“You’re WEIRD!!!”

Posted by Admin on Sep 3, 2015 in Prayer Perspective | Comments Off on “You’re WEIRD!!!”

The sword of the Spirit is a powerful, offensive weapon God has given to every believer. This sword is His Word and is designed to be exercised under the direction of the Holy Spirit. Not one word or syllable of God’s Word is devoid of power, and when initiated by the leading of the Holy Spirit, it will surely hit the bull’s-eye and accomplish what God intends it to do.

God is able to quicken His Word to your heart, and when you pray or speak that Scripture with faith, it will achieve God’s purpose.

As for me, after witnessing God’s power in the encounter with “corduroy shirt” man (see “Ever thought you might be martyred???”), I was ecstatic. I had just found a secret weapon I could pull out whenever things got a bit hairy…or so I thought.

You see, the problem was that I decided that Philippians 2:11-12 was my very own lucky charm—my rabbit’s foot—my genie in the bottle. I was looking at it all wrong—as if I was the Big Kahuna in charge of my own deliverance; as if I didn’t need to listen for the Lord’s leading—I had this “gospel wand” I could point—bippety, boppety, boo.

Through trial and error (mistakes!), I’ve learned this: when facing trouble or disaster, lean heavily upon the Spirit of God. He always has a way of escape; my job is to stay hooked up with Him in childlike trust to find out what—if anything—He wants me to do. When facing sudden danger, let Him lead.

Tale Two: The Holy Ghost to the rescue…but just not according to my plan!

On the 4th of July, not long after God displayed His “knock over” power with the infamous “corduroy shirt” man, three of us were returning from a city-wide fireworks display. Traffic in the park was bumper to bumper, just inching along, and we had the windows rolled down. A young man, all liquored-up and stumbling in the park, was screaming into the grid-locked traffic, “ROCK AND ROLL!!!” He and I caught eyes, and he yelled at me, “DO YOU LOVE ROCK AND ROLL?!?”

I looked at him out of the passenger window, and as he approached the car, I said, “I love Jesus.”

He lost his mind. Cursing, he grabbed me and attempted to pull me out of the window. Ah hah! I thought. I get to use my secret weapon! and I quoted Philippians 2:11-12 as he pulled and yanked at my torso, already almost half out of the car window. But…instead of letting go of me as I thought would happen, he became even more enraged and pulled even harder.

Hmmm….this is not good, I thought, and quietly listened to the Holy Spirit within me to hear what to do next. With the upper half of my body being wrenched out of the window, I began to pray in tongues out loud, looking him in the eyes as I did so. I don’t know who was more shocked of the two of us, because he instantly let go and jerked away in disgust.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhrrrrrrrgggghhhhh!” he bellowed. “You’re WEEEEIIRRD!!!!” And after he poured the rest of his beer on my head and the windshield, off he fled into the night.

This situation taught me something profound—God doesn’t necessarily perform according to my script!

1 Corinthians 12:4-6 says, “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons.” If God has a variety of gifts, ministries, and effects, would He not also undertake deliverance for us in a variety of ways? Indeed, God never changes, and Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever; but He works out His wonders in a multitude of ways. The key here is: He does work wonders for us.

Your job and mine is to hold fast to God’s Word, trust Him, ask Him for help, listen, and then obey whatever He shows us to do.

He is trustworthy and will show Himself strong on your behalf.

Dorothy

“Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me?” Jeremiah 32:27

In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:6

“Ever thought you might be martyred???”

Posted by Admin on Sep 2, 2015 in Holy Spirit leading, Sword of the Spirit | Comments Off on “Ever thought you might be martyred???”

God has rescued me from dangerous situations more than a few times. I’ll be sharing three of these harrowing experiences in the next three entries.

Part of my purpose in sharing these events is to focus on one thing I’ve learned by trial and error—no two methods of deliverance will be exactly alike. Trust me—I’ve tried to use the method you’ll read about in the following account as my go-to “deliverance-from-danger” formula, but God wasn’t having it. More on that tomorrow.

Here’s the main thing I’ve learned. When you are confronted with impending trouble or disaster, you must lean heavily upon the Spirit of God. He always has a way of escape for you; your job is to stay hooked up with Him in childlike trust to find out what—if anything—He wants you to do. When you are facing sudden danger, you must let Him lead.

Tale One: Deliverance from a creepy guy in a corduroy shirt

Many years ago, I was handing out tracts with a group of friends outside of Busch Stadium, home to the St. Louis Cardinals. In front of the Stan “the Man” Musial statue, my friend Cat and I were attempting to share the gospel with a scraggly young man. He stood, facing us, his back to the curb, with something obviously hidden under his maroon corduroy shirt. A strange look came over his face as he leaned in toward us and snarled, “Have you ever considered that you might be martyred for your faith?”

Without a thought, up from my insides Scripture thundered. I spoke the words I heard: “At the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:11 and 12 just rocketed up from my spirit and flowed out of my mouth! The sword of the Spirit was in operation.

But the next thing that happened left Cat and me with dropped jaws. The man, leaning into us and threatening one minute, collapsed backward the next, falling onto the hood of the car parked behind him at the curb. Just then, some of the guys in our group approached us and asked if we wanted them to take over. Cat and I, who were punching each other in the thighs, both in shock, both thinking—that really happened?—left the fallen man to the guys.

Tale Two tomorrow.

Until then,

Dorothy

…the word of God … performs its work in you who believe. 1 Thessalonians 2:13b

Trouble averted

Posted by Admin on Sep 1, 2015 in Holy Spirit leading, Prayer Perspective | Comments Off on Trouble averted

I don’t have unusual leadings from the Holy Spirit on a daily basis. In fact, I don’t seek for spectacular leadings; but I do endeavor to be available if He wants to drop something into my spirit as I go about my day. I know that He truly does lead us; His leading is meant to be part of a normal Christian life; and I do my best to be consistent in the Word and prayer so that I’ll be ready and available to receive an assignment from the Lord when He decides to share something.

A few years ago I was taking my customary daily walk around the neighborhood. I have a habit of quietly praying in the Spirit as I go, praying for my neighborhood or whatever else the Lord may drop in my heart.

On this one particular morning, as I passed by a house just three doors down from mine, it felt as if I was punched in the stomach. It didn’t hurt, but it was a deep punch, nonetheless. A quiet groan came up from within me, Trouble! There’s trouble in this home. And so I prayed, listening for any further leads from the Holy Spirit. I didn’t stop my walk to knock on their door; I kept going. I didn’t know the aging biker couple who lived there; all I knew was that trouble had come to their home and that God wanted me to cover it in prayer.

When God gives an assignment such as this, your job is to first of all, pray. Let Him use you by His Spirit to cover what He’s shown you. In this case, I didn’t feel led to go talk to them that day; so when I completed my walk, I left my prayer for them in the Lord’s capable hands.

Not more than five days later as I was returning home from an errand, I saw a news crew parked on my quiet street. I took my time turning into my driveway, rubber necking at the interview occurring between a Fox 2 News reporter and my neighbor in the front yard of his house—the house of trouble for which I had prayed just four or five days earlier.

That evening on TV there he was—my neighbor with his long gray hair, leather vest, and biker tats—standing in the yard three doors down from me. And he talked of trouble—averted.

His son lives with his grandson in rural Missouri. The then five year-old boy’s mother had been barred from seeing him due to her history with substance abuse. The two “men” were batching it together in their lakeside home when one morning, while the father was preoccupied in another part of the house, the boy’s mother walked in and grabbed the little boy.

Waiting outside in the car was her druggie boyfriend, and as soon as the little boy was deposited into the vehicle, they tore out of there.

When my neighbor’s son realized his five year-old was missing, he frantically called neighbors and friends in the area. No one had seen his child.

After that, he reported the missing boy to the local sheriff and conveyed his suspicions about the child’s mother. An Amber alert was issued along with a description of the vehicle that might have been used in the abduction.

And what do you know? About three days after I was directed to pray about the trouble that had come to my neighbor’s house, an officer saw a vehicle weaving erratically down a two-lane rural highway in Oklahoma. He flashed his lights, and to his surprise, the car screeched to a stop and two people leaped out, disappearing into the woods. He was about to pursue them when he noticed a little passenger in the back seat—my neighbor’s five year-old grandson!

He recognized the boy from the Amber alert, and the process to return him—unharmed—to his father, my neighbor’s son, proceeded quickly and with great joy.

A little less than a year ago I ran into my biker neighbor while he was doing landscaping in the front yard where he’d been interviewed by Fox 2 a year or so before. It was time to tell him about the Holy Ghost head’s up that led me to pray about the trouble that had come to his family. I could tell he wasn’t sure what to make of it all, but his gruff exterior softened as he told me of the fear he, his wife, and their son had lived through before his grandson was rescued. I let him know that God obviously loved all of them quite a bit to have a stranger—me—pray for them in the middle of their trouble. And God answered those prayers—his little grandson was safely reunited with them.

May all of us grow in sensitivity, willingness, and availability to be alert for the promptings of the Holy Spirit as He leads us to pray for those who may not know how to pray for themselves.

It’s a huge part of our calling.

Dorothy

Feel, see, hear…and respond

Posted by Admin on Aug 31, 2015 in Being led by the Spirit, Prayer Perspective, Sword of the Spirit | Comments Off on Feel, see, hear…and respond

For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. Romans 8:14

I thank God that He has a variety of ways by which He can get our attention. For the person who prioritizes Bible time, the ability to pick up on cues from the Holy Spirit will become somewhat easier over time. That’s because God’s Word is a Discerner (see Hebrews 4:12), and He uses it to enlighten us (see John 1:9). The Holy Spirit does not move outside of the parameters of the Word of God, and at the same time, Word of God is indwelt by the Holy Spirit—the two flow together. It makes sense, therefore, that one of the names for the Bible is the Sword of the Spirit.

In 1997 I “felt” the sensation of sharp impact to my left temple as I drove home from church, prompting me to pray. On the other side of town, my friends John and Janet were about to have a head-on collision in which Janet would strike the windshield with her left temple. She and John survived, and Janet suffered nothing in her body but a broken wrist and a bald spot on her left temple the size of a quarter. No scratches, bruises, or welts could be found on that side of her head—she definitely got the better end of the deal between herself and the windshield she shattered! The Holy Spirit had given me a sensation of impact to the left temple; I prayed until the feeling lifted; and Janet and John are alive and well to this day (see “Is it just me or the Holy Ghost?”).

I have learned over the years that when I get some type of unexplainable “sensation” to take some time to pray about it. I’m well aware that some of the time I may have prayed about things that simply popped up in my imagination, but I know that in John and Janet’s case, my prayer hit the very real target.

Years before the situation with John and Janet, I had a similar “feeling”—along with a quick “picture”—that flashed in my mind. I was taking my customary daily walk in my peaceful neighborhood. I passed by a beautiful home on the right hand side of the street and saw a young teen standing on the porch drinking a Mountain Dew. Instantly, I saw an image in my mind of the soda can flying out of the boy’s hand and I “felt” its impact on the back of my head. I said under my breath, “I bind that, in the name of Jesus!”

No sooner had I bound the scenario I had just “seen” and “felt” when in the street behind me I  heard a crash. I turned to look—and the boy had indeed hurled the nearly full can of soda my way, missing me by a foot or so.

All too often, we think that the random oddball thoughts, pictures, or feelings that arise are “just me”, but my goal is to encourage you to take the time to pray about those things before your mind jumps on to a new thought and you miss an opportunity to be led by God’s Spirit.

I moved to a new town as a young Christian, and I was just learning how to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit. I was looking for an apartment move into. As I drove to one I had seen advertised, I felt a nudge to take an earlier exit off the highway. I obeyed and traveled on that road for a couple of miles, and seeing nothing, decided to turn around.

I pulled off and was about to go back to my original destination when I heard a quiet voice within me say, “Pursue those houses.” I did, and soon saw a large sign advertising an apartment complex. Following other signs along the way, I found the complex, fell in love with it, and signed the lease for quite a bit less per month than I would have paid at the place I was originally considering. As it turned out, the complex to which I was led was also much closer to the place of employment where I would eventually be hired.

I also needed a bed frame. I had a twin mattress and box springs, but no frame, so one Saturday morning as I drove around the community where I was temporarily staying, I saw a garage sale. I heard that same quiet voice direct me to enquire about the bed frame. I parked, walked up the driveway, scanned all the objects on display, but saw no bed frame. I believed, however, that the Holy Spirit had told me I would find a bed frame there, so I approached the lady of the house.

“I’m looking for a twin-sized bed frame,” I stated.

Her eyes widened as she wiped her hands on the apron she was wearing. “Well, I’ll be! We debated about lugging that thing up from the basement and thought better of it—we didn’t think anyone would want it! Sure you can have it!”

She called her husband over and he and their son went in to retrieve a dusty, spider-webby twin bed frame—in perfect condition! I paid five dollars for it, took it home, and cleaned it up to look like new.

I’ve bought all kinds of things over the years—cars, furniture, clothes and accessories, appliances, technology, a house—but that old bed frame remains unique to me among my earthly treasures, both past and present. When the Holy Spirit gets in on the action, He can make a dusty old, spider-webby, five-dollar purchase glitter like fine gold in your memory.

Abide in the Word, and the Discerner will be a reliable Guide for you.

Dorothy

“Take my instruction and not silver,
And knowledge rather than choicest gold.
For wisdom is better than jewels;
And all desirable things cannot compare with her.” Proverbs 8:10-11

Is it just me or the Holy Ghost?

Posted by Admin on Aug 28, 2015 in Holy Spirit leading, Prayer Perspective, Sword of the Spirit | Comments Off on Is it just me or the Holy Ghost?

And let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds, in that peaceful state] to which as [members of Christ’s] one body you were also called [to live]. And be thankful (appreciative), [giving praise to God always]. Colossians 3:15, Amplified Bible

Typically, the main way the Holy Spirit leads His people is via the inward witness—that sense of peace or lack thereof concerning a decision they are making. Some people describe it as a “green light/red light” that they pay attention to inside of themselves. Others call it a “hunch”; some call it a “red flag” or a “check” when the guidance leads them away from an event or decision. You probably have followed these subtle signals, yourself, likely giving it little thought. For folks who spend time in the Word of God, this form of direction is generally very reliable.

Prioritize the Word of God in your life, and the Discerner will direct you by His Spirit.

However, people who insist on receiving more dramatic guidance from God place themselves in a vulnerable and potentially deceivable position, in my opinion. That’s because the Bible is “a more sure word of prophecy” (see 2 Peter 1:19, KJV), “to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts” (ibid, NASB). Prioritize the Word of God in your life, and the Discerner will direct you by His Spirit.

That said, at times the Holy Spirit may use more “tangible” methods to direct you. He may show you something; He may speak words to your heart; He may even direct you by giving you a “feeling” of something. If you receive His direction via any of these methods, it doesn’t mean you’re a more “spiritual” or “sanctified” person; it simply means that the Holy Spirit has information He wants you to pray about or act upon. The more willing you are to follow through with His leading—whether subtle promptings or more spectacular guidance—the more sensitive you become to His guidance.

I haven’t heard about a lot of people who have been directed by “feelings” or “sensations”, possibly because it can get confused with normal human imagination or emotions and written off as “just me”. Let me share an experience that happened to me to illustrate what I mean.

In 1997 as I was driving home one night after a meeting at church, I experienced an unnerving sense of impact to my left temple as if I was about to be struck by gunfire. I found the nearest semi-truck and drove right next to it for cover from flying bullets! Thankfully, as I precariously hugged that truck, I realized that it was the Lord giving me an intercessory assignment for someone. I entered into prayer as I pulled back from the semi, entreating God for safety for myself, my relatives, my friends, my colleagues, and anyone else in danger of impact. The sense lingered, so I continued praying both in the Holy Spirit and with my understanding until it lifted.

When I arrived home I called my friends from a neighboring church, John and Janet, who had joined us for the service earlier that evening. No one answered, so I left a message.

The next day John called and told me that he and Janet were involved in a head-on collision on their way home from the meeting. He was fine and Janet would be released from the hospital that day. John explained that upon impact, Janet, who was not wearing a seatbelt, flew over him and shattered the windshield with the left side of her head! She fractured her wrist upon impact in an attempt to protect herself, but her head was unharmed. In fact, for the next few days as she combed her hair, she pulled out clumps of it, along with fragments of windshield, leaving an unscratched, quarter-sized bald spot on her left temple! Eighteen years later, she and John are alive and well and ministering in the Arctic Circle.

The interesting thing about this leading of the Holy Spirit was that I almost blew it off as “just me”! But I took the risk of praying about nothing on the chance that it really was something vitally important—life and death important.

Have I ever prayed about nothing when I’ve experienced odd feelings? Probably. But ask Janet and John if it was worth it for me to risk praying about “nothing” that night!

I want to encourage you—if you have those odd, random feelings, just pray. Maybe it will be nothing; but maybe your prayer will be the fuel God uses to bring help and deliverance to someone else.

Dorothy

Being led by the Spirit requires putting God’s Word first

Posted by Admin on Aug 27, 2015 in Holy Spirit leading, Sword of the Spirit | Comments Off on Being led by the Spirit requires putting God’s Word first

Sometimes the Holy Ghost seems to “tackle” you to get you to take a 180 in your life. This has only happened to me twice, once in 1986 just before my mom died, and then nearly thirty years later—just a week and a half ago—as I was preparing for an elective surgery. On both occasions, He used this method to stop me from proceeding with plans that would have ended up harming me in some way (see Double up on the Discerner and Being a prima donna vs. being led by the Spirit).

In fact, after the situation in 1986, I was doubtful I would ever experience the overwhelming oppressive-like feeling again as a guidance technique from the Holy Spirit—and that was just fine with me! I think He only does this sort of thing in extreme cases. Hopefully, I will never need to experience it a third time!

In both of those instances, however, I knew it was important to keep my Bible handy. Hebrews 4:12 states, “ For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” When you are overwhelmed in a decision, whether it’s the rare “Holy Ghost tackle” or the more common human difficulty with determining the best course, you can count on God’s Word to operate as the Discerner. In fact, to neglect the Bible in pursuit of a more personal or “now word” or leading will place you in a vulnerable, easily-deceivable place.

You are called—as a child of God—to be led by His Spirit; but you are also charged to abide in His Word. Counterfeit voices abound; many paths lead to divergent destinies; but only the Word of God will endure forever, and it declares that Jesus alone is the Way, the Truth, and the Life—and He commands you to abide in His Word. As you prioritize that Word over every other spiritual voice, you will grow in discerning the often subtle promptings of the Spirit of God. If a counterfeit arises to deceive you, you will be able to pick it out of the “lineup”—and have it arrested and incarcerated—because you’ve been abiding in the Discerner.

For the next few entries, I will be sharing various situations in which the Holy Spirit has led me. You’ll see that His guidance may differ in the way it plays out, but it is never coercive, manipulative, vainly flattering, or contrary to the Word of God.

Until then,

Dorothy

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1

If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed… John 8:31b

I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life. John 8:12b

Being a prima donna vs. being led by the Spirit

Posted by Admin on Aug 26, 2015 in Being led by the Spirit, Sword of the Spirit | Comments Off on Being a prima donna vs. being led by the Spirit

Sometimes the leading of the Holy Spirit is strong. But sometimes your own desires, tastes, and preferences are equally as strong. If you tend lump your personal tastes and quirks into the same basket with the leading of the Holy Spirit and go after all of it with the same intensity, you can confuse your own spirit and end up missing out on God’s guidance.

I was preparing to have surgery this summer. As the office coordinator set up the date and time, I learned that I was scheduled for 1:00 in the afternoon. That didn’t sit well with me, to say the least. Controlling my disgust as best I could, I talked to the nurse on the other end of the line and requested a timeslot for earlier in the day. Knowing that an afternoon surgery meant a longer period of fasting food and water, I was adamant: There was no way I’d be going without water all morning! I wanted it changed, and I wanted it changed now!

They weren’t budging. I was about to launch an all-out assault of bossiness, pushiness, and insistence when the Holy Spirit spoke very directly. “There’s a difference between being a prima donna and being led by the Spirit.”

Stopped in my tracks by His words, I was jolted back into reality. It dawned on me that I was using all my intensity for what? To spare me a few hours of thirst? Asking God for forgiveness, I prayed the prayer of dedication. I committed to cease striving in the flesh and to trust Him to orchestrate this thing. If Moses could go 40 days without water, I could go a few extra hours. And if God wanted to change the timing, He could do so without my help.

Two weeks later, I received a call from my doctor’s office. The surgery had been postponed by three weeks…and was scheduled for 7:00 in the morning.

Happy as a clam and grateful to God, I went my way, preparing my home to be more easily navigated after surgery and setting up friends to help until I could get around on my own.

And then, only after I had released the whole thing to God, did I start to receive a series of three cautions within a week’s time about the procedure. I prayed about each one, listened for any new promptings from the Holy Spirit within me, and set up an appointment to speak with my doctor about the specific method she intended to use in the operation.

She assured me as to the safety of this procedure and promised me that I could request a more traditional approach if I changed my mind—just give her a few days lead time. Nonetheless, I felt I should ask to meet with my pastor for prayer about it before he left town on a ministry engagement.

In the meantime, I became increasingly uneasy about the entire operation. It felt similar to the uneasiness I had experienced years ago, prompting me at the time to cancel vacation plans—unaware as I was doing so that my mom was going to pass away soon after I would have left for the trip—unreachable, before the time of cell phones. I had “doubled up on the Discerner” (God’s Word) back then until clarity came; I would double up on the Discerner again and leave it to God to reveal what was up (see “Double up on the Discerner”).

Finally, the day before I was scheduled to pray with my pastor and one week before surgery, the uneasiness was only growing heavier. I said in exasperation to the Lord, “I think I’ll just cancel this whole thing and talk to Dr. B (a different doctor) about doing the surgery.”

Instantly, uneasiness lifted. Peace came.

Friday night after the service, I waited to meet with my pastor and his wife. I felt kind of stupid—here I am meeting with them to pray for my surgery next week…but what will I tell them? I’m cancelling?! They’ll think I’m flaky!

They finished their conversations with various other church members and then ushered me into the small sitting room behind the platform. Before I could open my mouth, my pastor’s wife blurted, “I don’t think you should have that surgery next week.” Confirmation!

We were on the same page, hearing the same thing about this particular procedure. Once again, I had been “tackled” by the Holy Spirit, thwarting me from stepping out into something that would not have been good for me.

On top of that, when I mentioned to my pastors the name of the doctor I thought about going to for a second opinion, they both agreed heartily, affirming their respect for his expertise.

Who knows what I was spared by not following through with this procedure? I will not speculate, but I am a firm believer in being led by the Holy Spirit.

God is faithful and He will enable you to hear His leading…if you’re willing to double up on the Discerner and if you’re also willing to lay aside any “prima donna” demands that may muffle His leading.

It’s worth it!

Dorothy

Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass. 1 Thessalonians 5:24