The more and more I have thought, unto the Lord, about my last post, the more and more understanding I get. Please don't think for one minute that I am happy about the things that the Lord is revealing to me. But very honestly, I have suspected something like this for years.

More than ten years ago, we were attending a local church. When the Holy Spirit began to move in the worship dance ministry that I was leading, I was pressured out of the church. It was a traumatic and painful experience for me but during that season the Lord began to speak to me in very dramatic ways.

First, He proved to me that I was hearing Him. I could write a book about what happened in that season but let me just say that God began to tell me very 'odd' things. Then He would prove to me that I had heard Him.

For instance, I had been one of the small group leaders for a women's Bible study at this same church. We were just getting ready to start Beth Moore's The Patriarchs when the Lord asked me to step down. I obeyed. Then He told me not to even take the Bible study.

I confess that I was really disappointed because I was enjoying these studies so much.

Immediately after that the Lord began to lead me to read in Genesis and began to give me amazing revelation. I had a dear friend who was still leading one of the small groups. We would talk often and I would share what the Lord was showing me. Then, amazingly, she would get the same thing from The Patriarchs Bible study! This happened through the entire Bible study.

The Lord taught me the same Bible study by the Holy Spirit! The really amazing part to me was the details the Lord told me.

There were honestly some things that God did in this season that overwhelmed me a bit. I began to see angels and demons and become very aware of what was going on in the spirit realm and that took some adjustment. One day, I became so aware of something God had done, that I had to leave the house.

And then God began to break off some religious principles that I had been taught in the church. I'm not going to share these things today because I want the timing and the release of the Lord. It took Him some drama to set me free because I was very ingrained into the ways of the church.

One day, I was walking across my dining room when the Lord spoke to me and  His Presence was like a weight that drove me to my knees. And that still wasn't enough to get me set free of the thing He had spoken to me about. It took months of me saying, "Are You sure?" before I had peace. The Spirit of Religion is a strong and binding spirit that keeps The Body from the joy and freedom that God desires His people to have.

I'm telling you all this because I know that I have said things on my blog that trouble some of you. And I get it. There was a time in my walk with the Lord that I could not have heard the things I know now. I would have become offended and immediately shut the door to what was being said. This is why Jesus talks about us being able to 'hear' Him.

The Lord showed me the spirit of pride once. It had hands over the eyes and ears of a person and it put a hand out in front of them held out in a 'stop' position.  The next day, I was in a 'discussion' with an elderly gentleman and saw him do this same motion!

I do my best to obey the Holy Spirit in my encounters with people. Sometimes, the conviction of the Holy Spirit comes on me and I share what the Lord is putting on my heart and the person is greatly offended and rejects the Word. And I have learned to live with that.

But I know there are people out there who are hearing the Holy Spirit and need encouragement to survive in the organized church and this world.  I cannot tell you how much I appreciate those who have befriended me on Facebook and by email and give me such loving, encouraging words daily.

love and blessings~

The more and more I have thought, unto the Lord, about my last post, the more and more understanding I get. Please don't think for one minute that I am happy about the things that the Lord is revealing to me. But very honestly, I have suspected something like this for years.

More than ten years ago, we were attending a local church. When the Holy Spirit began to move in the worship dance ministry that I was leading, I was pressured out of the church. It was a traumatic and painful experience for me but during that season the Lord began to speak to me in very dramatic ways.

First, He proved to me that I was hearing Him. I could write a book about what happened in that season but let me just say that God began to tell me very 'odd' things. Then He would prove to me that I had heard Him.

For instance, I had been one of the small group leaders for a women's Bible study at this same church. We were just getting ready to start Beth Moore's The Patriarchs when the Lord asked me to step down. I obeyed. Then He told me not to even take the Bible study.

I confess that I was really disappointed because I was enjoying these studies so much.

Immediately after that the Lord began to lead me to read in Genesis and began to give me amazing revelation. I had a dear friend who was still leading one of the small groups. We would talk often and I would share what the Lord was showing me. Then, amazingly, she would get the same thing from The Patriarchs Bible study! This happened through the entire Bible study.

The Lord taught me the same Bible study by the Holy Spirit! The really amazing part to me was the details the Lord told me.

There were honestly some things that God did in this season that overwhelmed me a bit. I began to see angels and demons and become very aware of what was going on in the spirit realm and that took some adjustment. One day, I became so aware of something God had done, that I had to leave the house.

And then God began to break off some religious principles that I had been taught in the church. I'm not going to share these things today because I want the timing and the release of the Lord. It took Him some drama to set me free because I was very ingrained into the ways of the church.

One day, I was walking across my dining room when the Lord spoke to me and  His Presence was like a weight that drove me to my knees. And that still wasn't enough to get me set free of the thing He had spoken to me about. It took months of me saying, "Are You sure?" before I had peace. The Spirit of Religion is a strong and binding spirit that keeps The Body from the joy and freedom that God desires His people to have.

I'm telling you all this because I know that I have said things on my blog that trouble some of you. And I get it. There was a time in my walk with the Lord that I could not have heard the things I know now. I would have become offended and immediately shut the door to what was being said. This is why Jesus talks about us being able to 'hear' Him.

The Lord showed me the spirit of pride once. It had hands over the eyes and ears of a person and it put a hand out in front of them held out in a 'stop' position.  The next day, I was in a 'discussion' with an elderly gentleman and saw him do this same motion!

I do my best to obey the Holy Spirit in my encounters with people. Sometimes, the conviction of the Holy Spirit comes on me and I share what the Lord is putting on my heart and the person is greatly offended and rejects the Word. And I have learned to live with that.

But I know there are people out there who are hearing the Holy Spirit and need encouragement to survive in the organized church and this world.  I cannot tell you how much I appreciate those who have befriended me on Facebook and by email and give me such loving, encouraging words daily.

love and blessings~

I read a very interesting blog article the other day. I didn't save it and now I can't find it. But when I woke up this morning, the Lord began to give me some direction that I'm very excited about.

In this blog, this male Christian blogger proposed that the Free Evangelical Church is the anti-Christ. He defended this thought well - the biggest thing I remember is him saying that Jesus had the harshest criticisms for the religious.

I heard a long time ago that the spirit of anti-Christ should also be thought of as 'instead of Christ.' I have felt for a long time that the majority of today's churches have an instead of Christ attitude ~ having a form of Godliness but denying the power within.

When is the last time you attended church and received healing? saw a miracle? a deliverance?

Instead, there are programs to raise money to build a new building and marketing strategies to 'reach' the community. I attended a church several years ago that paid a man, who was a professional church marketing strategist, to create a program to raise money for the church!  I was in leadership at that time and was asked to create part of the service that would kick-off this campaign.

I remember standing in this meeting feeling the grief of the Holy Spirit. The events that surrounded this became the catalyst that God used to set me free from religion.

I was shocked the first time I entered a church and received a 'program' that gave the details of the service. Apparently, no one expected the Holy Spirit to move during the service and I suspect if God had found a way to 'move,' it would have been quenched.

We've all heard it said that the churches don't need the Holy Spirit to do 99% of what they're doing today. And we are the church. It's hard today to tell a lot of difference between an American Christian and anybody else.

We dress the same, divorce the same, have intimate relationships before marriage the same, use pharmaceuticals and doctors instead of receiving healing from God, have the same illnesses, the same poverty, etc, etc, etc, ~ all the while professing Christ. The church has an 'instead of Christ' spirit.

This morning, I woke up about 5 am, which is unusual for me. As I lay there, inwardly grumbling that I was going to be tired today, the Lord began to give me a vision.

I saw people entering a building and greeting each other in the foyer and talking. But I saw a sanctuary door closed, with a sign on the door telling people that prayer and worship was going on. After they had greeted each other, the people entered the sanctuary quietly with awe and reverence for the Lord and there was a cloud of glory in this room. The chairs were set in a circle with everybody facing each other.  There was no platform and no obvious leader. There was a small group of musicians in the corner playing worship songs as the people prayed and worshiped.

When the Holy Spirit began to move, people began to give Words from the Lord. The entire thing was Spirit led - prayer, worship, what was spoken, and every 'service' would be completely different as the Lord led. There was a 'gentle' leader that would keep order and point to who's turn it was to speak but no one 'screened' the Words. If someone gave a Word that was not 'pure', it was 'tweaked' by those in the congregation, until everyone felt they had heard what God wanted to say to them today.

As the Lord led, there would be prayer for healing, deliverance, etc.

When the Holy Spirit released the people, they went to a meal. This meal was a true communion ~ eating and drinking together unto the Lord, remembering Jesus and honoring the Body of Christ.

I'm not going to add anything to this. I have sought the Lord for many years regarding these things and was blessed by what He showed me this morning. Please let Him speak to you regarding these things.

love and blessings~

I read a very interesting blog article the other day. I didn't save it and now I can't find it. But when I woke up this morning, the Lord began to give me some direction that I'm very excited about.

In this blog, this male Christian blogger proposed that the Free Evangelical Church is the anti-Christ. He defended this thought well - the biggest thing I remember is him saying that Jesus had the harshest criticisms for the religious.

I heard a long time ago that the spirit of anti-Christ should also be thought of as 'instead of Christ.' I have felt for a long time that the majority of today's churches have an instead of Christ attitude ~ having a form of Godliness but denying the power within.

When is the last time you attended church and received healing? saw a miracle? a deliverance?

Instead, there are programs to raise money to build a new building and marketing strategies to 'reach' the community. I attended a church several years ago that paid a man, who was a professional church marketing strategist, to create a program to raise money for the church!  I was in leadership at that time and was asked to create part of the service that would kick-off this campaign.

I remember standing in this meeting feeling the grief of the Holy Spirit. The events that surrounded this became the catalyst that God used to set me free from religion.

I was shocked the first time I entered a church and received a 'program' that gave the details of the service. Apparently, no one expected the Holy Spirit to move during the service and I suspect if God had found a way to 'move,' it would have been quenched.

We've all heard it said that the churches don't need the Holy Spirit to do 99% of what they're doing today. And we are the church. It's hard today to tell a lot of difference between an American Christian and anybody else.

We dress the same, divorce the same, have intimate relationships before marriage the same, use pharmaceuticals and doctors instead of receiving healing from God, have the same illnesses, the same poverty, etc, etc, etc, ~ all the while professing Christ. The church has an 'instead of Christ' spirit.

This morning, I woke up about 5 am, which is unusual for me. As I lay there, inwardly grumbling that I was going to be tired today, the Lord began to give me a vision.

I saw people entering a building and greeting each other in the foyer and talking. But I saw a sanctuary door closed, with a sign on the door telling people that prayer and worship was going on. After they had greeted each other, the people entered the sanctuary quietly with awe and reverence for the Lord and there was a cloud of glory in this room. The chairs were set in a circle with everybody facing each other.  There was no platform and no obvious leader. There was a small group of musicians in the corner playing worship songs as the people prayed and worshiped.

When the Holy Spirit began to move, people began to give Words from the Lord. The entire thing was Spirit led - prayer, worship, what was spoken, and every 'service' would be completely different as the Lord led. There was a 'gentle' leader that would keep order and point to who's turn it was to speak but no one 'screened' the Words. If someone gave a Word that was not 'pure', it was 'tweaked' by those in the congregation, until everyone felt they had heard what God wanted to say to them today.

As the Lord led, there would be prayer for healing, deliverance, etc.

When the Holy Spirit released the people, they went to a meal. This meal was a true communion ~ eating and drinking together unto the Lord, remembering Jesus and honoring the Body of Christ.

I'm not going to add anything to this. I have sought the Lord for many years regarding these things and was blessed by what He showed me this morning. Please let Him speak to you regarding these things.

love and blessings~