Your Power

"The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit."  Proverbs 18:21

Think of something someone said that hurts you, even now...if it's not too painful. 

Now think of something someone said that changed your life. 
Or something someone said still affecting your life. 

If it helps, I'll go first.

I'll actually start with something someone didn't say.  In one of the hardest times of my life, I called my dad, hoping to see him.  It was a horrible conversation.  But I at least wanted it to end well.  So I said, "Dad, I'm sorry if this conversation is bothersome to you.  I'm going to have to go now, and I want you to know that I love you."

My dad didn't respond.

"Dad, I love you."

"I hear you son."

Then more silence. 

Then I hung up.

My dad never said, "I love you too, son."  Now, of course, he didn't say, "I DON'T love you, son."  But he might as well.  His silence, his simply "hearing" me, could've killed me.  This is because "the tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit."  My dad spoke death.  Years earlier my mom spoke life.

I was in college, or about to go to college.  I was still living with my mom at the time, and we were in her room together.  She was grading papers, and I can't remember what I was doing.  Then, for no apparent reason, she said, "Son, I want you to know that nothing is wrong with you.  I know you've been trying to find someone to love and you haven't yet.  But I want you to know that nothing is wrong with you."  She spoke life to me by the power of her tongue.  Maybe even resurrection.  I didn't know I was dead.  I'd never said or thought to myself, "Something is wrong with me."  But I realized that I must have been assuming it, in despair, in a quiet depression.  Until my mother told me nothing was wrong with me.  I still enjoy the fruit of the power of her words.  What about you?

Now that I've told you the words in my life that killed me and brought me back to life, what words do you remember?  What words of death and resurrection?  Even more importantly, or maybe more importantly, what words have you spoken that killed or resurrected someone? 

If you've killed someone with your words, there's still hope.  Your words not only have the power to kill, but also to give life.  Your apology may raise someone from the dead. 

Now think of someone one you love.  What can you say to give them life, or bring them back to life?  If you thought of words that gave you life, think of why those words impacted you.  How you can you do the same for someone else?  

Take note of the answer; it is your power.

The Spirit in Their House

May I ask you something?
What do you want to know?
I notice you don't seem stressed out when things are crazy around here at work.  Why is that?
When things are stressful, I pray.
To who?
Jesus.
And He answers you?
Yes, He does Marvin.
How do you know?
The peace you see when things are crazy.
I want that.  How do you get it?
If you want to come over to my house tonight, we can have more time to talk.
Can I bring my wife and kids?
I'd love that...let me call my wife first to make sure we're ready.
I understand.

***

Come in Marvin.
Brandon, this is my wife Katrina.  Katrina, Brandon.
Thank you for inviting us.  Marvin speaks highly of you.
You're welcome.  I appreciate Marvin's respect.
This is Fallon, our youngest; she's 10, and Garrison, our oldest, 13.
Nice to meet you both.
Nice to meet you too.
Come on in.  You can all sit where you want.  I'll call our kids down.

Lindsey is our oldest, she's 15.  Next is Nicole, 13, and Paul, 9.  Kids, say hi to Brandon, Katrina, Fallon, and Garrison.

Hey.
Hello.
Hi.
Nice to meet you.
You too.


Everyone, Marvin wanted to know why I have peace when things are crazy at work.  I told him it's because of Jesus.  We're here for Marvin's family to meet the Lord.  He can best explain the peace He gives.

How are we going to meet Him?
His Spirit, Katrina.  His Spirit is in me and my family, and He's in this house.  You felt Him when you came in.

How did you know we felt Him?
Did you?
Well, we actually did, but we couldn't put into words what we felt.
Describe it, as best as you can.
....well, it actually does feel like an invisible person is in your house, kind of everywhere in the house, but in no specific place.

I know what Katrina means.  I actually feel the same way when I'm around you at work Brandon.  I never thought about it fully until Katrina described how your house feels. 

That's the Lord.  It's His Spirit.
We want Him in us, in our house, and in our lives.  How can that happen?
Ask Him.  Invite Him.  And He'll come.
That's all?
That's it...well, with this understanding.  He's God.  Not just any guest.  He actually owns you and your house and family already.  When you're welcoming Him, you're accepting the truth of who He is.  Are you willing to do that?

Yes, we are.
You can do it now.

The Amazing Presence and Message of God

When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child,  and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.  Luke 2:17-18 NIV

If you believe in Jesus, God is in you.  This amazing God has given you an amazing presence with an amazing message.  There are three steps to sharing God's amazing presence and message: 

1. Experience Jesus.
2. Spread your message. 
3. Spread God's message.

What happened with shepherds on the night Jesus was born illustrates these three steps.

EXPERIENCE JESUS
The shepherds saw an amazing thing:  an angel--a messenger from heaven.  The angel of the Lord emanated the glory of the Lord.  The shepherds were amazed, filled with terror.  Then the angel gave them an amazing message:  God has come to the earth, and you can go see Him.  So they went.  And they saw God.  They were amazed because they experienced the most amazing thing they'd ever experienced.  You have also experienced what the shepherds experienced.  Your first step is the same as theirs was on the night Jesus was born.

The first step to the amazing message God has given you is your own personal and real experience of Jesus.  You have God in you.  Nothing is more amazing.  You haven't just experienced God in the past when you accepted Jesus.  You are experiencing Him in you now, and in my words, which are based on God's words.  Having experienced God directly just as the shepherds experienced Him, you have an amazing message.  Like the shepherds, you must spread the word.

SPREAD YOUR MESSAGE
All the shepherds did was tell what they had seen and heard.  They couldn't help it.  They were amazed. So are we.  You and I have the Lord in us.  Everyone in our life experiences God when they experience us.  He's in us.  They can't help but experience Him.  So tell them what they're experiencing.  Most likely they've made comments about you and your life.  You know that what they're noticing is what God is doing to you and through you.  Tell them that.  But make sure you are saying what God has already said.  Like the shepherds, you should share the message of God, according to God's own words.

SPREAD GOD'S MESSAGE
The shepherds didn't give their own opinions about Jesus.  They told the people what the angel told them:  that the baby in the manger was the Savior, the Messiah, the Lord.  You should do what the shepherds did.  Your message, what you've experienced, must be based on God's message--His word, the scriptures.  For example, I'm studying Luke chapter 2.  I'm sharing with you from those scriptures what God's Spirit shared with me in those scriptures.  Everything I'm writing is based on my experience of the Spirit illuminating those words, the words in Luke 2:17-18. 

In the same way, when you pray, read scriptures, or follow the Spirit, you have a message based on the scriptures.  You're experiencing God, the God of the Bible.  Simply share with the people in your life what God has shared with you, in the same way the shepherds shared what God shared with them.

Monica's Key

Monica, will you marry me?

Don's eyes were dark, deeply piercing my eyes, and my racing heart.  We sat on a bench on our favorite nature trail, at the place where the path splits in two roads.  At the end of both roads were log cabins, and sometimes those who walked the paths rented the cabins. 

Now it was my life that was forking, and at the end were two cabins for me:
One with Don, and one without Don.

The key. 
I have the key.

It dawned on me.  This moment, the answer to Don's question, would begin a new life.  A new me.
I could become a wife, and then a mother, and bring into this world brothers and sisters who would not have been here before this moment.  They would be because of me.

The key. 
I have the key.

A simple, "yes," or "no."  An "I will," or "I will not."  I had the key to my life, and even Don's life.  They key to unborn lives.  It could begin with me.

The key. 
I have the key.

"Monica?"

His voice broke my trance.  But not for long.  Though I sat silently no longer than a minute, for Don I'm sure it seemed like an hour.  It seemed that way for me, the one with the key...to this life and eternity. 

Who gave me this key?
Don, in this moment.
But before this moment?
Who gave me the key to my femininity, to my womanly identity?
It had to be The One who made me.  I could feel him on the path, but even He waited for my answer.
Even He could not open the door.

"Do you need more time," Don asked.  His voice sounded sad, but more beautiful than ever.  I felt no pressure.  He loved me.  I knew this...because he waited.  I felt free to accept or reject his proposal. 

"My delay isn't an answer."
"I know.  You like to think before answering."

My heart melted.  He did know me.  And love me.  And like me.  I knew, loved, liked, and deeply admired my Don.  Yet the weight of this moment summed up every moment of my life before.  Though I was thoughtful, I never thought about each choice, each key given to me.  I vowed to never lose my keys again...then I looked into his eyes.

"Yes, Don.  I'm yours."  I gave my answer with a new power.

Don hugged me tightly and whispered in my ear,  "And I am yours Monica.  Always."

The Archangel watches The Devil

As on the day of the great heavenly battle, I, with the Lord, saw the satan fall from heaven, I watch him, at set times, approach God’s throne.  I, Michael, the archangel, who defeated the liar before God made man, share with you, the creature, a glimpse of what you will see for all eternity. 

As it was on the day the satan accused Job, the time came for the accuser to stand accused, giving an account before God.  It is always the same.  The liar lies to his demons under his oppression as he departs his dark kingdom and leaves his dark throne.  “Fair well, princes of darkness.  I go now to receive worship from the so called creator, his so called creation, and the so called heaven.”  “Hail, Lucifer, son of the morning!”  “I receive your praise, as I receive all praise,” the satan says, with the smirk of pride personified…until he leaves his assigned realm of darkness.  I always see this.

Entering light from his assigned eternal night, his face quickly changes.  He is ensouled hate.  Hate mind.  Hate emotion.  Hate volition.  Hate in motion.  Hate moving towards love, unloved.  Ascending from the night into the light, approaching slowly the pearly gates, he waits.  Shivering as in earth’s winter cold, the satan becomes hesitation.  He is four steps away from God’s gates.

I hate me.

The first step is taken.  The last three he cannot imagine.

God hates me.

Step two nearly broke the spirit who is now nothing.

Then the part comes that the accused accuser dreads the most; it always came at his third step towards the gate of heaven.

Heaven hates the satan.

He heard them all in unison, and is the personification of heart broken barren existence.  The last step undoes him, with the last words of his unwelcome:

Creation hates the satan.

I, Michael, the archangel, saw the accuser accused. 

Ugly. 

Stupid. 

Weak. 

Naked. 

And Ashamed.

How the AntiChrist will Deceive Christians (1)

No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.  John 1:18 NIV

The Antichrist is not the opposite of Christ; he is another Christ, and not the true Christ.  This is how the apostasy will begin: the church will fall away because we are worshipping another Christ.  Many of us who say we believe in Jesus really believe in the Antichrist. 

But if you want to resist deception, keep reading.  I will show you how the Antichrist deceives Christians, and how to avoid his deception.

DECEPTION BEGINS IN OUR IMAGINATION

Remember the story of the golden calf?  Many of us think the Israelites were worshipping a false god.  But look carefully at their words:

Now when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled about Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us a god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” Aaron said to them, “Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.”

Then all the people tore off the gold rings which were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. He took this from their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool and made it into a molten calf; and they said, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.” 

Exodus 32:1-4, NASB, italics and bold text mine.

Do you see the Israelites imagining the true God?  They were not attempting to worship a pagan deity like Dagon or Ra.  They imagined the true God was strong like a calf and glorious like gold, trying to picture what Yahweh was like. 

But they had already heard God's voice from Mount Sinai.  They did not see Him or his form.  By imagining a visible God, they worshiped another god, though picturing the True God. 

They took a path away from the true God to a false God, a path away from Christ and towards the Antichrist.  We are also on the path towards the Antichrist if we imagine God in any way other what He truly is.  (Click HERE for part 2.)

How the Antichrist will deceive Christians (2)

How can we avoid the deception of our imaginations and know what God is truly like?  The answer is in this scripture:

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. Colossians 1:16 NIV

Jesus alone shows us who God is and what God is like.  The real Jesus, mind you.  Not the American republican right wing conservative Jesus, or the democratic liberal Jesus, or the socialist Jesus, the hippie Jesus, the militant Jesus, or any other Jesus of our imagination. 

The real Jesus, born of a virgin named Mary, a Hebrew, of the tribe of Judah and the line of King David, is the only one who can and does give us a picture of what the one true God is like.  He is the "exact representation of God's being," according to the book of Hebrews. 

The Antichrist will deceive us when we imagine the Lord Jesus in any way other than what He is.

The way we can resist this deception is to accept the absolute truth about God and ourselves.  The Lord Jesus, and His Spirit, reveals both.  Listen to Jesus' words:

All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 
Matthew 11:27, NIV

The truth about God is the same as the truth about any other person we want to really know:  we can't know God, or anyone else, unless they reveal themselves to us, as it is also written:

For who knows a person's thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 1 Corinthians 2:11 NIV

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.

“As the heavens are higher than the earth,so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:7-8 NIV

"When you did these things and I kept silent, you thought I was exactly like you. But I now arraign you and set my accusations before you."  Psalms 50:21 NIV

In all of these scriptures we see one common theme:  we can't know God unless He reveals Himself to us.  (And He has revealed Himself to us through Christ, and Christ alone.)  He is not like us, nor is He one of us.  We are infinitely below Him.  Unless we humble ourselves, we will inevitably deceive ourselves.  We'll make God like us, which is what the Antichrist will offer us in the end.  He will give us a god in our own image and likeness, a god focused on us, instead of us focused on Him. 

The Antichrist will give us an American god, an American jesus, a government of the people, by the people, and FOR the people, and NOT kingdom of God, in which God's will ALONE is done, on earth, and in heaven. 

This is the core of the deception:  our will being done instead of God's will being done. 

Heaven is not a democracy. 
It is a kingdom.
God is a King.

The rejection of God as an absolute King is the acceptance of the Antichrist.

Look into your own heart, or at your church.  Who is really ruling and reigning?

• If it is Christ, then you and your church will be at odds with this world, with America, with all who refuse to bow to God the King. 
• If it is not Christ, then you and your church will be seeking the same thing people in this world seek: your will being done instead of God's will being done.

"If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."
Joshua 24:15 NASB