Malachi 3:16 hints that this is one way to change the atmosphere around us: “Then those who feared the LORD spoke often to one another, and the LORD heard it and paid attention, and a book of  remembrance was written before Him for those who feared the LORD and thought upon His name.” Do you think they’re talking only about the weather or their latest fishing trip? No, they are talking about His goodness — and it’s as if God bends His ear low to hear them. When He is listening in with pleasure, the atmosphere changes. It carries a sense of His glory-presence.

Unfortunately, if we constantly talk about what the devil is doing, or spew forth our doubting perceptions of  why things  are bad and will never get better, the devil also bends his ear low to hear. He feeds on negative talk. We need to glorify God and express our confidence that He is still in charge when life gets hard. Our spoken trust in Him helps us stay victorious in times of trouble.

Encouragement (to both believers and nonbelievers)

Isaiah 50:4 says, “The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of the learned, so that I would know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary. Morning by morning, He awakens my ear to hear as the learned.” While this is part of a messianic prophecy, it is also our calling in Christ — to have our spiritual ears sensitively tuned in to hearing His voice daily, so we will know what to say to encourage others, thereby changing their whole outlook (their atmosphere, if you will). We lift people above the cares of this world to see the One Who is watching over them. 

Whether you are talking with believers or nonbelievers, people need hope, and there is a scarcity of it in our world. Our words can point them in the right direction, towards Jesus. We can assure them that they have a God-given purpose in life and that they are valuable to Him, even when others treat them like disposable trash. Encouraging words, flowing from our connection to the Holy Spirit, can either lead the hopeless to believe in the Lord for the first time, or, if they already know Him, to rise up out of despair and keep going.

Change the atmosphere with your presence.

In Part 1 of this series, I shared with you Psalm 84:5, 6, which talks about traveling through a dry, sad valley and changing it into a fruitful place. Those encouraging words I just mentioned are one way this happens. But even before we speak a word, the inner peace and calm we carry because the Spirit lives inside us affects the atmosphere of those who feel anxious or gloomy. Exuding our personal Holy Spirit atmosphere is part of who we are in Christ. He is peace, hope, and joy, and these qualities should be spilling out of us onto other people. We may not even be conscious of these qualities emanating from us, but the Spirit can still convey them to others.

Some years ago, our family went to a dentist who commented to her staff when I first walked in, “Can you feel that peace? It just makes me feel good all over.” She asked me what it was I had brought in with me. I didn’t have the awareness of peace she was sensing, but her question opened the door to share the Lord with her. Eventually, I invited her to a service at our church, where she responded to the Lord’s presence she felt there, and she gave her heart to Jesus. That is an example of carrying the atmosphere of the Lord with us so that someone’s life is changed forever.

I hope I have given you food for thought about how we can “change the atmosphere” around us. Next time, we’ll talk about bringing in God’s atmosphere through worship.

Part 1 — Is changing the atmosphere a real thing?

Part 2 — Through prayer
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Encouragement from God’s Word

Topically categorized Bible verses to give you hope and joy when life feels bad

All-Surpassing Peace in a Shaking World

Practical insights from the Bible (and Lee Ann’s personal experiences) to help you navigate the storms of life