Tag Archives: 2017

Letters

Waging War With Your Prophetic Words

It was a heartbreaking season in my life.

I’d been given some prophetic promises about an area of my life. God had declared some beautiful things: unity and power and intimacy and victory. Yeah, it was a lot of “the usual stuff,” but it came in a declaration from God. Actually, it came in two or three declarations; this wasn’t just a warm and fuzzy thought from one person.

We’ll pause here for a definition. When I talk about a “declaration from God,” that might be a prophetic word; those are the best, and I give them the most weight: when someone with a known gift of prophecy says, “This is what God says,” and the community judges it to be true (1 Corinthians 14:29), that’s the gold standard of prophetic revelation in my view.

But the idea of a declaration from God includes what I hear God whispering to me, and it includes those times that something from the pages of Scripture leap alive and demand my attention. They include when friends tell me what they hear God saying about me, and when the promises of scripture actually, contextually apply to me.

As I said, I had two or three of these, including both the prophetic words and the whisper of my Father. There was a good bit of unity among the declarations. I trusted them.

And then things began to go to hell. I wish I spoke metaphorically. Without putting too fine a point on it I’ll say that just when I expected the promises to begin to manifest, to show up, just when I expected to see things turn toward unity and power and intimacy and victory, they turned the opposite direction.

It was a heartbreaking season in my life. You see, this was an area that was really quite important to me. This was no cute little bonus.

I ran through the demonic logic tests: Can God be trusted? Is he really a good God? You know that list. They came at me hard and fast, and I threw them back in his face just as hard, declaring God’s goodness, his trustworthiness, and my confidence in Him. I went further and rebuked every demon I could think of from every aspect of this promise. I felt victorious!

I thought, There. That will do it. And the promises down-shifted for better acceleration into oblivion.

My heart was crushed, but still I held on. I began to ask better, more honest questions: Did I assume God had promised this, when in fact he had not? No, he’d been quite clear.

Were the promises for right now, or was I rushing him? That one was tougher, as he’d never actually given a date, but if this trend continued, then there was no chance of fulfilling them later.

Was I imposing my own definition of what these fulfilled promises needed to look like? Maybe the fulfillment was so different than my expectations that I didn’t recognize it. I searched my heart long and hard on this, and I examined the circumstances. No, the failure was real. This wasn’t just my misinterpreting it.

My life was pretty much over. I nearly gave up.

And then something whispered in the back of my mind. It was a quiet little whisper, easy to miss. “I want you to give thanks for my promises as if you were already walking in the fullness of their fulfillment, as if everything I said has already happened, even though you’ve seen nothing yet.”

It took rather a lot to take the voice seriously, and it took even more to do what he said. But I did.

In those days, I took my lunch hours in a remote meadow. I parked my truck, and since I pray best when I walk, I’d worn a trail into the grasses and shrubberies of the meadow.

I began to pace my trail, questioning my sanity, and mumbling thanks for these hallucinations, these promises. I recognized the failure of my prayer, so I began to pray out loud. That was better, but I could tell I wasn’t to the point of actually engaging my faith yet.

So I began to shout. It was hard, and it took me days to get there, but before long, I fairly flew into that meadow, locked up my parking brake, and before the truck had fully stopped, I was on that trail, roaring my thanks for these promises, for the glory of having been my experience, for the power that had been unleashed. I screamed my gratitude for a victory I had not yet seen, and I wept in thanksgiving for the intimacy that I still only imagined.

Over the next days and weeks, I watched several changes. The first were in my heart. Eventually, my empty declarations of faith began to actually fill with faith, and I began to understand that I was waging war with these promises (1 Timothy 1:18). Not long after, I realized that the things that I was declaring that had not yet happened, they were going to happen. I began to expect, not fearlessly, not solidly, but I began to expect to see things change.

My prayers expanded. I spent my spare time thinking of what that will look like when these promises are fulfilled, and I prayed every answer to that. By now, I was thankful that my meadow was remote, and occasionally, I checked the trees near the meadow, to make sure I hadn’t roared their bark off.

And still I prayed. I walked and prayed and shouted and demanded and wept and gave thanks like there was no tomorrow.

And then things did begin to change. It was like lighting a match to the tinder of a well-set fire: the change was so very small and fragile, and the slightest breath would extinguish it. I said nothing of this to anyone, so as to not blow out my precious flame, but I gave myself to serving that tiny, flickering flame, nurturing it the best I could.

But gradually, over months and years, it did turn, and today I can say I’ve been walking in the fullness of many of those promises for many years.

I’ve also noticed a change in me. I’m quicker to give thanks than I ever used to be. I think I like that.
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Letters

When God Paused

There is a funny little verse in Genesis chapter 1: “And God said, Let us make man in our image,…” [Genesis 1:26]

There's so much you can learn when God pauses for a little interjection like this.

This is the first – and only – time that God says this. He never said “Say, let's make mountains.” Or “Let's make some stars” It was only when he made man, that he paused and said “Hey, let's do this. Let's make man.”

Apparently there is something about making man that takes more consideration than when you're making sweet potatoes or goldfish or black holes. Apparently there is something about making man, that makes even God pause for a moment, to think about it before he does the making.

Thus far, God had created everything in the universe, except man. All the stars, all the planets, all the asteroids, all the strange things of space. He had already filled the Earth, with fish in the oceans, animals all over the land, green plants growing everywhere, a healthy weather system in place, to make sure it all kept going well.

And I suppose it's fair to say that when that omniscient Trinity of omnipotent being pause to think about something, that they do a really good job of thinking. I'll bet it's not a mystery to them, when they apply themselves to thinking about making man.

So he thinks about man, about the implications of creating Mankind.

“Well, if we are going to make men really, actually in our image, he has to have free will. And actual free will means he has authority, like God. Now what will he do with that authority, that free will? What will he do with that aspect that makes him like God?”

And God looked further into the future.

I think what he saw might have broken his heart. After a long time of  naming animals and plants, of caring for the garden,  God watched Eve eat an apple from the tree they were instructed not to eat from, and share it with her husband, Adam. He knew he would need to send them out of the garden, lest they eat from the Tree of Life, and live forever in sin.

And still God looked. And God saw. And God saw Cain and Abel, and he wept. And God saw Enoch, and he rejoiced come with a joy that only a God can Rejoice with. And God saw Noah, and he saw the flood, and he wept some more, as he watched the effects of that first sin poison Humanity.

And still God looked down through the years of History. He saw Abraham and Sarah, and Isaac, and Jacob and his multitudes. He saw their years in Egypt, and he made a mental note to prepare a Moses.

And he kept looking. He saw David, and he saw a succession of Kings. And he saw the Dark Ages, Attila the Hun, Charlemagne, Napoleon, Hitler. Such pain. Such heartache. And God wept.

But then he saw you.

He observed your birth, he saw the squalling mess of your beginning. He watched you grow up.

And God fell in love with you. And in that moment, that God was thinking about what would happen if he created Adam and Eve, in that nanosecond of applied omniscience, God's thinking changed. The creator was now in love.

And because he was in love with you, he no longer had the option of NOT creating man. Because, you see, if he didn't create man, then you would never be born, and that was unthinkable, even by an omniscient thinker. He loved you, even then.

Before your remotest ancestor was created, God was already in love with you.

But that apple. That sin. That disease that would inhabit these humans. Something needed to be done about that sin.

And God said to himself, there's only the one option. I will take off my divinity, I will conceal my Godhood, and I will become one of them. And God said, but they will kill me. And he replied, That is true, but so what? Do you not agree? And God said Yes. We will become the lamb that is to be slain. We will take away, not just their sin, but their sinfulness. We will open again that bridge for relationship.

And God knew that dying for these people, these children, would not, indeed could not guarantee a relationship, for He was completely serious about actual free will. Without free will, we would not be his children. Without free will, we would be pets, or robots, nothing more. Without free will, we could never love him back.

No, his death for us did not, will never, overcome our free will. But it will open the door. When God walks among us, now he can tell us of his love. Now he can show us what it's like in his family. Now we have a chance to join him.

That is the story of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. [Revelation 13:8] That was for you. 
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Letters

When God Paused

There is a funny little verse in Genesis chapter 1: “And God said, Let us make man in our image,…” [Genesis 1:26]

There's so much you can learn when God pauses for a little interjection like this.

This is the first – and only – time that God says this. He never said “Say, let's make mountains.” Or “Let's make some stars” It was only when he made man, that he paused and said “Hey, let's do this. Let's make man.”

Apparently there is something about making man that takes more consideration than when you're making sweet potatoes or goldfish or black holes. Apparently there is something about making man, that makes even God pause for a moment, to think about it before he does the making.

Thus far, God had created everything in the universe, except man. All the stars, all the planets, all the asteroids, all the strange things of space. He had already filled the Earth, with fish in the oceans, animals all over the land, green plants growing everywhere, a healthy weather system in place, to make sure it all kept going well.

And I suppose it's fair to say that when that omniscient Trinity of omnipotent beings pause to think about something, that they do a really good job of thinking. I'll bet it's not a mystery to them, when they apply themselves to thinking about making man.

So he thinks about man.

“Well, if we are going to make men really, actually in our image, he has to have free will. And actual free will means he has authority, like God. Now what will he do with that authority, that free will? What will he do with that aspect that makes him like God?”

And God looked further into the future.

I think what he saw might have broken his heart. After a long time of  naming animals and plants, of caring for the garden,  God watched Eve eat an apple from the tree they were instructed not to eat from, and share it with her husband, Adam. He knew he would need to send them out of the garden, lest they eat from the Tree of Life, and live forever in sin.

And still God looked. And God saw. And God saw Cain and Abel, and he wept. And God saw Enoch, and he rejoiced come with a joy that only a God can Rejoice with. And God saw Noah, and he saw the flood, and he wept some more, as he watched the effects of that first sin poison Humanity.

And still God looked down through the years of History. He saw Abraham and Sarah, and Isaac, and Jacob and his multitudes. He saw their years in Egypt, and he made a mental note to prepare a Moses.

And he kept looking. He saw David, and he saw a succession of Kings. And he saw the Dark Ages, Attila the Hun, Charlemagne, Napoleon, Hitler. Such pain. Such heartache.

And then he saw you.

He saw your birth, he saw the squalling mess of your beginning. He watched you grow up.

And he fell in love with you. And in that moment, that God was thinking about what would happen if he created Adam and Eve, in that nanosecond of applied omniscience, God's thinking changed. God was in love.

And because he was in love with you, he no longer had the option of NOT creating man. Because, you see, if he didn't create man, then you would never be born, and that was unthinkable, even by an omniscient thinker. He loved you, even then.

Before your remotest ancestor was created, God was already in love with you.

But that apple. That sin. That disease that would inhabit these humans. Something needed to be done about that sin.

And God said to himself, there's only the one option. I will take off my divinity, I will conceal my Godhood, and I will become one of them. And God said, but they will kill me. And he replied, yes. So? Do you not agree? And God said Yes. We will become the lamb that is too be slain. We will take away, not just their sin, but their sinfulness.

And God knew that dying for these people, these children, would not, could not guarantee a relationship. He was completely adamant about free will. Without free will, we would not be his children. Without free will, we would be pets, or robots, nothing more.

No, his death for us did not, we'll never, overcome our free will. But it will open the door. When God walks among us, now he can tell us of his love. Now he can show us what it's like in his family. Now we have a chance to join him.


That is the story of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. [Revelation 13:8] That was for you. 
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Letters

When God Paused

There is a funny little verse in Genesis chapter 1: “And God said, Let us make man in our image,…” [Genesis 1:26]

There's so much you can learn when God pauses for a little interjection like this.

This is the first – and only – time that God says this. He never said “Say, let's make mountains.” Or “Let's make some stars” It was only when he made man, that he paused and said “Hey, let's do this. Let's make man.”

Apparently there is something about making man that takes more consideration than when you're making sweet potatoes or goldfish or black holes. Apparently there is something about making man, that makes even God pause for a moment, to think about it before he does the making.

Thus far, God had created everything in the universe, except man. All the stars, all the planets, all the asteroids, all the strange things of space. He had already filled the Earth, with fish in the oceans, animals all over the land, green plants growing everywhere, a healthy weather system in place, to make sure it all kept going well.

And I suppose it's fair to say that when that omniscient Trinity of omnipotent beings pause to think about something, that they do a really good job of thinking. I'll bet it's not a mystery to them, when they apply themselves to thinking about making man.

So he thinks about man.

“Well, if we are going to make men really, actually in our image, he has to have free will. And actual free will means he has authority, like God. Now what will he do with that authority, that free will? What will he do with that aspect that makes him like God?”

And God looked further into the future.

I think what he saw might have broken his heart. After a long time of  naming animals and plants, of caring for the garden,  God watched Eve eat an apple from the tree they were instructed not to eat from, and share it with her husband, Adam. He knew he would need to send them out of the garden, lest they eat from the Tree of Life, and live forever in sin.

And still God looked. And God saw. And God saw Cain and Abel, and he wept. And God saw Enoch, and he rejoiced come with a joy that only a God can Rejoice with. And God saw Noah, and he saw the flood, and he wept some more, as he watched the effects of that first sin poison Humanity.

And still God looked down through the years of History. He saw Abraham and Sarah, and Isaac, and Jacob and his multitudes. He saw their years in Egypt, and he made a mental note to prepare a Moses.

And he kept looking. He saw David, and he saw a succession of Kings. And he saw the Dark Ages, Attila the Hun, Charlemagne, Napoleon, Hitler. Such pain. Such heartache.

And then he saw you.

He saw your birth, he saw the squalling mess of your beginning. He watched you grow up.

And he fell in love with you. And in that moment, that God was thinking about what would happen if he created Adam and Eve, in that nanosecond of applied omniscience, God's thinking changed. God was in love.

And because he was in love with you, he no longer had the option of NOT creating man. Because, you see, if he didn't create man, then you would never be born, and that was unthinkable, even by an omniscient thinker. He loved you, even then.

Before your remotest ancestor was created, God was already in love with you.

But that apple. That sin. That disease that would inhabit these humans. Something needed to be done about that sin.

And God said to himself, there's only the one option. I will take off my divinity, I will conceal my Godhood, and I will become one of them. And God said, but they will kill me. And he replied, yes. So? Do you not agree? And God said Yes. We will become the lamb that is too be slain. We will take away, not just their sin, but their sinfulness.

And God knew that dying for these people, these children, would not, could not guarantee a relationship. He was completely adamant about free will. Without free will, we would not be his children. Without free will, we would be pets, or robots, nothing more.

No, his death for us did not, we'll never, overcome our free will. But it will open the door. When God walks among us, now he can tell us of his love. Now he can show us what it's like in his family. Now we have a chance to join him.


That is the story of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. [Revelation 13:8] That was for you. 
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Letters

Declarations: For Yourself or for Others

Here’s a prophetic exercise for you:

Take a week and declare these [all of these] over yourself every day for a week. Then sit down and journal about what effect you’ve experienced.

Alternative: They’re also a great way to pray for someone you love, someone going through hell! If you prefer, declare these every day about someone else for a week.

Then sit down and journal about what effect you’ve experienced and what you observe in them. If it makes sense, ask them if they feel anything different this week from last week, and note that.

Instructions: Declare these aloud about yourself, or about the person you’re praying for. Declare them out loud. Shout them if you need to.

Engage your heart with them: don’t let them just be words. Recognize that you’re speaking both to all of Heaven and all of hell when you’re announcing these truths.

Note: These are things that the Bible clearly says are true. You’re not asking nicely if these can be so. These ARE so, the Bible says so. You’re just announcing the ruling of the King, like a town crier: “Hear ye, hear ye! This is the way it is now! The King has declared it!”

I am [or Suzie is] complete in Him Who is the Head of all principality and power (Colossians 2:10).

I am alive with Christ (Ephesians 2:5).

I am free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2).

I am far from oppression, and fear does not come near me (Isaiah 54:14).

I am born of God, and the evil one does not touch me (1 John 5:18).

I am holy and without blame before Him in love (Ephesians 1:4; 1 Peter 1:16).

I have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16; Philippians 2:5).

I have the peace of God that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7).

I have the Greater One living in me; greater is He Who is in me than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4).

I have received the gift of righteousness and reign as a king in life by Jesus Christ (Romans 5:17).

I have received the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Jesus, the eyes of my understanding being enlightened (Ephesians 1:17-18).

I have received the power of the Holy Spirit to lay hands on the sick and see them recover, to cast out demons, to speak with new tongues.  I have power over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means harm me (Mark 16:17-18; Luke 10:17-19).

I have put off the old man and have put on the new man, which is renewed in the knowledge after the image of Him Who created me (Colossians 3:9-10).

I have given, and it is given to me; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, men give into my bosom (Luke 6:38).

I have no lack for my God supplies all of my need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19).

I can quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one with my shield of faith (Ephesians 6:16).

I can do all things through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:13).

I show forth the praises of God Who has called me out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9).

I am God’s child for I am born again of the incorruptible seed of the Word of God, which lives and abides forever (1 Peter 1:23).

I am God’s workmanship, created in Christ unto good works (Ephesians 2:10).

I am a new creature in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).

I am a spirit being alive to God (Romans 6:11;  Thessalonians 5:23).

I am a believer, and the light of the Gospel shines in my mind (2 Corinthians 4:4).

I am a doer of the Word and blessed in my actions (James 1:22,25).

I am a joint-heir with Christ (Romans 8:17).

I am more than a conqueror through Him Who loves me (Romans 8:37).

I am an overcomer by the blood of the Lamb and the word of my testimony (Revelation 12:11).

I am a partaker of His divine nature (2 Peter 1:3-4).

I am an ambassador for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20).

I am part of a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a purchased people (1 Peter 2:9).

I am the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21).

I am the temple of the Holy Spirit; I am not my own (1 Corinthians 6:19).

I am the head and not the tail; I am above only and not beneath (Deuteronomy 28:13).

I am the light of the world (Matthew 5:14).

I am His elect, full of mercy, kindness, humility, and long suffering (Romans 8:33; Colossians 3:12).

I am forgiven of all my sins and washed in the Blood (Ephesians 1:7).

I am delivered from the power of darkness and translated into God’s kingdom (Colossians 1:13).

I am redeemed from the curse of sin, sickness, and poverty (Deuteronomy 28:15-68; Galatians 3:13).

I am firmly rooted, built up, established in my faith and overflowing with gratitude (Colossians 2:7).

I am called of God to be the voice of His praise (Psalm 66:8; 2 Timothy 1:9).

I am healed by the stripes of Jesus (Isaiah 53:5; 1 Peter 2:24).

I am raised up with Christ and seated in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6; Colossians 2:12).

I am greatly loved by God (Romans 1:7; Ephesians 2:4; Colossians 3:12; 1 Thessalonians 1:4).

I am strengthened with all might according to His glorious power (Colossians 1:11).

I am submitted to God, and the devil flees from me because I resist him in the Name of Jesus (James 4:7).

I press on toward the goal to win the prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward (Philippians 3:14).

For God has not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, love, and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7).

It is not I who live, but Christ lives in me (Galatians 2:20).
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Prophecy

Leaving the Pain Behind

Kris Vallotton

When I was at the Heaven Come Conference in LA this past weekend I felt like God spoke to me about some very specific things, including the subject of pain. There’s something profoundly available in this season for people to walk out of pain and I believe there’s an anointing available to change your season. Even though I’ve taught on pain before (whether that be depression, anxiety, physical sickness, heartache etc.), I actually feel like this is more than a teaching today—it’s a prophetic declaration. We’re in the 500th year of the reformation when the protestant movement was birthed. I felt like God said that we are entering Reformation 2.0 and that He’s going to do some crazy things in this season. So, all that to say, get your hopes up!

LEAVING YOUR PAIN BEHIND

I want us to take a look at a story in Scripture that’s a beautiful representation of what it’s like to step away from pain. John 5:2-8 (emphasis added):

“Now there is in Jerusalem by the sheep gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew Bethesda, having five porticoes. In these lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, and withered, waiting for the moving of the waters; for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was made well from whatever disease with which he was afflicted. A man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, “Do you wish to get well?” The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me.” Jesus *said to him, “Get up, pick up your pallet and walk.” 

Think about it. This man was at the healing pool for 38 years. He had watched others get healed while he was still waiting on his miracle for 38 years! Can you imagine the discouragement he was living in? I’m surprised he hadn’t given up yet! Then Jesus asked him a question. I think this is a question we all need to ask ourselves—do we want to get well? Some people go to the doctor or the healing rooms and never get well because they come with hopelessness and the expectation that they will leave that place sick. This is because they’ve learned how to live and cope with the pain. Many people come to the of pool promise but hopelessness reduces them to the pallet of pain. However, Jesus wants to take your pallet of pain and transform it into pulpit of purpose! Today is the day your pain is supposed to go, and I want to encourage you to pick up your pallet and walk! 

HEALING IS BETTER THAN NUMBNESS

Many people reduce their life to accommodate their pain instead of deal with it. The truth is that we’ve all experienced pain in life. An adage I live by is that you can’t always help what happens to you but you can always help what happens in you. I’ve been with people who are in tremendous pain and don’t feel the emotion of it anymore because they’ve reduced their life to accommodate it. They’ve numbed themselves. When we numb the pain we can’t figure out the source, so we try to fix the symptoms but our lives just get worse and worse. I encourage you to step into the pain because God wants to heal you, not numb you.4 things you should know about pain:

1. Pain is rarely the problem; it is almost always the symptom. Give yourself permission to dig deep and find the root of what’s going on.
2. Pain will lead you to the source of your problem. It’s actually a gift and a lead to follow.
3. The level of your pain does not always determine the depth of your problem. For example, a sliver in your finger can feel like you need to chop off your hand because the pain is so bad!
4.Ignoring pain or being afraid of pain often leads to bigger problems.

A CULTURE OF WHOLENESS

When you’re walking out of pain it’s important to create a culture of wholeness around you. Don’t listen to sad music or watch sad movies when you are processing through your pain. Don’t sing songs to your pain, but rather sing songs to your victory! Don’t minister to your pain or make it comfortable! Don’t try to live with it, rather make sure you’re working through it and getting it out. The Bible says we WALK through the valley, so don’t stop and camp out there. So how do you do this?

Recently I asked pastor Bill how his weekend was and he told me he had a great weekend and spent a day listening and watching to the prophecies that were given to him and Beni over the years. I was like, “Uh… I dug a ditch this weekend!” Haha. I just want to say that Bill has developed a culture of testimony and prophecy around himself, so that his weakness became his strength. He has fed his soul and spirit with God’s truth, with testimonies of what God has done in his life and in other people’s lives, and the prophecies that fill him with the hope of what’s to come. He has truly strengthened himself in the Lord. Over the years he refused to be a depressed man and rather created a culture of prophecy and testimony around him. We, myself and I’m sure many of you, now get to feed off of that. What I want to propose to you today is that you can do the same thing! You can feed off of the testimonies of breakthrough you’ve heard and the prophecies spoken over you! You can create a culture that others get to feed off of. But you have to leave pain so that you can get up and walk in breakthrough.

DO IT AGAIN

I feel that we are in a kairos moment for stepping out of pain, which reminds me of a passage in John 21. When Jesus rose from the dead he went to find the disciples in a boat. They had been fishing all night and Jesus yelled out to them from the shore to ask if they’d caught anything. They replied to say no, and that they’d been fishing all night. Jesus told them to cast their nets on the other side of the boat. Now let’s just think for a second. You’d think that if they were fishing all night that they’d tried their net on both sides of the boat! But Jesus asked them to do it one more time. My point is that sometimes it doesn’t take a new action, but rather a renewed action to see breakthrough. Sometimes Jesus asks you to do the thing you’ve been doing just one more time. I feel like this is a “try it again” day—whether that means going to the doctor one more time, going to the healing rooms one more time, calling your son or daughter that you haven’t heard from in years one more time…Today is the day that you can walk out of pain. The Lord is saying “take up the pallet of promise and move on.”

AFFECTED RATHER THAN OFFENDED

Some people may be offended at this blog. It’s not always easy to hear “get up and walk” when we’ve been waiting for our breakthrough. Think about the man at the pool of Bethesda… when Jesus told him to pick up his pallet and walk he could’ve jumped into a myriad of reasons for why he was sick and honestly taken offense. But when God is giving us the command to get up and move on, we have to purpose to not be offended! He’s not saying it with a calloused heart; He’s saying it with profound authority!

There’s something powerful about refusing to get offended when the Lord says to be strong and courageous while you’re looking fear and discouragement in the face. Receive the grace that comes with the word even if it feels harsh, and determine to be affected by His command instead of offended by it.

TODAY WE DECLARE BREAKTHROUGH!

Today, regardless of why you’re in a hard season, I want to encourage you to declare this out loud over youself. The power of life and death is in the tongue so let’s speak life over ourselves! Ready? Here we go: “I am leaving my pain behind. This is my day of deliverance. This day, the Lord will deliver me from the things that have plagued me and my family for generations. This is the day that the Lord decreed that I would walk out of a place of misery in every area of my life. Today’s breakthrough will affect and infect my children and my grandchildren. We will create a legacy of breakthrough. Hope and peace will be named among the attributes of my family lineage. Our family will create a culture of wholeness. What feeds us and walks us out of pain today will become our strength, and thousands of people will come to our house to get out of pain and find promise!”

Like I said before I’ve taught on walking out of pain a few times and I want to give you my teaching notes today. Simply click here to check them out. They include steps for walking out of pain that I hope will help you! I’d also love to hear from you in the comments! Let me know your thoughts and testimonies below.


September 27, 2017, Kris Vallotton
Join the conversation on Facebook or Twitter Feel free to share with others, but please leave the contact info intact. Click here to subscribe, or visit www.northwestprophetic.com. To submit a word for the Northwest, visit our Submit A Word page, or email to NWP@northwestprophetic.com. Thanks!
Standard
Prophecy

Leaving the Pain Behind

Kris Vallotton

When I was at the Heaven Come Conference in LA this past weekend I felt like God spoke to me about some very specific things, including the subject of pain. There’s something profoundly available in this season for people to walk out of pain and I believe there’s an anointing available to change your season. Even though I’ve taught on pain before (whether that be depression, anxiety, physical sickness, heartache etc.), I actually feel like this is more than a teaching today—it’s a prophetic declaration. We’re in the 500th year of the reformation when the protestant movement was birthed. I felt like God said that we are entering Reformation 2.0 and that He’s going to do some crazy things in this season. So, all that to say, get your hopes up!

LEAVING YOUR PAIN BEHIND

I want us to take a look at a story in Scripture that’s a beautiful representation of what it’s like to step away from pain. John 5:2-8 (emphasis added):

“Now there is in Jerusalem by the sheep gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew Bethesda, having five porticoes. In these lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, and withered, waiting for the moving of the waters; for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was made well from whatever disease with which he was afflicted. A man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, “Do you wish to get well?” The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me.” Jesus *said to him, “Get up, pick up your pallet and walk.” 

Think about it. This man was at the healing pool for 38 years. He had watched others get healed while he was still waiting on his miracle for 38 years! Can you imagine the discouragement he was living in? I’m surprised he hadn’t given up yet! Then Jesus asked him a question. I think this is a question we all need to ask ourselves—do we want to get well? Some people go to the doctor or the healing rooms and never get well because they come with hopelessness and the expectation that they will leave that place sick. This is because they’ve learned how to live and cope with the pain. Many people come to the of pool promise but hopelessness reduces them to the pallet of pain. However, Jesus wants to take your pallet of pain and transform it into pulpit of purpose! Today is the day your pain is supposed to go, and I want to encourage you to pick up your pallet and walk! 

HEALING IS BETTER THAN NUMBNESS

Many people reduce their life to accommodate their pain instead of deal with it. The truth is that we’ve all experienced pain in life. An adage I live by is that you can’t always help what happens to you but you can always help what happens in you. I’ve been with people who are in tremendous pain and don’t feel the emotion of it anymore because they’ve reduced their life to accommodate it. They’ve numbed themselves. When we numb the pain we can’t figure out the source, so we try to fix the symptoms but our lives just get worse and worse. I encourage you to step into the pain because God wants to heal you, not numb you.4 things you should know about pain:

1. Pain is rarely the problem; it is almost always the symptom. Give yourself permission to dig deep and find the root of what’s going on.
2. Pain will lead you to the source of your problem. It’s actually a gift and a lead to follow.
3. The level of your pain does not always determine the depth of your problem. For example, a sliver in your finger can feel like you need to chop off your hand because the pain is so bad!
4.Ignoring pain or being afraid of pain often leads to bigger problems.

A CULTURE OF WHOLENESS

When you’re walking out of pain it’s important to create a culture of wholeness around you. Don’t listen to sad music or watch sad movies when you are processing through your pain. Don’t sing songs to your pain, but rather sing songs to your victory! Don’t minister to your pain or make it comfortable! Don’t try to live with it, rather make sure you’re working through it and getting it out. The Bible says we WALK through the valley, so don’t stop and camp out there. So how do you do this?

Recently I asked pastor Bill how his weekend was and he told me he had a great weekend and spent a day listening and watching to the prophecies that were given to him and Beni over the years. I was like, “Uh… I dug a ditch this weekend!” Haha. I just want to say that Bill has developed a culture of testimony and prophecy around himself, so that his weakness became his strength. He has fed his soul and spirit with God’s truth, with testimonies of what God has done in his life and in other people’s lives, and the prophecies that fill him with the hope of what’s to come. He has truly strengthened himself in the Lord. Over the years he refused to be a depressed man and rather created a culture of prophecy and testimony around him. We, myself and I’m sure many of you, now get to feed off of that. What I want to propose to you today is that you can do the same thing! You can feed off of the testimonies of breakthrough you’ve heard and the prophecies spoken over you! You can create a culture that others get to feed off of. But you have to leave pain so that you can get up and walk in breakthrough.

DO IT AGAIN

I feel that we are in a kairos moment for stepping out of pain, which reminds me of a passage in John 21. When Jesus rose from the dead he went to find the disciples in a boat. They had been fishing all night and Jesus yelled out to them from the shore to ask if they’d caught anything. They replied to say no, and that they’d been fishing all night. Jesus told them to cast their nets on the other side of the boat. Now let’s just think for a second. You’d think that if they were fishing all night that they’d tried their net on both sides of the boat! But Jesus asked them to do it one more time. My point is that sometimes it doesn’t take a new action, but rather a renewed action to see breakthrough. Sometimes Jesus asks you to do the thing you’ve been doing just one more time. I feel like this is a “try it again” day—whether that means going to the doctor one more time, going to the healing rooms one more time, calling your son or daughter that you haven’t heard from in years one more time…Today is the day that you can walk out of pain. The Lord is saying “take up the pallet of promise and move on.”

AFFECTED RATHER THAN OFFENDED

Some people may be offended at this blog. It’s not always easy to hear “get up and walk” when we’ve been waiting for our breakthrough. Think about the man at the pool of Bethesda… when Jesus told him to pick up his pallet and walk he could’ve jumped into a myriad of reasons for why he was sick and honestly taken offense. But when God is giving us the command to get up and move on, we have to purpose to not be offended! He’s not saying it with a calloused heart; He’s saying it with profound authority!

There’s something powerful about refusing to get offended when the Lord says to be strong and courageous while you’re looking fear and discouragement in the face. Receive the grace that comes with the word even if it feels harsh, and determine to be affected by His command instead of offended by it.

TODAY WE DECLARE BREAKTHROUGH!

Today, regardless of why you’re in a hard season, I want to encourage you to declare this out loud over youself. The power of life and death is in the tongue so let’s speak life over ourselves! Ready? Here we go: “I am leaving my pain behind. This is my day of deliverance. This day, the Lord will deliver me from the things that have plagued me and my family for generations. This is the day that the Lord decreed that I would walk out of a place of misery in every area of my life. Today’s breakthrough will affect and infect my children and my grandchildren. We will create a legacy of breakthrough. Hope and peace will be named among the attributes of my family lineage. Our family will create a culture of wholeness. What feeds us and walks us out of pain today will become our strength, and thousands of people will come to our house to get out of pain and find promise!”

Like I said before I’ve taught on walking out of pain a few times and I want to give you my teaching notes today. Simply click here to check them out. They include steps for walking out of pain that I hope will help you! I’d also love to hear from you in the comments! Let me know your thoughts and testimonies below.


September 27, 2017, Kris Vallotton
Join the conversation on Facebook or Twitter Feel free to share with others, but please leave the contact info intact. Click here to subscribe, or visit www.northwestprophetic.com. To submit a word for the Northwest, visit our Submit A Word page, or email to NWP@northwestprophetic.com. Thanks!
Standard
Prophecy

Leaving the Pain Behind

Kris Vallotton

When I was at the Heaven Come Conference in LA this past weekend I felt like God spoke to me about some very specific things, including the subject of pain. There’s something profoundly available in this season for people to walk out of pain and I believe there’s an anointing available to change your season. Even though I’ve taught on pain before (whether that be depression, anxiety, physical sickness, heartache etc.), I actually feel like this is more than a teaching today—it’s a prophetic declaration. We’re in the 500th year of the reformation when the protestant movement was birthed. I felt like God said that we are entering Reformation 2.0 and that He’s going to do some crazy things in this season. So, all that to say, get your hopes up!

LEAVING YOUR PAIN BEHIND

I want us to take a look at a story in Scripture that’s a beautiful representation of what it’s like to step away from pain. John 5:2-8 (emphasis added):

“Now there is in Jerusalem by the sheep gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew Bethesda, having five porticoes. In these lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, and withered, waiting for the moving of the waters; for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was made well from whatever disease with which he was afflicted. A man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, “Do you wish to get well?” The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me.” Jesus *said to him, “Get up, pick up your pallet and walk.” 

Think about it. This man was at the healing pool for 38 years. He had watched others get healed while he was still waiting on his miracle for 38 years! Can you imagine the discouragement he was living in? I’m surprised he hadn’t given up yet! Then Jesus asked him a question. I think this is a question we all need to ask ourselves—do we want to get well? Some people go to the doctor or the healing rooms and never get well because they come with hopelessness and the expectation that they will leave that place sick. This is because they’ve learned how to live and cope with the pain. Many people come to the of pool promise but hopelessness reduces them to the pallet of pain. However, Jesus wants to take your pallet of pain and transform it into pulpit of purpose! Today is the day your pain is supposed to go, and I want to encourage you to pick up your pallet and walk! 

HEALING IS BETTER THAN NUMBNESS

Many people reduce their life to accommodate their pain instead of deal with it. The truth is that we’ve all experienced pain in life. An adage I live by is that you can’t always help what happens to you but you can always help what happens in you. I’ve been with people who are in tremendous pain and don’t feel the emotion of it anymore because they’ve reduced their life to accommodate it. They’ve numbed themselves. When we numb the pain we can’t figure out the source, so we try to fix the symptoms but our lives just get worse and worse. I encourage you to step into the pain because God wants to heal you, not numb you.4 things you should know about pain:

1. Pain is rarely the problem; it is almost always the symptom. Give yourself permission to dig deep and find the root of what’s going on.
2. Pain will lead you to the source of your problem. It’s actually a gift and a lead to follow.
3. The level of your pain does not always determine the depth of your problem. For example, a sliver in your finger can feel like you need to chop off your hand because the pain is so bad!
4.Ignoring pain or being afraid of pain often leads to bigger problems.

A CULTURE OF WHOLENESS

When you’re walking out of pain it’s important to create a culture of wholeness around you. Don’t listen to sad music or watch sad movies when you are processing through your pain. Don’t sing songs to your pain, but rather sing songs to your victory! Don’t minister to your pain or make it comfortable! Don’t try to live with it, rather make sure you’re working through it and getting it out. The Bible says we WALK through the valley, so don’t stop and camp out there. So how do you do this?

Recently I asked pastor Bill how his weekend was and he told me he had a great weekend and spent a day listening and watching to the prophecies that were given to him and Beni over the years. I was like, “Uh… I dug a ditch this weekend!” Haha. I just want to say that Bill has developed a culture of testimony and prophecy around himself, so that his weakness became his strength. He has fed his soul and spirit with God’s truth, with testimonies of what God has done in his life and in other people’s lives, and the prophecies that fill him with the hope of what’s to come. He has truly strengthened himself in the Lord. Over the years he refused to be a depressed man and rather created a culture of prophecy and testimony around him. We, myself and I’m sure many of you, now get to feed off of that. What I want to propose to you today is that you can do the same thing! You can feed off of the testimonies of breakthrough you’ve heard and the prophecies spoken over you! You can create a culture that others get to feed off of. But you have to leave pain so that you can get up and walk in breakthrough.

DO IT AGAIN

I feel that we are in a kairos moment for stepping out of pain, which reminds me of a passage in John 21. When Jesus rose from the dead he went to find the disciples in a boat. They had been fishing all night and Jesus yelled out to them from the shore to ask if they’d caught anything. They replied to say no, and that they’d been fishing all night. Jesus told them to cast their nets on the other side of the boat. Now let’s just think for a second. You’d think that if they were fishing all night that they’d tried their net on both sides of the boat! But Jesus asked them to do it one more time. My point is that sometimes it doesn’t take a new action, but rather a renewed action to see breakthrough. Sometimes Jesus asks you to do the thing you’ve been doing just one more time. I feel like this is a “try it again” day—whether that means going to the doctor one more time, going to the healing rooms one more time, calling your son or daughter that you haven’t heard from in years one more time…Today is the day that you can walk out of pain. The Lord is saying “take up the pallet of promise and move on.”

AFFECTED RATHER THAN OFFENDED

Some people may be offended at this blog. It’s not always easy to hear “get up and walk” when we’ve been waiting for our breakthrough. Think about the man at the pool of Bethesda… when Jesus told him to pick up his pallet and walk he could’ve jumped into a myriad of reasons for why he was sick and honestly taken offense. But when God is giving us the command to get up and move on, we have to purpose to not be offended! He’s not saying it with a calloused heart; He’s saying it with profound authority!

There’s something powerful about refusing to get offended when the Lord says to be strong and courageous while you’re looking fear and discouragement in the face. Receive the grace that comes with the word even if it feels harsh, and determine to be affected by His command instead of offended by it.

TODAY WE DECLARE BREAKTHROUGH!

Today, regardless of why you’re in a hard season, I want to encourage you to declare this out loud over youself. The power of life and death is in the tongue so let’s speak life over ourselves! Ready? Here we go: “I am leaving my pain behind. This is my day of deliverance. This day, the Lord will deliver me from the things that have plagued me and my family for generations. This is the day that the Lord decreed that I would walk out of a place of misery in every area of my life. Today’s breakthrough will affect and infect my children and my grandchildren. We will create a legacy of breakthrough. Hope and peace will be named among the attributes of my family lineage. Our family will create a culture of wholeness. What feeds us and walks us out of pain today will become our strength, and thousands of people will come to our house to get out of pain and find promise!”

Like I said before I’ve taught on walking out of pain a few times and I want to give you my teaching notes today. Simply click here to check them out. They include steps for walking out of pain that I hope will help you! I’d also love to hear from you in the comments! Let me know your thoughts and testimonies below.


September 27, 2017, Kris Vallotton
Join the conversation on Facebook or Twitter Feel free to share with others, but please leave the contact info intact. Click here to subscribe, or visit www.northwestprophetic.com. To submit a word for the Northwest, visit our Submit A Word page, or email to NWP@northwestprophetic.com. Thanks!
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Letters

Kindness Leads to Repentance

In Matthew chapter 6, Jesus is describing some of the ways that his family is to be different than how the world does things. In the middle of that lecture, he drops this bomb: “Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”

There’s one command in this, and one reason for the command. Don’t be like those people because unlike their father, your Father knows what you need, even before you tell him.

I’d like to share a testimony, if I may.

I was helping someone with a legal issue. This someone important to me, someone who calls me “dad.” And the legal issue was pretty bad. It wasn’t that he had done anything illegal, but he’d gotten involved with a World Class Pain-In-The-Hindquarters. 

The World Class Pain was making his life miserable, threatening lawsuits, threatening huge expenses, and was completely flouting the law on the matter. He was Too Important To Be Bothered with things like that (he is a legitimate millionaire, for all the good it does him), and he does know powerful people who owe him favors.

So we’d talked together about the options open to us. At its most intense point, my spiritual son called me in terror and confusion about the latest round of threats, so I called the Millionaire Pain and explained things firmly to him. I think he’ll be able to use that ear again in a few days. I did not submit to his campaign of terror. I wasn’t rude, but I didn’t let him push me around.

But I pissed him off, so he jacked up the intimidation and threats, and neither my son nor I slept much for a couple of nights.

I wanted to ask for prayer, but I didn’t feel that freedom.

A day later, I realized that when I got in his face, I misquoted some facts to him, so I called him back, and (as expected) he sent my call to voicemail, so I left him a long message. I apologized for my errant facts, explained the situation from my son’s perspective, acknowledged what we understood of his own needs in the situation, and proposed a sit-down meeting where we could resolve the disagreement.

He ignored me, of course. His intimidation continued, but it did not escalate again.

Again, I wanted to post a prayer request, but I still didn’t feel the freedom.

One night it really got to me. I should have been asleep. Instead, I was ranting, my intestines were growling, and my sheets were soaked with sweat. I had acknowledged that we’d probably need to take the Pain to court, but as I rolled it around in my mind, I realized that we couldn’t lose the case. We had him cold! We had documentation of a couple of things that would make this an open and shut case! I didn’t want to go to court (nobody in their right mind does), but if we needed to, we would win.

And then I realized that The Pain wasn’t doing any of this to hurt my son or to hurt me, and he wasn’t doing this to win a court case. He just needed to stay in power in his interactions with other people. He needed to feel powerful, and this whole drama was how he met that need. I honestly began to feel sorry for him. That was actually confusing; he was the reason I was still awake at 3:00 in the morning!

And then Father reminded me of Romans 2:4b: “God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance.” We wanted him to change his mind about the hell he was wreaking; we wanted him to repent. Here, God’s showing me the key to The Pain's repentance: my kindness. Nice.

So I prayed quite a bit; I prayed blessing on this man, on his business, on his real estate holdings. But wait, there's more!

I’d been studying angels in the Bible, recently. My new favorite book of the Bible talked about them: “Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” (Hebrews 1:14).

So I invited some angels to go visit him and minister the things of the Kingdom to him. We’re supposed to DO the stuff we’re learning, right? And I gave him a new name. No longer The Pain, now he was The Millionaire.

Suddenly, I was tired and I slept.

The next morning, the Millionaire surprised us all. He messaged my son with a remarkably reasonable response. He outlined some things he needed from us (reasonable ones!), and offered some concessions we hadn’t even asked for. Then he recused himself from the final negotiations and he invited us to work with his more reasonable partner. (What? Who IS this guy?)

I wonder if there’s a connection?

I shared the good news with Mrs P, and she admitted that she had been praying blessing on him as well (before she dropped off to a sound sleep several hours before I did!).

I never did ask others for prayer. Our amazing Father really does know what we need, even before we tell him. He’d been answering that prayer long before we got around to praying it.

Then I heard Holy Spirit whisper to me, “I’m serious. It’s kindness that brings repentance. Not power, not strength of will, not even being right. It’s kindness.”

It's kindness that leads to repentance. It really is. 

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Letters

Kindness Leads to Repentance

In Matthew chapter 6, Jesus is describing some of the ways that his family is to be different than how the world does things. In the middle of that lecture, he drops this bomb: “Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”

There’s one command in this, and one reason for the command. Don’t be like those people because unlike their father, your Father knows what you need, even before you tell him.

I’d like to share a testimony, if I may.

I was helping someone with a legal issue. This someone important to me, someone who calls me “dad.” And the legal issue was pretty bad. It wasn’t that he had done anything illegal, but he’d gotten involved with a World Class Pain-In-The-Hindquarters. 

The World Class Pain was making his life miserable, threatening lawsuits, threatening huge expenses, and was completely flouting the law on the matter. He was Too Important To Be Bothered with things like that (he is a legitimate millionaire, for all the good it does him), and he does know powerful people who owe him favors.

So we’d talked together about the options open to us. At its most intense point, my spiritual son called me in terror and confusion about the latest round of threats, so I called the Millionaire Pain and explained things firmly to him. I think he’ll be able to use that ear again in a few days. I did not submit to his campaign of terror. I wasn’t rude, but I didn’t let him push me around.

But I pissed him off, so he jacked up the intimidation and threats, and neither my son nor I slept much for a couple of nights.

I wanted to ask for prayer, but I didn’t feel that freedom.

A day later, I realized that when I got in his face, I misquoted some facts to him, so I called him back, and (as expected) he sent my call to voicemail, so I left him a long message. I apologized for my errant facts, explained the situation from my son’s perspective, acknowledged what we understood of his own needs in the situation, and proposed a sit-down meeting where we could resolve the disagreement.

He ignored me, of course. His intimidation continued, but it did not escalate again.

Again, I wanted to post a prayer request, but I still didn’t feel the freedom.

One night it really got to me. I should have been asleep. Instead, I was ranting, my intestines were growling, and my sheets were soaked with sweat. I had acknowledged that we’d probably need to take the Pain to court, but as I rolled it around in my mind, I realized that we couldn’t lose the case. We had him cold! We had documentation of a couple of things that would make this an open and shut case! I didn’t want to go to court (nobody in their right mind does), but if we needed to, we would win.

And then I realized that The Pain wasn’t doing any of this to hurt my son or to hurt me, and he wasn’t doing this to win a court case. He just needed to stay in power in his interactions with other people. He needed to feel powerful, and this whole drama was how he met that need. I honestly began to feel sorry for him. That was actually confusing; he was the reason I was still awake at 3:00 in the morning!

And then Father reminded me of Romans 2:4b: “God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance.” We wanted him to change his mind about the hell he was wreaking; we wanted him to repent. Here, God’s showing me the key to The Pain's repentance: my kindness. Nice.

So I prayed quite a bit; I prayed blessing on this man, on his business, on his real estate holdings. But wait, there's more!

I’d been studying angels in the Bible, recently. My new favorite book of the Bible talked about them: “Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” (Hebrews 1:14).

So I invited some angels to go visit him and minister the things of the Kingdom to him. We’re supposed to DO the stuff we’re learning, right? And I gave him a new name. No longer The Pain, now he was The Millionaire.

Suddenly, I was tired and I slept.

The next morning, the Millionaire surprised us all. He messaged my son with a remarkably reasonable response. He outlined some things he needed from us (reasonable ones!), and offered some concessions we hadn’t even asked for. Then he recused himself from the final negotiations and he invited us to work with his more reasonable partner. (What? Who IS this guy?)

I wonder if there’s a connection?

I shared the good news with Mrs P, and she admitted that she had been praying blessing on him as well (before she dropped off to a sound sleep several hours before I did!).

I never did ask others for prayer. Our amazing Father really does know what we need, even before we tell him. He’d been answering that prayer long before we got around to praying it.

Then I heard Holy Spirit whisper to me, “I’m serious. It’s kindness that brings repentance. Not power, not strength of will, not even being right. It’s kindness.”

It's kindness that leads to repentance. It really is. 

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Letters

Does the Bible Tell Lies?

This is a serious question:

If somebody is telling you a flat-out lie, and I report, “This is what they’re saying,” without describing it as the truth or as a lie, Then am I telling you the truth to you? Or am I lying to you?

Related to that:

If somebody is telling a flat-out lie, and the Bible reports, “This is what they said,” without describing it as either truthful or a lie, Then is the Bible speaking truth? Or is it lying?

Of course, I’m going to argue that if the Bible is just reporting what they said, that this it is telling the truth, even if what it is truthfully reporting is a lie. Even when the Bible accurately quotes their lying words, it is telling the truth, and you can have confidence that they did, indeed, tell that lie.

For example, when Bildad the Shuhite says to Job, “When your children sinned against him, [God] gave them over to the penalty of their sin,” [Job 8:4] and the Bible truthfully reports Bildad’s fake news, then the Bible is still speaking the truth, even if Job’s children never sinned, and even if Bildad can’t tell his sphincter from a scepter.

Or when the Bible accurately quotes a snake calling God a liar, and declaring “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil,” [Genesis 3:5], then the Bible is still telling the truth, even though the words it is quoting are a flat-out lie, literally straight from the devil’s mouth.

This leads to a very awkward and uncomfortable place. I’m going to say this bluntly:


  • Not everything the Bible says is true.
  • Some of what the Bible says is a lie, because
  • Sometimes the Bible truthfully reports people’s lies.


That’s going to trigger some folks, but take a deep breath and think about it: we’ve just discussed two specific lies that the Bible quotes. The Bible accurately (“truthfully”) reports the lies. But they’re still lies. They’re still in the Bible. The Bible contains these two lies (and many more).

What’s even more challenging is that the Bible doesn’t generally identify whether people are speaking the truth or telling a lie, just like it doesn’t comment on whether what they’re doing is wise or stupid. It never commented that the snake was lying, or that Bildad was lying.

And there are some epic examples of stupid choices and stupid thinking that the Bible reports to us. If you think about it, you can think of several yourself.

“But what about that verse that says it’s all inspired?”

The verse actually says, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” [2 Timothy 3:16] Yep. That’s what it says. And yes, this is true!

So yeah, it’s still good for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. Some of it, by virtue of accurately reporting people’s stupid choices, is particularly helpful for the rebuking and correcting parts! (Yes, David really did seduce his good friend’s wife, and then murder that friend to cover it up. No, we are not teaching that you need to do the same thing!)

In other words, yes, the Bible is still precious, and it is still God-breathed and useful nutrition for saints. But like all nutrition, some of it needs to be chewed well before the nutrients are available to help saints grow.

Don’t just grab pieces and swallow them whole. Find out who said it, who they said it to, and the circumstances they were said in. Learn to chew your food carefully.

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Letters

Does the Bible Tell Lies?

This is a serious question:

If somebody is telling you a flat-out lie, and I report, “This is what they’re saying,” without describing it as the truth or as a lie, Then am I telling you the truth to you? Or am I lying to you?

Related to that:

If somebody is telling a flat-out lie, and the Bible reports, “This is what they said,” without describing it as either truthful or a lie, Then is the Bible speaking truth? Or is it lying?

Of course, I’m going to argue that if the Bible is just reporting what they said, that this it is telling the truth, even if what it is truthfully reporting is a lie. Even when the Bible accurately quotes their lying words, it is telling the truth, and you can have confidence that they did, indeed, tell that lie.

For example, when Bildad the Shuhite says to Job, “When your children sinned against him, [God] gave them over to the penalty of their sin,” [Job 8:4] and the Bible truthfully reports Bildad’s fake news, then the Bible is still speaking the truth, even if Job’s children never sinned, and even if Bildad can’t tell his sphincter from a scepter.

Or when the Bible accurately quotes a snake calling God a liar, and declaring “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil,” [Genesis 3:5], then the Bible is still telling the truth, even though the words it is quoting are a flat-out lie, literally straight from the devil’s mouth.

This leads to a very awkward and uncomfortable place. I’m going to say this bluntly:


  • Not everything the Bible says is true.
  • Some of what the Bible says is a lie, because
  • Sometimes the Bible truthfully reports people’s lies.


That’s going to trigger some folks, but take a deep breath and think about it: we’ve just discussed two specific lies that the Bible quotes. The Bible accurately (“truthfully”) reports the lies. But they’re still lies. They’re still in the Bible. The Bible contains these two lies (and many more).

What’s even more challenging is that the Bible doesn’t generally identify whether people are speaking the truth or telling a lie, just like it doesn’t comment on whether what they’re doing is wise or stupid. It never commented that the snake was lying, or that Bildad was lying.

And there are some epic examples of stupid choices and stupid thinking that the Bible reports to us. If you think about it, you can think of several yourself.

“But what about that verse that says it’s all inspired?”

The verse actually says, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” [2 Timothy 3:16] Yep. That’s what it says. And yes, this is true!

So yeah, it’s still good for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. Some of it, by virtue of accurately reporting people’s stupid choices, is particularly helpful for the rebuking and correcting parts! (Yes, David really did seduce his good friend’s wife, and then murder that friend to cover it up. No, we are not teaching that you need to do the same thing!)

In other words, yes, the Bible is still precious, and it is still God-breathed and useful nutrition for saints. But like all nutrition, some of it needs to be chewed well before the nutrients are available to help saints grow.

Don’t just grab pieces and swallow them whole. Find out who said it, who they said it to, and the circumstances they were said in. Learn to chew your food carefully.

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Letters

The Test: Do I Really Believe What I Post?

So I posted something on Facebook the other day.

·         If God is really our provider, and that’s not just a religious saying, then why must we always worry about getting the very best price?

This is something Father and I have been talking about. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised when he tests me on it.

I’ve been looking for a piece of equipment; my “to do list” has a hot link to a Craigslist search for the piece. And over the weekend some gave me some money, enough to buy the piece. And what do you know: there’s one for sale, exactly the sort that I’m looking for. 　

On the way there, Father & I discussed this. I decided that “the best deal” was not the goal, but “the best honor” was a better choice. I had a price in my mind – not sure why it was there – that was well below his asking price.

So looking at the equipment, he offered to sell it for less; in fact, it was the exact amount I had in my mind (and in my pocket). Imagine that. 　

But we tested it first. Oops. Not pretty. Needs new blades. He agreed and lowered his price again (I haven’t pushed him on price even once), this time to an odd number. I said no, and insisted on the next higher even number: all I had were $20 bills. He was happy with that.

I got home, tried to sharpen the blades on it: No go. Needs new blades.

Ordered blades from a little shop online. With shipping, that brings the total back up to the number that I had in my mind originally. And in my pocket.

What a funny process. But I think I learned some things here:

* I really CAN trust Father’s provision.
* Honor is more important than “the best” price.
* The path he takes me on may at times be circuitous. But it WILL be interesting.




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Letters

The Test: Do I Really Believe What I Post?

So I posted something on Facebook the other day.

·         If God is really our provider, and that’s not just a religious saying, then why must we always worry about getting the very best price?

This is something Father and I have been talking about. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised when he tests me on it.

I’ve been looking for a piece of equipment; my “to do list” has a hot link to a Craigslist search for the piece. And over the weekend some gave me some money, enough to buy the piece. And what do you know: there’s one for sale, exactly the sort that I’m looking for. 　

On the way there, Father & I discussed this. I decided that “the best deal” was not the goal, but “the best honor” was a better choice. I had a price in my mind – not sure why it was there – that was well below his asking price.

So looking at the equipment, he offered to sell it for less; in fact, it was the exact amount I had in my mind (and in my pocket). Imagine that. 　

But we tested it first. Oops. Not pretty. Needs new blades. He agreed and lowered his price again (I haven’t pushed him on price even once), this time to an odd number. I said no, and insisted on the next higher even number: all I had were $20 bills. He was happy with that.

I got home, tried to sharpen the blades on it: No go. Needs new blades.

Ordered blades from a little shop online. With shipping, that brings the total back up to the number that I had in my mind originally. And in my pocket.

What a funny process. But I think I learned some things here:

* I really CAN trust Father’s provision.
* Honor is more important than “the best” price.
* The path he takes me on may at times be circuitous. But it WILL be interesting.




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