Know God Is Real

Posted on November 21, 2024November 25, 2024 by jakirkgasser10439

Why Should An Intelligent Person Believe In God?

An intelligent person should follow the available evidence with an open mind wherever it takes them. They should reach their own conclusion about God with sound logic. If you want to know if God is real, or if you want more confidence in your current belief, the following discussion provides several lines of exploration you can and should pursue.

It Matters

The most important decision of your life is whether to believe God is real and worthy of your worship and devotion, or whether to ignore God and focus all your energy on you and your earthly life. If God is real, this decision has major ramifications for you and those around you, both now in this life and for eternity. And if God is real, and this decision does have major ramifications, and you risk spending eternity in some lake of burning fire if you don’t get with the program, then it would be appropriate to invest some time and energy to explore the evidence, find out what is going on, and align yourself to avoid such a scenario. If God is not real, none of this really matters and the worst you will have done by exploring this is to waste some unimportant time learning about the most popular and pervasive myth ever concocted by mankind. This is called Pascal’s Wager… are you willing to bet an eternity in hell that it is ok to continue not believing in God.

God Hides, You will find Him only if you truly want to find Him.

God hides himself just enough that you must decide to spend some of your precious energy to pursue Him. If He was obvious and standing right in front of us, we would not require faith to believe in Him. The spiritual world operates on faith, and our free will decisions to pursue and believe. If you want to find reasons not to believe you can, and it is your choice, but beware, there just might be some serious consequences. Once we decide to explore beyond the physical world in front of us and commit to explore the evidence for God with a truly open mind and open heart, He promises you will find Him. I am highly confident based on my experience, If you truly want to find Him, You will, and I am happy to help.

Faith should not be blind

The God of the Christian Bible never asks us to have blind faith. He is very clear that He left ample evidence of His handiwork in creation; The heavens reveal His Glory, his fingerprint can be seen in the world all around us, and He has written Himself in our hearts. He boldly claims that no one has an excuse to be ignorant of Him. He expects us to be able to gather up the evidence, figure it out, and make a sound conclusion.

We should be able to defend our position

He also asks us to be ready and able to defend that decision with convincing logic any time. Do you believe in God? What is the basis for your belief? What are your top 3 reasons?

The Evolution of Science

One interesting aspect of mankind’s spiritual journey is the evolution of science. The scientific community spent most of the 20^th century trying to prove that we do not need a supernatural God to explain how everything works or how we got here in the first place. Over the last 50 years, scientific discoveries have made that much harder to do at almost every level. Open minded researchers can see that the evidence points more and more towards the existence of a supernatural God. Those researchers who are committed to a materialist world view, who categorically refuse to consider God as a potential hypothesis, remain hopeful for an alternative explanation to emerge even when the odds are astronomically low and going lower with every new discovery. The interesting thing to understand is that this materialist approach is a new thing born within the scientific community. Science was originally founded out of Christian pursuit to better understand God. Based on His promise in the psalms.

The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Psalm 19:1

They expected to learn more about Him by studying his orderly creation. The early scientists were Christians, and the first universities grew out of monasteries. It is fitting that following the science is taking us back to God where it started.

What evidence is available to support a Belief In God, Sometimes Called a God hypothesis?

These are my Top Ten +1 reasons to believe:

The order and design of the universe points to an intelligent source.
Evolution explains adaptation, but it does not explain the explosion of species or how we got here. There is another force at work
Simple Cells are Not so simple. The more we learn, the harder it is to imagine them emerging from a soup of chemicals. None of what happens in a cell is random.
DNA is information telling each aspect of each cell what to do, how to do it, and when. The only known source for information is an intelligent mind.
Life only comes from life, We have no evidence of life coming from non-life. The chemical building blocks of life are unstable and assembling them into useful structures is not non-random. Life only comes from life.
Every painting has a painter. Everything that has a beginning has a casue outside of it. The big bang happened before space, time and matter, so the cause must be something super powerfull and outside of space, time and mater.
The Bible is a very remarkable document with powerful wisdom when understood and applied. There is more and more archeological evidence to support the reliability of what has been preserved since it was originally written, and to substantiate the people, places and activities described in its stories.
Jesus was a real person, and the evidence for His crucifixion is remarkable
Superntural experiences such as Nead Death Experiences are more and more well documented and yield very practical insights.
Personal experience interacting with God, guiding and shaping me along my journey, and working through me to help others
There is an objective morality written on our hearts, an objective morality demands a morality writer.

Lets take each of them in a bit more detail:

1) The order and design of the universe points to an intelligent source.

Everything about the universe is organized and highly tuned to allow life on earth. Astrophysicists have identified dozens and dozens of characteristics of the universe that are critical to life on earth; These include the laws of nature like gravity, the constants of physics like the cosmological constant, and the initial conditions of the big bang like how much energy. In recent years they have learned that these constants and quantities are so precisely tuned that the odds that they came into being randomly are astronomically low. If the universe had more initial mass, it would collapse back into itself. If the physics laws that govern molecules were any different, we would not have developed stable galaxies. If the earth were only slightly closer to the sun we would burn up, if any further away we would freeze. If the mass of the earth were any greater we would be crushed by gravity, if it were less massive we would not have a protective atmosphere. If Jupiter were not exactly where is, we would have been destroyed by asteroids. These are just a few examples.

Learn more:

Video from J Warner Wallace: (Link)

Video from Dr William Lane Criag Videos – The Fine-Tuning of the Universe (Link)

Video from Stephen Meyer: (Link)

2) Evolution explains adaptation, but not macro evolution

Evolution theory does a wonderful job explaining minor adaptations to environmental conditions. There is no evidence for macro evolution. Darwin’s theory demands incremental changes over time. There is no fossil evidence showing increments of one species gradually becoming another. Instead, the fossil record shows many species emerging very rapidly in explosions of change. The explosion of new species is even more challenging to evolutionists now that we understand how DNA controls animal architecture and cell function, and any new body plans require significant new chunks of DNA to cause the animal to produce the proteins needed ot create the cells for the new features, and then assemble the new cells into tissues and fibers, and then arrange them into structures, then to know how to use the new structures once they arrive. Many species share common characteristics, but rather than evolving randomly over time in a long chain from a common ancestor, these common characteristics could be genetic building blocks used and reused by a creator who intervened with His creation along the way.

Learn more:

Video from Hoover Institute, “Mathematical Challenges to Darwin’s Theory of Evolution” with David Berlinski, David Gelernter, and Stephen Meyer (Link)

Video from Hoover institute ” By Design: Behe, Lennox, and Meyer on the Evidence for a Creator” (Link)

3) Simple Cells Are Not So simple

Advances in Microbiology now reveal that each cell has a vast array of molecular level machines opertaing to perform the functions encessary to keep it alive, and the cell wall has a multitude of very specific structures and features that allow it to bring in the necessary mix of nutrients and export the necessary wastes so that it can survive and mmultiply. The more we learn about simple cells the harde rit is to imagine that they could emerge randomly from a soup of chemicals.

Learn more:

Video from Tomorrow’s World Viewpoint: Darwin’s Not-So-Simple Cell (Link)

Video from Science Communication Lab – Ron Vale: Molecular Motor Proteins (Link)

Video from Clockwork: Your Unstoppable Copy Machine｜DNA Replication (Link)

4) DNA is information, and information only comes from an intelligent source.

Each living cell has DNA which is basically a computer program for organizing the entire organism and running all the processes in each cell. DNA in each human cell contains approximately 3 million base pairs which represent approximately 1.5Gig of data. The DNA coding includes instructions for controlling replication and repair of itself. DNA is Information, Information is not generated randomly, it is highly specific and very complicated. information only comes from an intelligent source.

Learn more:

What kind of information is in DNA – Stephen Meyer (Link)

5) Life only comes from life, life never comes from non-life.

Life propagates, it is never created from non-life. The popular story that life was sparked into existence by lightning striking a primordial soup of chemicals is a myth. The building block chemicals for life are naturally unstable and cannot wait around for lightning, and the complex chemical reactions to build chains of amino acids and other necessary complex molecules cannot be executed randomly in nature, these processes must be guided in a very precise way.

Learn more:

Hoover Institute Interview with James Tour and Stephen Meyer: (Link)

Creation Ministries Interview with Dr Stephen Grocott: (Link)

6) Every Painting Has a Painter.

We know from science and practical experience that everything that has a beginning has a cause from outside of it. This is called the Cosmological Argument. Science discovered in 1929 that the universe is expanding. If we run the clock backwards we know that the universe started in a big bang. The big bag was a tremendous release of pure energy before there was matter, space and time. The universe had a beginning so it must have a cause. The cause must be bigger and more powerful than the entire universe and it must be able to operate outside of matter, space, and time. A creator God is the most logical and elegant solution for that cause, and it happens to be consistent with Genesis 1:1 – In the beginning God.

Learn more:

Video From drcraigvideos – The Kalam Cosmological Argument – (Link)

7) The Bible is an Extraordinary Document and A Reliable Source of Wisdom, and History

The Bible is remarkable in many ways, as the most popular literary work of all time, for the remarkable wisdom it contains, for how well it has been preserved over time, for how acurately it has captured the past, and how well it has predicted the future, and the impact it has had on individuals, nations, and society as a whole.

Remarkable Literary Work

The bible was created to document the great acts of God over time to redeam and save His people and the world He created. It is the most popular book of all time with over a billion copies published. It is a collection of 66 different works (Books), inspired by the Holy Spirit and recorded by 40 different authors from various walks of life from kings to soldiers, to prophets and priests. It was compiled over the course of more than 1500 years but has a consistent narrative ark throughout and has a remarkable number of interlinked passages; there are over 63,000 “Hyperlinks” in the bible. The layers of meanings in the bible become more and more significant as you read and re-read them over time.

Learn More:

Video from Tim Mackie – Where did the bible come from and why should we care (Link)

Chris Harrison visualization tool for seeing the 64K interlinks (Link)

Jordan Peterson describing how the Bible as the first hyperlinked text (Link), Deeper discussion (Link)

Video from Mark Ashton at Christ Community Church – 10 Reasons the bible is extraodinary (Link).

Profound Wisdom

The bible is full of profound wisdom; It is moving, and it has a broad influence on the way we see, think, and act at the individual levle and at the leve of society. It offers timeless guidance on a wide range of life situations, including morality, relationships, and personal conduct. The biblical teachings have shaped western society with concepts like – we are each individuslly are created in God’s image and are worthy of respect. The bible has several books dedicated specifically to imparting wisdom to those who are willing to learn and apply it: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Solomon, and Ecclesiastes. The other biblical stories often share lessons by example; people following God’s commands and being rewarded or choosing to ignore God, pursue their own agenda and suffer serious consequences. Many of the biblical writings have layers of meaning, The literal story can be informative, but it can also be symbolic of other deeper meanings. Many of the teachings are done in the form of metaphor and parable, where you must think about the story and figure out how the deeper message applies to your situation, but the deeper meaning is always profound when you figure it out and apply it. The bible reveals God’s nature and purpose. As you embrace it’s teaching, you can be molded more and more into His image.

Learn more:

The Bible Project – Wisdom Series Videos (Link), Intro to Wisdom Literature Podcast (Link).

The HIGHEST Truth Of Them All | Jordan Peterson Deconstructing The BIBLE (Link)

Well Preserved

The bible is the best preserved piece of anchient literature we have. There are over 5,300 copies of the new testament in the original Greek, and hundreds of manuscripts of the old testament. The original writings were propogated by monks using a meticulous process. Detailed analysis of these documents and scrutiny of the variations that propagated allows us to understand when each variation was introduced and which is the most likely original. None of the variations impact the essential message fo Christ’s virgin birth, sinless life, sacrifice by crucifixion, and resurrection on the 3rd day. The dead sea scrolls discovered in 1947 provided an even earlier copy of old testiment documents dated to 200 BC, and these further confim we have good traceability to the original writings.

Learn more:

Video form Dan Wallace – How can you trust the New Testament when the original manuscripts are different? (Link)

Interview with Deeper discussion – How Reliable Are Our New Testament Manuscripts? Dr. Daniel Wallace (Link)

Historically Accurate

The bible has proven to be reliable source of ancient historic information and even some scientific wisdom. The bible has been used to guide archeology digs and we now have archeological evidence of hundreds of people, places, and events described in the bible stories. For example Sodom and Gomorrah were real cities destroyed by fire from the heavens, A tribe of folks worshipping the God of the bible (YHWH) were indeed wandering the desert in ancient times, There were competing cultures sacrificing babies at alters that were warned to stop and then destroyed after 400 years of ignoring the warnings, There was a King David, There was a temple and it was destroyed, King Davids descendants were held in captivity in Babylon and then released to return and rebuild, Jesus was a real person, etc.

Predicted The Future

The bible was compiled from individual works written over a span of more than 1500 years. Over that time, there were many predicitons made of future events. There were over 2500 prophesies of future events in the bible, 2000 of them have already come true, the remainder are still in the future. Only God can predict the future, and He has demonstrated that capability.

Learn more: Article from Reasons to believe – Fulfilled Prophesy: Evidence for the Reliability of the Bible (Link)

Remarkable Impact

The Bible is the best selling book of all time. It’s teachings change individual lives; people from around the world share testimony of being freed from substance abuse, destructive lifestyles, immoral behavior, and undesired behaviors due to following biblical principles and their faith in Jesus Chris. The bibles teachings have transformed the world: Followers of the bible created science because they believed that it was orderly and studying it would reveal knowledge.Followers of the bible lead the abolition of slavery because the bible teaches that all people are created in God’s image and are worthy of respect., Followers of the bible created the entire western world which is the most prosperous of any society in history. Teachings can be corrupted and mis-used, but when applied correctly the reulsts are amazing.

8) Jesus was a Real Person, and There Is Convincing Evidence for His Resurrection

The entire Christian religion hinges on three events: Jesus virgin birth, His suffering and innocent death on the cross, and His resurreciton on the 3rd day. Many non-believers question if Jesus was a real person, or if He really died on the cross, or if He was actually resurrected, When you review the evidence, there is a pretty convincing case that He was a real person, he did die on a cross at the hands of the romans, he was buried and then raised from the dead on the 3rd day.

- The Gospels provide 4 eye-witness acounts of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection
- There are several extra-biblical accounts of Jesus’ life, death, and hoards of followers who believe resurrection
- There were over 500 eyewitnesses willing to suffer for admitting that they had seen the resurrected Jesus.
- There was no debate at the time, that Jesus tomb was empty on the 3rd day. The critics of Jesus accused the disciples of stealing His body from the sealed and heavily guarded tomb.
- The 11 remaining disciples and Jesus’s brother James were so convinced by their encounters with the risen Jesus, they were willing to devote their remainder of their lives to spreading the word, being pursecuted, and enduring torture to the point of death. People do not take lies to the grave if they know the truth.
- There is a creed written by the early church within weeks or months or a couple years of Jesus death to capture the essence of the Gospal story for those wanting to understand and believe. This creed is captured by Paul in 1st Corinthians 15.

Learn more:

Video From Lee Strobel – The Case for Christianity in 15 min – (Link)

Video From J Warner Wallace – Cold Case Christianity (Link)

Video Interview of J Warner Wallace – A 10 year Update of Cold Case Christianity (Link)

9) Supernatural Experiences Provide Insights

Near Death Experiences provide compelling evidence for Life After Death, God, Heaven, Purpose, and Accountability for your life. Millions of people have had experiences during trauma where they leave their physical body, travel to heaven, visit with loved ones, meet angels or God, relive part of their lives, gain insights on their purpose, are sent back to continue their life, and come back a changed person. Analysis of these experiences across diverse cultures shows they are not a random phenomenon, God is real, Heaven is real, We are each here on earth temporarily and we are here for a purpose, the goal of our life is to transform so we flow God’s love through us to the rest of creation using our gifts and talents.

Learn more:

My Web Page on Near Death Experiences (Link)

- My Web Page on The works of Emanuel Swedenborg (Link)

10) Personal Experience – We Each Can Observe God’s Hand In Our Life

If we open our eyes to the spiritual world, and are willing to invest some of our time and energy, we can see how we are being impacted by it, and then if we engage effectively, how we are impacting it. We can see God’s hand in our life (Providence), We can fele a deep sense of purpose for our lives, We can see God answering our prayers, We can even feel his presence if we draw near to Him. If we are willing to yeild our lives to Him, He will lead us on a wonderful adventure (Lead By The Spirit), and when we accept the authority he delegates to us, we can see the power of the Holy Spirit moving through us and impacting peoples lives.

Providence:

God puts us in just the right spot with just the right person to experience something significant that shapes our earthly journey. These events are often related to how you met your spouse, how you chose what school to go to, or how you got a job. When you look at the scenarios you experienced, the probability that all of those aspects happened randomly is close to zero, and once you recognize that such things have happened more than once in your life, it becomes clear that there is a greater force at work.

Sense of Purpose:

We are each programmed with a sense of purpose deep inside. If we are honest with ourselves and reflect on our lives, we know we are here for a reason, we have a purpose, there is a calling on their life. This purpose is different for each person but it is not random. Our unique calling aligns with a passion deep in our heart and the gifts and talents we have in our earthly body.

Power of Prayers:

Purposeful and fervent prayer aligned with God’s will is very effective. A simple log of prayers and results seen will reveal that God is real and He is answering your prayers.

Presence:

When we pursue God and draw near to Him in prayer or worship, we can sense His presence inside us – As sense of connection, inflow, and peace appears in our soul.

Lead By the Spirit:

God wants to help you grow and mature. He is a Father, Counselor, Teacher and Shepherd. God will engage in an intimate conversation with you if you engage Him with all your heart. He will teach you, coach you, and lead you onto the path He has set before you. His path will enable you to bear fruit in this life and bring Him glory. Pretty wonderful

Power:

When we align with God’s wil and actively engage others with the authority God grants by praying into some situation they face, you can often feel the holy spirit flow with energy to effect the other person. The effect is sometimes immediately visible, and sometimes delayed, but the sensation of the Holy Spirit moving is very real.

Learn more:

How To Hear His Voice – (Link to My Blog Post)

How To Get A Word Of Wisdom to Guide your path – (Link To My Blog Post), (My Video)

11) There is a transcendent objective morality.

If we evolved as random accidents driven by propagation of our species, we should be motivated to do whatever it takes to elevate ourselves above others for our own survival and propagation. We should be murdering our competition, stealing their resources, and having sex with as many partners as possible to maximize our propagation. Counter to that agenda however, We know in our heart that murder of an innocent person is wrong, theft of others property is wrong, and that rape, incest and adultery is wrong. These are moral absolutes that suggest each of us has some inherent value as individuals which deserve to be respected and protected. This is consistent with bible teaching that we are created in the image of God with value and purpose, and those objective morals are written on our heart.

Learn more:

Video from DrCraigVideos – Is There Meaning to Life? (Link)

Video from Jordan Peterson – The Lie of Relative Morality (Link)

Video from Jordan Peterson – The Case Against Moral Relativism (Link)

Video from Stand To Reason – Fatal Flaws of Moral Relativism (Link)

That is a summary of my top 10 +1 reasons to believe in God. Hope you find them helpful. Post a comment if you agree, or if you disagree with anything I have said. I want to tune up these write ups over time.

Next up:

What are the arguments against God? And what are the best counters to those arguments. (Link)

God’s Will is Always Healing!

Posted on September 16, 2023September 17, 2023 by jakirkgasser10439

God’s Will Is Always Healing! Believe it!

One of the biggest obstacles in pursuing healing is understanding in your heart if it is God’s will for you to be healed.

There are several popular lies propagated by the devil to distract and even defeat us from getting healed.

God is mysterious and unknowable; you can not know His will.
God is making you sick to teach you something; it is your job to suffer through what ever comes along.

The truth counters both of these lies: God’s will is always healing. The only question is which path does He want you to follow to achieve the healing.

How do we know God’s will is always healing? Follow this chain of logic and see where it takes you.

God’s wants us to know His will. He may think differently than we do, and His ways may be different than our ways, But He asks us specifically to know and understand His will. He would not ask us to understand His will if it were not possible. He even makes it clear that we are being foolish if we do not understand His will.

“So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” Ephesians 5:17

“…we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,” Colossians 1:9

How do we understand Gods will? It was revealed through Jesus.

“No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, He has made Him known.” John 1:18

Jesus is the expressed image of God; If you know Jesus you know the Father; If you see Jesus you have seen the Father, He and the Father are one.

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” Colossians 1:15

“He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature.” Hebrews 1:3

“If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” John 14:7

“…Whoever has seen me has seen the Father…” John 14:9

“I and the Father are one.” John 10:30

Understand God’s will by looking at what Jesus did, He only did the fathers will.

“So Jesus said to them, ‘When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me.’” John 8:28

“So Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.’” John 5:19

Jesus Healed all who came to Him in faith.

“And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.” Matthew 4:23

“When evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill.” Matthew 8:16

“And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction.” Matthew 9:35

“Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus’ feet, and He healed them.” Matthew 15:30

“And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all.” Luke 6:19

Questions / Clarificaitons:

Did Jesus ever say no to healing anyone? Scripture says He healed ALL who came to Him in Faith.
Did Jesus ever say, I will heal you eventually but you need to learn a lesson first? There are no examples of Jesus postponing healing pending learning. He healed all who came to Him in faith.

If Jesus healed all who came to Him in faith, and Jesus only did the Father’s will, and God is unchanging, then God’s will is healing all who come to Him in faith.

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8

Believe it is so, and pray it into place in faith.

“Jesus, I believe it is God’s will for me to be healed. Lord, purge any remaining unbelief from my mind and my heart. You are the God who heals, Jesus is your expressed image, an exact copy of your very nature. Jesus, you healed all who came to you in faith. You are unchanging; If Your will was healing back then, Your will is healing now. I believe this in my heart and I confess this in Faith: God’s will is for me to be healed. I speak your will into place on earth as it is in heaven; I speak healing into place in your name.”

There are many specific paths to healing: Nutrition, Exercise, Physical therapies, Medications, Surgeries, Mind/Heart/Soul Healings, and instantaneous supernatural interventions. God has a specific path for your healing; The key is to ask Him what it is, and then pursue it boldly in faith. See my post about asking for a Word of Wisdom and ask Him about His path for you. <Click Here For Post on Word Of Wisdom>

Let me know if you have questions, Let me know how this helps you.

Do you have a healthy fear of God? You need one!

Posted on March 20, 2022March 21, 2022 by jakirkgasser10439

Do you have a healthy fear of God? You need one!

Jordan Peterson is a brilliant psychologist and deep thinker. When asked if he believes in God he replies: ”I live my life as if God is real.” Then he explains what he means: He operates as if there is an all powerful God who is watching everything he does and will hold him accountable for any harm he causes others. From what I have learned, that is a pretty decent start.

So what is a fear of God?

Fear of God is a reverent deep respect and commitment to action we get once we embrace an image of God as the ultimate supreme being who:

Invested energy to create this place
Sent His son to save us form sin
Put us here at this time and this place for a reason
Knows everything we think, say, and do
Will hold us accountable for how we have lived this life
Determines how and where we will spend eternity

There are several aspects of accountability addressed in the bible: Judgement, Salvation, and Sanctification. They are often blurred together but I find it useful to look at them individually and then see how they connect.

Let’s build up the image from scripture.

Works and Judgement – Accountable

God is omnipresent – He is everywhere watching everything you do

“The eyes of the Lord are in every place, Watching the evil and the good.” (Proverbs 15:3)

“You scrutinize my path and my lying down, and are intimately acquainted with all my ways.” (Psalm 139:3)

You will be held accountable for how you live your life – what you think, say, do, and intend.

“So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” (Romans 14:12)

What you do matters: Your “works”

“And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” (Hebrews 4:13)

“And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.” (Revelation 20:12)

What you say matters:

“But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matthew 12:36-37)

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.” (Proverbs 18:21)

Your purposeful thoughts matter:

“…whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:27-28)

The intentions in your heart matter even more:

“Keep your heart with all diligence,
For out of it spring the issues of life.” (Proverbs 4:23)

“I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.” (Jeremiah 17:10)

“A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:45)

It is clear from this series of verses, that works matter. That what you think, say and chose to do matters. This is not talking about salvation, this is talking about sanctification – purifying. Rooting out any evil that remains in you, aligning you with God’s agenda for you, positioning you to be useful for His kingdom.

“For this is the will of God, your sanctification…” (1 Thessalonians 4:3-6)

“But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work. (2 Timothy 2:20-21)

Sin and Salvation – Faith:

God set expectations of right and wrong for you:

“‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'” Matthew 22:37-39)

Deviating from God’s commandments is a sin, it is breaking His divine law.

“Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. (1 John 3:4)

Sin has consequences, those who break the law earn punishment.

“The wages of sin are death” (Romans 6:23)

Everyone has sinned, All fall short

“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23)

“None is righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10)

“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (1 John 1:8)

You can not save yourself from sin, you need a savior

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Jesus is the savior, Believe in him and be saved.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

Salvation is a matter of faith. You must believe that you are a sinner condemned to death and eternity in hell. You must believe Jesus is God’s son, He came here in human form as a baby, Lived and died for you on the cross, and is resurrected and is now at the right hand of the Father fulfilling the scriptures. Once you have this knowledge in your mind, need to make a conscious decision to accept Him as your lord and savior in your heart and ask forgivness of your sins. this decision becomes faith when you choose to take action and confess it with your mouth. Once you have converted knowledge into faith by taking action, You have opened the door for Him to come in through grace and begin to do His work in you.

“…if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

Why is a fear of God important?

Fear of God is the beginning of a process, it provides motivation for you to invest your energy to learn about God, to understand His expectations for you, and to draw you onto His desired path.

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” (Proverbs 9:10)

Learning about God requires an investment. It comes from reading the bible, listening to sermons, purposefully thinking and interpreting the messages. The big change happens when you ask God in earnest to help you gain understand and discern the truth; You will need a way to capture all He tells you. You then need to reflect on what you are learning, embrace the truth in your heart, and apply the truth in your life.

“My son, if you receive my words,
And treasure my commands within you,
So that you incline your ear to wisdom,
And apply your heart to understanding;
Yes, if you cry out for discernment,
And lift up your voice for understanding,
If you seek her (wisdom) as silver,
And search for her (wisdom) as for hidden treasures;
Then you will understand the fear of the Lord,
And find the knowledge of God.” (Proverbs 2:1-5)

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” (James 1:5)

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7)

Once your fear of the lord brings you to actively purse understanding and you ask the Lord for help in earnest, He can begin to work inside you to build understanding and guide you onto the right path.

“for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:12-13)

As you come to understand God you learn that He has some expectations for you. He summarizes those expectations in two commandments. Love God with all your heart, and Love your neighbor as your self.

When you follow these commandments you align yourself with God’s agenda, you enable His love to flow through you, and create results that are useful to God and His kingdom.

“If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.” (John 15:10)

When you chose to deviate from them it is always for selfish reasons, you are putting your agenda above God’s agenda. You are at war with Him in your mind, and that has consequences.

You can then seek to understand the harm you have caused others. You can seek to understand the motivations that drive you. You can learn that all undesirable personality traits are rooted in self-centered/selfish agendas that remain in your heart. These agendas operate against God’s will for you; These agendas are rooted in evil and reinforced by forces operating in the world. Each selfish agenda has a name (Pride, Envy, Lethargy, etc.) and each is a sin.

“The fear of the Lord is to hate evil;
Pride and arrogance and the evil way
And the perverse mouth I hate.” (Proverbs 8:13)

Once you recognize them as sin, and that the consequence of sin is eternal death, you will figure out you need a savior. Once you repent of those sins, choose to turn from them and accept Jesus as your lord and saviour, you have opened the door to sanctification. Once you figure out what Jesus did for you, you will be compelled to live your life worthy of the price he paid for it. Once you do that, He will take you on a journey of discovery, reformation, and regeneration.

So how does this accountability work?

Near death experiences reveal one way this accountability takes place, it is through what is called a life review. When you pass away, the Lord and several senior angels will stand with you and review key events in your life in virtual reality. You will experience those events from the perspective of those who were impacted. You will see the harm caused to others by selfish or self-centered decisions you made. You will feel the impact of mean words you spoke to another person. You will see the impact of your negative thoughts and intentions on those around you. You will be significantly impacted by the disappointment you feel as all of this plays out in front of Jesus and the angels and you will hold yourself accountable.

What happens next is even more significant. Jesus will wrap his arm around you, convey His love for you and all those you impacted. He will ask what you learned from what you just saw and experienced. If you figure out that your selfish agendas got you in trouble and can learn the lessons, you will be move forward towards heaven. If you convince yourself that your selfish agendas were somehow justified and reject Jesus love for you and all His children, you will be uncomfortable getting any closer to heaven.

I encourage everyone to watch a few NDE testimonies and see how this process works… see what kind of lessons the participants learned:

You are an eternal spiritual being
God loves you unconditionally
The Why for your life matters – Your intentions create your future
Don’t waste time, every moment is precious
Every human being is a cherished child of God deserving compassion
Your Words, and Actions impact the people around you and the planet
Don’t dwell in the past, don’t fear death, Become Love in action now

Here are a couple favorites:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nMe0T6TgNo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2QEXUIYL-U

An opportunity here and now

The opportunity you have in front of you is to do some of the life review process now. You will accelerate your learning process in this life and avoid embarrassment in front of the Lord then. If you effectively repent of your errors now so you can change going forward, Jesus will erase your prior errors from the record.

Two practical ways to do it, one purposefully being led by the spirit, the other trying to use your rational mind. I address them in that order.

Lead by the spirit: Approach the Lord in your quiet place of prayer, be ready to capture what He tells you as you work through it.

1 – Position yourself and state your intention: Lord, Thank you for putting me here, for Loving me, and for never giving up on me. Lord, I want to be the best person I can be; The person you intended me to be when you put me here; Living a life worthy of the price you paid. Lord, You promise to provide wisdom and understanding generously to all who ask; well I’m asking. Lord, You know me inside and out. Please help me identify the flaws in my ways so I can work them with you here and now.

2 – Picture Jesus right in front of you, reach out and hold His hand if you wish. Quiet your conscious mind. Open your mind to receiving input from Him. As you work through the sequence of questions below, the answers will come as vivid memories, pictures, stories, pieces of scripture, or individual words. Write down what He shows you so you can reflect on it and process it after.

3 – Ask Him a question, open yourself to input, and record what He shows you.

Lord: When have I created adverse consequences for others.
- He will show you a specific event…look for the impact you had

Lord: Which of my thoughts, words, or actions have caused harm?

1. What did you do?
2. What did you say?
3. What were you thinking that allowed it to happen that way?

Lord: How are my thoughts not aligned with your will?
- God’s will for you is to love God with all your heart and Love others as yourself.
- When you do both, you become your best possible you. When you miss the mark on either it becomes a problem.
Lord: What intentions in my heart are not aligned with you and your kingdom
- Look for any selfish agendas driving your thoughts, words, and actions
- Doing things for my own benefit at the expense of others
- Doing things to build my own image rather than God’s image
- Doing things that ignore God’s role as creator, provider, redeemer, shepherd, saviour, etc

Using your rational mind: Position yourself in prayer as above, Thanking Him, and Asking for His help to make you the best person you can be. Then work through the series of questions above. Review memorable events in your recent past, notice which ones resonate. Look for adverse consequences, Reflect on the event, Look for specific thoughts, words or actions that set up those consequences. Reflect on your intentions. Look for the self-centered agendas in your heart that lie at the root of those counterproductive thoughts, words, or actions.

Use either method to gather your opportunities with specific incidents, actions, and motivations to work on. Now you want to find the relevant scripture that resonates with the situation.

Use google and search for the topic:

Google: Pride scripture or Pride verses

Review what it offers. Read them, ponder them, see which ones resonate and illuminate your issues and opportunities. Often you can find two verses: One that describes the problem to be avoided:

Ex: “Pride goes before destruction” (Proverbs 16:18);

And then one that describes the desired path to avoid it

Ex: “…with humility comes wisdom” (Proverbs 11:2).

Process through this process until you can restate the flaw in your thoughts or intentions as a sin against God

All sin is against God alone, it happens when we put our agenda above His.
He wants us to love Him with all our heart and love neighbors as ourselves.
Anything that runs counter to His agenda can be stated in terms of sin.

Some examples behaviors stated as sin :

Lie – Withhold truth from someone (Telling mistruth, Withholding truth)

Steal – Take something someone else deserves (Material, Withholding credit)

Murder – Cause severe harm (Physically, Emotionally)

Selfishness – Benefit self at expense of others

Envy – Want other peoples things for self

Pride – Focus on self image, taking / withholding credit

Arrogance – Viewing self somehow above others

Adultery – Compromise agreements with others

Idolatry – Worship things other than God (Things, Money, Work, Sports, Degrees, etc)

Fornication – Having sex outside of marriage

Repent of that sin, commit to improvement, and move forward in partnership with the Lord to live in a way aligned with His agenda

Ex: Lord you ask that I love you with all my heart and love my neighbors as myself. I have fallen short by putting my own selfish agenda ahead of yours. My pride has gotten in the way of getting you credit for my efforts. I accept credit for my efforts and do not publicly acknowledge you as the source of my talents and strength. I thank you for helping me see the issue and understand it. I am committed to be humble and serve your children whenever possible and be a beacon for your kingdom not for my own ego. Thank you for helping me be the best person I can be and bring glory to the Father. I ask this in your name. AMEN

Continue to reflect and repent, learn and apply as you go. As you weed out the issues and truly put them behind you, you will be a better person in this life and the Lord erases them from your record so you don’t have to deal with them later.

Having a “Fear of God” can be a bit confusing.

Establishing a healthy fear of the God is a good first step to getting on the right track with your life.

Are you being led by the Lord?

Posted on November 29, 2020January 12, 2021 by jakirkgasser10439

Are you being led by the Lord?

Are you on the right path with your life? Are you facing some big decisions ? Are you facing a big challenge in your life: Health?, Finances?, Relationships? Would you like to be working with the Lord to achieve the optimum results, or would you rather go it alone, work against Him, hope you have everything figured out, hope there aren’t many surprises, and hope you aren’t making things worse.

One of our greatest opportunities is to be led by the Lord; He knows all things, He knows why you are here, He knows the best path for you to follow, and He will share it with you if you draw close and ask. It is then up to you to follow where He leads. If you do, He promises blessings; He will provide for you, He will protect you, He will ensure you enjoy the journey and that you bear much fruit along the way.

The following is a discussion of how to be led by the Lord. It starts with a bit on why it is important to let Him lead and some consequences if you don’t, then shares some how-to’s and then a few examples from recent experience.

Put the Lord first, and then His Kingdom

The first and greatest commandment sets a clear expectation that we are to love the Lord first and above all things:

“…you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” (Mark 12:30)

To love Him means to esteem Him, long for Him, promptly obey Him, to give him preference, and to be grateful for what He has done. To Love Him with all our heart means with our inner being, our passion, our drive, our conviction. With all of our soul means with our every breath as an individual human being. With all of our mind means with our thoughts and attention. With all of our strength means with our physical ability, force, power, mental toughness.

The second great commandment is to not put yourself above others:

“Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mark 12:31)

This combination makes it clear we are to be putting Him and His kingdom at the forefront of our attention and our agenda. They should make you question if the things you are focused on as you live your life are serving Him or others, or if they are entirely focused on you.

Avoid Idolatry

Idolatry occurs when we hold something as more important or a higher priority than God.

“You shall have no other gods before Me.” (Deuteronomy 5:7)

When we devote significant attention to something, we are worshiping it; we are positioning it in competition with God. Things that get worshiped include: money, possessions, our physical body, our work, or our reputation.

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” (Matthew 6:24)

If we continue down a path of focusing our energy on self-centered interests it can lead to some very destructive behaviors. As we pursue that path, we are worshiping ourselves and have put ourselves above God.

“Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry” (Colossians 3:5).

“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves” Philippians 2:3)

“…but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness – wrath and indignation,tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil.”(Romans 2:8)

While not as obvious or blatant, this concept of idolatry also applies to those who do not let the Lord lead them. They are putting all their trust in themselves, their own capabilities, their own thinking, there own ability to get through issues. They are elevating themselves above Him. This is a form of pride.

“Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18)

“Before destruction the heart of a man is haughty, And before honor is humility.” (Proverbs 18:12)

“Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy.”(1 Timothy 6:17)

The Lord makes it clear that His providence will make things gradually harder on those who resist Him until he finally breaks their pride.

“But if you do not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments,… I will even appoint terror over you, wasting disease and fever which shall consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. I will set My face against you, and you shall be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you shall reign over you, and you shall flee when no one pursues you. And after all this, if you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. I will break the pride of your power; I will make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze. And your strength shall be spent in vain; for your land shall not yield its produce, nor shall the trees of the land yield their fruit…” (Leviticus 26:14-30)

Let Him Lead you

God expects us to let Him lead us; He sees the big picture, We have a limited view; We need to put Him first in all things, trust that He has a good plan, and when we do, He will help us set the optimum path to follow.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

He has a better perspective, He knows all things, He sees things we can not see, He has plans that we do not yet see. His approach is better than we could come up with on our own.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9)

He wants us to connect all we do to God and the Kingdom, pursuing purpose that ultimately benefits others, and always recognizing Him as the enabling source. And when we do, He promises to help us along the way, and promises we will be better off in the long run.

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33)

“And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” (Colossians 3:17)

“for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” (Philippians 2:13)

“And anyone who does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:38-39)

We have Help available

So how do we do that? Can we get some help? The answer is YES, and it is free. As soon as we accept the Lord as our savior, He makes the Holy Spirit available to us. All we have to do is ask.

“Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38)

“When you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed in Him, you were also sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.”(Ephesians 1:13)

“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” (Luke 11:13

“By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.” (1 John 4:13)

We have the Holy Spirit available inside us: Ever present, All knowing, All seeing. He will reveal the mysteries of God.

“But as it is written: ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him’. But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.”(1 Corinthians 2:10)

Your spirit can access this knowledge and make use of it

“These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 2:13)

“And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.” (Isaiah 11:2)

The holy spirit will help us. It will teach us, guide us and empower us.

Teach us: He will reveal God’s nature to us, help us understand scripture and the key messages.

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” (John 14:26)

“(I pray) that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.” (Ephesians 1:17)

Jesus said “He will glorify Me (reveal my greatness), for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore, I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.” (John 16:14)

Guide us: He will help you recognize the truth when you find it, He will reveal God’s future plans for you if you ask

“…when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. (John 16:13)

He will help us understand the amazing power we now have inside us; The power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead.

“(I pray) that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” (Ephesians 1:15-22)

The intention is for us to be led by the spirit rather than our natural understanding and risk being prideful or assuming we know the right answers.

“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” (Romans 8:14)

“So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:16)

“Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: ‘I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go’.” (Isaiah 48:17)

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5)

“The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in his way” (Psalm 37:23)

The long term game is to use the Holy spirit inside us to help transform our mind. This is the primary purpose of the Gospel: Living a fully transformed life now and bringing heaven into place on earth. I will elaborate on this later.

“ …put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:22)

In the short term, the Holy Spirit can also provide a specific “Word of Wisdom” to help us understand some specifics about our best path for the future. This is a spiritual gift, and it is available for the asking.

“But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit…” (1 Corinthians 12:7-8)

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” (James 1:5)

A “word of wisdom” is a piece of information given to a believer to help them gain insight and understanding (wisdom) for a specific situation. It is part of a personal conversation with the Lord. What does this scripture mean? What is His will in this situation? What is my best choice between two paths ahead? When a word is received it helps them build faith by knowing they are on the right path, the path the Lord wants them to be on.

A “word of knowledge” is usually a unique piece of information given to one person about the situation of another. This nugget of information can guide the receiver to minister specifically to one individual in a crowd (ex: Someone has a sprained wrist…raise your hand), or it can guide the receiver to minster to a stranger in public ( Hi, What is going on with your ankle, The lord told me it is some sort of sports injury, can i pray for you). This cross pollination of information reveals the power of the Kindgom and can open the door to non-believers, or deepen the fiath of believers.

How does the spirit talk to you?

He can insert thoughts into your brain. When you quiet yourself and enter a calm reflective/meditative state, The Holy spirit will insert positive, constructive, suggestive thoughts in your mind. These will be in stark contrast to the multitudes of loud, obnoxious, demanding, destructive thoughts inserted by devils as you go through the day.

Quiet yourself and ask, “Lord, How can I best help in this situation?” or” Lord, Help me see this situation from your perspective, so that I can be of best service to you?” or “Lord help me understand this specific scripture?” Sometimes the answer will be one word, or a message, or a piece of scripture, or an understanding.

“Commit your works to the Lord, And your thoughts will be established.” (Proverbs 16:3)

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.” (Psalm 32:8)

“And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.” (Isaiah 30:21)

He can engage your feelings. There are a variety of signals you can recognize if you pay attention. When you are working through a series of thoughts trying to make a decision, He can send you a distinct sense of calm or peace as you arrive at the correct one; You will “know in your knower”, that it is right. This is often how you know you have found the right school, or spouse, or job. When you are working through a topic in your mind and you are reading scripture, one verse will stand out or resonate in your mind, it will come to life and become particularly meaningful. You feel it is talking to you. If something is not right, you can feel an unction, or an unsettled feeling knowing something needs to be addressed.

“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword” (Hebrews 4:12)

How do you ask for a Word of Wisdom?

It is a simple process of quieting your mind, picturing the Lord in front of you, asking him a question, and staying quiet until He answers… I highly recommend getting in the habbit of using this process.

Click here for a step by step How-To.

Some examples:

Words of Wisdom have been very helpful to several of my friends as we navigated issues they were struggling with.

One friend was faced with several options for dealing with a severe injury disabling his arm. He had options including complete amputation, nerve reconstruction, muscle transplantation, or hoping for a miracle. We asked God for a word of wisdom to help focus our faith. While he was in the CT scanner the Lord placed the word “The Surgeon” prominently in his thought. At that point he knew in his knower that he was to pursue the surgeon who recommended a path.

Another friend was facing a complex cancer diagnosis where it has spread out to many internal organs. Because of the late detection and extent of spread, the oncologist immediately began chemo. Her options at that point included, continued chemo, extensive surgery, and faith in a miracle. We prayed for a word of wisdom to focus our faith. While in the CT scanner, the Lord planted the words “The Healer” in her thoughts. She immediately knew in her knower that she was to complete the course of chemo she was on to shrink the cancer and that the remaining cancer would be fully cured through faith in Jesus as by his stripes we are healed.

Click here for more examples…

Each of these words helped build faith and guided our path forward. As we build faith, we begin to better embrace God and put our trust in Him.

In conclusion

Allowing the Lord to lead you is powerful. The sooner you invite him to lead, the sooner you can get in sync with His plans. I encourage you to practice and get used to engaging the Holy Spirit in Words of Wisdom. Ask for clarity on specific questions. If you are facing a significant decision ask for a Word of Wisdom to guide your path. Each time you hear His voice and follow His lead in Faith, you better understand Him and strengthen your connection with Him.

Living a life lead by the Lord will make you a powerful force for change for others as you: model a life freed and saved from sin; demonstrate the blessings which flow to a righteous fully redeemed believer; and destroy the works of the devil who has already undergone judgement.

“And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.(John 16:8)

Let me know how this works for you. Happy to discuss.